Past Simple Tense

The past simple tense is used to describe actions or events that happened and were completed at a specific point in the past. It is one of the most commonly used tenses in English and is essential for talking about past experiences, events, and activities.

 
Structure

Affirmative Sentences

 Subject + past form of the verb ( Regular verbs + ed) (Irregular Verbs – V2)

Examples:

  • “I visited my grandparents last weekend.”
  • “She finished her homework yesterday.”
  • “They watched a movie last night.”

 

Negative Sentences

Subject + did not (didn’t) + base form of the verb

Examples:

  • “I did not (didn’t) visit my grandparents last weekend.”
  • “She did not (didn’t) finish her homework yesterday.”
  • “They did not (didn’t) watch a movie last night.”

 

Interrogative Sentences

Did + subject + base form of the verb?

Examples:

  • “Did you visit your grandparents last weekend?”
  • “Did she finish her homework yesterday?”
  • “Did they watch a movie last night?”
 
Regular and Irregular Verbs


Regular Verbs: Form the past simple by adding “-ed” to the base form of the verb.

Examples:

  • “walk” becomes “walked”
  • “talk” becomes “talked”
  • “clean” becomes “cleaned”


Irregular Verbs: Do not follow a specific pattern and have unique past forms.

Examples:

  • “go” becomes “went”
  • “eat” becomes “ate”
  • “see” becomes “saw”


Time Expressions Used with Past Simple

Common time expressions used with the past simple tense include:

  • “yesterday”
  • “last night/week/month/year”
  • “ago” (e.g., “two days ago”
  • “in year/month” (e.g., “in 2020”)
Examples in Context
  • “I visited Paris last summer.”
  • “She studied hard for the exam.”
  • “They played football yesterday.”

  • “I did not (didn’t) visit Paris last summer.”
  • “She did not (didn’t) study hard for the exam.”
  • “They did not (didn’t) play football yesterday.”
  • “Did you visit Paris last summer?”
  • “Did she study hard for the exam?”
  • “Did they play football yesterday?”
    Examples with Time Expressions

    Yesterday:

    • “I called my friend yesterday.”
    • “She cooked dinner yesterday.“

    Last Week/Month/Year:

    • “They went to the beach last week.”
    • “He moved to a new city last year.”

    Ago:

    • “I finished the book two days ago.“
    • “They met five years ago.“

    In Year/Month:

    • “She was born in 1995.”
    • “We traveled to Italy in July.”