







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 didn't realise there was a problem with the toilet! | Tuvalette bir sorun olduğunu fark etmemiştim! |
| I didn't have any time to eat anything. | Bir şey yiyecek vaktim olmadı. |
| We are going to follow the original plan, how it was before. | Daha önceki şekliyle orijinal planı takip edeceğiz. |
| Of course, we all grew up together. | Tabii ki, biz beraber büyüdük. |
| Didn't they call you when you didn't show up at 11:00? | 11:00'de orada olmayınca seni aramadılar mı? |
| But we had some *little* problems. | Ama bazı *küçük* sorunlarımız oldu. |
| After a couple of minutes, I heard a scream from the kitchen... | Birkaç dakika sonra, mutfaktan bir çığlık duydum... |
| What happened? Did you break a bottle? | N'oldu? Şişeyi mi kırdın? |
| Oh, by the way, one of my best friends from Australia called me... | Ha, bu arada Avustralya'daki en iyi arkadaşlarımdan biri beni aradı... |
| Yes, I did, did you? | Evet, uyudum, sen? |
| It was my mistake accepting the job to work with them. | Onlarla birlikte çalışmayı kabul etmek benim hatamdı. |
| I only went to the kitchen and no one was there. | Sadece mutfağa gittim ve orada kimse yoktu. |
| Yes, I finally found one! | Evet, sonunda bi tane buldum! |
| You killed my favourite movie with one punch, dear! | En sevdiğim filmi tek darbede öldürdün, canım! |
| I don't know, did you check the expiry date? | Bilmem, son kullanma tarihine baktın mı? |
| How did we switch from Mayfair to the suburbs that fast? | Mayfair'den kenar mahallelere nasıl bu kadar hızlı geçiş yaptık? |
| I didn't know your cat was here. | Kedinin burada olduğunu bilmiyordum. |
| Because it's in my bag, I didn't hear it. | Çünkü çantamda, duymadım. |
| Diego was living in this house and there was a vacancy. | Diego bu evde yaşıyordu ve boş oda vardı. |
| But didn't we already buy the cheese grated? | Ama peyniri zaten rendelenmiş olarak almamış mıydık? |