







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 called about 10 people yesterday to make appointments. | .قمت بالإتصال بحوالي 10 أشخاص في البارحة لتحديد مواعيد |
| Bye Toby, it was nice talking to you! | !الى اللقاء توبى، من الجيد الحديث اليك |
| 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 |
| Actually, I was going to ask you something at the pub, but Diego interrupted me. | .فى الحقيقة, كنت سأطلب منك شيئاً فى الحانة, لكن ديجو قاطعنى |
| Sorry, but I have to say, we saw another house earlier today... | ...أسف، لكن يجب أن أقول، لقد رأينا منزل اخر مبكرًا اليوم |
| No, I didn't have much money in it. | .لا لم يكن لدى الكثير من الأموال فيها |
| While I was trying to catch the rice, I accidentally knocked over a bottle. | .بينما كنت أحاول الإمساك بالأرز، بالخطأ قمت بضرب الزجاجة |
| Yeah, so I decided to go home and charge my phone. | .أجل، لذلك قررت أن أعود إلى المنزل وأشحن هاتفي |
| Did you call this one near the station? | هل اتصلتِ بهذا الشخص القريب من المحطة؟ |
| Of course not, how did you come up with that idea? | بالطبع لا، من أين أتيت بهذه الفكرة؟ |
| After I had waited a while, I decided to knock on her door... | ...بعد الإنتظار لبعض الوقت، قررت أن اقوم بالطرق على بابها |
| It's a nice area, I considered living there once, too... | ...إنها منطقة جميلة، لقد فكرت مرة بالعيش فيها، أيضًا |
| What happened? Who was that? | ماذا حدث؟ من كان هذا؟ |
| Unbelievable, how did you know that? | غير معقول، كيف علمت ذلك؟ |
| It seems I forgot to turn it on after I plugged it into the charger! | !يبدو أنني نسيت ان افتحه قبل أن أقوم بتوصيله بالشاحن |
| Oh yeah, I remember, you had some snails and you hated them. | .أوه أجل، أتذكر، لقد تناولت القواقع ولم تحبها |
| I'm still shocked... I can't believe what I just heard! | !انا مازلت مصدومة...لا يمكنني ان أصدق ماسمعت للتو |
| What kind of coffee did you get me? | أى نوع من القهوة أحضرتى لي؟ |
| I used the same logic as you... | ...لقد إستخدمت نفس المنطق الذي إستخدمتيه |
| Really, how long did you live here? | فعلاً، ماهى المدة التى عشتها هنا؟ |