







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 hadn't realised you could remember things so fast before! | 네가 기억력이 그렇게 좋은 줄 여태 몰랐는데! |
| Yeah, so I decided to go home and charge my phone. | 그렇지, 그래서 집에 돌아가서 폰을 다시 충전하려고 했어. |
| I didn't realise there was a problem with the toilet! | 변기에 문제가 있는 줄은 모르고 있었네! |
| I called about 10 people yesterday to make appointments. | 약속을 잡으려고 어제 거의 10명한테 전화를 했다고. |
| It wasn't long ago. | 오래 되진 않았어. |
| You nearly gave me a heart attack! | 심장 떨어지는 줄 알았다! |
| We should've checked inside the oven before we turned it on. | 오븐을 켜기 전에 안을 들여다볼 걸 그랬어. |
| Didn't they call you when you didn't show up at 11:00? | 11시에 안 가니까 전화 안 왔어? |
| How come? We just called this morning! | 그럴 리가요? 오늘 아침에 전화드렸는걸요! |
| I'm almost at Brighton! Why didn't you inform me earlier? | 나 브라이튼 거의 다 왔다고! 왜 미리 말해주지 않은 거야? |
| It's a nice area, I considered living there once, too... | 좋은 동네지, 나도 거기 살까 하는 생각을 한 적 있는데... |
| Why didn't you ask while you were on the phone then? | 그럼 통화 중에 질문을 하지 그랬어? |
| How did you know that? | 어떻게 알았어? |
| Did you call this one near the station? | 역 근처에 여기는 전화해봤어? |
| Yes, I had a very nice sleep. | 응, 아주 잘 잤어. |
| While I was trying to catch the rice, I accidentally knocked over a bottle. | 쌀을 잡으려다가, 실수로 병을 쳤어. |
| It was my mistake accepting the job to work with them. | 같이 일을 하겠다고 한 내 잘못이지. |
| Hello, what happened? | 안녕, 의사선생님이 뭐래? |
| I went home and plugged my phone into the charger... | 집에 가서 충전기에 폰을 꽂았고... |
| The first appointment was at 07:30 in the morning! | 첫 약속이 아침 7시 반에 잡혔다고! |