The past simple is the tense of stories, news and memories. Use it for actions and situations that are finished, especially when you say or know when they happened: yesterday, last summer, in 2010, when I was a child.
Apart from be (was/were), the form is the same for every person: I worked, she worked, they worked. The two challenges are irregular verbs (go → went, buy → bought) and the rule that after did and didn't the verb goes back to its base form: Did you see it? No, I didn't see it.
How to form the past simple
Apart from be, the past simple has one form for every person. Regular verbs add -ed; irregular verbs have their own past form. In negatives and questions, use did or didn't + the base verb (the infinitive without to).
| Type | Pattern | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Positive | subject + past form of the verb | I worked late yesterday. She went to bed early. |
| Negative | subject + didn't (did not) + base verb | I didn't work late. She didn't go to bed early. |
| Question | (Question word +) did + subject + base verb? | Did you work late? Where did she go? |
| Short answers | Yes, subject + did. / No, subject + didn't. | Yes, I did. No, she didn't. |
| Be: positive and negative | I/he/she/it + was (wasn't); you/we/they + were (weren't) | I was at home. The shops weren't open. |
| Be: question and short answers | Was/Were + subject ...? Yes, subject + was/were. / No, subject + wasn't/weren't. | Were you tired? Yes, I was. Was it expensive? No, it wasn't. |
- Spelling: most verbs add -ed (work → worked, play → played). Verbs ending in -e add -d (live → lived). Consonant + y changes to -ied (study → studied, try → tried). One-syllable verbs ending in one vowel + one consonant double the consonant (stop → stopped, plan → planned), but not w, x or y (snow → snowed, fix → fixed).
- American and British spelling differ for some verbs ending in -l: American English writes traveled and canceled, British English travelled and cancelled.
- Pronunciation of -ed: /t/ after voiceless sounds such as /p/, /k/, /s/, /ʃ/, /tʃ/ and /f/ (stopped, worked, missed, washed, watched, laughed); /ɪd/ after /t/ and /d/ (wanted, needed, decided); /d/ after vowels and other voiced sounds (played, lived, called, cleaned). Only /ɪd/ adds an extra syllable.
- Common irregular verbs: be → was/were, have → had, do → did, go → went, get → got, make → made, say → said, see → saw, come → came, take → took, give → gave, find → found, think → thought, buy → bought, leave → left, meet → met, eat → ate, drive → drove, run → ran, write → wrote, put → put.
- Contractions: didn't = did not, wasn't = was not, weren't = were not. Do not use did with be: Were you tired? (not Did you be tired?)
When to use the past simple
1. Finished actions at a finished time
Use the past simple for an action that started and finished in the past. We often say when it happened, or the time is clear from the situation.
- I called my grandmother yesterday.
- We moved to Ankara in 2018.
- Did you enjoy the concert?
2. A series of actions in a story
When you tell a story or describe what happened, use the past simple for each action, in the order the actions happened.
- She opened the door, turned on the light and screamed.
- I got up at seven, had a quick shower and ran to the bus stop.
- He paid the bill, put on his coat and left.
3. Past states and habits
Use the past simple for situations that lasted for some time and for things people did regularly in the past. Often they are not true now.
- My grandfather lived in a small village by the sea.
- When I was a child, I walked to school every day.
- We had a dog called Max.
4. Was and were (the past of be)
Use was and were to describe people, places, feelings and situations in the past. They are also used with born.
- I was really tired after the trip.
- The tickets were expensive, but the show was great.
- Where were you born? I was born in Izmir.
5. How long before now (ago)
Put ago after a length of time to say how far back in the past something happened. Use it with the past simple, not the present perfect.
- I started this job three months ago.
- The class started ten minutes ago.
- How long ago did you buy this phone?
Time expressions that often go with the past simple
- yesterday
- the day before yesterday
- last night
- last week
- last year
- two days ago
- a long time ago
- in 2010
- in May
- on Monday
- at six o'clock
- when I was a child
- then
- after that
These expressions name a finished time, so they go with the past simple, not the present perfect. Do not put on, in or at before last or yesterday: We met last Friday (not on last Friday).
Examples
Positive
- I watched a great documentary last night.
- She bought a new bike two weeks ago.
- We were at the beach all day on Sunday.
- My parents got married in 1995.
Negative
- I didn't sleep well last night.
- He didn't come to the meeting yesterday.
- The museum wasn't open on Monday.
- My friends weren't at home, so I left a message.
Questions
- Did you have a good weekend?
- Where did you go last summer?
- What time did the train leave?
- Was the hotel expensive?
Past simple or present perfect?
Use the past simple when you are thinking of a finished time, even if you don't say it. Use the present perfect when the time is not finished or not important. A quick test: if you can answer "When?" with a finished time, choose the past simple.
| Past simple | Present perfect |
|---|---|
| I sent ten emails yesterday. (yesterday is over) | I've sent ten emails today. (today isn't over yet) |
| When did you meet your best friend? (a point in the past) | How long have you known your best friend? (from then until now) |
| Picasso painted many pictures. (his life is over) | My aunt has painted twenty pictures. (she is still painting) |
| The police caught the thief at the station last night. (the details: when and where) | The police have caught the thief! (the news, with no time) |
Common mistakes
- WrongI didn't went to school yesterday.RightI didn't go to school yesterday.
Didn't already shows the past, so the main verb stays in the base form.
- WrongDid you saw my message?RightDid you see my message?
In questions, did carries the past tense, so the main verb is in the base form.
- WrongYesterday I go to the dentist.RightYesterday I went to the dentist.
English shows the past in the verb itself; a time word like yesterday is not enough.
- WrongI visited London before two years.RightI visited London two years ago.
To say how long before now something happened, put ago after the length of time.
- WrongI born in 1998.RightI was born in 1998.
Born needs was or were before it: I was born, they were born.
- WrongHe buyed a new phone last month.RightHe bought a new phone last month.
Buy is an irregular verb, so its past form is bought, not buyed.
A day at the coast
Examples of the past simple are highlighted.
Last Saturday, Leo and his sister Mia drove to the coast. They left home early, but the traffic was terrible, and they didn't arrive until noon. The beach was beautiful, so they walked along the sand to a little restaurant. Leo ordered fish, and Mia tried the local soup. In the afternoon, it started to rain. They didn't have umbrellas, so they ran back to the car. Halfway home, Leo suddenly stopped the car. His wallet wasn't in his pocket! Did he leave it at the restaurant? They turned around and went back. The owner met them at the door. "A waiter found it an hour ago," she said. They got home late, tired and wet, but they laughed about it all evening.
Past Simple quiz
8 questions. Choose an answer to see if it is right and why.
Read texts that use the past simple
Grammar sticks when you meet it again in real reading. These graded texts use this structure; each one has key words, audio and questions.
Past Simple: questions and answers
What is the past simple tense?
The past simple is the tense for finished actions and situations at a finished time in the past (I called her yesterday). Regular verbs add -ed (worked, played), and irregular verbs have their own past forms (went, saw, bought).
How do you make negatives and questions in the past simple?
Use didn't + the base verb for negatives and did + subject + base verb for questions, with every person (She didn't call. Did she call?). With be, use wasn't or weren't, and put was or were before the subject in questions (Was he late?).
How do you pronounce -ed in the past simple?
The -ed ending has three pronunciations: /t/ after voiceless sounds like /k/, /p/ and /s/ (worked, stopped, missed), /ɪd/ after /t/ and /d/ (wanted, needed), and /d/ after other sounds (played, lived). Only /ɪd/ adds an extra syllable.
What is the difference between the past simple and the present perfect?
The past simple is about a finished time (I saw that movie last week). The present perfect connects the past with now, so the time is unfinished or not mentioned (I've seen that movie twice).
Is it "learned" or "learnt"?
Both are correct past forms of learn. American English almost always uses learned, while British English uses both. A few other verbs work the same way, such as dream (dreamed/dreamt) and burn (burned/burnt).