







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 hear what she said? | Ne dediğini duymadın mı? |
| They're fine, we played a game called *catch the wasp*! | İyiler, onlarla *yaban arısını yakala* diye bir oyun oynadık! |
| Did you check the price of the rice? | Sen pirincin fiyatına baktın mı? |
| I think we should move the desk back where it was before. | Bence çalışma masasını eski yerine geri koymalıyız. |
| No, don't worry, nothing happened to him. | Hayır, endişelenme, hiçbir şey olmadı. |
| This was the only one left on the shelf. | Rafta son kalan buydu. |
| I guess you didn't mention that on the ad. | İlanda bundan bahsetmemiştin sanki. |
| Can you please tell me what I had there? | Bana lütfen orada ne yediğimi söyler misin? |
| Hmm, why weren't we here at the time?... | Hmm, o saatte biz neden burada değildik?... |
| Sorry, didn't I tell you that before? | Pardon, sana daha önce söylememiş miydim? |
| Or a demon possessed her! | Ya da bir şeytan onu ele geçirdi! |
| Did anything happen to you? | Sana bir şey oldu mu? |
| But we had some *little* problems. | Ama bazı *küçük* sorunlarımız oldu. |
| I can't believe you, where did you get it from? | Sana inanamıyorum, bunu nereden aldın? |
| I was going to today, it just happened last night! | Bugün söyleyecektim, daha dün gece oldu! |
| Yes, I got some missed call notifications after I turned my phone on! | Evet, telefonumu açtıktan sonra birkaç tane cevapsız çağrı bildirimi aldım! |
| After I had waited a while, I decided to knock on her door... | Biraz bekledikten sonra, kapısını çalmaya karar verdim... |
| Later on, I realized it was too crowded and noisy for me. | Sonradan fark ettim ki benim için fazla kalabalık ve gürültülü. |
| Have fun, Diego, it was nice to meet you. | İyi eğlenceler Diego, tanıştığıma memnun oldum. |
| Apparently you f*cked up, then what happened? | Görünüşe göre s*çıp batırmışsın, sonra ne oldu? |