







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 | |
|---|---|
| But it seems Julianne complained about Pogo to Nick. | Ama görünüşe göre Julianne Pogo'yu Nick'e şikayet etmiş. |
| Were you drunk or sober? | Sarhoş muydun ayık mı? |
| Is that how long your relationship with Jen was, also? | Jen ile ilişkin de bu kadar mı sürdü? |
| It was nice meeting you. | Sizinle tanıştığıma memnun oldum. |
| What brought you to London? | Seni Londra'ya getiren şey neydi? |
| Yes, I just started my period an hour ago! | Evet, bir saat önce reglim başladı! |
| We've been coming here since Pogo was a kitten. | Buraya Pogo'nun küçüklüğünden beri geliyoruz. |
| But didn't we already buy the cheese grated? | Ama peyniri zaten rendelenmiş olarak almamış mıydık? |
| What's the joke? I didn't get it. | Şaka ne? Anlamadım. |
| Yes, I thought about moving upstairs. | Evet, üst kata taşınmayı düşündüm. |
| How did you know that? | Nasıl bildin? |
| To tell you I came here earlier than we agreed! | Kararlaştırdığımızdan daha erken geldiğimi söylemek için! |
| Yes, I managed to see the last one... But I didn't like it! | Evet, sonuncusunu görmeyi başardım... Ama beğenmedim! |
| I didn't know what to say, I didn't want to be rude, actually. | Ne diyeceğimi bilemedim, kaba olmak istemedim aslında. |
| No, I didn't have much money in it. | Hayır, içinde çok para yoktu. |
| They're fine, we played a game called *catch the wasp*! | İyiler, onlarla *yaban arısını yakala* diye bir oyun oynadık! |
| She was yelling at me like how dirty we were... | Bana ne kadar pis olduğumuzla ilgili bir şeyler bağırıyordu... |
| I didn't ask when, I asked why! | Ne zaman demedim, neden dedim! |
| Hi, what did you decide? | Selam, neye karar verdiniz? |
| Oh god... It was a nightmare for me today! | Ah Tanrım... Bugün benim için bir kabustu! |