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 | |
---|---|
Why didn't you remind me while I was on the phone, then! | 那你为啥不在我打电话时告诉我呢! |
Apparently you f*cked up, then what happened? | 显然你把事情搞砸了,然后发生了什么? |
What was wrong with the last house? | 最后一个房子有什么问题? |
I'm his friend from London, as he mentioned! | 我是他的一位来自伦敦的朋友,如他所说! |
That's interesting, did you also teach them how to cook? | 很有趣,你还会教他们怎么烧菜吗? |
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? |
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! |
Umm, since we met I can count the days I didn't hear you snoring. | 嗯,从我们见面后,你不打呼噜的天数屈指可数。 |
Do you need help, how did you search? | 你需要帮助吗,你是怎么搜索的? |
I got you a cappuccino. | 我带的是卡布奇诺。 |
Today Rebecca called me about... | 今天,瑞贝卡打电话给我,是关于... |
You killed my favourite movie with one punch, dear! | 你一拳杀死了我最爱的电影,亲爱的! |
Look at that, it splashed water all over me! | 看看,水溅了我一身! |
Diego was living in this house and there was a vacancy. | 迪亚哥当时就住在这里,而且还有一个空房间。 |
I'm very surprised you didn't check the wine list before you ordered. | 我非常惊讶,你在点单之前都没有看一下酒单。 |
I'm still shocked... I can't believe what I just heard! | 我还是有点震惊... 我不敢相信刚才听到的事! |
What!? So you complained to Nick about our cat! | 什么!?所有是你向尼克抱怨我们的猫! |
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。 |
Yes, I moved from Brighton about a month ago. | 是的,我在大约1个月前从布莱顿搬了过来。 |
Did you sleep well last night? | 你昨晚睡得好吗? |