Past simple

VERB TENSES

The past simple is used to talk about completed action at a definite time in the past. This time can be expressed with a time adverb or can be understood from the context.

Time adverbs and adverbial phrases (AKA ‘key words’) often used with past simple are as follows:

Key Words

yesterday, LAST summer/Monday/time; 10 minutes/two days AGO; IN winter/July/2002 etc.

Positive sentences are formed using the infinitive + -ED structure; wanted, called, cried, helped.
Questions are formed with DID and negatives with DID not (didn’t) + infinitive.

However, many common verbs have irregular past forms. catch-caught, break-broke, hit-hit, take-took etc.
find the list at the bottom of this page

Forms of Past Simple

Affirmative
I waited.
You waited.
He/she/it waited.
We waited.
They waited.

Negative
I didn’t wait.
You didn’t wait.
He/she/it didn’t wait.
We didn’t wait.
They didn’t wait.

Question
Did I wait?
Did you wait?
Did he/she/it wait?
Did we wait?
Did they wait?

Forms of Verb ‘BE’

Affirmative
I was
You were
He/she/it was
We were
They were

Negative
I was not (wasn’t)
You were not (weren’t)
He/she/it was not (wasn’t)
We were not (weren’t)
They were not (weren’t)

Question
Was I?
Were you?
Was he/she/it?
Were we?
Were they?

USE OF PAST SIMPLE

1

to talk about completed action in the past

Yesterday I met him at the McDonald’s.
Did you see him on Sunday?
I finished the project two hours ago.
He locked the door and left.
When did your train arrive?

2

to talk about a series of completed events in the past

This morning I got up at 6:30, made breakfast for the children and around eight took them to school.
He got into the office, switched on his laptop and started to work.

3

to talk about duration that started and finished in the past

She studied at Princeton for five years. (studies no more there)
Bill Gates worked in his dad’s garage for months when he was 19.
A: How long did you wait for me yesterday? B: For an hour.

4

to refer to a point in the past (usually with past continuous or past perfect tenses)

By the time I arrived to the meeting, most of the guest had already left.
When Jack got home, the police were already waiting for him.
The students had been doing their tests for an hour, when the supervisor told them to stop.
As soon as I saw him, he turned away his head.

5

in conditionals (to talk about hypothetical situations/states in the present/future)

What would you do if you won the lottery?
If I knew the answer, I’d certainly tell it to you.
If you lived nearer, we could meet more often.

6

in unreal tenses (past subjunctive)

If only you loved me more.
I wish you were here.
I would rather you left now.
He seems as if he knew the secret.
It’s high time you bought a new pair of sneakers.

To talk about past habits or states that are no longer true use the ‘USED TO + INFINITIVE’ or ‘WOULD + INFINITIVE’ forms.

I used to travel a lot with my parents when I was a child.
There used to be an old school where a new shopping mall is being built now.
When I was young I used to have a girlfriend. We would walk hand in hand and I would often take her out for dinner.
Nokia used to be the market leader in telecommunication.

Negative forms and questions are also possible with ‘USED TO’
Didn’t she use to have long blond hair?
We never used to go to the theater.
Did she use to come here regularly?

Be careful, ‘WOULDN’T in the past simple could mean ‘not willing or refuse to do something’.

Therefore:
My old car wouldn’t start this morning. (The car didn’t want to start.)
Despite all the evidence, she wouldn’t tell the police where she had been the night before. (she refused to tell…)

100 IRREGULAR VERBS

arise/arose/arisen
be/was(were)/been
beat/beat/beaten
become/became/become
begin/began/begun
bend/bent/bent
bid/bid/bid
bite/bit/bitten
bleed/bled/bled
blow/blew/blown
break/broke/broken
bring/brought/brought
build/built/built
burst/burst/burst
buy/bought/bought
catch/caught/caught
choose/chose/chosen
come/came/come
cost/cost/cost
cut/cut/cut
deal/dealt/dealt
do/did/done
draw/drew/drawn
dream/dreamt/dreamt
drink/drank/drunk

drive/drove/driven
eat/ate/eaten
fall/fell/fallen
feed/fed/fed
feel/felt/felt
fight/fought/fought
find/found/found
flee/fled/fled
fly/flew/flown
forbid/forbade/forbidden
forget/forgot/forgotten
forgive/forgave/forgiven
freeze/froze/frozen
get/got/got
give/gave/given
go/went/gone
grow/grew/grown
have/had/had
hear/heard/heard
hide/hid/hidden
hit/hit/hit
hold/held/held
hurt/hurt/hurt
keep/kept/kept
know/knew/known

lay/laid/laid
lead/led/led
leave/left/left
lend/lent/lent
let/let/let
lie/lie/lie
light/lit/lit
lose/lost/lost
mean/meant/ meant
make/made/made
meet/met/met
mistake/mistook/mistaken
pay/paid/paid
put/put/put
read/read/read
ride/rode/ridden
rise/rose/risen
run/ran/run
say/said/said
see/saw/seen
sell/sold/sold
set/set/set
shake/shook/shaken
shine/shone/shone
shoot/shot/shot

show/showed/shown
shrink/shrank/shrunk
shut/shut/shut
sing/sang/sung
sit/sat/sat
sleep/slept/slept
slide/slid/slid
speak/spoke/spoken
spend/spent/spent
split/split/split
stand/stood/stood
steal/stole/stolen
stick/stuck/stuck
swear/swore/sworn
swim/swam/swum
take/took/taken
teach/taught/taught
tell/told/told
think/thought/thought
throw/threw/thrown
understand/understood/ – “” –
wake/woke/woken
wear/wore/worn
win/won/won
write/wrote/written

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