What is the Past Simple?
The Past Simple is used to talk about:
- Completed actions at a specific time in the past
- A sequence of events that happened one after another
- Past habits and states that no longer exist
The key feature is that the action is finished and disconnected from the present. We either know or can infer when it happened.
Form
Positive — Regular Verbs
Regular verbs add -ed to form the past simple.
| Rule | Base form | Past Simple |
|---|---|---|
| Most verbs | work, play, watch | worked, played, watched |
| Ending in -e | live, like, arrive | lived, liked, arrived |
| Consonant + -y | study, carry, try | studied, carried, tried |
| Short CVC verbs | stop, plan, drop | stopped, planned, dropped |
She worked late yesterday.
They arrived at midnight.
He studied medicine for six years.
Positive — Irregular Verbs
Many common verbs have irregular past forms that must be memorised.
| Base form | Past Simple | Base form | Past Simple |
|---|---|---|---|
| go | went | see | saw |
| come | came | say | said |
| get | got | know | knew |
| make | made | think | thought |
| take | took | find | found |
| give | gave | leave | left |
| have | had | buy | bought |
| do | did | tell | told |
| eat | ate | hear | heard |
| write | wrote | meet | met |
| read | read (pronounced "red") | feel | felt |
| begin | began | put | put |
She went to the market this morning.
I had a great time at the party.
He wrote his first novel at twenty-two.
Negative
For all verbs (regular and irregular), use did not (didn't) + base form.
| Subject | Structure | Example |
|---|---|---|
| All subjects | didn't + base form | I didn't go. / She didn't know. |
I didn't enjoy the film.
He didn't come to work yesterday.
They didn't understand the question.
⚠️ After didn't, always use the base form — never the past form:
- ✗ She didn't went. → ✓ She didn't go.
Questions and Short Answers
| Question | Positive answer | Negative answer |
|---|---|---|
| Did you see her? | Yes, I did. | No, I didn't. |
| Did he call? | Yes, he did. | No, he didn't. |
| Did they enjoy it? | Yes, they did. | No, they didn't. |
"Did you have a good journey?" "Yes, I did, thanks."
"Did she pass the exam?" "No, she didn't. She failed by two points."
Wh- Questions
| Structure | Example |
|---|---|
| Wh- word + did + subject + base verb | Where did you go last night? |
| What did she say? | |
| Why did they leave early? | |
| Who / What as subject (no did) | Who told you that? |
| What happened next? |
Core Uses
Use 1 — A completed action at a specific time in the past
I visited my parents last weekend.
She graduated in 2019.
The meeting started at nine and ended at eleven.
Columbus arrived in the Americas in 1492.
Use 2 — A sequence of completed past events
I woke up, had a shower, made coffee, and left the house.
She walked into the room, looked around, and sat down.
He opened the letter, read it twice, and then called his lawyer.
Use 3 — Past habits and states (no longer true)
When I was a child, I played football every day.
She lived in London for five years.
He worked at that company until he retired.
⚠️ For past habits, used to is also common at B1+: I used to play football every day.
Key Time Expressions
| Expression | Example |
|---|---|
| yesterday | I called her yesterday. |
| last night / week / month / year | He left last Tuesday. |
| [number] ago | We met three years ago. |
| in [year] | She was born in 1995. |
| at [time] | The fire started at 2 a.m. |
| on [day/date] | They arrived on Monday. |
| when | When I was young, we didn't have smartphones. |
| then / after that / next | We had dinner, then we went for a walk. |
Past Simple vs. Present Perfect
| Past Simple | Present Perfect |
|---|---|
| Specific past time (stated or implied) | No specific past time, or time up to now |
| Finished, disconnected from present | Still connected to the present |
| She left this morning. (specific time) | She has left. (she is gone now — relevant now) |
| I saw him yesterday. | I have seen that film. (life experience) |
| Did you eat? (asking about a specific time) | Have you eaten? (asking about today so far) |
Common Errors and How to Fix Them
| ✗ Incorrect | ✓ Correct | Why |
|---|---|---|
| She didn't went to school. | She didn't go to school. | After didn't → base form |
| Did he came? | Did* he come*? | After did → base form |
| I have seen him yesterday. | I saw him yesterday. | Specific past time → Past Simple |
| When did you have arrived? | When did you arrive? | Questions use did + base form |
| Who did tell you? | Who told you? | Who as subject — no did needed |
| He goed to Paris. | He went to Paris. | go is irregular → went |
Real-World Examples
Recounting a day:
I got up at seven, had breakfast, and took the bus to work. The meeting started at nine. Afterwards, I had lunch with a colleague and went back to the office.
Telling a story:
One evening, a man walked into a café. He sat down, ordered a coffee, and opened his newspaper. Nobody noticed that he left without paying.
Talking about a holiday:
"Where did you go on holiday?" "We went to Japan. We stayed for two weeks and visited Kyoto and Tokyo."
Historical facts:
The First World War ended in 1918. The Berlin Wall fell in 1989.
Summary
| Use | Signal words | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Completed past action | yesterday, last week, ago, in [year] | She left yesterday. |
| Sequence of past events | then, after that, next, first | He sat down and opened his laptop. |
| Past habit / state | when I was young, for [period] | We lived in the countryside for a year. |
💡 The key question: Is there a finished time frame in the past?
If yes → Past Simple.
If the action connects to the present → Present Perfect.