Simple Past Tense in English

The simple past tense is used to express:

a) Completed actions

Examples: She finished her homework.

b) Past habits

Examples: I played tennis every Sunday.

c) Past facts or generalizations

Examples: Dinosaurs lived millions of years ago.

d) Sequences of past events

Examples: He woke up, brushed his teeth, and left.

How to Form the Simple Past Tense

a) A. Regular Verbs (Add -ed)

Subject + base verb + ed

Examples: She worked late yesterday.

Spelling Rules for -ed:

Most verbs: add -ed

Examples: walk → walked

Verbs ending in -e: add -d

Examples: live → lived

Verbs ending in consonant + -y: change -y to -ied

Examples: study → studied

One-syllable verbs with short vowel + consonant: double the consonant + -ed

Examples: stop → stopped

b) Irregular Verbs (Must Memorize)

go (Base Verb)→ went

Examples: She went home early.

buy → bought

Examples: They bought a new car.

Some Common Irregular Verbs:

be→was/were * have→had * do→did * take→took * give→gave

Structure of Simple Past Sentences:

a) Affirmative Sentences (Positive)

Subject + Past Verb

Examples: She went to the market.

b) Negative Sentences

Subject + did Not (didn’t) + Base Verb

Examples: They didn’t go to the market.

c) Questions (Interrogative Sentences)

Did + Subject + Base Verb

Examples: Did they go to the market.

When to Use the Simple Past Tense

a) Completed Actions in the Past

Examples: She finished her project last night.

b) Past Habits or Repeated Actions

Examples: I played basketball every weekend as a kid.

c) Past Facts or Generalizations

Examples: People used candles before electricity.

d) Past States (Non-Actions)

Examples: She was a doctor before retiring.

Common Signal Words for Simple Past

These words often indicate the Simple Past Tense:

yesterday

Examples: I saw her yesterday.

last (night / week / month / year)

Examples: We ate pizza last night.

ago

Examples: He left the office two hours ago.

in (past year/date)

Examples: My grandparents met in 1975.

when (past event)

Examples: I cried when I saw the sad ending.

earlier (today / this week)

Examples: I saw him earlier today.

the day before yesterday

Examples: She sent the email the day before yesterday.