The Past Simple Tense

Let's read about a past event!

Yesterday, my friend and I walked to the cinema. We watched a great movie and ate a lot of popcorn. After the movie, we went for a coffee. It was a really fun day.

When to Use the Past Simple

We use the past simple for actions that were completed at a specific time in the past.

A single completed action in the past.
Example: "I visited my grandparents last weekend."
A series of completed actions in the past.
Example: "I woke up, ate breakfast, and went to work this morning."
Past habits or states.
Example: "He played the piano when he was a child."

Common Time Indicators

Look for these words and phrases to know when to use the past simple:

Yesterday: "I saw her yesterday."
Last week/month/year: "We went on holiday last year."
... ago: "They finished the project three days ago."
In 2020: "He graduated from university in 2020."
This morning/afternoon/evening: (if the time is finished) "I drank a coffee this morning."

Forming the Past Simple

Regular Verbs

For regular verbs, we simply add -ed to the base form.
Examples: play → played, walk → walked, watch → watched.

Irregular Verbs

These verbs don't follow the `-ed` rule. You need to memorize their past simple forms.
Examples: go → went, see → saw, eat → ate, be → was/were.

For **negative** and **interrogative** forms, we use the auxiliary verb did for all subjects.

Negative (-)

Use did not or didn't + the **base form** of the verb.
Example: "He didn't play soccer yesterday."

Interrogative (?)

Use Did + subject + the **base form** of the verb?
Example: "Did she go to the party last night?"

Practice Time!

Fill in the blanks with the correct past simple form of the verb.

Quick Summary

Form	Regular Verbs	Irregular Verbs
Affirmative	verb + -ed	memorize the form (e.g., go → went)
Negative	did not / didn't + base verb
Interrogative	Did + subject + base verb?