







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 | |
|---|---|
| Did anything happen to you? | Sana bir şey oldu mu? |
| What happened to this one? | Buna ne oldu? |
| But I lost all of my pictures and contacts on my phone. | Ama telefonumdaki bütün resimlerimi ve iletişim bilgilerini kaybettim. |
| Didn't I just say the same thing? | Ben de zaten aynı şeyi söylemedim mi? |
| Did you get yourself a cappuccino, too? | Kendine de cappuccino mu aldın? |
| Did you check the expiry date? | Son tüketim tarihlerini kontrol ettin mi? |
| I don't even want to remember it, but, since you asked... | Hatırlamak bile istemiyorum, ama madem sordun... |
| And... Your cat? I didn't know you had a cat! | Ve... Kedin? Kedin olduğunu bilmiyordum! |
| Good morning my friend, did I wake you up? | Günaydın dostum, seni uyandırdım mı? |
| Anyway, what did you say to the old lady? | Neyse, yaşlı kadına ne dedin? |
| While I finished doing things here by myself! | Ben burada tek başıma bu işleri bitirirken! |
| Except Pinocchio knew he wasn't a real boy from the beginning. | Pinokyo'nun gerçek bir çocuk olduğunu baştan bilmesi hariç. |
| So I snore everyday... Why didn't you tell me that before? | Yani her gün horluyorum... Neden bunu bana daha önce söylemedin? |
| You know we talked about bringing Pogo here one day. | Hani Pogo'yu bir gün buraya getirmekten bahsetmiştik ya. |
| I didn't ask when, I asked why! | Ne zaman demedim, neden dedim! |
| We were just about to talk about leaving the house. | Tam da evden çıkmayı konuşmak üzereydik. |
| So you already knew the cat was here before you came. | Yani buraya gelmeden önce de kedinin burada olduğunu biliyordun. |
| Oh, by the way, one of my best friends from Australia called me... | Ha, bu arada Avustralya'daki en iyi arkadaşlarımdan biri beni aradı... |
| Of course, we all grew up together. | Tabii ki, biz beraber büyüdük. |
| I got you a cappuccino. | Sana cappuccino aldım. |