Past tense word for simple

Past Simple называют простым прошедшим временем, однако для многих это такой темный лес, что они не знают, как к нему подступиться. Уверены, это не о вас, но все же… Зачем нам (а точнее, англичанам) нужен этот Past Simple Tense?

Past Simple (иначе, Past Indefinite) произносится как паст симпл. Правила Past simple несложные: скоро мы узнаем, когда употребляется past simple, как образуется паст симпл, почему обязательно использовать именно Past Simple, правила и примеры функционирования этого времени в тексте.

Представьте ситуацию: вот вы рассказываете знакомому, что делали прошлым летом. И туда ездили, и там были, и то видели. А как все это рассказать по-английски? Не строить же баррикады из перфектных форм, правда? Вот для этого и нужно время Past Simple.

Past Simple Tense: правила употребления в английском языке

Итак, давайте в деталях рассмотрим Past Simple — когда употребляется это время?

• Действие, которое вы (или кто-то другой) регулярно совершали в прошлом. Насколько часто — неважно. Хоть каждую минуту, хоть раз в тысячелетие. Главное, что действие время от времени повторялось в прошлом. Вот как здесь: He often visited us (часто навещал), when we lived there.
• Постоянный признак предмета или характеристика человека в прошлом. Каким был этот предмет или человек когда-то? Например: Jane looked much better (выглядела намного лучше), when I saw her last time.
• Цепь последовательных действий в прошлом. Часто встречается в сказках типа “бабка за дедку, дедка за репку”, т.е. где шаг за шагом описываются действия персонажей. Цепь простых действий встречается и в нашей обычной жизни. Взгляните:
  I entered the hall, switched on the light, opened the wardrobe, and then quickly closed it. Вошел, включил свет, открыл шкаф — это последовательные действия, между ними прошло очень мало времени. Нет смысла усложнять предложение и пытаться передать эту цепочку действий каким-то другим способом, кроме Past Simple.
• Однократное действие в прошлом. Да-да, это как раз про то, как вы 10 лет назад съездили на курорт, а теперь делитесь воспоминаниями. То, что однажды произошло некоторое время назад (неважно, вчера или 140 лет назад) передается через Past Simple.

Подводный камень:

Как быть с культурным наследием? Например, Шекспир написал в таком-то году такое-то произведение. Мы ведь пользуемся результатами труда Шекспира, причем делаем это сейчас — в этом случае Past Simple часто путают с present perfect, который как раз и описывает результат в настоящем. Однако правило паст симпл здесь довольно жесткое. Любое изобретение, любое некогда написанное произведение — это факт в прошлом. А факты, особенно с указанием точной даты, — сфера группы времен Simple.

Past Simple: образование

Как образуется Past Simple? А очень просто. Не зря же его называют простым.

Past Simple, образование: V2 (вторая форма глагола).

Вы помните про то, что все глаголы английского языка можно разделить на правильные и неправильные?

Past Simple: правила образования простого прошедшего неправильных глаголов

Неправильные глаголы живут своей жизнью: у них есть три формы, все три нужно знать наизусть. Чтобы получить Past Simple, мы используем вторую форму (V2) неправильного глагола.

Например:

Buy — bought — bought

Read — read — read

Cut — cut — cut

Lie — lay — lain

Список неправильных глаголов есть в конце любого словаря или справочника. В идеале из справочника этот список должен перекочевать в голову. К счастью, неправильных глаголов не так много. Относительно. А вот все остальные глаголы, которых нет в списке неправильных, называются правильными. И с ними все очень легко.
Past Simple: правила образования простого прошедшего правильных глаголов

Правильные глаголы в Past Simple приобретают окончание -ed или -d. Его мы прибавляем к основе инфинитива.

Например:

To kick — he kicked (пинать — он пинал)

To look — he looked (смотреть — он смотрел)

Если основа инфинитива уже заканчивается на e, то прибавляется только -d:

To dance — he danced (танцевать — он танцевал)

To invite — he invited (приглашать — он пригласил)

Вот и все! Все-таки не зря Past Simple назвали простым, правда?

Но есть и кое-какие подводные камни.

Нюанс № 1

Если слово заканчивается на букву y, то ее нужно поменять на i и только затем добавлять окончание -ed. Эту манипуляцию мы делаем только и исключительно тогда, когда y предшествует согласная.

Сравните:

To fly — he flied

To obey — he obeyed

В случае с obey перед y — гласная e. Что ж, ставим окончание -ed и радуемся, что ничего менять не надо!

Нюанс № 2

Понравилось? Тогда вот вам второй нюанс.

Если глагол заканчивается на комбинацию: краткий гласный звук + согласная буква, то согласная, как правило, удваивается.

To plan — he planned

Это нужно для того, чтобы сохранить закрытый слог. Ведь если в слове planned мы не удвоим n, то получится открытый слог, a в открытом слоге читается иначе. В итоге получится совсем другое слово! Поэтому не забываем удваивать согласную там, где нужно.

А вот посмотрите на эти примеры:

To fear — he feared

To look — he looked

Здесь ничего удваивать не нужно, ведь перед согласными стоят вовсе не краткие гласные, на их произнесение ничего не может повлиять.

В британском английским всегда удваивается и l в конце слова:

To quarrel — we quarrelled

А вот в американском английском такой метаморфозы не происходит.

To quarrel — we quarreled

Как правильно читать глаголы с окончанием -ed

Если поставить глагол в Past Simple сравнительно легко, то прочитать иногда бывает — не очень.

Старайтесь не пренебрегать правильным произношением, иначе иностранцу будет очень трудно вас понять.

А что с вопросами и отрицаниями?

Чтобы составить вопрос или отрицание, нам понадобится вспомогательный глагол do.
Без него, увы, ни вопроса не сделать, ни отрицания не сформировать. Вспомогательный глагол do в Past Simple будет иметь форму did.

В отрицательном предложении did ставится после подлежащего и приобретает негативную частицу not.

Отрицание в Past Simple: правило образования

Подлежащее + did not + сказуемое (инфинитив)

Tom did not eat porridge.

Did not = didn’t. Didn’t — это сокращенная форма did not. В устной речи вы скорее всего услышите именно эту форму.

Tom did not eat porridge = Tom didn’t eat porridge.

Mark did not come yesterday = Mark didn’t come yesterday

Вопрос в Past Simple: правило образования

В вопросе did будет вставать на первую позицию. Схема общего вопроса в past simple будет такая:
DID + подлежащее + сказуемое (инфинитив)?

Did Tom eat porridge?

Ответ на этот вопрос может быть полным, но обычно бывает кратким:
— Yes, he did. / No, he didn’t.

Подводный камень:

Очень частая ошибка при образовании вопросов и отрицаний в Past Simple: употребление V2 вместо инфинитива.

Мы хорошо уяснили, как образуется паст симпл — с помощью окончания -ed (для правильных глаголов) и V2 для неправильных. Уяснив это, мы начинаем ставить вторую форму глагола повсюду, а ведь в вопросе и отрицании это лишнее!

Вспомогательный глагол do уже принял на себя функции past simple и превратился в did (помним, что do — это неправильный глагол: do-did-done. Соответственно, его V2 — did). Did УЖЕ показывает прошедшее простое время. Делать еще какие-то дополнительные манипуляции со смысловым глаголом (сказуемым) просто не нужно! Did уже обо всем позаботился!

Специальные вопросы

Это вопросы, которые начинаются со специального вопросительного слова.

Вопросительные слова:

What что?

Where где?

Who кто?

Why почему?

When когда?

Whom кому?

How как?

Специальные вопросы не так сложны, как кажутся.

Если схема простого вопроса выглядит так:

DID + подлежащее + сказуемое (инфинитив)?

То схема специального вопроса выглядит вот так:

Вопросительное слово + DID + подлежащее + сказуемое (инфинитив)?

Мы просто ставим на нулевую позицию вопросительное слово — и все! Остальной порядок слов остается неизменным.

Английский язык не был бы английским, не будь и здесь какого-нибудь исключения. Оно есть.

С вопросительными словами Who (кто?) и What? (что?), если мы задаем вопрос к подлежащему, такая схема не работает. Правда, она еще проще. Мы просто ставим who или what на место подлежащего! И все! Сказуемое при этом остается в past simple.

На практике это выглядит так:

Mary ate ice-cream yesterday. (Мэри вчера ела мороженое.)

Who ate ice-cream yesterday? (Кто вчера ел мороженое?)

Важно: такая схема с who работает только тогда, когда мы задаем вопрос к подлежащему. Если же мы задаем вопрос к прямому дополнению, то схема будет стандартной.

Сравните:

Tom saw Mary two days ago.

Who saw Mary two days ago?

Вопрос задан к подлежащему (Tom). Who стоит на первой позиции, вспомогательный глагол не требуется.

Поехали дальше. Давайте сначала зададим общий вопрос (ответом на который будет “да” или “нет”):

Did Tom see Mary two days ago? (ставим did на первое место)

А теперь специальный вопрос с who, но только не к подлежащему, а к прямому дополнению (Mary):

Who did Tom see two days ago?

Поскольку вопрос мы задаем не к подлежащему, значит, как и любое вопросительное слово, who встает на нулевую позицию, на первой позиции остается did и далее по стандартной схеме.)

Маркеры Past Simple

Маркеры — это наши помощники, слова-подсказки, которые помогают нам понять, когда нам нужно время Past Simple. Если мы замечаем такое слово в предложении, это очень красноречивый намек на то, что нужно употребить простое прошедшее время.

Хорошо, маркеры мы знаем, а куда их ставить в предложении? Ведь структура английского предложения довольна жесткая…

Маркеры, в которых содержатся слова last, every, ago, как правило, ставятся на последнее место в предложении:

I met Helen three months ago.

Emma spent three weeks in Paris last year.

Маркеры often, never, usually, seldom, always и подобные обычно стоят перед глаголом:

I never saw you working.

Tom and I always spent holidays together.

Важно:

Если в качестве сказуемого функционирует не глагол действия, а глагол to be, то эти маркеры ставятся после него:

John was often tired.

Маркер yesterday может встретиться и в начале предложения, и в конце:

Yesterday I bought a new fur coat.

I bought a new fur coat yesterday.

А вот sometimes вообще может встать, куда захочет. А точнее, куда вы захотите:

I went to Paris sometimes, but always felt uncomfortable there.

Sometimes I went to Paris, but always felt uncomfortable there.

Что делать, если в предложении нет маркеров?

Как мы работаем с английским предложением? В первую очередь смотрим на маркеры. Если у вас есть маркер ago или last, то уже на этапе первого знакомства с предложением, даже не переводя его, вы понимаете, какое время нужно использовать: Past Simple.

Если же очевидных маркеров в предложении нет, то мы переходим к следующему этапу: переводим предложение. И тут вы можете заметить кое-какие подсказки.

Например:

Указание года: in 1956, in 2007.

My grandpa died in 2007.

Указание месяца: in August, in September.

I caught a cold in January.

Слово during — в течение какого-то времени.

Внимание: during может употребляться только с существительными, обозначающими некий временной период! During summer, during the weekend, during our meeting.

Mary was in London during the winter.

Маркер for.

С этим маркером нужно быть внимательнее. Это один из самых ярких указателей на время Present Perfect. Однако если действие уже завершилось и связи с настоящим нет, то for четко указывает на Past Simple.

Сравните:

I have lived here for 13 years.

Я прожил здесь 13 лет. (И до сих пор живу либо вот-вот уеду.)

I lived in London for 13 years, but then moved to New York.
Я прожил в Лондоне 13 лет, а затем переехал в Нью Йорк. (Связи с настоящим нет, жил когда-то, а потом переехал).

Уточнение с when

I pierced my tongue when I was 16.

Это факт биографии из прошлого. А значит, Past Simple.

Если акцент сделан не на факте, а на процессе, то будет использоваться другое время, Past Continuous:
I was eating when my mom called me.

Акцент на процессе — я ел(а), когда мама позвала меня.

Обратите внимание на вторую часть предложения: when my mom called me. Здесь мы снова используем Past Simple. Почему?

Потому что более короткое действие или действие, которое прерывает процесс (выраженный в данном случае через Past Continuous), требует использования Past Simple.

Переводите предложение правильно и смотрите, как расставлены смысловые акценты! Past Simple — это в первую очередь факт в прошлом.

Интересный факт

Если действие происходило раньше регулярно, а в настоящее время уже не происходит, используется конструкция used to + инфинитив. С помощью этого выражения мы можем обозначить привычки прошлого, которых у нас сейчас нет, либо качества и свойства, которые сейчас отсутствуют. Взгляните:

I used to be good at drawing, but now I cannot draw even a straight line.

Когда-то я хорошо рисовал, а теперь не могу начертить даже прямой линии.

Перевод предложений такого типа можно начинать со слов “когда-то” или “помнится”.

She used to be so pretty!

Помнится, она была такой хорошенькой!

В качестве синонима used to мы можем использовать would + инфинитив — но только для обозначения действий в прошлом, а не характеристики!

My mom would bake the best cookies, when I was a child.

Теперь вы знаете все о времени Past Simple и можете с легкостью выражать свои мысли. А чтобы ваш английский стал еще красивее, читайте другие наши статьи о правилах и нюансах грамматики английского языка.

Мы любим порассуждать о прошлом, поговорить о воспоминаниях, былых событиях и интересных случаях. Под Новый год это особенно актуально — все подводят итоги и рассказывают друг другу, чем запомнился уходящий год. А сделать это на английском нам поможет время Past Simple. О нем мы и расскажем в сегодняшней статье.

Время Past Simple используют для описания действий или событий, произошедших в прошлом. Это основное предназначение Past Simple, о других функциях времени поговорим далее.

Как образуется время Past Simple

Для начала предлагаем запомнить, как образуется Past Simple в утвердительных, отрицательных и вопросительных предложениях.

Примеры утвердительных предложений в Past Simple:

And then I smiled at him and he smiled back at me. — И тогда я улыбнулась ему, а он улыбнулся мне в ответ.
She liked my Facebook post yesterday. — Ей понравился мой вчерашний пост в Фейсбуке.
I bought a tent last summer. — Прошлым летом я купил палатку.
I threw the ball very high. — Я подкинул мяч очень высоко.

Примеры отрицательных предложений в Past Simple:

I did not go the cinema yesterday. — Я вчера не ходил в кино.
They didn’t travel to New Zealand last winter. — Прошлой зимой они не ездили в Новую Зеландию.
She didn’t find her bag that time. — В тот раз она не нашла свою сумочку.

Примеры вопросительных предложений в Past Simple:

Did you eat lots of shrimps at the party? — Ты съел много креветок на вечеринке?
Did they go to Lady Gaga’s concert two years ago? — Они ездили на концерт Леди Гаги два года назад?
Did he tell you about his plans? — Он рассказал тебе о своих планах?

Ответить на вопросы можно при помощи кратких форм — Yes, I did или No, I didn’t.

Особенности образования прошедшей формы правильного глагола

• Если глагол заканчивается на согласную + -y, то -y меняется на -i, а после добавляется окончание -ed: study – studied, fry – fried, cry – cried, try – tried.

  I tried my best to study English when I was at school. — Я старался изо всех сил выучить английский в школе.
  They replied me two days ago. — Они ответили мне два дня назад.

• Если глагол оканчивается на гласную + -y, то мы добавляем -ed после -y: obey – obeyed, play – played, stay – stayed.

  Twins annoyed their elder sister. — Близнецы раздражали свою старшую сестру.
  Mike enjoyed rock concerts. — Майку нравились рок-концерты.
• Если односложный глагол оканчивается на согласную (за исключением -х), перед которой стоит гласная, то согласная удваивается: beg – begged, clap – clapped, jog – jogged, tan – tanned.

  He hopped on a train headed east. — Он запрыгнул в поезд, который направлялся на восток.
  Alice pinned the note to the board. — Элис прикрепила заметку к доске.

• Если у глагола более одного слога, при этом он оканчивается на согласную, перед которой стоит ударная гласная, то согласная буква на конце удваивается: fulfil – fulfilled, refer – referred.

  Mary controlled her daughter fully. — Мэри полностью контролировала свою дочь.
  My grandma preferred ice tea. — Моя бабушка предпочитала холодный чай.

Особенности образования прошедшей формы неправильного глагола

Некоторые английские глаголы образуют другие формы прошедшего времени, которые нужно просто запомнить. В нашу таблицу неправильных глаголов мы собрали для вас самые распространенные из них.

Давайте посмотрим, как в прошедшем времени меняются два самых распространенных неправильных глагола — to be и to have.

Глагол-связка to be (быть) в простом прошедшем времени принимает форму was для местоимений I, she, he, it и форму were для we, you, they.

I was at chemist’s. — Я была в аптеке.
My parents were happy in their youth. — Мои родители были счастливы в молодости.

Глагол to have (иметь) превращается в had:

Jane had a bird and a hamster when she was a kid. — Когда Джейн была ребенком, у нее были птичка и хомяк.
They had a large house. — У них был большой дом.

Чтобы научиться свободно говорить о событиях в прошлом, запишитесь на наш курс «Практическая грамматика».

Произношение окончания -ed

Интересно не только правописание окончания -ed, но и его произношение. Запомнить нужно всего три правила:

• Если глагол оканчивается на звуки /t/, /d/, произносим окончание -ed как /ɪd/. Например: wanted, hated, landed, ended.
• Если глагол оканчивается на звуки /k/, /s/, /p/, /f/, /tʃ/, /ʃ/, произносим окончание -ed как /t/. Например: liked, watched, laughed, washed.
• После всех остальных звуков произносим -ed как /d/. Например: played, borrowed, closed, answered.

Когда употребляется Past Simple

Давайте узнаем, в каких случаях вам пригодится простое прошедшее время Past Simple.

1. Факт или законченное действие в прошлом

   Мы используем Past Simple, чтобы рассказать о каком-то факте или действии, которое закончилось в прошлом. На это указывают слова-маркеры Past Simple: yesterday (вчера), three days ago (три дня назад), a long time ago (давно), the other day (на днях), last week (на прошлой неделе), in 2015 (в 2015 году), on Sunday (в воскресенье), at 5 p.m. (в 5 вечера), during the weekend (во время выходных) и т. д.

   We bought a new car last month. — В прошлом месяце мы купили новую машину.
   The construction of the Eiffel Tower started in 1887. — Строительство Эйфелевой башни началось в 1887 году.
   I met your sister two weeks ago. — Я встретил твою сестру две недели назад.

   Если контекста достаточно, маркеры времени использовать не обязательно:

   He was my friend. Now he is my enemy. — Он был моим другом, теперь он мой враг.

2. События, которые происходили одно за другим

   Past Simple подходит для описания последовательности каких-то событий в прошлом. Такие события часто можно встретить в литературе, когда автор рассказывает какую-либо историю.

   I woke up, put on my suit and drove to work. — Я проснулся, надел свой любимый костюм и поехал на работу.
   That day my father came home, checked his mailbox and started his workout. — В тот день отец пришел домой, проверил почтовый ящик и начал тренировку.

3. Привычки и повторяющиеся действия в прошлом

   Если раньше вы что-то часто делали, но теперь уже нет, используйте Past Simple или конструкцию used to do smth — читайте о ней в первой части грамматики для среднего уровня. В случае привычек на Past Simple указывают следующие слова-маркеры: always (всегда), often (часто), sometimes (иногда), from time to time (время от времени).

   She always went skating on Fridays. — Она всегда каталась на коньках по пятницам.
   From time to time our grandma took us to the cinema. — Время от времени бабушка брала нас в кино.

Предлагаем пройти небольшой тест, чтобы закрепить все, что мы узнали о времени Past Simple.

Хотите потренироваться в употреблении английских времен? Записывайтесь на бесплатный пробный урок с вашим будущим преподавателем.

The past simple tense is used to talk about completed actions or states. The way it is formed differs depending on whether it is using the verb to be or other verbs and whether it is a regular or irregular verb. 

This lesson takes a look at:

• to be and other verbs in the past simple
• Irregular and regular verbs
• When to use the past simple

To Be and Other Verbs

Verbs other than to be

To make a past simple tense affirmative statement with verbs other than to be, we use the past tense form:

• Affirmative: She went out 

However, to make negatives or questions, we have to use did / did not + base form of the verb:

• Negative: She didn’t (did not) go out 
• Yes / No Question: Did she go out? 
• Question Word: When did she go out? 

The table below illustrates the way the past simple is formed when not using the verb to be. It shows this according to affirmative statements, negative statements, and questions. 

To be

With the verb to be, we use was/wasn’t for the first person (I) and the third person (he/she/it).

• Affirmative: I was late 
• Negative: I wasn’t late 
• Yes / No Question: Was he late? 
• Question Word: Why was he late?

For plurals (we/they) simply switch was for were. e.g. we were late.

The table below illustrates the different ways that we contruct the past simple tense with the verb to be.

Download Past Simple Tense Tables

Regular and Irregular Verbs

You also need to be aware of regular and irregular verb differences when you use the past simple tense as this affects the ending of the verb. 

Regular Verbs

Some verbs are regular as they have a definite pattern to their endings. 

For verbs ending in a consonant or a vowel (other than e), add the letters -ed to the end. For example:

• laugh = laughed
• work = worked
• stay = stayed
• iron = ironed

For verbs ending in -e, add -d:

• cope = coped
• love = loved
• live = lived
• weave = weaved

For verbs ending in a consonant plus -y, the -y is replaced with an i, then -ed is added.

• hurry = hurried
• bury = buried 
• try = tried
• clarify = clarified

Don’t forget, if it is a vowel plus -y, then it fits the first pattern e.g. play = played.

Irregular Verbs

Irregular verbs are called so because they don’t fit a particular pattern. This means that you just have to get to know and learn over time how the past tense form is created. 

There are many of course, but here are some examples:

Try these quizzes on irregular past simple verbs:

Irregular Verbs Quiz 1

Irregular Verbs Quiz 2

When do we use the past simple tense?

Finished periods of time

We use the past simple tense for completed actions, events or states. These will have taken place within a finished period of time. 

These are common phrases to see with the past simple and that show we are talking about something that has already finished:

• I saw him last week / night / weekend / year (etc)
• It rained at the weekend
• I bought the jacket in 2005 / June / winter (etc)
• It was 10 years / days / weeks ago (etc) that we met
• We ate lunch when we were at the park

The finished time can also be implied rather than stated explicitly:

• It was a great holiday (we know the holiday is finished)
• Did you get there safely? (we know the person has arrived already)

Longer past periods of time

The past simple tense is also used to talk about certain periods of finished time. In some cases these can be specific:

• I dated her for 7 years / months / weeks (etc)
• He was a teacher from 2015 to 2019 / February to December (etc)
• They were a famous band in the 1980s

It can also used for time periods that are less specific. For example,

• I dated her for ages
• We lived together for a long time
• We were together for many years

Exact details

We commonly use the past simple tense to give more precise details about an event and explain things such as where, when, how etc. 

You can see in this example how it starts off with the present simple to say how the person now feels, then the past simple to give more details about their day (i.e. completed events of their day):

I’m feeling very tired today. I had to take the kids to school at 7am and then get to work. I arrived at work quite early and worked hard all day until 9pm. It was a really tough day. 

Narratives

When telling stories we may use a mix of tenses, but you will commonly see the past simple tense as it is used as a ‘time anchor’ to set out the time frame of events (e.g. «It was a Saturday afternoon») as well as to describe the key events that move the story forward (e.g. «Allie decided it was time to paint…»). 

Here is an example story (also note how the quote is in the present as it is an example of direct speech):

Now have a practice in these past simple quizzes

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When to use the Past Simple Tense

The past simple is used to show a completed action at a specific time in the past. Like the present simple, we use the past simple to show habits, facts, and things in general except this time we are talking about the past. 

1. Completed actions in the past

We use the past simple tense to show that an action is finished and in the past. It does not have a relationship with the present.

Examples:

I went to the shop yesterday.

I sent you an email.

I drove to Athens for my holidays.

She collapsed on the ground.

2. A past situation(duration)

We also use the past simple to show that something happened over a period of time in the past but that time is now finished.

Examples:

I lived in Australia for 2 years.

I played football for 4 hours yesterday.

I studied at University for 4 years.

She spent 4 months as a volunteer.

3. Habits in the past 

We can use the past simple for habits in the past. If you want to emphasize that you do not do these habits in the present, then you can use “used to”.

Examples:

I swam in the sea every day when I lived near the coast.

I woke up at 8 am for University every morning.

I did my shopping in Tesco before they increased the prices.

I took the bus to school every day.

4. Past facts or things in general

We use the past simple to show things in general and facts in the past. The facts are often not true in the present.

Examples:

Ireland was a cheap country to live in.

The Government spent £12 billion in 2002.

People tried to fix things more often in the past. 

The Past Simple is one of the most common tenses in the English language.

English learners usually learn the Past Simple right after the Present Simple. We can say the Past Simple is even simpler than the Present Simple.

If you learn the Past Simple, you will expand your potential to communicate in English. Because with the Past Simple you can talk about what already happened.

Think how important it is to be able to talk about what happened 10 years ago, a year ago, or just five minutes ago… This is what we use the Past Simple for.

We use the Past Simple to talk about what happened at a specific point in the past. It could be a minute ago or a thousand years ago. What happened and ended at a specific time in the past.

How to form sentences in Past Simple?

To form the Past Simple, we need to learn only two main rules:

• How to form the Past Simple with regular verbs.
• How to form the Past Simple with irregular verbs.

How to Form Past Simple using Regular Verbs

To form an affirmative (positive) sentence in the Past Simple with a regular verb, we add the -ed ending to the verb.

It doesn’t matter who is the subject in the sentence. We add the -ed ending to all regular verbs, regardless of the subject.

• I loved
• He loved
• She loved
• It loved
• They loved
• We loved
• You loved

How to add the -ed ending correctly

We add the -ed ending to regular verbs using these simple rules:

Rule 1: If the verb ends with the letter -e, we just add one letter -d. For example:

Love + d = Loved

She loved you.

Rule 2: If the verb ends with the letter -y, we change the letter -y to the letter -i and add the -ed ending. For example:

Сry (y->i) + ed = Cried
Babys cried.

Rule 3: If the verb ends in the letter -y, but there is a vowel before the letter -y, then we do not change anything, just add the -ed ending. For example:

Stay + ed = Stayed
He stayed here.

Rule 4: If the verb ends in a consonant preceded by a short vowel, we double the last consonant and then add the -ed ending. For example:

Travel (lx2) + ed = Travelled.
We travelled all around the world.

These rules may seem difficult, but as you practice, you will quickly learn these rules.

Now you know how to add the -ed ending to regular verbs. Regular verbs are very simple. But what about irregular verbs?

How to form Past Simple with irregular verbs

Not all verbs in English are regular. There is also a group of irregular verbs.

They are irregular because we cannot apply the same rules to them that we use with regular verbs.

You cannot simply add the -ed ending to irregular verbs. Let’s look at the verbs think and see.

Incorrect: Think – Thinked (this form does not exist).
Incorrect: See – Seed (this form does not exist).

Each of the irregular verbs has its own past tense form.

• Think – Thought
• See – Saw
• Run – Run
• Go – Went

As you can see, the past form of these verbs can even look exactly the same as the main form:

Run – Run

Or completely different than the main form looks:

Go – Went

If you want to use an irregular verb in the Past Simple, but you do not know what the past form of the verb is, you should look at this form in a table of irregular verbs.

Note: Each verb has 4 forms. In the Past Simple, we will only use the past form (the second form) of irregular verbs. Usually, in a table of irregular verbs, the past form (the second form) is in the second column.

How to form Affirmative (Positive) Sentences in Past Simple

To form an affirmative (positive) sentence in the Past Simple, we use the verb in its past form (with the -ed ending or the past form (the second form) if the verb is irregular). We put the verb after the subject.

Subject (I, We, She, John, Dad) + past form of main verb or second form of irregular verb (worked, loved, seen, thought) + rest of the sentence

I loved you.
I drank too much yesterday.
John went to school when he was a kid.

How to form Interrogative (Question) Sentences in Past Simple

To form an interrogative (question) sentence in the Past Simple, we don’t need to add any endings to the main verb!

In interrogative (question) sentences, we use regular and irregular verbs in the base form.

To form an interrogative (question) sentence, we need the past form of the auxiliary verb do. The past form of the verb do is did. It is did that shows that the action takes place in the past.

To form an interrogative (question) sentence, we put the auxiliary verb did at the beginning of the sentence. After that, we put the subject, then the main verb in the base form. After that, we can add the rest of the sentence if needed.

Did + Subject (I, We, She, John, Dad) + main verb in base form (love, watch, think, jump)

Examples:

Did you like to play football when you were a kid?

Did she talk to you about her secret?

Did John drive to work this morning?

Remember, in interrogative (question) sentences we use the auxiliary did regardless of who is the subject/persons.

• Did I love you?
• Did he love you?
• Did she lobe you?
• Did it love you?
• Did they love you?
• Did we love you?
• Did you love me?

How to form Special or Wh-Questions in the Past Simple

There is a type of question in English called Special or Wh-Questions.

These are the questions we ask for more information.

The difference between a regular Yes/No Question and a Special or Wh-Question is very simple:

John, did you drink coffee in the morning?

This is a Yes/No Question. The purpose of this question is to ask John if he drank coffee in the morning.

John, how many cups of coffee did you drink in the morning?

This is a Special or Wh-Question. We ask this question to find out exactly how many cups of coffee John drank in the morning.

John, how many cups of coffee did you drink in the morning?

In this question, we are interested in additional information (HOW MANY CUPS OF COFFEE). Therefore, we added the additional (question) words HOW MANY to this question.

Examples of most popular additional (question) words that we use to get additional information in interrogative (question) sentences:

• who
• how
• which
• why
• what
• when
• where

In Special or Wh-Questions, we can use not only an additional word but also a whole additional phrase:

When and where did you talk to Jessica yesterday?

We form Wh-Questions almost the same way as Yes/No Questions. In Wh-Questions, we simply put an additional word (or phrase) at the beginning of the sentence:

Question word (or phrase) + did + Subject (I, We, She, John, Dad) + main verb (love, watch, think, jump).

Examples:

Why did you like playing football?

Where did she talk to you about her secret?

What time did John drive to work this morning?

How to Answer Questions

We form a short affirmative (positive) answer in the Past Simple with the auxiliary did. Before did, we put the affirmative (positive) word yes.

Did John talk to you yesterday?
Yes he did.

It is important to understand that in the short answer did acts as the verb that was in the question:

Did you call him in the morning?
Yes, I did.

In this example, Did means “call”. Therefore, in this sentence, the answer means “Yes, I called.” We used did instead of the verb called to shorten the answer.

A negative short answer is formed in the same way, only we add the particle not to did. At the beginning of the sentence, we put the word no:

Did you call him in the morning?
No, I did not.

Now take a look at how we form a full affirmative (positive) answer.

We put “Yes” or “No” at the beginning of the full answer. After that, we repeat the sentence from the question in an affirmative (positive) or negative form of the Past Simple. If the answer is negative we also add did not:

Did you call him this morning?
Yes, I called him this morning.

Did you call him this morning?
No, I didn’t call him this morning.

How to form Negative Sentences in Past Simple

We form negative sentences in the Past Simple using the auxiliary did and the negative not.

did + not = did not

We use did not regardless of who is the subject.

We do not change the main verb in a negative sentence. We do not add any endings to the main verb. We do not use the past form (the second form) for irregular verbs. We use the main verb in its base form (love, jump, play).

We form negative sentences using this formula:

Subject (I, He, She, Mom, John, Dog ) + did not + main verb in its base form + rest of the sentence (if needed).

She did not go to school today.
I did not like sports when I was a child.
John did not drink coffee in the morning.

What is the abbreviation (short form) for did not?

We rarely use the full form did not. We use the full form in formal speech or certain expressions. In spoken English and informal writing, we most often use the short form didn’t.

Full	Short
I did not	I didn’t
He did not	He didn’t
She did not	She didn’t
It did not	It didn’t
We did not	We didn’t
They did not	They didn’t
You did not	You didn’t

I didn’t drink coffee this morning.

The children didn’t go to school.

John didn’t see Jessica yesterday.

To be in Past Simple

We form affirmative, negative, and question sentences with the verb to be in the Past Simple according to special rules. These rules are different from the rules we use with other, regular verbs.

To use the verb to be in Past Simple, there are two important things to remember:

First: We do not use any auxiliary verbs with the verb to be in the Past Simple. To be forms affirmative, question, and negative sentences on its own. We do not use the verb did/did not.

Second: In the past simple, the verb to be has only two forms:

• was
• was

If the subject is a noun or pronoun in the first-person singular (I, he, she, it), we use was:

• I was
• He was
• She was
• It was

If the subject is a plural noun or pronoun (we, they), we use were:

• We were
• They were

We use were with the pronoun you. It doesn’t matter if the subject (you) is one person or many:

• You were.

To form a Positive sentence, we put the verb to be after the subject.

John was so happy to see you.

We were obviously a lot closer than l realized.

To form a question (interrogative) sentence, we put the verb to be before the subject.

Was he here the morning that he got shot?

Were we as cynical at that age?

In a negative sentence, we add the negative not.

He was not the man I thought he was.

We were not allowed to sleep for a long time.

You can also read the main article To Be in Past Simple.

How to Use To Have in Past Simple?

to have is another special verb. You must learn how to use to have correctly in the Past Simple.

to have in the Past Simple uses its own form. Also to have forms Positive, Question, and Negative sentences according to its own special rules.

Why do we use to have?

We use to have to show / to say that someone or something had something, that someone/something owned, possessed someone or something.

We had a big family.

I had a good job five years ago.

How to form sentences with to have in the Past

The verb to have in the past is very easy to form! Because to have has only one form for all persons – had.

It doesn’t matter who plays the part of the subject in the sentence, because the form of the verb to have in the Past Simple always looks like had regardless of the subject.

• I had
• He had
• She had
• It had
• We had
• They had
• You had

I had good friends at school.
We had the best team in town.
They had a lot of money ten years ago.

How to form Affirmative (Positive) Sentences with to have

To form a Positive sentence, we put had after the subject.

We had a big family.

Five years ago I had a good job.

How to form Interrogative (Question) Sentences with to have

To form an interrogative (question) sentence, we use the same rules as for ordinary verbs in the Past Simple. It means that we use the auxiliary did. We use the verb to have in its base form – have (without to).

Why do we use have instead of had? Because in questions we use the auxiliary verb did, which indicates that this is the past. Therefore, we do not need to use the past form of the verb to have – had.

We put did first before the subject. Then we put the subject. After the subject, we put the verb have.

Did you have many friends at school?

Did they have a good team last season?

Did she have any problems because of me?

How to form Negative Sentences with to have

We form negative sentences with to have, just like we do with regular verbs in the Past Simple.

We need the auxiliary did and the negative not: did not.

First, we put the subject, then did not. Did not is followed by have (without to).

You did not have many friends before.

They did not have any problems after what they did.

Please note that in negative sentences the verb to have remains in the form have, and does not change to the past form had. We show that this is the past tense using the auxiliary verb did.

Incorrect: You did not had many friends before.
Incorrect: They did not had any problems.

When we Use the Past Simple

Let’s take a look at the most popular use cases for the Past Simple. The Past Simple is used:

1. We use the Past Simple when we talk about facts that happened in the past.

Julius Caesar invaded Britain in 55 BC.

1. We use the Past Simple to describe a simple action that happened in the past.

He understood you.

Jessica said a lot of unpleasant things.

1. We use the Past Simple to answer a question when we can answer by saying the exact date.

She met him 10 years ago.

We visited John last weekend.

1. To describe the state of someone or something in the past.

They were the best players on our team.

It was a big setback!

There was a house on this place.

1. To describe regular, repetitive actions in the past.

John and Jessica went to the theater every weekend.

1. To describe sequential actions in the past.

The dog went into the yard, saw a big cat, and ran after the cat.

I came to work, phoned the client, and made an appointment.

1. We use the Past Simple to describe a story.

The car collided with another car. The two drivers were fine. But their cars were crashed badly.

1. When someone asks a question about when something happened or happened.

When did the first world war start?

When did he buy the car?

When did John and Jessica break up?

1. To describe actions that happened in the past and can no longer happen again.

My parents met at a party.

The first day at the new school was a disaster!

1. To describe actions that happened in the past and ended in the past.

It doesn’t matter how long actions lasted or how many times actions happened. The important thing is that these actions can no longer happen and these actions have no relation to the present.

My dad flew into space!

Elvis Presley played the guitar well.

This team became the champion five times in a row!

1. We use the Past Simple to describe the details of some kind of news or event.

Note: We often use the Present Perfect to tell the very fact that a piece of news or story has happened. After that, we usually use the Past Simple to tell about the details of what happened.

I have bought a new phone! I went to the store to buy a TV, but I saw this phone and decided to buy it instead of a TV.

Scientists have discovered an unusual fish. They caught her and put her in a special aquarium.

The team won the championship! In the last game, the team scored three goals and won.

You can also read the full article Present Perfect and Past Simple: Difference

Time Clauses

We use the Past Simple in Past Time Clauses after such words as:

• when
• until
• as soon as
• before
• after

When she called me, I was watching TV.

After the game ended, the players were very happy.

As soon as I bought the car I met your mom.

Second Conditional

The Second Conditional is a conditional sentence in which we mean an unrealistic condition and result. The condition is almost unrealistic. The probability that what is described in the condition will happen is very small.

The Second Conditional formula looks like this:

If + the Past Simple (condition), would + the base form of the main verb (result)

If I had talent, I would have been hired on the team.

If Dad made more money, we would buy a big house.

If I had a dog, I would be very happy.

NOTE: If in the part with IF the main verb is the verb to be, then we do not change be to was in the third-person singular. This means that you must use were regardless of who is the subject (with all persons).

Correct: If I were you, I would tell her the whole truth.
Incorrect: If I was you, I would tell her the whole truth.
Correct: If he were rich, he would have gone to live in another country.
Incorrect: If he was rich, he would have gone to live in another country.

Past Simple and I wish

We use the Past Simple with one interesting and important construction in English. This is I wish.

I wish is the phrase we use to say that we regret something that didn’t happen before. Or we regret something that doesn’t happen the way we want it to.

Such a sentence always begins with the words I wish, followed by a subordinate clause.

If we mean the future or present in the subordinate clause, we use the Past Simple.

I wish you didn’t leave …

I wish I were rich …

Sometimes we put the Conjunction that after I wish, but often we don’t use it.

I wish I had a good job …

I wish that I had a good job …

If we use to be in a sentence with I wish, then we use were (not was) regardless of who is the subject. Even in the third-person singular.

Incorrect: I wish I was rich …
Correct: I wish I were rich …

ATTENTION: In spoken English and informal writing, you can hear a sentence with I wish and was.

I wish he was rich …

In spoken English and informal writing, we can use was. But in formal speaking and writing, you should use were.

Past Simple and It is time

It is time is another interesting phrase we often use in the Past Simple. By using this phrase, we can say that at the moment of speaking is the right time for someone to do something.

It is time we went home!

It is time you learned this.

It is time you had some proper training.

It is time the children learned a little respect.

Maybe it’s time you did something!

Please note that we use the Past Simple, even though this action refers to the present or even future.

Now look at another example which is formed with two sentences:

It’s time you did your homework. It’s getting dark soon.

Notice in the second sentence we used the Present Simple to indicate the “reason”. We use the Past Simple only in the sentence that contains the phrase It is time.

It’s time you did your homework. It’s getting dark soon.

Markers of Past Simple

Markers are special words that help us understand the timing of a sentence.

The Past Simple has its own markers that indicate that the action took place in the past.

The most popular markers we use in the Past Simple are:

• an hour ago
• two hours ago
• one week ago
• in 1965
• last year
• three days ago
• on Friday
• yesterday
• the day before yesterday
• just now
• the other day
• at 8 o’clock
• when I was a kid
• last year
• last decade
• last century
• last week
• last month

Examples of sentences with markers:

I met John last year.

I saw this cat in this room five seconds ago!

He told her the whole truth last week.

We were friends when we were in school.

John met Jessica 6 years ago.

Mom was at work on Friday.

The school closed last year.

Our team won their most important game three days ago.

The Past Simple is not difficult to learn. But along with the Present Simple, the Past Simple will expand your ability to speak and understand English.