Past Simple Tense

1. Forms of the Past Simple Tense

💡 The Past Simple Tense has three main forms: affirmative, negative, and interrogative.

A. Affirmative Form

💡 Structure:
Subject + past form of the verb

• Regular verbs: Add -ed, -d, or -ied to the base form.
• Irregular verbs: Use their specific past forms (e.g., go → went).

• Examples:

• 🚶 I walked to the park.
• 🎬 You watched a movie.
• 👵 He visited his grandma.
• 🍰 She baked a cake.
• 🌧️ It rained yesterday.
• ✈️ We traveled to Italy.
• 🧹 You cleaned the house.
• 🏆 They won the game.

B. Negative Form

💡 Structure:
Subject + did not (didn’t) + base form of the verb

• Examples:

  🚶 I did not walk to the park.

• 🎬 You didn’t watch a movie.
• 👵 He did not visit his grandma.
• 🍰 She didn’t bake a cake.
• 🌧️ It didn’t rain yesterday.
• ✈️ We didn’t travel to Italy.
• 🧹 You didn’t clean the house.
• 🏆 They didn’t win the game.

C. Interrogative Form

💡 Structure:
Did + subject + base form of the verb?

• Examples:

  🚶 Did I walk to the park?

• 🎬 Did you watch a movie?
• 👵 Did he visit his grandma?
• 🍰 Did she bake a cake?
• 🌧️ Did it rain yesterday?
• ✈️ Did we travel to Italy?
• 🧹 Did you clean the house?
• 🏆 Did they win the game?

2. Irregular Verbs in the Past Simple

💡 Irregular Verbs do not follow the regular -ed rule. Memorizing their unique forms is essential.

• Examples of common irregular verbs:

• 🚶‍♂️ Go → Went
• 🍎 Eat → Ate
• 🗣️ Speak → Spoke
• 📸 Take → Took
• 🛍️ Buy → Bought
• 👀 See → Saw
• 🏃‍♀️ Run → Ran
• ✍️ Write → Wrote
• 📚 Have → Had
• ✅ Do → Did
• 💬 Say → Said
• 🎧 Hear → Heard
• 🏠 Come → Came
• 🖐️ Give → Gave
• 🎁 Bring → Brought
• 📖 Read → Read
• 💡 Know → Knew
• 👋 Leave → Left
• 🛌 Sleep → Slept
• 🏋️‍♀️ Begin → Began

💡 Because there is no single rule for forming the past tense of irregular verbs, it’s essential to study them individually.

3. Spelling Rules for Regular Verbs

💡 When forming the past tense of regular verbs, pay attention to certain spelling rules:

• 1. Most verbs: Add “-ed”
  Examples:

🚶 Walk → Walked
🏃 Jump → Jumped
🖊️ Talk → Talked
🎤 Listen → Listened
🎨 Paint → Painted

2. Verbs ending in “e”: Add “-d”
Examples:

🏠 Live → Lived
🎥 Move → Moved
📞 Phone → Phoned
💡 Use → Used
🎭 Dance → Danced

3. Verbs ending in a consonant + “y”: Change “y” to “i” and add “-ed”
Examples:

😢 Cry → Cried
✏️ Study → Studied
💭 Worry → Worried
🎁 Carry → Carried
📖 Copy → Copied

4. Verbs ending in a short vowel + consonant: Double the final consonant and add “-ed”
Examples:

🏃 Stop → Stopped
📦 Wrap → Wrapped
🛒 Shop → Shopped
🎉 Plan → Planned
💥 Clap → Clapped

4. Usages of the Past Simple Tense

A. Actions Completed at a Specific Time in the Past

Refers to actions or events that occurred and finished in the past.

• Examples:

  ✍️ I wrote an essay yesterday.

• 📞 She called her friend last night.
• 🍽️ We ate dinner at 7 p.m.
• 🎥 They watched a movie on Friday.
• 🚶 He walked to school this morning.
• 🎮 I played video games last weekend.
• ☔ It rained heavily last week.
• 🎂 She celebrated her birthday last month.
• ✈️ We flew to Paris two years ago.
• 🎤 He sang at the concert on Saturday.

B. Series of Completed Actions in the Past

Describes multiple actions that occurred sequentially.

• Examples:

  🚗 I drove to the store, bought groceries, and returned home.

• 🎉 We danced, laughed, and celebrated all night.
• 🏃 He ran, jumped, and scored a goal.
• 🌅 She woke up, stretched, and went for a walk.
• 📖 I read, took notes, and reviewed the chapter.
• 👨‍🍳 We cooked, ate, and cleaned up afterward.
• 📸 They took photos, explored the museum, and had lunch.
• 👨‍🍳 He prepared the ingredients, cooked the dish, and served it.
• 🎬 She watched a movie, wrote a review, and shared it.
• 🎨 We painted, framed, and hung the artwork.

C. Actions That Took Place Over a Defined Period

Describes activities or events that continued for a specific time frame.

• Examples:

  📖 I studied all night for the exam.

• 💼 She worked at that company for five years.
• 🏖️ They stayed at the beach for a week.
• 📝 He attended the workshop for three days.
• 📺 We watched TV for hours.
• 🍳 She cooked in the kitchen for two hours.
• 🎸 He practiced guitar for three years.
• 🏃 I jogged every morning for a month.
• 👥 They volunteered at the shelter for a month.
• 🎉 We celebrated the festival for an entire week.

5. Time Indicators

A. Using “Yesterday”

Indicates something happened the day before.

• Examples:

  👵 I visited my grandmother yesterday.

• 📄 She completed her assignment yesterday.
• 🦁 They went to the zoo yesterday.
• 📚 He bought a new book yesterday.
• 🎥 We watched a movie yesterday.
• 🧹 I cleaned my room yesterday.
• 👩‍🍳 She made dinner yesterday.
• 📞 He called his friend yesterday.
• 🏀 We played basketball yesterday.
• 📖 They studied together yesterday.

B. Using “Last” (Last Night, Last Week, etc.)

Refers to a completed time in the recent past.

• Examples:

  🎤 I went to the concert last night.

• ✈️ She traveled to Canada last month.
• 🏡 They moved into their new house last year.
• ⚽ He played soccer last weekend.
• 👨‍👩‍👧 We visited our relatives last week.
• 📖 I read an interesting book last month.
• 👩‍💻 She started her job last year.
• 🧑‍🏫 He joined the club last semester.
• 🎉 We organized an event last weekend.
• ⛰️ They hiked the mountain last summer.

C. Using “Ago”

Used with a specific time period before now.

• Examples:

  ✈️ I visited Italy two years ago.

• 🇪🇸 She learned Spanish five years ago.
• 🏠 They moved here a month ago.
• 🚗 He bought his car three years ago.
• 👫 We met him a week ago.
• 🎥 I watched that movie a few days ago.
• 🎨 She started painting two months ago.
• 👨‍💼 He joined the company a year ago.
• 📝 We completed the project a week ago.
• 🚶‍♂️ They began their trip a few days ago.

D. Using Specific Dates or Times

Refers to precise moments or dates in the past.

• Examples:

  🎓 I graduated in 2018.

• 🏙️ She moved to New York in January.
• 🎉 They celebrated their anniversary on June 15th.
• 👔 He started his job in April.
• 🏛️ We visited the museum in March.
• 📖 I read that book in high school.
• 🏅 She joined the team in 2020.
• 📈 He launched his business last summer.
• 🎉 We hosted a party on my birthday.
• 💍 They got married in October.