El pasado simple es el tiempo de los relatos, las noticias y los recuerdos. Se usa para acciones y situaciones ya terminadas, sobre todo cuando se dice o se sabe cuándo ocurrieron: yesterday, last summer, in 2010, when I was a child.
A excepción de be (was/were), la forma es igual para todas las personas: I worked, she worked, they worked. Los dos retos son los verbos irregulares (go → went, buy → bought) y recordar que después de did y didn't el verbo vuelve a su forma base: Did you see it? No, I didn't see it.
Cómo formar el pasado simple
Excepto be, el pasado simple tiene una sola forma para todas las personas. Los verbos regulares añaden -ed; los irregulares tienen una forma propia. Para preguntas y negativas, usa did o didn't + verbo base (el infinitivo sin to).
| Forma | Estructura | Ejemplo en inglés |
|---|---|---|
| Afirmativa | sujeto + forma pasada del verbo | I worked late yesterday. She went to bed early. |
| Negativa | sujeto + didn't (did not) + verbo base | I didn't work late. She didn't go to bed early. |
| Pregunta | (palabra interrogativa +) did + sujeto + verbo base? | Did you work late? Where did she go? |
| Respuestas breves | Yes, sujeto + did. / No, sujeto + didn't. | Yes, I did. No, she didn't. |
| Be: afirmativa y negativa | I/he/she/it + was (wasn't); you/we/they + were (weren't) | I was at home. The shops weren't open. |
| Be: preguntas y respuestas breves | Was/Were + sujeto...? Yes, sujeto + was/were. / No, sujeto + wasn't/weren't. | Were you tired? Yes, I was. Was it expensive? No, it wasn't. |
- Ortografía: la mayoría de los verbos añade -ed (work → worked, play → played). Los terminados en -e añaden -d (live → lived). Consonante + y cambia a -ied (study → studied, try → tried). Los verbos monosílabos terminados en una vocal + una consonante duplican la consonante (stop → stopped, plan → planned), pero no w, x ni y (snow → snowed, fix → fixed).
- La ortografía estadounidense y británica difiere en algunos verbos terminados en -l: traveled y canceled en EE. UU.; travelled y cancelled en el Reino Unido.
- Pronunciación de -ed: /t/ después de sonidos sordos como /p/, /k/, /s/, /ʃ/, /tʃ/ y /f/ (stopped, worked, missed, washed, watched, laughed); /ɪd/ después de /t/ y /d/ (wanted, needed, decided); /d/ después de vocales y otros sonidos sonoros (played, lived, called, cleaned). Solo /ɪd/ añade una sílaba.
- Verbos irregulares frecuentes: 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.
- Contracciones: didn't = did not, wasn't = was not, weren't = were not. No uses did con be: Were you tired? (no Did you be tired?).
Cuándo se usa
1. Acciones terminadas en un momento pasado
Usa el pasado simple para una acción que empezó y terminó en el pasado. A menudo se dice cuándo ocurrió o el contexto lo deja claro.
- I called my grandmother yesterday.
- We moved to Ankara in 2018.
- Did you enjoy the concert?
2. Una serie de acciones en un relato
Al contar una historia o describir lo ocurrido, usa el pasado simple para cada acción y preséntalas en el orden en que sucedieron.
- 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. Estados y hábitos pasados
Usa el pasado simple para situaciones que duraron cierto tiempo y para acciones que alguien hacía habitualmente. A menudo ya no son ciertas.
- 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 y were: el pasado de be
Usa was y were para describir personas, lugares, sentimientos y situaciones pasadas. También se usan con 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. Cuánto tiempo antes: ago
Coloca ago después de una duración para decir cuánto tiempo atrás ocurrió algo. Se usa con pasado simple, no con presente perfecto.
- I started this job three months ago.
- The class started ten minutes ago.
- How long ago did you buy this phone?
Expresiones de tiempo frecuentes con el pasado 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
Estas expresiones señalan un periodo terminado, por lo que se usan con pasado simple y no con presente perfecto. No pongas on, in ni at antes de last o yesterday: We met last Friday (no on last Friday).
Ejemplos en inglés
Afirmativas
- 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.
Negativas
- 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.
Preguntas
- Did you have a good weekend?
- Where did you go last summer?
- What time did the train leave?
- Was the hotel expensive?
¿Pasado simple o presente perfecto?
Usa el pasado simple cuando piensas en un momento ya terminado, aunque no lo menciones. Usa el presente perfecto cuando el periodo no ha terminado o el momento no importa. Prueba a preguntar «¿cuándo?»; si la respuesta es un momento pasado terminado, elige el pasado simple.
| Pasado simple | Presente perfecto |
|---|---|
| I sent ten emails yesterday. (ayer ya terminó) | I've sent ten emails today. (hoy aún no terminó) |
| When did you meet your best friend? (un momento pasado) | How long have you known your best friend? (desde entonces hasta ahora) |
| Picasso painted many pictures. (su vida ya terminó) | My aunt has painted twenty pictures. (sigue pintando) |
| The police caught the thief at the station last night. (detalles: cuándo y dónde) | The police have caught the thief! (la noticia, sin indicar cuándo) |
Errores frecuentes
- IncorrectoI didn't went to school yesterday.CorrectoI didn't go to school yesterday.
Didn't ya marca el pasado, así que el verbo principal se mantiene en su forma base.
- IncorrectoDid you saw my message?CorrectoDid you see my message?
En las preguntas, did lleva la marca de pasado, por lo que el verbo principal va en forma base.
- IncorrectoYesterday I go to the dentist.CorrectoYesterday I went to the dentist.
En inglés el pasado también se marca en el verbo; una expresión temporal como yesterday no basta.
- IncorrectoI visited London before two years.CorrectoI visited London two years ago.
Para indicar cuánto tiempo atrás ocurrió algo, coloca ago después de la duración.
- IncorrectoI born in 1998.CorrectoI was born in 1998.
Born necesita was o were delante: I was born, they were born.
- IncorrectoHe buyed a new phone last month.CorrectoHe bought a new phone last month.
Buy es irregular; su forma pasada es bought, no buyed.
A day at the coast
El texto y las formas resaltadas están en inglés.
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.
Comprueba lo que has aprendido
Las preguntas y opciones están en inglés; las explicaciones están en español.
Preguntas frecuentes
¿Qué es el pasado simple?
Es el tiempo verbal para acciones y situaciones terminadas en un momento pasado ya concluido (I called her yesterday). Los verbos regulares añaden -ed (worked, played) y los irregulares tienen formas propias (went, saw, bought).
¿Cómo se forman las negativas y preguntas en pasado simple?
Usa didn't + verbo base para las negativas y did + sujeto + verbo base para las preguntas, con todas las personas (She didn't call. Did she call?). Con be, usa wasn't o weren't y coloca was o were antes del sujeto en preguntas (Was he late?).
¿Cómo se pronuncia -ed en pasado simple?
La terminación -ed tiene tres pronunciaciones: /t/ después de sonidos sordos como /k/, /p/ y /s/ (worked, stopped, missed); /ɪd/ después de /t/ y /d/ (wanted, needed); y /d/ después de otros sonidos (played, lived). Solo /ɪd/ añade una sílaba.
¿Cuál es la diferencia entre pasado simple y presente perfecto?
El pasado simple se refiere a un momento terminado (I saw that movie last week). El presente perfecto conecta el pasado con el presente: el periodo no ha terminado o no se menciona cuándo (I've seen that movie twice).
¿Se dice learned o learnt?
Ambas son formas pasadas correctas de learn. El inglés estadounidense casi siempre usa learned; el británico usa ambas. Algunos verbos siguen el mismo patrón, como dream (dreamed/dreamt) y burn (burned/burnt).