Past simple | Everyday English

1. Overview

The Past Simple is used to talk about actions, events and situations that started and finished in the past. It’s commonly used when the speaker sees the action as complete and connected to a finished time, such as yesterday, last weekend, three years ago or in 2020. For example, I visited Rome last year, She worked in a hospital for five years, or They arrived late. It’s also the main tense used to tell stories and describe sequences of past events: He opened the door, looked outside and saw a strange light.

With regular verbs, the Past Simple is usually formed by adding -ed, while irregular verbs have different past forms, such as go → went, see → saw and take → took. Negative sentences and questions use did, followed by the base form of the verb: I didn’t go and Did she call you? The verb be works differently, using was and were: He was tired and They were at home. The key idea is simple: the Past Simple presents something as finished and located in the past.

2. Uses and time expressions

Use the Past Simple for one completed action (I called Mia yesterday), a sequence of actions (I got up, made coffee and left), or a past situation that has ended (We lived in Leeds for three years). In stories, it moves the events forward: The door opened and everyone looked up.

The time can be stated directly or understood from the conversation. What did you do? is a natural question if you’re already talking about last weekend. By contrast, I work in Leeds describes a current situation, while I worked in Leeds in 2021 describes a finished one.

Time expression	Example
yesterday	I called her yesterday.
last night / week / year	They moved house last year.
two days / months ago	We met two months ago.
in 2019	She started university in 2019.
on Monday	He finished the project on Monday.

Ago comes after the length of time (three days ago). Last comes before the period (last month); don’t say the last month when you mean the previous calendar month.

3. Affirmative sentences

Subject + past form of the verb

The verb form is the same for every subject. There’s no special -s ending for he, she, or it in the past:

I walked to work.
She walked to work.
They went home.

Regular verbs usually form the past with -ed:

Base verb	Past form
work	worked
live	lived
study	studied
stop	stopped

Check the end of the base verb before adding the past ending:

Ending	Rule	Examples
most verbs	add -ed	work → worked, watch → watched
final e	add -d	live → lived, arrive → arrived
consonant + y	change y to -ied	study → studied, try → tried
vowel + y	keep y and add -ed	play → played, enjoy → enjoyed
short vowel + final consonant	double the consonant before -ed	stop → stopped, plan → planned

Don’t double the final consonant in look → looked or work → worked: their final two consonants don’t follow the short vowel + single consonant pattern.

4. Irregular verbs

Irregular verbs don’t follow the -ed rule. Some change a vowel (see → saw), some change completely (go → went), and some stay the same (put → put). Learn them with short sentences, not just as isolated pairs. The irregular form is used in affirmative sentences; after did or didn’t, return to the base verb.

Base verb	Past form	Example
be	was / were	I was tired. They were late.
go	went	We went to the beach.
have	had	She had a headache.
do	did	He did his homework.
get	got	I got home at ten.
make	made	They made dinner.
take	took	She took the train.
see	saw	We saw an old friend.
come	came	He came early.
buy	bought	I bought a jacket.
find	found	They found the keys.
write	wrote	He wrote an email.
put	put	I put the keys on the table.

5. Negative sentences

Use did not or its contraction didn’t followed by the base verb, for all subjects. Did already carries the past meaning, so the main verb doesn’t take -ed or an irregular past form.

I didn’t watch television.
She didn’t go to work.
We didn’t have enough time.

Compare: She went home → She didn’t go home. Don’t say She didn’t went home. This rule also applies to regular verbs: They visited us → They didn’t visit us.

6. Questions and short answers

For yes/no questions, place did before the subject and use the base verb: Did + subject + base verb…? The short answer repeats did, not the main verb.

Did you enjoy the film? Yes, I did. / No, I didn’t.
Did he call you? Yes, he did. / No, he didn’t.

To ask for details, add a question word before did: question word + did + subject + base verb…?

Where did you go?
What did she buy?
When did they arrive?
Why did he leave early?

Compare the three forms: She bought a ticket. / She didn’t buy a ticket. / Did she buy a ticket? Don’t say Did she bought a ticket?

7. The verb be in the past

Be is an exception: it has two past forms, was and were, and doesn’t use did in negatives or questions. Choose was/were to match the subject.

Subject	Affirmative	Negative	Question
I / He / She / It	was	wasn’t	Was…?
You / We / They	were	weren’t	Were…?

I was at home. / I wasn’t at home. / Was I at home?
They were tired. / They weren’t tired. / Were they tired?

Short answers use the same form: Was she at home? Yes, she was. / No, she wasn’t. For other verbs, use did: Did she stay at home? Yes, she did.

8. Pronunciation of -ed

Sound	After	Examples
/t/	voiceless sounds other than /t/	watched, washed, laughed
/d/	voiced sounds and vowels other than /d/	played, cleaned, opened
/ɪd/	t or d sounds	wanted, needed, started

Listen to the final sound, not just the last letter. The ending adds an extra syllable only after /t/ or /d/: wanted and needed have two syllables, but watched and played have one.

9. Common mistakes

I go to the cinema yesterday. → I went to the cinema yesterday.
She didn’t went home. → She didn’t go home.
Did you saw the match? → Did you see the match?
They was very tired. → They were very tired.
He studyed English. → He studied English.
Did you be at work? → Were you at work?

10. Exercises

1. Complete the sentences

Answers

We ______ (visit) our grandparents last Sunday.
She ______ (buy) a new phone yesterday.
They ______ (not / watch) the match.
______ you ______ (finish) work early?
He ______ (study) for two hours.
I ______ (have) breakfast at seven.

2. The Saxons arrive in Britain

Listen to the story and answer the questions. Read the text after your first listen.

After the Romans left Britain, the island became less protected. During the fifth century, groups of Saxons, Angles and Jutes crossed the North Sea and arrived in Britain. At first, some came as warriors and helped local rulers fight their enemies. Later, more settlers arrived with their families. They built villages, farmed the land and took control of large areas. Over time, several Anglo-Saxon kingdoms appeared, and many local people moved west or north.

Answers

What happened after the Romans left Britain?
Which groups crossed the North Sea?
When did they arrive in Britain?
Why did some of them come at first?
Who arrived later with the settlers?
What did they build?
What happened to large areas of Britain?
Where did many local people move?

3. Choose the correct form

Answers

Last night, I cooked / cook dinner.
She didn’t see / didn’t saw the message.
Did / Were you at home yesterday?
They went / goed to the mountains.
We were / was very happy.

4. Correct the mistakes

Each sentence has one mistake. Write the complete sentence correctly.

Answers

She didn’t went to the meeting yesterday.
Did you saw the new film last weekend?
We was tired after the journey.
He studyed French at school.
They not liked the restaurant.
Was your friends at the party?

5. Read a short account

Read the text and answer the questions. Notice how the past forms describe a sequence of finished events.

Last Saturday, Maya visited her grandmother in Oxford. She took an early train and arrived at ten. They walked through the market, bought some fruit and made lunch together. In the afternoon, it rained, so they stayed at home and looked at old photographs. Maya didn’t leave until six because she enjoyed their conversation.

Answers

Where did Maya go last Saturday?
How did she travel?
What time did she arrive?
What did they buy at the market?
Why did they stay at home in the afternoon?
Did Maya leave before six?

6. Theseus and the Minotaur

Listen to the story and answer the questions. Read the text after your first listen.

Theseus was a young prince from Athens. One day, he travelled to Crete with a group of young Athenians. They entered a huge maze called the Labyrinth, where the Minotaur lived. Before Theseus went inside, Ariadne gave him a ball of thread. He tied one end near the entrance and carried the thread with him through the maze. Theseus found the Minotaur, fought it and killed it. Then he followed the thread back to the entrance and escaped with the others.

Answers

Where was Theseus from?
Where did he travel?
What was the Labyrinth?
Who gave Theseus the ball of thread?
Why did he use the thread?
What did Theseus do when he found the Minotaur?
How did he find his way out?
Did he escape alone?

1. Overview

2. Uses and time expressions

3. Affirmative sentences

4. Irregular verbs

5. Negative sentences

6. Questions and short answers

7. The verb be in the past

8. Pronunciation of -ed

9. Common mistakes

10. Exercises

1. Complete the sentences

2. The Saxons arrive in Britain

3. Choose the correct form

4. Correct the mistakes

5. Read a short account

6. Theseus and the Minotaur

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