The Past Simple Tense

The past simple tense can cause English learners some problems, especially with all the irregular tenses.

The way it is used is quite straightforward, but it is sometimes used wrongly instead of the present perfect simple. It is used when we are talking about completed events in the past.

“Yesterday I go (instead of went) to the supermarket” is an example of a very common mistake in spoken English.

This post will explain the rules and usage of the past simple tense, along with some phrases and exercises that will help you remember the correct form.

We have also linked to some other posts and pages that will help you with your understanding of this tense.

The Rules

See the following on how to form the simple past. A list of irregular verbs is shown at the bottom of the page.

Affirmative

Forming the Negative

The auxiliary did is used to form the negative – did + not + the infinitive. (I did not play)

• I did not play
• You did not work yesterday
• We did not want to go
• They did not sleep last night

“Did + not” gets contracted in normal speech

• I didn’t play
• You didn’t work yesterday
• We didn’t want to go
• They didn’t sleep last night

Asking Questions

The auxiliary “did” is always used in forming the questions.

• Did I play?
• Did you work last night?
• Did you want to go?
• Did you sleep sleep last night?

Now Let’s Use It

The past simple tense is used when we talk about actions that were completed in the past. We use it with the following expressions: last week, last month, last year, yesterday, five hours ago, two weeks ago etc.

• I went to the cinema last night.
• I had my breakfast a couple of hours ago.
• I last saw Jolene three weeks ago.
• We washed the car last weekend.

The completed action can come in a series of events:

• Yesterday I did my homework, went to the beach, and then saw that new film.

It can also be used to talk about a duration in the past:

• I lived in Spain for two years.

It is used in a similar way to “used to.”

• I played a lot of soccer when I was at school.
• I went the mountains every summer when I was young.

Another way to use the past simple tense is to talk about generalizations in the past, for example, what you were like at school:

• When I was at school I was very shy.

A fantastic and simple exercise to to write about what you did last night, last weekend, last month, last year. Try and include as many different verbs as possible.

If you struggle with the past simple when talking, remember to take your time! There is now rush. Getting it correct slowly the first few times is important. It comes easier the more you say it.

Exercises

Complete the following sentences using the past simple; the answers are below (no cheating!)

Questions:

1. I ______ (go) to the shops yesterday.

2. They ______ (buy) a new car with their winnings.

3. _______ (he / win) the tennis game?

4. I ______ (no / teach) any classes last week.

5. We ______ (play) tennis every day when I was in high school.

6. I ______ (drink) a lot last night.

7. He only ______ (wake up) at 11am this morning, he ______ (miss) his class.

8. ______ (she / spend) a lot of time in Brazil?

9. They finally ______ (find) it under the sofa.

10. I ______ (like) going to international restaurants when I lived in Madrid.

Answers

1. went
2. bought
3. Did he win
4. I didn’t teach
5. played
6. drank
7. woke up / missed
8. Did she spend
9. found
10. liked

Further Learning

The past simple is easy to practice as we are constantly talking about the past. Whenever I start a class with one of my students I always ask what they did last weekend or the day before.

Instead of learning all the irregular verbs off by heart it is better to expose yourself more to the past simple and learn the different sentences and structures in context. Because a lot of the irregular verbs are very common, you will soon learn these just through practice. We don’t recommend that you try to memorize the different conjugations (unless you need to for an exam).

Let’s take a look at some ways that you can improve your past tense:

1. One of the hardest parts of the this tense is the pronunciation of the regular verbs. Take a look at this link to help you with the pronunciation. Being able to pronounce the three different sounds will greatly help your English.

2. Read stories in that describe situations in the past. This story looks is a great way to practice and especially looks at the difference between the past simple and the past continuous.

3. Listen and read more English that use the past tense (most things that you watch or read will have lots of sentences that use the tense).

Irregular Verbs

As you probably already know, there are also many irregular verbs in English for the past tense. Here are some of the most common ones.