







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 | |
|---|---|
| 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'm his friend from London, as he mentioned! | Dediği gibi, Londra'dan arkadaşıyım! |
| What was wrong with the last house? | Son evin sorunu neydi? |
| It doesn't mean I didn't spend any time finding a house. | Bu, ev bulmak için hiç zaman harcamadığım anlamına gelmiyor. |
| You didn't tell me what kind of muffin you wanted. | Bana neyli muffin istediğini söylemedin. |
| I'm sorry, why did you call that much? | Pardon, neden o kadar çok aradın? |
| Then, apparently I fell asleep... And slept for a couple of hours! | Sonra, galiba uyuyakalmışım... Ve birkaç saat uyumuşum! |
| I hope it wasn't an expensive wine! | Umarım pahalı bi' şarap değildi! |
| I didn't say monthly! I meant paying 100 more each daily... | Ben her ay demedim! Ben her gün 100 fazla ödesek demek istedim... |
| Anyway, I woke up at 07:00 and went to see the first one. | Herneyse, 07:00'da kalktım ve ilkini görmeye gittim. |
| How did we switch from Mayfair to the suburbs that fast? | Mayfair'den kenar mahallelere nasıl bu kadar hızlı geçiş yaptık? |
| But it seems Julianne complained about Pogo to Nick. | Ama görünüşe göre Julianne Pogo'yu Nick'e şikayet etmiş. |
| Oh, that's a relief, did you get rid of it? | Oh, çok şükür, ondan kurtuldun mu? |
| Because a girl had an argument with Diego? | Bir kız Diego'yla tartıştı diye mi? |
| What did you cook for breakfast? | Kahvaltı için ne hazırladın? |
| Because it's in my bag, I didn't hear it. | Çünkü çantamda, duymadım. |
| I only went to the kitchen and no one was there. | Sadece mutfağa gittim ve orada kimse yoktu. |
| Welcome, tonight we reserved one of our best tables for you! | Hoşgeldiniz, bu akşam sizin için en iyi masalarımızdan birini ayırdık! |
| I don't even want to remember it, but, since you asked... | Hatırlamak bile istemiyorum, ama madem sordun... |
| Because we were at the cinema, dear... | Çünkü sinemadaydık canım... |