







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 | |
|---|---|
| Yep, I gave it to a spider in the garden. | 是的,我把它给了花园里的一个蜘蛛。 |
| Anyway, what did you say to the old lady? | 不管怎样,你对老妇人说了什么? |
| I found out we didn't have many things in the fridge. | 我发现冰箱里没有很多东西。 |
| Unbelievable, how did you know that? | 难以置信,你是怎么知道的? |
| We are going to follow the original plan, how it was before. | 我们就根据之前的初始计划行动吧。 |
| It wasn't long ago. | 时间并不长。 |
| I took a picture and printed it out at school! | 我拍了一张照片,然后在学校里打印出来了! |
| After a couple of minutes, I heard a scream from the kitchen... | 几分钟后,我听到厨房传来一声尖叫... |
| Did you check the price of the rice? | 你看过这种米的价格了吗? |
| I hope the other appointments weren't very far apart from each other. | 我希望其它的预约时间点相互间隔得不是很久。 |
| Yes, I thought about moving upstairs. | 是的,我想过搬到楼上去。 |
| What made you change your mind? | 什么让你改变了主意呢? |
| To tell you I came here earlier than we agreed! | 为了告诉你我比我们约定的早到了! |
| I hope you didn't have any *private* pictures on your phone. | 我希望你的手机里没有任何“私密”照片。 |
| I didn't want you to come out for a smoke, actually. | 实际上,我要你出来不是为了抽烟的。 |
| They're fine, we played a game called *catch the wasp*! | 他们很好,我们玩了一个叫*抓黄蜂*的游戏! |
| I called you at least ten times! | 我给你打了至少10次! |
| Didn't I just say the same thing? | 我刚才说的不是一回事吗? |
| Do you remember what number it was? | 你记得它的门牌号是多少吗? |
| Did anything happen to you? | 有伤到你吗? |