Past Simple

The Past Simple tense is sometimes called the "preterite tense".

We can use several tenses and forms to talk about the past, but the
Past Simple tense is the one we use most often.
In this lesson we look at the structure and use of the Past Simple
tense, followed by a quiz to check your understanding.
How do we make the Past Simple tense?
There are two basic structures for the Past Simple tense:
1. Positive sentences

subject + main verb

Past Simple

2. Negative and question sentences

subject + auxiliary do + main verb

conjugated in Past Simple

Did base

Look at these examples with the main verbs go (irregular)

and work (regular):
subject auxiliary main verb
verb

+ I went to school.

You worked very hard.

- She did not go with me.

We did not work yesterday.

? Did you go to London?

Did they work at home?

From the above table, notice the following points...

For positive sentences:
 There is no auxiliary verb.
 The main verb is conjugated in the Past Simple, invariable: -ed
(or irregular)
For negative and question sentences:
 The auxiliary is conjugated in the Past Simple, invariable: did
 The main verb is invariable in base form: base
 For negative sentences, we insert not between the auxiliary
verb and main verb.
 For question sentences, we exchange the subject and the
auxiliary verb.
Emphatic did
Normally, for positive sentences we do not use the auxiliary did.
But if we want to emphasize (stress) something, or contradict
something, we may use it.
For example: "I didn't use a spellchecker but I did use a dictionary."
Here are some more examples:
 "Why didn't you go to the party?" / "I did go."
 It did seem a bit strange.
 After drinking it I did in fact feel better.
Past Simple with main verb be
The structure of the Past Simple with the main verb be is:

subject + main verb be

conjugated in Past Simple

was, were

Look at these examples with the main verb be:

subject main
verb be

+ I, he/she/it was here.

You, we, they were in Pakistan.

- I, he/she/it was no there.

t

You, we, they were no happy.

t

? Was I, he/she/it right?

Were you, we, they late?

From the above table, notice the following points...

 There is no auxiliary verb, even for questions and negatives.
 The main verb (be) is conjugated in the Past Simple: was,
were
 For negative sentences, we insert not after the main verb.
 For question sentences, we exchange the subject and the
main verb.
How do we use the Past Simple tense?
We use the Past Simple tense to talk about an action or a situation -
an event - in the past. The event can be short or long.
Here are some short events with the Past Simple:

The car exploded at 9.30am yesterday.

She went to the door.
We did not hear the telephone.
Did you see that car?

past Present future

The action is in the past.

Here are some long events with the Past Simple tense:

I lived in Bangkok for 10 years.

The Jurassic period lasted about 62 million years.
We did not sing at the concert.
Did you watch TV last night?

past Present Future

The action is in the past.

Notice that it does not matter how long ago the event is: it can be a
few minutes or seconds in the past, or millions of years in the past.
Also it does not matter how long the event is. It can be a few
milliseconds (car explosion) or millions of years (Jurassic period).
We use the Past Simple tense when:
 the event is in the past
 the event is completely finished
 we say (or understand) the time and/or place of the event
In general, if we say the past time or place of the event, we must
use the Past Simple tense; we cannot use the present perfect.
Here are some more examples:
 I lived in that house when I was young.
 He didn't like the movie.
 What did you eat for dinner?
 Ahmed drove to London on Monday.
 Mary did not go to work yesterday.
 Did you play tennis last week?
 I was at work yesterday.
 We were not late (for the train).
 Were you angry?
Note that when we tell a story, we usually use the Past Simple.
We may start with the Past Continuous tense to "set the scene", but
we almost always use the Past Simple tense for the action.
Look at this example of the beginning of a story:
"The wind was howling around the hotel and the rain was pouring
down. It was cold. The door opened and James Bond entered.
He took off his coat, which was very wet, and ordered a drink at
the bar. He sat down in the corner of the lounge and
quietly drank his..."
This page shows the use of the Past Simple tense to talk about past
events.
But note that there are some other uses for the Past Simple, for
example in conditional or if sentences.

USE 1 Completed Action in the Past

Use the simple past to express the idea that an action started and finished
at a specific time in the past.
Sometimes, the speaker may not actually mention the specific time, but
they do have one specific time in mind.
Examples:
 I saw a movie yesterday.
 I didn't see a play yesterday.
 Last year, I traveled to Japan.
 Last year, I didn't travel to Korea.
 Did you have dinner last night?
 She washed her car.
 He didn't wash his car.

USE 2 A Series of Completed Actions

We use the simple past to list a series of completed actions in the past.
These actions happen 1st, 2nd, 3rd, 4th, and so on.
Examples:
 I finished work, walked to the beach, and found a nice place to
swim.
 He arrived from the airport at 8:00, checked into the hotel at 9:00,
and met the others at 10:00.
 Did you add flour, pour in the milk, and then add the eggs?

USE 3 Duration in the Past

The simple past can be used with a duration which starts and stops in the
past.
A duration is a longer action often indicated by expressions such as: for two
years, for five minutes, all day, all year, etc.
Examples:
 I lived in Brazil for two years.
 Shauna studied Japanese for five years.
 They sat at the beach all day.
 They did not stay at the party the entire time.
 We talked on the phone for thirty minutes.
 A: How long did you wait for them?
B: We waited for one hour.

USE 4 Habits in the Past

The simple past can also be used to describe a habit which stopped in the
past. It can have the same meaning as "used to."
To make it clear that we are talking about a habit, we often add
expressions such as: always, often, usually, never, when I was a child,
when I was younger, etc.
Examples:
 I studied French when I was a child.
 He played the violin.
 He didn't play the piano.
 Did you play a musical instrument when you were a kid?
 She worked at the movie theater after school.
 They never went to school, they always skipped class.

USE 5 Past Facts or Generalizations

The simple past can also be used to describe past facts or generalizations
which are no longer true. As in USE 4 above, this use of the simple past is
quite similar to the expression "used to."
Examples:
 She was shy as a child, but now she is very outgoing.
 He didn't like tomatoes before.
 Did you live in Texas when you were a kid?
 People paid much more to make cell phone calls in the past.