Past simple

The past simple is for finished actions in the past: ⟦I walked to school yesterday.⟧ ⟦We saw a rainbow.⟧ Regular verbs add ⟦-ed⟧; irregular verbs have their own past form, which you learn by heart. The same form is used for every person.

Key facts

  • Regular verbs add ⟦-ed⟧: ⟦play → played⟧, ⟦walk → walked⟧. Ending in ⟦e⟧: add ⟦-d⟧: ⟦like → liked⟧.
  • A consonant then ⟦y⟧: ⟦study → studied⟧. One vowel then one consonant: double it: ⟦stop → stopped⟧.
  • Common irregular verbs: ⟦go → went⟧, ⟦see → saw⟧, ⟦eat → ate⟧, ⟦have → had⟧, ⟦make → made⟧, ⟦take → took⟧, ⟦buy → bought⟧, ⟦write → wrote⟧.
  • Negatives: ⟦didn't⟧ + base form: ⟦She didn't go.⟧ Questions: ⟦Did⟧ + subject + base form: ⟦Did you see it?⟧
  • Time words: ⟦yesterday⟧, ⟦last week⟧, ⟦two days ago⟧, ⟦in 2015⟧, ⟦on Saturday⟧.

Worked examples

Example 1

Complete: ⟦Last summer we ___ (visit) our cousins.⟧

  1. ⟦Last summer⟧ is finished time: the past simple.
  2. ⟦visit⟧ is regular, so add ⟦-ed⟧: ⟦visited⟧.
  3. ⟦Last summer we visited our cousins.⟧

Answer: ⟦visited⟧

Example 2

Complete: ⟦Yesterday I ___ (go) to the market.⟧

  1. ⟦Yesterday⟧ tells us it is the past.
  2. ⟦go⟧ is irregular: its past is ⟦went⟧ (not ⟦goed⟧).
  3. ⟦Yesterday I went to the market.⟧

Answer: ⟦went⟧

Example 3

Write the past simple of ⟦carry⟧ and ⟦plan⟧.

  1. ⟦carry⟧ ends in a consonant then ⟦y⟧: change ⟦y⟧ to ⟦i⟧ and add ⟦-ed⟧: ⟦carried⟧.
  2. ⟦plan⟧ ends in one vowel and one consonant: double the ⟦n⟧: ⟦planned⟧.

Answer: ⟦carried⟧, ⟦planned⟧

Example 4

Make it negative: ⟦He bought a new phone.⟧

  1. Use ⟦didn't⟧ for the past.
  2. ⟦didn't⟧ already shows the past, so ⟦bought⟧ goes back to ⟦buy⟧.
  3. ⟦He didn't buy a new phone.⟧

Answer: ⟦He didn't buy a new phone.⟧