Simple past rules and examples
Simple past
Simple past rules
The Simple past describes a completed action in a time before now and things that happen one after another in the past. Note that the simple past form is the same for all persons.
Examples: Simple Past
First Bob read a book, then he went to bed yesterday night.
Last week I came to a church and then I took the road right.
Actions at a specific time
Simple Past: Actions that happened at a specific time in the past.
Examples simple past tense:
I got a present yesterday. I had in great time in America last year.
Simple past regular verbs
Add -ed to the regular verb. look - looked, watch - watched,
Some verbs you need to change a bit.
Verb ending in... | Add ... | Examplee |
-e | only add - d |
live - lived date - dated |
Consonant +y | Change y to i an add -ed |
carry - carried cry - cried |
1 vowel + 1 consonant |
Double consonant and add -ed |
stop - stopped |
Simple Past regular verbs - examples
Add -ed to the regular verb.
cook - cooked, play - played, wash - washed
-e at the end of the verb: only add -d.
love - loved, live - lived, close - closed, live - lived
Simple past irregular (not regular) verbs
Some verbs are not regular. They are irregular. You should learn them by heart!
Example: Simple Past tense - irregular verbs: | |
begin - began |
fall - fell |
To be - Simple past
Example: Simple Past tense - irregular verbs: to be | |
Simple present |
Simple past |
Simple past signal words
Use the simple past when you say when something happened. See the following signal words:
frequency: often, sometimes, always
We sometimes had no school.
a definite point in time: last week, when I was a child, yesterday, six weeks ago
They were in London last week.
an indefinite point in time: the other day, ages ago, a long time ago
He learned English when he was young.
More simple past signal words: ago, in 2011, in 1999, ... last month, last week, last year, yesterday.
Examples: Simple Past signal words
I ate oranges last year.
We went to school eyery day in 1999.
He took his dog for a walk a month ago.
Simple past - questions
To form a question: 'did' + subject + infinitive.
Examples: questions Simple Past
I ate oranges in 2011. Did I
eat oranges in 2011?
We went to school last week. Did
we go to school last week?
He took his dog for a walk
yesterday. Did he take his dog for a walk
yesterday?
Questions with was/were
Sentences with 'to be' (was/were). Questions with was/were.
She was in London. Was she in London?
They were at the station. Were they at the station?
Simple past negative
Negative sentences simple past: examples short form
I knew Covent Garden? I didn't know Covent Garden.
We went to school eyery day. We didn't go to school every day.
He took his dog for a walk. He didn't take his dog for a walk.
Questions with wasn't/weren't
Negative sentences with wasn't/weren't. Long form, short form.
She was not in Los Angeles.
She wasn't in Los Angeles.
They were not at the station.
They weren't at the station.
Simple past examples
▶ 18 more exercises simple past with free online exercises. Simple past examples and sentences. Online exercises Simple past, questions and simple past negative sentences.