







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 | |
|---|---|
| Anyway, what did you say to the old lady? | Bref, et qu'est-ce que tu as dit à la vieille dame? |
| I can see why the f*cking toilet got clogged now! | Je vois pourquoi les put**ns de toilettes sont bouchées maintenant! |
| When did you last visit your parents? | Quand est-tu allée voir tes parents pour la dernière fois? |
| I left it on this chair! | Je l'ai laissé sur cette chaise ! |
| But it seems Julianne complained about Pogo to Nick. | On dirait que Julianne s'est plaint à propos de Pogo auprès de Nick. |
| I hope I didn't make you wait long. | J'espère que je ne vous ai pas fait attendre. |
| Don't lie, I saw you googling it just now. | Ne mens pas, je t'ai vu entrain de chercher sur ton portable à l'instant. |
| No, don't worry, nothing happened to him. | No, ne t'inquiète pas, rien ne lui est arrivé. |
| What!? So you complained to Nick about our cat! | Quoi!? Alors tu t'es plaint à Nick à propos du chat! |
| You didn't tell me anything about that... | Tu ne m'as rien dit à propos de ça... |
| Did something happen to Pogo? | Quelque chose est arrivé à Pogo? |
| What kind of coffee did you get me? | Tu m'as pris quel café? |
| I wasn't complaining, I just wanted to let you know about it. | Je ne me plaignais pas, je voulais juste que tu le saches. |
| Hmm, I guess it was about 5 or 6 months ago. | Hmmm, je pense que c'était il y a 5 ou 6 mois. |
| To tell you I came here earlier than we agreed! | Pour te dire que j'étais arrivé plutôt que prévu ! |
| I have to say, your checking the heaters lie wasn't very clever. | Je dois dire que ton histoire de vérification des radiateurs n'était pas très crédible. |
| Nope, those are the days when I slept alone... | Non, ce sont les jours où j'ai dormi seul... |
| It seems I forgot to turn it on after I plugged it into the charger! | On dirait que j'ai oublié de le brancher dans le chargeur! |
| I only went to the kitchen and no one was there. | Je suis juste allé dans la cuisine et il n'y avait personne. |
| Because you didn't remind me! | Parce que tu ne m'y as pas fait pensé! |