Past simple · Grade 1

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.

Answer: visited

Example 2

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

Answer: went

Example 3

Write the past simple of carry and plan.

Answer: carried, planned

Example 4

Make it negative: He bought a new phone.

Answer: He didn't buy a new phone.

Other years