







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 | |
|---|---|
| Why did you wake up so early? | Neden bu kadar erken kalktın? |
| Unfortunately, it is... Weren't there any pictures of the house? | Maalesef doğru... Evin hiç resmi yok muydu? |
| Oh, by the way, one of my best friends from Australia called me... | Ha, bu arada Avustralya'daki en iyi arkadaşlarımdan biri beni aradı... |
| I didn't say monthly! I meant paying 100 more each daily... | Ben her ay demedim! Ben her gün 100 fazla ödesek demek istedim... |
| But we had some *little* problems. | Ama bazı *küçük* sorunlarımız oldu. |
| The first appointment was at 07:30 in the morning! | İlk randevu sabah 07:30'daydı! |
| Oh god... It was a nightmare for me today! | Ah Tanrım... Bugün benim için bir kabustu! |
| I hope you managed to find it, then. | Umarım bulmayı başarmışsındır o zaman. |
| Then she started to talk about how she was allergic to cats, etcetera. | Sonra da kedilere alerjisi olduğunu anlatmaya başladı falan. |
| She was yelling at me like how dirty we were... | Bana ne kadar pis olduğumuzla ilgili bir şeyler bağırıyordu... |
| I met him last week at the vet. | Onunla geçen hafta veterinerde tanıştım. |
| Can you please tell me what I had there? | Bana lütfen orada ne yediğimi söyler misin? |
| Didn't you forget something, dear? | Bir şeyi unutmadın mı, canım? |
| He had an X-ray... | Röntgeni çekildi. |
| That's interesting, did you also teach them how to cook? | İlginçmiş, nasıl yemek yapacaklarını da öğrettin mi? |
| Did the chips remind you of her? | Patates kızartması sana onu mu hatırlattı? |
| At least you didn't waste your whole day off for nothing! | En azından bütün gününü boşuna harcamamışsın! |
| It happened later in the movie, I mean the story. | O daha sonradan oldu filmde, aman hikayede. |
| I can see why the f*cking toilet got clogged now! | Şimdi niye s*ktiğimin tuvaletinin tıkandığını anladım! |
| I went home and plugged my phone into the charger... | Eve gittim ve telefonumu şarja taktım... |