Simple Past

Simple Past — Short Introduction

The Simple Past tense is used to talk about actions that happened and finished in the past. We use it to describe events, experiences, and actions that are not happening now.

Form

Regular verbs end with -ed (e.g., “worked”, “studied”).
Irregular verbs have their own unique forms (e.g., “went”, “saw”, “made”).

Positive examples

• I visited my grandparents last weekend.
• She studied for the test yesterday.
• They went to the park in the afternoon.

Negative form

Use did not (didn’t) + base verb.

• I didn’t watch TV last night.
• He didn’t buy the tickets.

Questions

Start with Did, then the subject, then the base verb.

• Did you enjoy the movie?
• Did she travel last month?

Time expressions commonly used

yesterday, last week, last year, two days ago, in 2010.

Quick tips

• Use Simple Past for actions that are finished.
• Remember that negatives and questions use the base verb.
• Irregular verbs don’t follow a rule — memorize the most common ones.

Practice sentences (read and repeat)

• I watched a movie last night.
• She cooked dinner for her family.
• Did they play soccer yesterday?

Final message

That’s all for a short introduction to the Simple Past. Keep practicing with simple sentences to build confidence and fluency!