







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 forget something, dear? | 难道你没忘说什么吗,亲爱的? |
| I'm almost at Brighton! Why didn't you inform me earlier? | 我就快到布莱顿了!你为什么不早点通知我? |
| Hello, I booked a table for two in the name of Cate for 20:30. | 你好,我订了8点半的2人桌,名字是凯特。 |
| I don't know, it was like 10. | 我不知道,好像是10点。 |
| It's good you called me before you came today. | 好的是在你来之前打给我。 |
| But didn't we already buy the cheese grated? | 但是我们不是已经买了磨碎的奶酪了吗? |
| It happened later in the movie, I mean the story. | 这是电影后面发生的,我指的是故事。 |
| We were just about to talk about leaving the house. | 我们刚才正在谈离开房子的事。 |
| I have to say, your checking the heaters lie wasn't very clever. | 我不得不说,你撒谎检查暖气可以不怎么高明。 |
| I thought your laptop was worth a cigarette! | 我觉得你的笔记本电脑值一根烟! |
| What happened? Who was that? | 怎么了?谁来的电话? |
| Wow! Did you just agree to get a new house? | 哇呜!你这是同意组一个新的房子了吗? |
| Did you get yourself a cappuccino, too? | 你自己也点的卡布奇诺吗? |
| And now you've woken me up just when I was about to sleep! | 而现在我刚要睡着,就被你们给吵醒了! |
| Because it's in my bag, I didn't hear it. | 因为手机在我包里,我没听到。 |
| You know we talked about bringing Pogo here one day. | 你记得我们提过有一天要把波哥带到这里来。 |
| When did it happen exactly? | 准确说什么时候发生的? |
| I saw a coffee shop just outside the station. | 我刚看到一间咖啡馆,就在车站的外面。 |
| I used the same logic as you... | 我用了和你一样的逻辑... |
| I see... at least you weren't far from home. | 我知道了... 至少你离家不远。 |