







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 | |
|---|---|
| I have to say, your checking the heaters lie wasn't very clever. | .يجب أن أقول، كذبة تفقد السخانات لم تكن جيدة جدًا |
| 5 minutes before I arrived, I called her, but she didn't answer. | .قبل 5 دقائق من وصولي، قمت بالإتصال بها، لكنها لم ترد |
| Sorry, Julianne, I didn't know you were still here. | .متأسف، جوليان، لم أعلم بأنكِ مازلتي هنا |
| That was a strange conversation... What did they say? | كانت هذه محادثة غريبة... ماذا قالوا؟ |
| I knew it was too good to be true! | !لقد علمت أن المنزل أروع من أن يصدق |
| I don't know, did you check the expiry date? | لا اعلم، هل تفقدتِ تاريخ الصلاحية؟ |
| Yep, I gave it to a spider in the garden. | .أجل، أعطيته للعنكبوت في الحديقة |
| Hey, I just got an idea where to put the bed! | !مهلا، لقد جائتني فكرة في مكان لنضع به السرير |
| Yes, I thought about moving upstairs. | .أجل، لقد فكرت فى الإنتقال الى الأعلى |
| Basically, we were both in the kitchen last night... | ...في الأساس، كنا في المطبخ معًا الليلة الماضية |
| Did you see any fire or smoke around? | هل رأيت أي نيران أو دخان في الأرجاء؟ |
| This was the only one left on the shelf. | .هذا كان اخر ماتبقى على الرف |
| Anyway, did you have any problems with that girl before? | على أي حال، هل كان لديك أي مشاكل مع تلك الفتاة من قبل؟ |
| You killed my favourite movie with one punch, dear! | !لقد قتلتي فيلمي المفضل بضربة واحدة، ياعزيزتي |
| We've been coming here since Pogo was a kitten. | .لقد إعتدنا ان نأتى الى هنا منذ ان كان بوجو قط صغير |
| Yeah, everything is fine, I just came here to... | ...أجل، كل شيء بخير، لقد أتيت إلى هنا لكي |
| It was my mistake accepting the job to work with them. | .لقد كان خطأى اننى قبلت هذا العمل لأعمل معهم |
| You got it right, cleaning in general! | !لقد أصبتِ، التنظيف بشكل عام |
| We talked on the phone before. | .لقد تحدثنا على الهاتف من قبل |
| You didn't tell me what? | لم تخبيريني بماذا؟ |