







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 | |
|---|---|
| That was a strange conversation... What did they say? | 好奇怪的对话... 他们说什么? |
| Look at that, it splashed water all over me! | 看看,水溅了我一身! |
| Erm... yes, we kind of did... we broke up! | 呃...是的,基本上解决了...我们分手了! |
| Welcome, tonight we reserved one of our best tables for you! | 欢迎,今晚我们为您留了一个我们最好的桌子之一! |
| 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。 |
| For no reason? How did she go mental? | 无缘无故?她是怎么发神经的? |
| We should've checked inside the oven before we turned it on. | 我们打开烤箱之前应当检查一下里面。 |
| When I first came to England, I thought it was a holiday only for banks. | 当我第一次来英国的时候,我还以为那只是银行才会享有的假日。 |
| Didn't you forget something, dear? | 难道你没忘说什么吗,亲爱的? |
| Yes, I did, did you? | 是的,睡得不错,你呢? |
| 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? |
| I checked the train schedule on the internet. | 我在网上查过火车时刻表。 |
| What happened? Did you break a bottle? | 发生什么事了?你打碎瓶子了? |
| 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 thought about moving upstairs. | 是的,我想过搬到楼上去。 |
| I didn't say monthly! I meant paying 100 more each daily... | 我不是说每个月!我的意思是每天多付100... |
| Yeah, everything is fine, I just came here to... | 是的,一切都好,我只是来这里... |
| I met him last week at the vet. | 我上周在兽医诊所认识的朋友。 |
| Very funny, I think you just killed some time there. | 非常好笑,我想你在那里杀死了一些时间。 |
| 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。 |