The Past Simple Tense https://www.gingersoftware.com/content/grammar-rules/verbs/the-past...

The Past Simple Tense

Spe lling Tip

Regular verbs in the past simple

Add ed to most verbs. Ex. talk > talked , employ > employed
If a short verb ends w ith a consonant-vow el-consonant, double the last
letter and then add ed. Ex. stop > stopped, top > topped
How ever, do not double the last letter if the verb ends in w , x or y. Ex. play >
played, mix > mixed.

In longer w ords, if the last syllable of the verb ends w ith a consonant-vow el-
consonant and that syllable is stressed, double the last consonant and then
add ed. Ex. pref er > pref erred
How ever, do not double the last letter if the f irst syllable is stressed. Ex.
enter > entered
If the verb ends in e, just add d. Ex. create > created , live > lived
If the verb ends in a consonant + y, change the y to i and add ed. Ex. try >
tried

The past simple tense is quite straightf orw ard. The main problem is its spelling
rules, w hich you’ll f ind below .

We use the past simple to describe an action that started in the past and ended
in the past. It could be something that happened tw enty years ago or something
that happened tw o minutes ago. It started. It stopped. It’s over.

1. I vis ite d a client in London yesterday.

2. She planne d the event all by herself .

The most common time expressions used f or the past simple are: yesterday, a
w eek (month, year) ago, last (month, year, w eekend, Monday) night, the day
bef ore yesterday, tw o days (months, years) ago. The time expression appears
either at the beginning or at the end of the sentence – never in the middle of the
sentence.

Form ing the Pas t Sim ple

Verb + d, ed, ied

Subject or irregular form Rest of Sentence
(V2)

I / He / She / It You / We to the shop

walked
/ They yesterday

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Verb + d, ed, ied

Subject or irregular form Rest of Sentence
(V2)

slept late last Saturday

The past simple is usually f ormed by adding d, ed, or ied to the base f orm of the
verb, how ever, in English there are many irregular verbs that take on a
completely dif f erent f orm in the past tense. Some people call this the V2 f orm of
the verb. The best thing to do is to try and memorize them.

Negative Sentences in the Past Simple

Tense
Spe lling Tip

When shortening the 3rd person (he, she, it) negative, just remove the o in not
and add an apostrophe (‘)
did not > didn’t

To create a negative sentence in the past simple, use didn’t (did not) + the base
f orm of the verb.

Note: Save the long f orms (did not) f or w hen you w ant to create emphasis.
When speaking, put the stress on ‘not’.

didn’t + verb in the Rest of

Subject
base form Sentence

to the shop
didn’t walk
yesterday
I / He / She / It You /
We / They
late last
didn’t sleep
Saturday

1. I didn’t talk to John yesterday.

2. He didn’t s te al those ideas f rom the company.
3. You didn’t s how me the photos f rom the w edding.
4. Ron did not s ign the document.

Yes/No Questions in the Past Simple

To create a question that w ill be answ ered w ith a yes or no, start the question
w ith Did, then add a subject (the person or thing that does the action) f ollow ed

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by the base f orm of the verb and only then add the rest of the sentence.

Auxiliary verb in base rest of

Subject
Verb form sentence

I / you / we / to the shop

walk
they yesterday
Did
late last
he / she / it sleep
Saturday

1. Did you as k Tina to go out w ith you?

2. Did the employees s tay late again last night?
3. Did Rob finis h his assignment yesterday?

Wh-Questions in the Past Simple

Wh- questions are questions that require more inf ormation in their answ ers.
Typical w h- w ords are w hat, w here, w hen, w hy, w ho, how , how many, how
much.

To create a w h-question, start w ith the w h-w ord, then add did (or didn’t f or a
negative question), then the subject (a person or thing that does the action),
f ollow ed by the base f orm of the verb and only then add the rest of the
sentence.

Wh- auxiliary verb in rest of

subject
word verb base form sentence

What did I / you / we sell the house

/ they
he / she /
Why didn’t it rescue me

1. Whe n did you buy that sw eater?

2. Why did the computer bre ak dow n?
3. How long did the train journey tak e ?
4. Why didn’t you te ll me about the accident?

Tag Questions in the Past Simple

Tag questions are those short questions that are tagged onto the end of a
sentence. They are used just to make sure the person you’re talking to
understood w hat you meant or to emphasize w hat you said.

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They’re f ormed either by using a positive sentence in the past simple and then
adding didn’t, a pronoun (I, you, w e, they, he, she, it) and a question mark.

1. John scored a goal, didn’t he ?

2. Their dogs barked all night, didn’t the y?

You may also add a positive tag w hen you’re using a negative sentence.

1. Kate didn’t take out the rubbish bin, did s he ?

2. The girls didn’t copy on the exam, did the y?

As a rule: When the sentence is positive, the tag is negative.

When the sentence is negative, the tag is positive.

Exercises with the Past Simple Tense

Fill in the correct f orm of the verb in the past simple as in the examples.

1. David saw his History prof essor at the supermarket tw o days

ago. (see)
2. I didn’t know your e-mail address, so I phoned instead. (not
know /phone)
3. Did you get the message I lef t the day bef ore yesterday?

1. I _______ a great book last w eek. (read)

2. _______ Adam ______ the jacket that he _______ at the party? (f ind /
leave)
3. Why _______ you__________ f or me at the bar yesterday evening?
(not w ait)
4. I _________ f or over an hour, but you never __________ up! (w ait /
show )
5. My f riends _________ to New Delhi via Mumbai a w eek ago. (f ly)
6. Teresa ___________ the last train, _______________? (catch)
7. The sunset _________ beautif ul last night. (be)
8. _______ they _________ the client’s deadline yesterday? (meet)
9. When _____ he ___________ f rom med school? (graduate)
10. Ella ___________ to get a hold of you, but you ________ home. (try/not
be)

Answ ers:

1. read 2. Did/f ind/lef t 3. didn’t/w ait 4. w aited/show ed

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Examples
5. f lew – Past
6. caught/ didn’tSimple
she 7. w as 8. Did/meet
9. did/graduate 10. tried/w eren’t
Pos itive

1. I visited a client in London yesterday.

2. She planned the event all by herself .

Ne gative

1. I didn’t talk to John yesterday.

2. He didn’t steal those ideas f rom the company.
3. You didn’t show me the photos f rom the w edding.
4. Ron did not sign the document.

Ye s /No Que s tions

1. Did you ask Tina to go out w ith you?

2. Did the employees stay late again last night?
3. Did Rob f inish his assignment yesterday?

Wh-Que s tions

1. When did you buy that sw eater?

2. Why did the computer break dow n?
3. How long did the train journey take?
4. Why didn’t you tell me about the accident?

Tag Que s tions

1. John scored a goal, didn’t he?

2. Their dogs barked all night, didn’t they?
3. Kate didn’t take out the rubbish bin, did she?
4. The girls didn’t copy on the exam, did they?

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