The simple past tense is sometimes called the preterite tense. We can use several tenses to talk about the past, but the simple past tense is the one we use most often.
In this lesson we look at the structure and use of the simple past tense, followed by a quiz to check your understanding:
A. How do we make the Simple Past Tense?
To make the simple past tense, we use:- past form only
or - auxiliary did + base form
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. |
subject | + | main verb |
past |
subject | + | auxiliary verb | + | not | + | main verb |
did | base |
auxiliary verb | + | subject | + | main verb |
did | base |
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? |
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? |
B. 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. |
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. |
- 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?
"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..."To play the Past Simple Games click here
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