simple past

The simple past tense in English is formed like this:

Regular Verbs

Subject  +  Verb  + ED

Examples:       
  • I played hockey yesterday.
  • He jumped on the bed.

Irregular Verbs
Irregular verbs don’t end in "ed".  They have different
endings.  They are called irregular verbs because their endings
are different.

Examples:        
  • Go = went
  • Have = had

Verb to be in the simple past










USES

Actions at a specific time in the past
  • I ate dinner at 5:00 pm yesterday.
  • He went to school this morning.

Completed actions in the past
  • I finished my homework before dinner.
  • She quit her job.

Past status
  • I was a teacher 5 years ago.
  • They were tired last night.



NEGATIVES

Subject + Did + Not + Base Verb

Examples:        
  • I did not eat yesterday.
  • They didn't (did not) go to class last week.


QUESTIONS

Questions in simple past are the same as in the
simple present.  There are 2 types:

1. Did
2. Was/Were


Did + Subject + Verb (in present)

Examples:        
  • Did you eat yesterday?
  • Did they go to the store last week?


Was/Were  +  Subject  

Examples:
  • Was he tired last night?
  • Were they late this morning?



SIMPLE PAST TIME PHRASES
simple past

Simple Past

Business English
Time Phrase
Examples
Yesterday
I ate pizza yesterday.
Last + Time
  • night
  • week
  • month
  • class
I went to the park
last week.

Did you play soccer
last month?
Time + Ago
  • 2 minutes ago
  • 3 days ago
  • 4 weeks ago
  • 8 years ago

I lived in New York 3
years ago.

I finished my
homework 30
minutes ago.
I
Was
You
Were
He/She/It
Was
We
Were
They