The Past Simple Tense

Past Simple Tense form:

(also called the simple past tense)

It's similar to the present simple because it has different rules for the verb 'be', which becomes 'was' or 'were':

The Past Simple with 'be'

Here's how to make the positive:

Positive with 'be'

I was cold

you were tired

he was in the garden

she was late

it was sunny

we were on holiday

they were hungry

 to make the negative with 'be', just add 'not': 

Negative with 'be'	Negative Short Form
I was not sleepy	I wasn't sleepy
you were not on the bus	you weren't on the bus
he was not at school	he wasn't at school
she was not beautiful	she wasn't beautiful
it was not cold	it wasn't cold
we were not at work	we weren't at work
they were not tired	they weren't tired

To make a question, just like the present simple, we change the position of 'was / were' and the subject.

Here are the past simple 'yes / no' questions with 'be':

'Yes / No' Questions with 'Be'

was I sleepy?

were you late?

was he at the cinema?

was she kind?

was it hot?

were we hungry?

were they at work?

And the 'wh' questions with 'be' (the question word just goes at the beginning, everything else is the same):

'Wh' Questions with 'Be'

why was I sleepy?

where were you?

when was he at the cinema?

how was she?

how was it?

why were we hungry?

when were they at work?

The Past Simple (Simple Past) with Other Verbs

We make the past simple just like the present simple except we use 'did' instead of 'do / does'. It's really easy because 'did' doesn't change, even with 'he / she / it'.

The positive: 

We usually make the positive by adding '-ed' to the infinitive. For example, 'play' becomes 'played'. However, there are some irregular verbs, for example 'go' becomes 'went' and 'run' becomes 'ran'.

(Here's some help if you are not sure how to pronounce '-ed' at the end of a verb).

Positive with Other Verbs

I walked (regular)

you played (regular)

he cooked (regular)

she listened (regular)

it rained (regular)

we ate (irregular)

they drank (irregular)

In the negative there aren't any irregular verbs. All verbs use 'did not (didn't) + infinitive':

Negative	Negative Short Form
I did not walk	I didn't walk
you did not play	you didn't play
he did not cook	he didn't cook
she did not listen	she didn't listen
it did not rain	it didn't rain
we did not eat	we didn't eat
they did not drink	they didn't drink

Questions are also very easy. Just put 'did' before the subject, and the infinitive after it.

Here are the 'yes / no' questions: 

'Yes / No' Questions

did I walk?

did you play?

did he cook?

did she listen?

did it rain?

did we eat?

did they drink?

To make a 'wh' question, of course, put the question word at the beginning of the sentence:

'Wh' Questions

where did I go?

what did you play?

what did he cook?

why did she listen?

when did it rain?

where did we eat?

how did they Travel?

Past Simple Use:

When do we need to use the past simple tense in English? Remember, this is the basic past tense. We use it whenever we want to talk about the past and we don't have any special situation that means we should use the past perfect, present perfect, past continuous etc.

Here's when we use it:

1	Finished events in the past with no connection to the present: Leonardo painted the Mona Lisa. The Vikings invaded Britain.
2	With a finished time word (yesterday, last week, at 2 o’clock, in 2003): I went to the cinema yesterday. We visited Japan in 2007.
3	For stories / lists of events: He went to a café, sat down and lit a cigarette. Yesterday I went to the library, met a friend for lunch, and played tennis.
4	Details of news: I’ve hurt my leg. I fell off a ladder when I was painting my bedroom. I've been on holiday. I went to Spain and Portugal.
5	As part of the second conditional: If I won the lottery, I would buy a house in Chelsea. If she knew his number, she would call him.