How do we make the Simple Past Tense?

To make the simple past tense, we use:

past form only
or
auxiliary did + base form

Here you can see examples of the past form and base form for irregular verbs and regular verbs:

	V1 base	V2 past	V3 past participle
regular verb	work explode like	worked exploded liked	worked exploded liked	The past form for all regular verbs ends in -ed.
irregular verb	go see sing	went saw sang	gone seen sung	The past form for irregular verbs is variable. You need to learn it by heart.
			You do not need the past participle form to make the simple past tense. It is shown here for completeness only.

The structure for positive sentences in the simple past tense is:

subject	+	main verb
		past

The structure for negative sentences in the simple past tense is:

subject	+	auxiliary verb	+	not	+	main verb
		did				base

The structure for question sentences in the simple past tense is:

auxiliary verb	+	subject	+	main verb
did				base

The auxiliary verb did is not conjugated. It is the same for all persons (I did, you did, he did etc). And the base form and past form do not change. Look at these examples with the main verbs go and work:

	subject	auxiliary verb		main verb
+	I			went	to school.
+	You			worked	very hard.
-	She	did	not	go	with me.
-	We	did	not	work	yesterday.
?	Did	you		go	to London?
?	Did	they		work	at home?

Exception! The verb to be is different. We conjugate the verb to be (I was, you were, he/she/it was, we were, they were); and we do not use an auxiliary for negative and question sentences. To make a question, we exchange the subject and verb. Look at these examples:

subject main verb
+ I, he/she/it was here.
You, we, they were in London.
- I, he/she/it was not there.
You, we, they were not happy.
? Was I, he/she/it right?
Were you, we, they late?

How do we use the Simple Past Tense?

We use the simple past tense to talk about an action or a situation - an event - in the past. The event can be short or long.

Here are some short events with the simple past tense:

The car exploded at 9.30am yesterday.
She went to the door.
We did not hear the telephone.
Did you see that car?

past

present

future

The action is in the past.

Here are some long events with the simple past tense:

I lived in Bangkok for 10 years.
The Jurassic period lasted about 62 million years.
We did not sing at the concert.
Did you watch TV last night?

past

present

future

The action is in the past.

Notice that it does not matter how long ago the event is: it can be a few minutes or seconds in the past, or millions of years in the past. Also it does not matter how long the event is. It can be a few milliseconds (car explosion) or millions of years (Jurassic period). We use the simple past tense when:

the event is in the past
the event is completely finished
we say (or understand) the time and/or place of the event

In general, if we say the time or place of the event, we must use the simple past tense; we cannot use the present perfect.

Here are some more examples:

I lived in that house when I was young.
He didn't like the movie.
What did you eat for dinner?
John drove to London on Monday.
Mary did not go to work yesterday.
Did you play tennis last week?
I was at work yesterday.
We were not late (for the train).
Were you angry?

Note that when we tell a story, we usually use the simple past tense. We may use the past continuous tense to "set the scene", but we almost always use the simple past tense for the action. Look at this example of the beginning of a story:

"The wind was howling around the hotel and the rain was pouring down. It was cold. The door opened and James Bond entered. He took off his coat, which was very wet, and ordered a drink at the bar. He sat down in the corner of the lounge and quietly drank his..."

This page shows the use of the simple past tense to talk about past events. But note that there are some other uses for the simple past tense, for example in conditional or if sentences.

Simple Past Tense Quiz

1 I ______ to the mall after school.
Option:
goed
went
gone
Answer:went

2 My brother ______ a bear an hour ago.
Option:
seen
saw
sees
Answer:saw

3 ______ Mike visit his grandmother last night?
Option:
Did
Are
Does
Answer:Did

4 Alex did not ______ last weekend.
Option:
work
worked
working
Answer:work

5 ______ Judy and Liz at last month's meeting?
Option:
was
were
are
Answer:were

6 We ______ not happy after the sad ending.
Option:
were
was
did
Answer:were

7 ______ you see Jody's new dog yesterday?
Option:
Are
Did
Do
Answer:Did

8 Sorry, I ______ hear you at the door.
Option:
wasn;t
didm't
am not
Answer:wasn't

9 I ______ English for two years.
Option:
studied
studying
study
Answer:studied

10 What ______ you eat for lunch yesterday?
Option:
do
did
were
Answer:do

Past Tense - Regular Verbs
Type the correct answer in the boxes below.
d ed ied

1. I ______ (walk) to work last week.
walked

2. He ______ (study) computers for five years.
studied

3. They (arrive) late for the party.
arrived

4. We ______ (______) in a ______.
______

5. It ______ (end) at 6 pm.
ended

6. Ellen ______ (wait) for an hour.
waited

7. You ______ (like) the movie. I didn't.
liked

8. Bob ______ (need) that book yesterday.
needed

9. They ______ (use) my new pen.
used

10. The teacher ______ (help) the students after class.
helped

Simple Past Tense - Questions

Put in the correct verb forms and the nouns into the gaps. Use Simple Past.

Example: ____________ their friends? (they/to meet)

Answer: Did they meet their friends?

1) ____________ after the cat? (the dog/to run)
2) ____________ photos when you were on holiday? (you/to take)
3) ____________ to music yesterday evening? (Steven/to listen)
4) ____________ a cup of tea in the café? (the ladies/to have)
5) ____________ text messages during the lesson? (Nancy/to send)
6) ____________ pullovers last Friday? (Melissa and Ruth/to wear)
7) ____________ hello to people in the street? (your brother/to say)
8) ____________ the windows in your classroom? (the teacher/to open)
9) ____________ chess two weeks ago? (the girls in your class/to play)
10) ____________ breakfast last morning? (your mother/to make)

1) Did the dog run after the cat?
2) Did you take photos when you were on holiday?
3) Did Ste__n listen to music yesterday evening?
4) Did the ladies have a cup of tea in the café?
5) Did Nancy send text messages during the lesson?
6) Did Melissa and Ruth wear pullovers last Friday?
7) Did your brother say hello to people in the street?
8) Did the teacher open the windows in your classroom?
9) Did the girls in your class play chess two weeks ago?
10) Did your mother make breakfast last morning?

1) Questions without question words in the Simple Past

Auxiliary	Subject	Verb	Rest	Yes/No	Subject	Auxiliary (+ n't)
Did	Max	play	football?	Yes,	he	did.
Did	Max	play	football?	No,	he	didn't.
Did	you	watch	the film yesterday?	Yes,	I	did.
Did	you	watch	the film yesterday?	No,	I	didn't.

BUT:

to be	Subject	xxx	Rest	Yes/No	Subject	Auxiliary (+ n't)
Were	you		in Leipzig last week?	Yes,	I	was.
Were	you		in Leipzig last week?	No,	I	wasn't.

2) Questions with question words in the Simple Past

Question word	Auxiliary	Subject	Verb	Rest	Answer
What	did	you	do	yesterday evening?	I did my homework.
When	did	she	meet	her boyfriend?	She met him yesterday.
Where	did	they	go	after the match?	They went to a café.

BUT:

Question word	to be	Subject	xxxxx	Rest	Answer
Where	were	you		yesterday?	I was at the cinema.

Simple Past

Examples:

* You called Debbie.
* Did you call Debbie?
* You did not call Debbie.

Complete List of Simple Past Forms
USE 1 Completed Action in the Past

Use the Simple Past to express the idea that an action started and finished at a specific time in the past. Sometimes, the speaker may not actually mention the specific time, but they do have one specific time in mind.

Examples:

* I saw a movie yesterday.
* I didn't see a play yesterday.
* Last year, I traveled to Japan.
* Last year, I didn't travel to Korea.
* Did you have dinner last night?
* She washed her car.
* He didn't wash his car.

USE 2 A Series of Completed Actions

We use the Simple Past to list a series of completed actions in the past. These actions happen 1st, 2nd, 3rd, 4th, and so on.

Examples:

* I finished work, walked to the beach, and found a nice place to swim.
* He arrived from the airport at 8:00, checked into the hotel at 9:00, and met the others at 10:00.
* Did you add flour, pour in the milk, and then add the eggs?

USE 3 Duration in Past

The Simple Past can be used with a duration which starts and stops in the past. A duration is a longer action often indicated by expressions such as: for two years, for five minutes, all day, all year, etc.

Examples:

* I lived in Brazil for two years.
* Shauna studied Japanese for five years.
* They sat at the beach all day.
* They did not stay at the party the entire time.
* We talked on the phone for thirty minutes.
* A: How long did you wait for them?
B: We waited for one hour.

USE 4 Habits in the Past

The Simple Past can also be used to describe a habit which stopped in the past. It can have the same meaning as "used to." To make it clear that we are talking about a habit, we often add expressions such as: always, often, usually, never, when I was a child, when I was younger, etc.

Examples:

* I studied French when I was a child.
* He played the violin.
* He didn't play the piano.
* Did you play a musical instrument when you were a kid?
* She worked at the movie theater after school.
* They never went to school, they always skipped class.

USE 5 Past Facts or Generalizations

The Simple Past can also be used to describe past facts or generalizations which are no longer true. As in USE 4 above, this use of the Simple Past is quite similar to the expression "used to."

Examples:

* She was shy as a child, but now she is very outgoing.
* He didn't like tomatoes before.
* Did you live in Texas when you were a kid?
* People paid much more to make cell phone calls in the past.

IMPORTANT When-Clauses Happen First

Clauses are groups of words which have meaning but are often not complete sentences. Some clauses begin with the word "when" such as "when I dropped my pen..." or "when class began..." These clauses are called when-clauses, and they are very important. The examples below contain when-clauses.

Examples:

* When I paid her one dollar, she answered my question.

* She answered my question when I paid her one dollar.

When-clauses are important because they always happen first when both clauses are in the Simple Past. Both of the examples above mean the same thing: first, I paid her one dollar, and then, she answered my question. It is not important whether "when I paid her one dollar" is at the beginning of the sentence or at the end of the sentence. However, the example below has a different meaning. First, she answered my question, and then, I paid her one dollar.

Example:

* I paid her one dollar when she answered my question.

ADVERB PLACEMENT

The examples below show the placement for grammar adverbs such as: always, only, never, ever, still, just, etc.

Examples:

* You just called Debbie.
* Did you just call Debbie?

ACTIVE / PASSIVE

Examples:

* Tim repaired the car. Active
* The car was repaired by Tim. Passive

	subject	main verb
+	I, he/she/it	was		here.
+	You, we, they	were		in London.
-	I, he/she/it	was	not	there.
-	You, we, they	were	not	happy.
?	Was	I, he/she/it		right?
?	Were	you, we, they		late?