1) Use
❖ We use the past simple:
- For actions that finished in the past.
Example:
I bought a new phone yesterday.
- For repeated actions in the past.
Example:
When I was a boy, I played football every week.
2) How to form the past simple
- We add -ed or -d to the regular verbs to form the past simple.
| Some regular verbs in the past simple | |
|---|---|
| Infinitive | I, You, He, She, It, We, They |
| To play | Played |
| To want | Wanted |
| To live | Lived |
| To dance | Danced |
Examples:
Ann watched TV.
My parents lived in Spain.
- Some verbs are irregular, we don’t add -ed or -d to them.
| Some irregular verbs in the past simple | ||
|---|---|---|
| Infinitive | I, He, She, It | We, You, They |
| To be | Was | Were |
| To go | Went | |
| To eat | Ate | |
| To drink | Drank | |
Examples:
He went to the beach last weekend.
I was happy yesterday.
They were at school.
3) How to form a negative sentence in the past simple
- We add 'did not' (didn’t) before the base form of the verb to form a negative sentence in the past simple.
Subject + didn’t + Verb
Examples:
(+) Ann watched TV.
(-) Ann didn’t watch TV.
(+) He went to the beach last weekend.
(-) He didn’t go to the beach last weekend.
- Verb 'to be' is irregular, we don’t add 'didn’t' before it to form its negative form in the past simple.
| Negative form of 'to be' | ||
|---|---|---|
| Infinitive | I, He, She, It | We, You, They |
| To be | Was not (wasn't) | Were not (weren't) |
Examples:
(+) I was happy yesterday.
(-) I was not happy yesterday.
(+) They were at school.
(-) They were not at school.
4) How to form a question in the past simple
- We add 'Did' before the subject to form a question in the past simple.
Did + Subject + Verb
Examples:
(+) Ann watched TV.
(?) Did Ann watch TV?
Yes, she did / No, she didn’t.
(+) He went to the beach last weekend.
(?) Did he go to the beach last weekend?
Yes, he did / No, he didn’t.
- Verb 'to be' is irregular, we don’t add 'did' before its subject to form a question in the past simple.
Was + I / He / She / It
Were + You / We / They
Examples:
(+) I was happy yesterday.
(?) Was I happy yesterday?
Yes, you were / No, you weren’t.
(+) They were at school.
(?) Were they at school?
Yes, they were / No, they weren’t.