







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 | |
|---|---|
| Didn't you forget something, dear? | Tu n'as pas oublié quelque chose chéri? |
| Why didn't you ask while you were on the phone then? | Pourquoi ne l'as tu pas posé au téléphone alors? |
| I just woke up half an hour ago. | Je me suis réveillé il y a une demi-heure. |
| We are going to follow the original plan, how it was before. | On va faire ce qu'on a dit au début, comme avant. |
| Actually, I didn't even know you had a cat! | En fait, je ne savais même pas que tu avais un chat! |
| No, it seems I'd forgotten to charge it before I left. | Non, on dirait que j'ai oublié de le charger avant de partir. |
| That's interesting, did you also teach them how to cook? | C'est intéressant. Tu leur a aussi appris à cuisiner? |
| Did anything happen to you? | Quelque chose t'es t-il arrivé ? |
| Have fun, Diego, it was nice to meet you. | Amusez-vous bien, Diego, c'était cool de vous rencontrer. |
| You drank too many beers last night! | Tu as bu trop de bières hier soir! |
| Today Rebecca called me about... | Aujourd'hui, Rebecca m'a appelé... |
| Look at that, it splashed water all over me! | Regarde, il m'a éclaboussé de partout! |
| Didn't they call you when you didn't show up at 11:00? | Ils ne t'on pas appelé quand tu ne t'es pas pointé à 11h00? |
| Oh god... It was a nightmare for me today! | Oh mon Dieu... c'était un cauchemar aujourd'hui! |
| Basically, we were both in the kitchen last night... | En fait, on était tous les deux dans la cuisine hier soir... |
| Anyway, did you have any problems with that girl before? | Bref, tu as eu des problèmes avec cette fille avant? |
| You got it right, cleaning in general! | C'est ça, nettoyer en général! |
| I just took it without thinking too much. | Je l'ai juste prise sans trop y penser. |
| What kind of coffee did you get me? | Tu m'as pris quel café? |
| We met at the vet a couple of weeks ago. | Nous nous sommes rencontré chez le vétérinaire il y a quelques semaines. |