Past Simple (I walked)

We form the Past Simple like this:

Positive Sentences
I/you/he/she/it/we/they worked.
Negative Sentences
I/you/he/she/it/we/they didn’t work.
Questions
Did I/you/he/she/it/we/they work?
Short Answers (Positive)
Yes, I/you/he/she/it/we/they did.
Short Answers (Negative)
No, I/you/he/she/it/we/they didn’t.
Regular verbs: Past Simple and past participle
  INFINITIVE PAST SIMPLE PAST PARTICIPLE
With most verbs we add -ed: happen happened happened
We verbs ending with -e, we add -d: live lived lived
We verbs that end with a consonant + -y, we change the -y to -ied: try
study
tried
studied
tried
studied
With verbs that end with one vowel + one consonant, we double the consonant: stop
grab
stopped
grabbed
stopped
grabbed

We do not double the consonant,

  1. when it is a y or w (e.g. enjoy),
  2. when the last syllable is not stressed (e.g. disCOVer, LISten, HAppen):
enjoy
allow
discover
listen
enjoyed
allowed
discovered
listened
enjoyed
allowed
discovered
listened
But note also that we double the l at the end of verbs when the syllable is not stressed (e.g. TRAvel): cancel
travel
cancelled
travelled
cancelled
travelled
Irregular verbs: Past Simple and past participle
INFINITIVE PAST SIMPLE PAST PARTICIPLE
be was/were been
beat beat beaten
become became become
begin began begun
break broke broken
bring brought brought
build built built
burn burnt burnt
buy bought bought
catch caught caught
choose chose chosen
come came come
cost cost cost
cut cut cut
do did done
draw drew drawn
drink drank drunk
drive drove driven
eat ate eaten
fall fell fallen
feel felt felt
find found found
fly flew flown
forget forgot forgotten
forbid forbade forbidden
get got got
give gave given
go went gone/been
grow grew grown
have had had
hear heard heard
hide hid hidden
hit hit hit
hold held held
hurt hurt hurt
keep kept kept
know knew known
learn learnt/learned learnt/learned
leave left left
lend lent lent
let let let
lose lost lost
make made made
meet met met
pay paid paid
put put put
read read read
ring rang rung
run ran run
say said said
see saw seen
sell sold sold
send sent sent
show showed shown/showed
shut shut shut
sing sang sung
sit sat sat
sleep slept slept
speak spoke spoken
spend spent spent
stand stood stood
steal stole stolen
sweep swept swept
swim swam swum
take took taken
teach taught taught
tell told told
think thought thought
throw threw thrown
understand understood understood
wake woke woken
wear wore worn
win won won
write wrote written

We use the Past Simple for single complete actions in past time. We often use it with time expressions like at 4 o’clock, yesterday, when?, in 1993, etc:

Past Simple (I Worked)

  • A: When did you go on holiday?
  • B: We went on holiday last summer.
  • We drove to my mother’s yesterday.

We use the Past Simple for complete events, even when they continued for a long time:

  • A: How long did the Second World War last?
  • B: It lasted about six years, I think.
  • My parents lived in Germany for three years. Then they went to live in Poland.

We also use the Past Simple to talk about repeated events, or habits in the past:

Past Simple (I worked)

  • When George was young, he always walked to school.

We use the Past Simple to tell a story in past time:

  • We left home early on Saturday morning and drove, without stopping, to the Scottish border. It took about 6 hours to get there. After we crossed the border, we stopped in a little village, and had something to eat …

PRACTICE

Now it is time to practise what you have learned.

  • For each Practice Test, read the instructions carefully.
  • Complete the exercise and press 'Check' to get your results.
Practice Test A

Practice Test B

Practice Test C

Practice Test D

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Nigel Bailey

Nigel is a qualified Teacher of English as a Foreign Language and has been teaching in Poland since 2003. He has been teaching over the Internet since 2008 and has taught more than 1,000 students in this way.

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