What is the Past Simple?
The past simple expresses:
- Completed actions at a specific time: I visited Paris last year.
- A sequence of past events: She woke up, had breakfast, and left.
- Past habits or states: He played football every Saturday as a child.
Form
Regular verbs: add -ed
| Base | Past Simple |
|---|---|
| work | worked |
| play | played |
| stop | stopped |
| study | studied |
| like | liked |
Spelling rules: same as present simple -ing rules — double final consonant after short vowel (stop → stopped), change -y → -ied (study → studied).
Irregular verbs
Many common verbs have unpredictable past forms. See the Irregular Verbs reference for the full list.
| Base | Past Simple |
|---|---|
| go | went |
| see | saw |
| have | had |
| come | came |
| give | gave |
Negatives and Questions
Use did (the auxiliary) + base verb for negatives and questions.
| Form | |
|---|---|
| Negative | subject + didn't + base verb |
| Question | Did + subject + base verb? |
Time expressions
yesterday, last week/month/year, ago, in 2010, when I was young, once, then
- 1
Is the verb regular or irregular?
Regular → add -ed. Irregular → use the past form from memory. - 2
Negatives: subject + didn't + base verb
They didn't come to the party. - 3
Questions: Did + subject + base verb?
Did you see that film?
Write in past simple: (She / travel / to Spain / last summer)
She travelled to Spain last summer.
Real world: news report
Firefighters battled a blaze in central London yesterday. The fire started at 3 pm and lasted two hours. Nobody was injured.
Real world: history textbook
In 1969, Neil Armstrong landed on the Moon and became the first human to walk on its surface. The Berlin Wall fell in 1989 after 28 years.
Real world: travel blog
Last summer I flew to Tokyo, stayed in a small hostel, and tried sushi for the first time. I didn't want to leave!
Practice Problems
Write in past simple: (We / go / to the cinema yesterday)
Show answer
Make negative: He arrived late.
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Make a question: They played chess.
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What is the past simple of 'break'?