This infographic shows the most basic information about the Past Simple. Read more below.

Past Simple education scheme: rules and examples

Let's look at how sentences with the Past Simple are formed in the affirmative, negative and interrogative forms.

Most verbs form the past simple form using the ending – ed, have special forms of the past tense. Let's take the example of the regular verb to visit- visit.

Examples:

Last week Dana invited me to her birthday party – Last week Dana invited me to celebrate her birthday.

I completed the course on Monday – I finished the course on Monday.

2. Past Simple in negative form: I didn’t visit

Negation is constructed using an auxiliary verb in the past tense form - did and particles not. The semantic verb is used in the initial form. In colloquial speech did not reduced to didn't’ t.

Examples:

Igor didn't meet me at the airport – Igor did not meet me at the airport.

We didn't order this meal – We did not order this dish.

3. Past Simple in interrogative form: Did I visit?

The interrogative form is also constructed using did- it is placed before . The semantic verb itself is used in the initial form (without endings).

Examples:

Did you go to school yesterday? – Did you go to school yesterday?

Did they feed your cat? – Did they feed your cat?

Meaning of Past Simple: When is the past simple used?

In most cases, the Past Simple denotes an action that happened at some point in the past. Unlike, it does not denote an ongoing, ongoing action. Let's look at the basic meanings of the past simple tense.

• An action that happened in the past (base case).

Action in the past, usually accompanied by clarifications like yesterday(yesterday), last week(last week) in 2011(in 2011), about two hours ago(about two hours ago) and so on.

This could be an action that happened at a certain moment:

I returned from the meeting an hour ago. – I returned from the meeting an hour ago.

We arrived to London at seven thirty two PM. “We arrived in London at seven thirty-two in the evening.

At an approximate time in the past:

Karen purchased new car yesterday. – Karen bought a new car yesterday.

We met in 2011. – We met in 2011.

Or simply in the past, without specifying the time:

I lost my phone. – I lost my phone.

He won.- He won.

• An action repeated in the past.

In this case, there is tense in the sentence, otherwise it would be unclear what is meant. For example: last summer- last summer, every evening- every evening.

Last summer I spent a lot of time in the country – Last summer I spent a lot of time outside the city (that is, I visited the country from time to time).

She visited us almost every evening – She visited us almost every evening.

In the meaning of “a repeated action in the past”, instead of the past simple tense, the following is often used:

I used to spend a lot of time in country – I (often) spent a lot of time outside the city.

She used to visit us almost every evening – She visited us almost every evening.

• Consecutive past actions.

When recounting events, we often use the simple past tense:

Harry woke up, took a shower and made breakfast. – Harry woke up, took a shower and cooked breakfast.

She closed her eyes and smiled. “She closed her eyes and smiled.

Past Simple video tutorial and exercises

The Past Simple topic is discussed in detail in the video lesson on Puzzle English. After watching the video, you can also do strengthening exercises.

We use the simple past tense when we say:

1. About events or actions that occurred in the past and the time for which has expired. That is, the action or event is complete.
(he bought a car last year, they went on vacation last month, the meeting was last week)

2. About events or actions in the past that were repeated regularly, but are not happening now.
(she danced at school, we went to the gym last year)

3. About events in the past that happened one after another.
(they met, walked in the park, went to the cinema)

Bonus! Difficulties with English times? in Moscow and find out how easy it is to master tenses and start speaking English in 1 month!

How is the affirmative form of the Past Simple formed?

When forming the Past Simple, we always look at the verb, as it will change. IN English there are two types of verbs: right and wrong.

Depending on the verb, the past tense is formed as follows:

• if the verb is correct, we add ending -ed(cook - cooked);
• if the verb is irregular, we put it in second form (see - saw).

There is no rule by which we can determine the correct or irregular verb in front of us. You can only find out by looking it up in a dictionary or remembering it.

The same goes for forms of irregular verbs. You need to remember them or look them up in the dictionary. The Past Simple formation scheme is as follows:

The one we are talking about + a regular verb ending in ed or the 2nd form of an irregular verb.

I
You
We	worked
They	slept
She	went
He
It

For example

I went to the cinema yesterday.
I went to the cinema yesterday.

She moved last year
She moved last year.

They married three years ago.
They got married three years ago.

Verb endings -ed in the Past Simple

There are a few caveats when adding the -ed ending to regular verbs.

• If the verb ends in -e, then it is added to the verb -d only:

chang e- chang ed- change;
clos e- clos ed- close.

• If the verb ends to a consonant, in front of which stands stressed vowel, then the consonant is doubled:

sto p-sto pped- stop;
ba n-ba nned- forbid.

Exceptions: verbs ending in -x and -w:

fi x-fi xed- fix;
flo w-flo wed- leak.

Note: V British English, when a verb ends in -l, it is doubled regardless of where the stress falls:

travel l- travel lled- travel.

American version:

travel l- travel led- travel.

• If the verb ends in -y and there is a consonant before it, then y changes to i+ed:

cr y-cr ied- cry;
tr y- tr ied- try.

Important: If there is a vowel before -u, then the ending -ed is added no change letters:

sta y-sta yed- stay;
pla y- pla yed- play.

Companion words Past Simple

These are clue words that help determine that this is the simple past tense:

• yesterday,
• last week / month / year,
• in 1989 (2000, 2012, etc.) year,
• two (three, four, etc.) days/month/years ago.

Examples

I saw him five days ago.
I saw him five days ago.

She watched this film yesterday.
She watched this film yesterday.

They lived in England in 1999 year.
They lived in England in 1999.

Negative sentences in Past Simple

Negation is formed using auxiliary verb did(this is the auxiliary verb do, but in the past form) and particles not. In this case, the semantic verb is used in the initial form.

The combination did + not will be our particle “ Not". For example, he did not participate in the exhibition, they did not go to the club yesterday.

The scheme for constructing a negative sentence in the Past Simple is as follows:

The one we are talking about + did + not + verb in the initial form.

I
You
We			work
They	did	not	sleep
She			go
He
It

Important point: The auxiliary verb did already shows that the sentence is in the past tense, so it itself verb in a sentence(run/jump/work) we do not put in the past tense, but use the initial form. That is, we do not put it in the 2nd form and do not add the ending ed.

Why do you need to show twice that this is the past tense?

Didn't swim yesterday.
He didn't swim yesterday.

NOT: He didn't swam yesterday.

For example

They did not work last summer.
They didn't work last summer.

She did not run yesterday.
She didn't run yesterday.

What abbreviation can you use?

We can shorten the negative particle not as follows.

Did + not = didn’t

We didn't win this battle.
We didn't win this battle.

Interrogative sentences in Past Simple

The construction of questions in the Past Simple is the same as in other tenses of this group (Simple). To ask a question, you need to put the auxiliary verb did first in the sentence. The semantic verb, as in negation, is not put in the past tense, but is used initial form. There is no need to add the ending -ed.

Did + the person in question + the initial form of the verb.

	I
	you
	they	work?
Did	we	sleep?
	he	go?
	she
	it

Statement

He called me last week.
He called me last week.

They bought a new car.
They bought a new car.

Question

Did he called you last week?
Did he call you last week?

Did they buy a new car?
Did they buy a new car?

Short positive answer contains the auxiliary verb did, which replaces the action itself.

Yes, he did.
Yes, he called.

Yes, they did.
Yes, they bought it.

Fully positive answer is constructed as an affirmative sentence.

Yes, he called me last week.
Yes, he called me last week.

Yes, they bought a new car.
Yes, they bought a new car.

Short negative answer contains the auxiliary verb did and the negative particle not.

No, he did not.
No, he didn't call.

No, they did not.
No, they didn't buy it.

Complete negative answer is constructed as a negative sentence.

No, he did not call me last week.
No, he didn't call me last week.

No, they did not buy a new car.
No, they didn't buy a new car.

Special questions in the Past Simple

When we ask a question with the following question words:

• what,
• when,
• where,
• which,

Question word + did + the person in question + verb in the initial form?

		I
When		you
Where		they	work?
What	did	we	meet?
Why		she	buy?
		he
		it

Let's look at examples.

Why did did you steal this thing?
Why did you steal this thing?

Whendid she sell her phone?
When did she sell her phone?

Whatdid do they buy?
What did they buy?

So, we've looked at the simple past tense, which is actually not that simple. If you have any questions, ask them in the comments below the article.

Also, if you haven't done this yet, I advise you to read about other times of the Simple group:

Now let's move on to practice.

Exercise to consolidate Past Simple

Translate the following sentences into English:

1. He built his house in 1997.
2. They went to a concert last month.
3. Did you give her a gift yesterday? Yes, I gave her a gift yesterday.
4. We didn't see each other last week.
5. My friend broke her phone last year.
6. The children didn’t go to camp last summer.
7. Why did he move?
8. Did you go hiking last weekend? No, we didn't go.

Write your answers in the comments, and I will definitely check them.

Past Simple is the simple past tense in English. It is indeed very simple in formation, even simpler than the simple present -, but its use is complicated by the presence and some features of the pronunciation of regular verbs in the past tense.

Past Simple sometimes also called preterite.

Watch Anna's explanation from Cambridge University Press:

Past Simple is mainly used to describe events in the past that have been completed. Although it also has other uses.

The past form of regular verbs is usually formed by adding -ed at the end, in addition, there are several hundred irregular verbs that have different shape. Most verbs have one past tense form, regardless of the person or number of the noun. That is, there is no need, as in Present Simple add -s for a third party.

Past Simple formation table for the verb “to be”

Past Simple formation table for all other verbs

Past Simple is used with words that can be remembered using an acronym (on, in, last, when, ago, yesterday)

Examples of Past Simple:

She was in London on 2nd of March The party was on Friday Paul was born in September in 1960 They were in Vienna last year I was very happy when I was a child We were at the meeting three weeks ago I was at the cinema yesterday

Features of writing and pronunciation of regular verbs in the Past Simple

According to pronunciation, regular verbs in the past tense can be divided into three groups:

1. If a regular verb ends with a dull sound, then in the past tense it will be read with (t) at the end, for example:

Basic form	Past form, writing	Ending, pronunciation
watch	watched	(t)	(watcht)
dance	danced	(t)	(danct)
laugh	laughed	(t)	(laught)
wash	washed	(t)	(washt)

2. If the correct verb ends in -t or -d, then in the past it is read with -id at the end:

Basic form	Past form, writing	Ending, pronunciation	Past form, pronunciation
start	started	(id)	(startid)
want	wanted	(id)	(wantid)
land	landed	(id)	(landid)
paint	painted	(id)	(paintid)

3. A regular verb ends with a vowel sound or a voiced consonant sound, then in the past it is read with -d at the end:

Basic form	Past form, writing	Ending, pronunciation	Past form, pronunciation
play	played	(d)	(playd)
clean	cleaned	(d)	(cleand)
study	studied	(d)	(study)
close	closed	(d)	(closd)

Exercise - Song Rihanna Diamonds

Listen to the song and find all the verbs in the past tense.

We continue to study the tenses of the English language. Let's look at the Past Simple tense - the past indefinite tense in English. Before you get acquainted with the Past Simple table, it is advisable to learn how to use In addition to the sentence structure and cases of using this tense, I will draw your attention in this article to the shortcomings of students, and Past Simple table, will help us with this.

Past Simple is used:

to express an action that happened sometime in the past and is not related to the present. In this case, the moment of the action is either indicated using marker words or implied. For example: We bought a flat (yesterday). We bought an apartment (yesterday).

to describe a series of sequential actions in the past. For example: He woke up up, cleaned his teeth, had breakfast and walked to school.

to express an action that in the past occupied a certain period of time (it is indicated by the words for And during). For example: She didn't speak for an hour.

Marker words(read more about marker words in the article) for Past Simple: yesterday, last week (month, year, autumn), in 2013, 3 days ago. Also indicators of the past tense in English are the words when (when) and where (where)- an indication of a certain time in the past. Therefore, the Past Simple table will be useful to you, in particular, for questions that begin with When? and Where? For example: Where did you go?

Legend for the Past Simple table ( The Past Indefinite Tense):
V– verb – verb
S– subject – subject (who? what?)
Ved– regular verb with ending – ed (“regular” are verbs that form the affirmative form of The Past Indefinite Tense according to the rule - by adding the ending -ed to the main form of the verb e.g. I work - I work ed(I work - I worked))
V2– “irregular” verb in the second form (“irregular” are verbs that form the affirmative form of The Past Indefinite Tense not according to the rule (by adding the ending -ed to the main form of the verb), but by changing the main form. To do this, you need to use a verb, standing in the second column of the table of irregular verbs, e.g. I go - I went (I go - I went) To determine whether it is a correct or irregular verb, you just need to learn everything. irregular verbs:) (there are 218 of them in English, of which 190 - 195 are widely used). Then, when forming a statement in the past indefinite tense, you can confidently add the ending -ed to those verbs that are not in the table of irregular verbs.

THE PAST INDEFINITE TENSE
(THE PAST SIMPLE)

Past indefinite tense

Affirmative form
+

Structure
You(you, you) We(We) They(They) He(He) She(she) It(he, she, it - about animals and objects)
Examples	Translation
I lived in a big city.	I lived in a big city.
We listened to music.	We listened to music.
They went to England.	They went to England.
He swam in the swimming pool.	He was swimming in the pool.
Sheliked the movie.	She liked the film.
Itstarted in the morning.

I hope everything is clear with the statement in the past tense. The situation is more complicated with questions - general and special. The video below provides an accessible and simple explanation of how to write questions in Past Indefinite Tense.

Question form
?

Structure
	you(you, you) we(We) they(They) he(He) she(she) it(it)	It is important not to deliver the ending -ed, which went to Do+ed = Did
Examples		Translation
– Did you cook yesterday? – Yes, I did. (No, I didn't.)		– Did you cook food yesterday? - Yes. (No.)
– Did they swim last night? – No, they didn’t. (Yes, they did.)		– Did they swim last night? - No. (Yes.)
– Did he enjoy the party? – Yes, he did. (No, he didn’t.)		– Did he like the party? - Yes. (No.)
Did is an auxiliary verb - it only helps to form a question and a negative, but is not translated. It is important to use only did (didn’t) in short answers. Saying: “Yes, I cooked” or “Yes, I swam” is a mistake!

Wh-?
Special questions

(start with special words)

Structure
How many (much, far...)		you(you, you) we(We) they(They) he(He) she(she) it(it)
Examples		Translation
What did they do at the weekend?		What did they do on the weekend?
It is important to understand that “did” is not translated, but only shows that it is a sentence in the Past Simple. Thanks to this, the word “do” is translated “did” (and not “do”).
		Where did your friend play tennis?
Why did she like ballet?		Why did she love ballet?
		How much did it cost?

Negative form
—

Structure
You(you, you) We(We) They(They) He(He) She(she) It(it)	didn't (didn't)
Examples		Translation
I didn't like Spanish.		I didn't like Spanish.
(I didn’t like – I didn’t like, not “me not liked”)
You didn't understand Spanish.		You (you) did not understand Spanish.
We didn't teach Spanish.		We didn't teach Spanish.
They didn't know Spanish.		They didn't know Spanish.
He didn't speak Spanish.		He didn't speak Spanish.
She didn't learn Spanish.		She didn't study Spanish.
Please note that not a single semantic verb in negation is in the second form and does not have the ending -ed – know, speak, like...

Interrogative-negative form
(colloquial speech)
?-

Schematically the structure of the sentence in Past Simple can be shown like this:

+
S+V2(ed)

?
Did + S + V?

Wh - ?
Wh + did + S + V?

–
S + didn't + V

? –
Didn't + S + V?

This diagram can be printed and pasted together with others into notebook, for example, is a ready-made cheat sheet, where everything is short and concise.

The past indefinite tense of the English language is usually easy for students - some have heard about irregular verbs and, before starting to study this tense, managed to learn the well-known “three columns”, while others are attracted by the presence of only one auxiliary verb did when constructing questions and negations. Sometimes, however, students forget about the ending - ed in the affirmative form. Past Simple table (The Past Indefinite Tense) is simple and will be understandable to anyone, the main thing is to understand it right away and not delay practice.

Not a single language on Earth can do without the past tense. English is no exception. The past tense in English is used to express an action that happened an hour ago, yesterday, last year, that is, in the past. Types of past tense in English and patterns of their formation

The English language differs from Russian in that it has several types of past tense - Past Simple, Past Continuous, Past Perfect, Past Perfect Continuous, whereas in Russian there is only one past tense. The English language is different in that each of these past tenses has its own nuances, and we will talk about each of them today.

The first type of past tense in English is the Past Simple or simple past. The simple past tense in English is formed by adding the ending -ed to the stem of the verb. And to form the negative and interrogative forms of verbs in the Past Simple, an auxiliary verb is used do, namely its past form did. Past Simple matches perfect view past tense in Russian.

• I/you/he/she/we/they work ed
• I/you/he/she/we/they didn’t work
• Did I/you/he/she/we/they work?

The English language reminds you that if you use irregular verbs in the Past Simple, then the second form of the table of irregular verbs is needed here:

• I/you/he/she/we/they spoke
• I/you/he/she/we/they didn’t speak
• Did I/you/he/she/we/they speak?

Please note that the ending -ed we use only the affirmative form of verbs; in the negative and interrogative form there are no endings, everything is taken over by the auxiliary verb.
We bring to your attention the adverbs that are used in the Past Simple:

• Yesterday - yesterday
• The day before yesterday - the day before yesterday
• That day - on that day
• Last night - last night

An adverb can appear at the beginning or end of a sentence. For example:

• Last night I slept very well. — I slept very well last night.
• We spoke with John last week. — He talked to John last week.

Speaking of verbs to be And to have, then you remember that these are irregular verbs and they are conjugated in the Past Simple in their own way:

I/he/she was
You/we/they were
I/you/he/she/we/they had

Pay attention to the examples of sentences in which we use the simple past tense:

• I was busy when you called me. — I was busy when you called me.
• She hadn't any appointment yesterday. — She didn’t have any meeting yesterday.

What is the continuous past tense?

The past tense in English can be continuous or continuous - this is the Past Continuous, and it corresponds to imperfect form past tense in Russian. If we use verbs in the Past Continuous, this indicates that the action is not finished, it is still ongoing.

The scheme for constructing the Past Continuous tense (long past tense) is as follows: to be V Past Simple + verb + -ing ending.

I/he/she was working
We/you/they were working

Was I/he/she working?
Were we/you/they working?

I/he/she wasn’t working
We/you/they weren't working

Adverbs used in the Past Continuous must express the duration of the action:

• At that moment - at that moment
• That time - at that time
• All the day/night/week - all day/all night/week
• One day ago/two days ago - a day ago/two days ago, etc.

Examples of sentences in English using the Past Continuous:

• Yesterday I was playing computer games all the day. - Yesterday I played computer games all day.
• When you came to us, Sue was talking on the phone. — When you came to us, Sue was talking on the phone.
• We were working all the week without weekend. — We worked all week without a day off.

It is worth noting that Past Simple and Past Continuous are used in speech more often than other past tenses.
How to easily learn past tense in English?

Why is Past Perfect needed?

Past Perfect is the past perfect tense in English, which has the meaning of a long past tense.

The Past Perfect formation scheme is simple: had + verb + ending -ed or the third form of an irregular verb.

• I/you/he/she/we/they had worked
• Had I/you/he/she/we/they worked?
• I/you/he/she/we/they hadn’t worked

The Past Perfect is needed to express an action that happened a long time ago. The past perfect tense is also often used to talk about a past action that happened before another past action. At first glance it turns out to be a mess, but now you’ll see with an example. This phenomenon is present especially in indirect speech.

Pay attention to the following examples where the past perfect tense of verbs is used:

• Ann said that she had met John on the street. - Anna said that she met John on the street (first she met, and then she said - past action before the past).
• Bill announced that he had won the competition. — Bill announced that he had won the competition.
• Andy observed that he had forgotten his documents. — Andy noticed that he forgot his documents.

Past Perfect is also used in the third case conditional mood, in subordinate clauses:

• If you had listened your parents, you wouldn’t have made such a lot of mistakes. “If you had listened to your parents, you wouldn’t have made so many mistakes.”

How to make friends with the Past Perfect Continuous?

The English past tense has another variation. This is Past Perfect Continuous.

Past Perfect Continuous - past perfect long time. Past Perfect Continuous indicates an action that began in the past, continued for some time and ended before some specific moment in the past.

Most often, the Past Perfect Continuous is used in written texts, in oral speech it is rarely seen because it is easier to replace it with the Past Continuous.

To quickly and easily make friends with the Past Perfect Continuous, you need to remember its formation scheme: had + been + verb + -ing ending.

• I/you/he/she/we/they had been working
• I/you/he/she/we/they hadn’t been working
• Had I/you/he/she/we/they been working?

Example sentence with Past Perfect Continuous:

• He had been working hard and managed to finish the documents in time. “He worked hard and was able to complete the paperwork on time.

As you noticed, the Past Perfect Continuous is a little capricious, but if you remember the formation scheme, you will not have problems with it.