







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 | |
|---|---|
| I wasn't complaining, I just wanted to let you know about it. | 我不是抱怨,我只是让你知道这件事。 |
| Do you remember what number it was? | 你记得它的门牌号是多少吗? |
| Did you check the expiry date? | 你检查过有效期吗? |
| 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。 |
| Then my phone rang and I went to the garden to talk. | 然后我的手机响了,我去花园接电话去了。 |
| That's right, how did we forget that? | 对呀,我们怎么忘了呢? |
| I only managed to get 3 appointments for today. | 今天只得到了3个预约。 |
| It's good you called me before you came today. | 好的是在你来之前打给我。 |
| 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。 |
| 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... |
| Hm, you didn't tell me that before! | 呃,你之前没有告诉我! |
| But then I realized my battery was about to die. | 但之后我意识到我的电池快没电了。 |
| You got it right, cleaning in general! | 你说对了,就是一般的清洁! |
| No, I didn't even know her name, until today. | 没有,我甚至不知道她的名字,直到今天。 |
| I can't believe that, you were a very nice couple! | 我无法相信,你们那时是多么令人羡慕的一对! |
| I left it on this chair! | 我把它放在这张椅子上了。 |
| After I had waited a while, I decided to knock on her door... | 我等了一会儿后,我觉得敲她的门... |
| I didn't realise there was a problem with the toilet! | 我没觉得那个坐便器有问题! |
| Actually, I was going to ask you something at the pub, but Diego interrupted me. | 实际上,我在酒吧想要问你一个问题,但是迭戈打断了我。 |
| I guess you didn't mention that on the ad. | 我想你在广告上没有提到这个。 |