Past simple tense

FORM

1- Form the Simple Past:
- with regular verbs: infinitive + -ed
- with irregular verbs: 2nd column of the table of the irregular verbs
Examples:

• You called Debbie.
• Did you call Debbie?
• You did not call Debbie.

2-For irregular verbs, use the past form (see list of irregular verbs). For regular verbs, just add “ed”.

infinitive	irregular past
be begin break bring buy build choose come cost cut do draw drive eat feel find get give go have hear hold keep know leave lead let lie lose make mean meet pay put run say sell send set sit speak spend stand take teach tell think understand wear win write	was/were began broke brought bought built chose came cost cut did drew drove ate felt found got gave went had heard held kept knew left led let lay lost made meant met paid put ran said sold sent set sat spoke spent stood took taught told thought understood wore won wrote

Exceptions in Spelling when Adding ‘ed’

Exceptions in spelling when adding ed	Example
after a final e only add d	love – loved
final consonant after a short, stressed vowel or l as final consonant after a vowel is doubled	admit – admitted travel – travelled
final y after a consonant becomes i	hurry – hurried

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3-Affirmative sentences:

Use the same form of the verb every time regardless the subject.

regular verbs	irregular verbs
I played football.	I went to the supermarket.

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4-Negative sentences:

Use the auxiliary did (Simple Past of do) every time regardless the subject.

regular verbs	irregular verbs
I did not play football.	I did not go to the supermarket.

NOTE: Short forms in negative sentences in the Simple Past are used quite often.

regular verbs	irregular verbs
I didn't play football.	I didn't go to the supermarket.

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5-Questions:

Use the auxiliary did (Simple Past of do) every time regardless the subject.

regular verbs	irregular verbs
Did you play football?	Did I go to the supermarket?

Signal words

yesterday, last week, a month ago, in 2002

6-uses

 1- Completed Action in the Past

Use the Simple Past to express the idea that an action started and finished at a specific time in the past. Sometimes, the speaker may not actually mention the specific time, but they do have one specific time in mind.
Examples:

• I saw a movie yesterday.
• I didn't see a play yesterday.
• Last year, I traveled to Japan.
• Last year, I didn't travel to Korea.
• Did you have dinner last night?
• She washed her car.
• He didn't wash his car.

2- A Series of Completed Actions

We use the Simple Past to list a series of completed actions in the past. These actions happen 1st, 2nd, 3rd, 4th, and so on.
Examples:

• I finished work, walked to the beach, and found a nice place to swim.
• He arrived from the airport at 8:00, checked into the hotel at 9:00, and met the others at 10:00.
• Did you add flour, pour in the milk, and then add the eggs?

3- Duration in Past

The Simple Past can be used with a duration which starts and stops in the past. A duration is a longer action often indicated by expressions such as: for two years, for five minutes, all day, all year, etc.
Examples:

• I lived in Brazil for two years.
• Shauna studied Japanese for five years.
• They sat at the beach all day.
• They did not stay at the party the entire time.
• We talked on the phone for thirty minutes.
• A: How long did you wait for them?
  B: We waited for one hour.

4- Habits in the Past

The Simple Past can also be used to describe a habit which stopped in the past. It can have the same meaning as "used to." To make it clear that we are talking about a habit, we often add expressions such as: always, often, usually, never, when I was a child, when I was younger, etc.
Examples:

• I studied French when I was a child.
• He played the violin.
• He didn't play the piano.
• Did you play a musical instrument when you were a kid?
• She worked at the movie theater after school.
• They never went to school, they always skipped class.

5- Past Facts or Generalizations

The Simple Past can also be used to describe past facts or generalizations which are no longer true. As in USE 4 above, this use of the Simple Past is quite similar to the expression "used to."
Examples:

• She was shy as a child, but now she is very outgoing.
• He didn't like tomatoes before.
• Did you live in Texas when you were a kid?
• People paid much more to make cell phone calls in the past.

IMPORTANT When-Clauses Happen First

Clauses are groups of words which have meaning but are often not complete sentences. Some clauses begin with the word "when" such as "when I dropped my pen..." or "when class began..." These clauses are called when-clauses, and they are very important. The examples below contain when-clauses.
Examples:

• When I paid her one dollar, she answered my question.
• She answered my question when I paid her one dollar.

When-clauses are important because they always happen first when both clauses are in the Simple Past. Both of the examples above mean the same thing: first, I paid her one dollar, and then, she answered my question. It is not important whether "when I paid her one dollar" is at the beginning of the sentence or at the end of the sentence. However, the example below has a different meaning. First, she answered my question, and then, I paid her one dollar.
Example:

• I paid her one dollar when she answered my question.

ADVERB PLACEMENT

The examples below show the placement for grammar adverbs such as: always, only, never, ever, still, just, etc.
Examples:

• You just called Debbie.
• Did you just call Debbie?

ACTIVE / PASSIVE

Examples:

• Tom repaired the car. Active
• The car was repaired by Tom. Passive

Pronunciation of the ending -ed in the Simple Past

In the Simple Past we add -ed to regular verbs. Be careful pronuncing the verbs:
1) verbs ending in -ed preceded by a voiceless consonant [p, k, f, ʃ, ʧ, s, θ]
-> speak [t].
The -e is silent. Example: I stop - I stopped [stɒpt]
2) verbs ending in -ed preceded by a voiced consonant [b, g, v, ʒ, ʤ, z, ð, l, m, n] or a vowel
-> speak [d].

The -e is silent. Example: I clean - I cleaned [kli:nd]
3) verbs ending in -ed preceded by [t] or [d]
-> speak [ɪd].

The -e changes to [ɪ]. Example: I visit - I visited [vɪzɪtɪd]