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 so easy, I can't believe it worked! | 这太简单了,我不敢相信这起作用了! |
Good morning my friend, did I wake you up? | 早上好,我的朋友,我吵醒你了吗? |
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? |
There was nothing wrong with you at the shop. | 你在商店的时候还是好好的。 |
I found out we didn't have many things in the fridge. | 我发现冰箱里没有很多东西。 |
I only went to the kitchen and no one was there. | 我只去过厨房,没人在那里。 |
Oh, that's a relief, did you get rid of it? | 噢,那就放心了,你把它甩掉了吗? |
I left it on this chair! | 我把它放在这张椅子上了。 |
I didn't want to risk it. | 我可不想冒险。 |
You didn't tell me anything about that... | 你怎么什么都没跟我说... |
No, don't worry, nothing happened to him. | 没有,别担心,他什么也没发生。 |
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。 |
It was a total disaster! | 那简直是一场灾难! |
You nearly gave me a heart attack! | 你差点让我心脏病发作了! |
She was yelling at me like how dirty we were... | 她朝我大吼,像我们有多脏... |
The book was too big for my bag, it didn't fit! | 那本书太大了,我的包包装不下! |
Plus you drank half of my bottle of wine! | 而且你还喝了我的半瓶葡萄酒! |
Well, as I finished most things while you weren't here. | 好吧,在你不在的时候我已经做完了大部分事情。 |
Then suddenly, a vicious dog just came and... | 然后突然之间,一条很凶恶的狗就这样冲了出来... |
I called you at least ten times! | 我给你打了至少10次! |