







In English we use the past simple tense to talk about finished actions in the past.
We use 'did' as an auxiliary verb in negatives and questions and we often use the past simple with past time phrases such as 5 minutes ago, yesterday, last week, in the 1980s, and when I was a child.
Notes for use of past simple :
In English, to change verbs to the past tense, we add '-ed' to regular verbs. For example;
work --> worked
live --> lived
walk --> walked
If the verb ends in 'e', we drop the 'e' before adding '-ed'. For example;
dance --> danced
smile --> smiled
phone --> phoned
If the verb ends in a vowel + consonant, we double the last consonant. For example;
stop --> stopped
tag --> tagged
plan --> planned
If the verb has more than one syllable, we double the consonant at the end only if the last syllable is stressed. For example;
prefer --> preferred
permit --> permitted
regret --> regretted
If the last syllable of the verb is not stressed, we do not double the last consonant. For example;
visit --> visited
happen --> happened
develop --> developed
In British English, verbs ending in 'l' double the 'l' before '-ed' whether the last syllable is stressed or not. For example;
travel --> travelled
cancel --> cancelled
If the verb ends in a 'y' or a 'w', we do not double it when we add '-ed'. For example;
stay --> stayed
play --> played
sew --> sewed
In English we do not double the consonant if the verb has two vowels before the last consonant. For example;
boil --> boiled
explain --> explained
In English we also do not double the consonant if the verb ends in two consonants. For example;
help --> helped
start --> started
However, irregular verbs change to completely different words in the past tense. For example;
go --> went
take --> took
know --> knew
The table below shows the different forms of past simple :
Example Verb : live | I / You / We / They / He / She / It |
| Positive | ... lived. |
| Negative | ... didn't live. |
Questions | Did ... live? |
| Short answers | Yes, ... did. / No, ... didn't. |
For the verb 'to be' we use 'was' and 'were'' in the past simple. No auxiliary verbs are used in negative sentences and questions.
Verb : Be | I / He / She / It | You / We / They |
| Positive | ... was ... | ... were ... |
| Negative | ... wasn't ... | ... weren't ... |
| Questions | Was ... ... ? | Were ... ...? |
| Short answers | Yes, ... was. / No, ... wasn't. | Yes, ... were. / No, ... weren't. |
Past Simple Example Sentences :
Positive Examples of Past Simple :
Negative Examples of Past Simple :
Question Examples of Past Simple :
| Past simple example sentences | |
|---|---|
| Exactly, I think they understood it at first sight! | !بالضبط، أعتقد أنهم فهموا ذلك من النظرة الأولى |
| Except Pinocchio knew he wasn't a real boy from the beginning. | .بإستثناء أن بونوكيو علم أنه لم يكن طفلًا حقيقيًا من البداية |
| Unbelievable, how did you know that? | غير معقول، كيف علمت ذلك؟ |
| Did something happen to Pogo? | هل حدث شيء لبوجو؟ |
| That's brilliant, did you manage to see any houses today in the end? | هذا رائع، هل تمكنت من رؤية أي منازل اليوم في نهاية الأمر؟ |
| I didn't have any time to go and check houses. | .لم يكن لدى وقت لتفقد المنازل |
| I came here to visit her, then she went back and I stayed here. | .انا أتيت الى هنا لكى لزيارتها، بعد ذلك هى عادت و انا بقيت هنا |
| Yeah, so I decided to go home and charge my phone. | .أجل، لذلك قررت أن أعود إلى المنزل وأشحن هاتفي |
| That was a strange conversation... What did they say? | كانت هذه محادثة غريبة... ماذا قالوا؟ |
| What made you change your mind? | ما الذي جعلك تغير رأيك؟ |
| Nope, my shoes and trousers just got a little bit wet. | .لا، فقط حذائى و بنطالى أصبحوا مبللين قليلاً |
| Hello, I booked a table for two in the name of Cate for 20:30. | .مرحبًا، لقد قمت بحجز طاولة لاثنين باسم كيت في الثامنة والنصف |
| Did the chips remind you of her? | هل تذكرك الرقائق بها؟ |
| You got it right, cleaning in general! | !لقد أصبتِ، التنظيف بشكل عام |
| Because it's in my bag, I didn't hear it. | .لأنه في حقيبتي، لم أسمعه |
| Oh yeah, I remember, you had some snails and you hated them. | .أوه أجل، أتذكر، لقد تناولت القواقع ولم تحبها |
| What happened to this one? | ما الذي حدث لهذا المنزل؟ |
| I guess you didn't mention that on the ad. | أعتقد أنك لم تذكر ذلك في الإعلان؟ |
| Because we were at the cinema, dear... | ...لأننا كنا في السينما، ياعزيزي |
| We met at the vet a couple of weeks ago. | .لقد تقابلنا عند البيطرية منذ أسبوعين |