







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 didn't want to risk it. | 我可不想冒险。 |
| 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 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! |
| Anyway, did you have any problems with that girl before? | 不管怎么,你和那女孩之前有什么过节吗? |
| Did you call this one near the station? | 你给靠近车站的那家打电话了吗? |
| At least you didn't waste your whole day off for nothing! | 至少你没有把一整天都浪费掉! |
| Yes, I got some missed call notifications after I turned my phone on! | 是的,我开机后收到了几个未接来电通知! |
| Hi, what did you decide? | 嗨,你们怎么决定? |
| She was yelling at me like how dirty we were... | 她朝我大吼,像我们有多脏... |
| Plus you drank half of my bottle of wine! | 而且你还喝了我的半瓶葡萄酒! |
| For no reason? How did she go mental? | 无缘无故?她是怎么发神经的? |
| 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? |
| Do you need help, how did you search? | 你需要帮助吗,你是怎么搜索的? |
| Didn't you hear what she said? | 难道你没听到她说什么吗? |
| Did you see any fire or smoke around? | 你看到周围有火或者烟吗? |
| No, I got myself a macchiato. | 不是的,我自己喝的是玛奇朵。 |
| Unbelievable, how did you know that? | 难以置信,你是怎么知道的? |
| I don't know, it was like 10. | 我不知道,好像是10点。 |
| If you are allergic to cats, why didn't you talk to me directly? | 如果你对猫过敏,你为什么不直接和我说呢? |
| This was the only one left on the shelf. | 货架上只有这一袋了。 |