







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 | |
|---|---|
| When did it happen exactly? | 准确说什么时候发生的? |
| You nearly gave me a heart attack! | 你差点让我心脏病发作了! |
| My housemates once had a dog, too. | 我的室友之前也养了一只狗。 |
| Also I caught the wasp before they managed to get stung. | 而且我在他们被蜇之前,抓住了黄蜂。 |
| Yeah, normally... But I'm too sick to go to work so I took the day off. | 是的,通常是... 但是我病的很严重不能去上班就请了1天假。 |
| How come? We just called this morning! | 怎么会?我早上才打的电话! |
| Because you didn't remind me! | 因为你没有提醒我! |
| 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。 |
| What brought you to London? | 是怎样的机缘使你来到了伦敦? |
| 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。 |
| Yeah, I know that, I got this place because I was in a hurry. | 是的,我知道,我当时租这里是因为我很急。 |
| Hmm, I guess it was about 5 or 6 months ago. | 嗯,我想大概5,6个月前。 |
| Have fun, Diego, it was nice to meet you. | 玩得开心,迭戈,很高兴认识你。 |
| I hadn't realised you could remember things so fast before! | 我没想到你对之前的事情记得这么清楚! |
| I called you at least ten times! | 我给你打了至少10次! |
| But I really wanted to go there tonight. | 但是我今晚真的想去那里。 |
| So you already knew the cat was here before you came. | 所有在你来之前,你就知道这里有猫。 |
| No, I didn't have much money in it. | 不是,钱包里并没有很多钱。 |
| It seems I forgot to turn it on after I plugged it into the charger! | 看来是我冲上电后,忘记开机了! |
| But unfortunately, they didn't! | 但不幸的是,他们没有! |