The past simple tense, also known as the simple past, the past tense, or the preterite, is the basic past tense in the English language. It expresses completed actions in the recent and distant past.
The duration of action is not important in the past simple. Instead, we emphasize when it took place.
Rule 1: To form the past simple tense, you should use the past simple form of the main verb and an auxiliary verb did in negative and interrogative sentences.
It uses past tense form for irregular verbs and ending -ed for regular verbs.
Example
Explanation
She showed me pictures of her baby.
The verb show is regular, so you should add the ending ed to form the simple past.
He drove a new car today.
The verb drive is irregular, so it requires using past tense form drove to form the past simple.
Uses
Rule 2: You can use the past simple to talk about actions that happened once or repeatedly in the past.
Example
Explanation
I joined a yoga class last month.
Last month indicates that the action happened once in the past.
Rule 3: You can use the past simple to talk about actions that happened one after the other in the past.
Example
Explanation
I joined a yoga class, went to a couple of sessions, and decided it's not my thing.
All the actions mentioned in the sentence happened one after the other in the past.
Rule 4: You should use the past simple in conjunction with the past continuous to describe a new action interrupting an action that was already taking place.
Example
Explanation
I was speaking to my friend when my mother entered the room.
The first part of the sentence is formed by using the past continuos to describe the action that has been already taking place when a new action, formed by using the past simple, interrupted it.
Rule 5: You should use the past simple in the second conditional.
Example
Explanation
If I spoke Spanish, I would like to go on holiday to Mexico.
In the first part of the sentence, the past tense is used to talk about an unlikely or imaginary condition and its result in the second part.
Conjugation
To Be
Rule 6: The verb be is irregular, so you need to remember its conjugation by heart:
| Person | Positive | Negative | Question |
|---|---|---|---|
| I/he/she/it | I was | I was not | Was I? |
| you/we/they | You were | You were not | Were you? |
| Person | Positive | Negative | Question |
|---|---|---|---|
| I/he/she/it | I was | I was not | Was I? |
| you/we/they | You were | You were not | Were you? |
Other Verbs
Rule 7: The conjugation of verbs in the past simple is the same for all forms.
Here is the conjugation of both regular and irregular verbs in the past simple tense in positive, negative, and interrogative sentences.
| Verb | Positive | Negative | Question |
|---|---|---|---|
| Regular | I played | I did not play | Did I play? |
| Irregular | I sang | I did not sing | Did I sing? |
| Verb | Positive | Negative | Question |
|---|---|---|---|
| Regular | I played | I did not play | Did I play? |
| Irregular | I sang | I did not sing | Did I sing? |
Note: You should always use the infinitive of the verb after the auxiliary verbs did and didn’t.
Contractions
Rule 8: You can only use contractions in the negative sentences in the past simple.
| Long form | Contraction |
|---|---|
| was not | wasn't |
| were not | weren't |
| did not | didn't |
| Long form | Contraction |
|---|---|
| was not | wasn't |
| were not | weren't |
| did not | didn't |
Signal Words
The expressions of time and adverbs of frequency can be used in the past simple to indicate when the action happened.
Time expressions are yesterday, last week, last month, an hour ago, a long time ago, in 1975, the other day, etc.
Frequency adverbs include always, never, sometimes, often, rarely, etc.
Quiz
1/4
Complete the sentence. He ___ an hour ago.
0
correct answers.