The Simple Past , also called Past Simple (Simple past), is one of the tenses of English. It is equivalent to the simple past in the Portuguese language.
When to use?
The Simple Past is used to indicate past actions already completed , that is, to talk about events that have already happened; that started and ended in the past.
Time expressions used with Simple Past
To reinforce the use of Simple Past , many temporal expressions are used in the sentences.
The most common examples are: yesterday (yesterday), the day before yesterday (yesterday), last night (last night), last year (last year), last month (last month), last week (last week), August ( ago), etc.
See some phrases in Simple Past with the expressions above:
- We did not go to school yesterday . (We didn’t go to school yesterday.)
- His birthday was the day before yesterday . (His birthday was the day before yesterday.)
- She studied Math last night . (She studied mathematics last night.)
- I traveled 1 / traveled 2 to Brazil last year . (I traveled to Brazil last year.)
- They visited their uncle last month . (They visited their uncle last month.)
- I called you three days ago . (I called you three days ago.)
- We learned how to dance samba last week . (We learned to dance samba last week.)
1 American spelling; 2 British spelling
Formation of Simple Past
The basic formation of Simple Past is done using the auxiliary did in the negative and interrogative forms, and with the addition of – ed , – ied or – d to the end of the main verb in the infinitive, without the to , in the affirmative form.
Look at the tables below and see examples of Simple Past conjugation .
Example: verb to dance (to dance – regular)
| Affirmative | Negative | Interrogative |
|---|---|---|
| I danced | I did not dance | Did I dance? |
| You danced | You did not dance | Did you dance? |
| He danced | He did not dance | Did he dance? |
| She danced | She did not dance | Did she dance? |
| It danced | It did not dance | Did it dance? |
| We danced | We did not dance | Did we dance? |
| You danced | You did not dance | Did you dance? |
| They danced | They did not dance | Did they dance? |
Example: verb to fly (fly – irregular)
| Affirmative | Negative | Interrogative |
|---|---|---|
| I flew | I did not fly | Did I fly? |
| You flew | You did not fly | Did you fly? |
| He flew | He did not fly | Did he fly? |
| She flew | She did not fly | Did she fly? |
| It flew | It did not fly | Did it fly? |
| We flew | We did not fly | Did we fly? |
| You flew | You did not fly | Did you fly? |
| They flew | They did not fly | Did they fly? |
Check out the explanations below and learn how to write past English verb sentences in the affirmative , negative and interrogative form .
Affirmative form
Regular verbs (regular verbs)
To use regular verbs in affirmative sentences in Simple Past , just change the verb ending according to the following rules:
1. To regular verbs ending in – e, only the – d is added at the end of the verb:
- to lov e (amar) – lov ed
- to li e (lying) – li ed
- to arriv e (arriving) – arriv ed
- to lik e (to like) – lik ed
2. To regular verbs ending in c onsoante + v ogal + c onsoante (CVC), the last consonant is doubled and the – ed is added :
- s top (stop) – sto pped
- cont rol (control) – contro lled
- p lan (plan) – pla nned
- pre fer (prefer) – pref rred
3. To verbs ending in – y preceded by a consonant, remove the y and add the – ied :
- to stu dy (study) – stud ied
- to wor ry (worries) – worr ied
- to c ry (cry) – cr ied
- to t ry (try) – tr ied
4. To verbs ending in – y preceded by a vowel, only – ed is added :
- enj oy (enjoy) – enj oyed
- st ay (stay) – st ayed
- pl ay (play; play) – pl ayed
Irregular verbs (irregular verbs)
The verbs irregular do not have a standard training. They do not follow the rules indicated above because they have their own shape.
Check out some irregular verbs in the simple past below:
| Infinitive | Simple Past | Translation |
|---|---|---|
| abide | abode | stay, survive |
| awake | awoke | wake up, wake up |
| be | was / were | to be; be |
| become | became | become; transform |
| begin | began | begin |
| buy | bought | purchase |
| eats | cam | come over; to arrive |
| of | did | do; take care; work |
| go | went | go; leave |
| have | had | Tue; to possess |
| make | made | do; create |
| say | said | tell |
| sleep | slept | to sleep |
| speak | spoke | speak; tell |
| take | took | take; take out |
| write | wrote | write; write down |
The formation of sentences in the affirmative in Simple Past follows the structure below:
Subject + verb + complement
Example: She liked the English teacher . (She liked the English teacher).
Negative Form
For the construction of negative phrases in Simple Past , the verb did is used as an auxiliary verb.
The main verb is not conjugated in the past, since the auxiliary already indicates the tense.
Its phrasal structure is as follows:
Subject + did + not + main verb + complement
Example: She did not like the English teacher. (She didn’t like the English teacher)
Note : the contracted form of did not is didn’t .
Interrogative Form
As in the negative form, did is the auxiliary verb used for interrogative phrases in Simple Past .
See the structure below:
Did + subject + main verb + complement
Example: Did she like the English teacher? (Did she like the English teacher?)
Note : only the auxiliary verb ( did ) is conjugated in Simple Past . It is not necessary to conjugate the main verb.
Simple Past x Past Continuous
Many confuse the uses of the past in English, especially Simple Past (simple past) and Past Continuous (continuous past) . Let’s see below the differences between them:
Simple Past
Expresses past actions, that is, it refers to facts that started in the past and ended in the past. In this case, the actions that have already been completed. The auxiliary verb did is used only in the negative and interrogative forms of Simple Past.
Examples :
- You ran in the marathon. (You ran the marathon.)
- You did not run in the marathon. (You did not run the marathon.)
- Did you run in the marathon? (Did you run the marathon?)
Past Continuous
It expresses an ongoing action that has taken place in the past.
Unlike Simple Past , it is formed by the auxiliary verb to be conjugated in Simple Past ( was / were ) + the gerund (- ing ) of the main verb.
Examples :
- You were running in the marathon. (You were running in the marathon.)
- You were not running in the marathon. (You were not running in the marathon.)
- Were you running in the marathon ? (Were you running in the marathon?)
Exercises
1. (PUC-GO) Complete the following text using the correct past tense conjugation of the verbs in parenthesis in English:
Last night Susan (go) ____________ to her friend’s birthday party. She (dance) ____________ with her boyfriend, and (eat) ____________ cake. After they (leave) ____________ the party, Susan and her boyfriend (decide) ____________ to go and watch a movie at the theater. They (see) ____________ the new Transformer’s movie, and then they went home. When she (get) ____________ home, Susan (take) ____________ a shower and (fall) ____________ asleep quickly.
Choose the correct option from the ones listed below:
a) go / dance / eat / leave / decide / see / get / take / fall.
b) went / danced / ate / left / decided / saw / got / took / fell.
c) will go / will dance / will eat / will leave / will decide / will see / will get / will take / will fall.
d) had gone / had danced / had eaten / had left / had decided / had seen / had gotten / had taken / had fallen.
Answer
Correct alternative: b) went / danced / ate / left / decided / saw / got / took / fell.
a) WRONG. All verbs for this alternative are in the infinitive.
b) CORRECT: All the verbs of this alternative are conjugated in Simple Past , which is used to indicate actions that started and ended in the past.
In all sentences, the gaps correspond to actions that started and were completed in the past ( last night ).
c) WRONG. All the verbs of this alternative are conjugated in Simple Future .
d) WRONG. All the verbs of this alternative are conjugated in Past Perfect , a tense used to express past actions that started and were completed before one or more actions in the past. The first action to occur is indicated by Past Perfect and the other actions (which occur afterwards) are indicated by Simple Past .
Example : When we arrived, the movie had finished . (When we arrived, the movie was over.)
See that had finished is Past Perfect’s flexion and was the first to begin and be completed. The action that happened afterwards ( we arrived = we arrived), is combined in Simple Past .
In the exercise phrases, the gaps correspond to actions that started and ended in the past; without any subordination to other actions.
2 . (Mackenzie) The negative form of He sold his car last week is:
a) He doesn’t sells his car last week.
b) He doesn’t sold his car last week.
c) He didn’t sold his car last week.
d) He didn’t sell his car last week.
e) He doesn’t sell his car last week
Answer
Correct alternative: d) He didn’t sell his car last week.
The verb of the phrase ( sold ) is inflected in Simple Past , so the negative form must also be in the same tense.
a) WRONG. Bending doesn’t sells does not exist. In addition, both doesn’t and sells are inflections of Simple Present .
b) WRONG. Bending doesn’t sold does not exist. Doesn’t is a helper of Simple Present while sold is an inflection of Simple Past .
c) WRONG. When the auxiliary did is used, the main verb should not be inflected, but should be in the infinitive form, without the to .
d) CORRECT. Sold is the Simple Past inflection of the verb to sell , used in affirmative sentences. In negative phrases in Simple Past , we should use did not or didn’t + main verb in the infinitive without to .
e) WRONG. Doesn’t sell is an inflection of Simple Present , not Simple Past .
3. Complete the gaps with the verbs in parentheses conjugated in Simple Past :
a) She _______ (go) to the shopping mall.
b) Marisa _______ (want / not) a ride.
c) Your parents _______ (make) a cake.
d) ______ (you talk) to his friends?
e) Sofia and Jane _______ (be) at the party.
Answer
Correct answers:
a) She went to the shopping mall.
The verb to go is an irregular verb. It does not follow the same conjugation model of the Simple Past affirmative form of regular verbs, where the ending is – ed , as it has its own form.
b) Marisa didn’t want a ride. or Marisa did not want to ride.
The negative form of Simple Past is formed according to the following structure:
Did + not + main verb in infinitive without to
It is also possible to replace did + not with its contracted form: didn’t
c) Your parents made a cake .
The verb to make is an irregular verb. It does not follow the same conjugation model of the Simple Past affirmative form of regular verbs, where the ending is – ed , as it has its own form.
d) Did you talk to his friends?
The interrogative form of Simple Past is formed according to the following structure:
Did + subject + main verb in infinitive without to
e) Sofia and Jane were at the party .
The verb to be is an irregular verb. It does not follow the same conjugation model of the Simple Past affirmative form of regular verbs, where the ending is – ed , as it has its own form.
4. Check the correct alternative to Simple Past for irregular verbs: drive , forget and got .
a) drive; forgot; got
b) driven; forgotten; get
c) driven; forgotten; gotten
d) drove; forget; get
e) drove; forgot; got
Answer
Correct alternative: e) drove; forgot; got
a) WRONG. This alternative is wrong, as the drive can be a Simple Present inflection or the infinitive without the to , but not a Simple Past inflection . The forgot and got push-ups are correct.
b) WRONG. Driven and forgotten are Past Participle pushups , and get can be a Simple Present pushup or the infinitive without the to . None of the options is bending Simple Past .
c) WRONG. All options are pastions of Past Participle and not Simple Past.
d) WRONG. Drove is a Simple Past inflection , but forget and get can be Simple Present inflections or infinitive forms without to .
e) CORRECT. All push-ups are combined in Simple Past.
5. Write the sentence below in Simple Past in the affirmative, negative and interrogative forms:
She will go to the United States of America.
Answer
Correct answers:
The phrase provided is inflected in Simple Future , with the help will . The main verb of the sentence is to go .
Affirmative form:
She went to the United States of America .
The Simple Past inflection of the verb to go is went .
As to go is an irregular verb, it does not follow a conjugation model as with regular verbs, where Simple Past inflections end in – ed .
Negative form:
She did not go to the United States of America . or She didn’t go to the United States of America .
The structure of a negative sentence in Simple Past is as follows:
Subject + did + not + main verb in infinitive without to
It is also possible to replace did + not with its contracted form: didn’t
Interrogative form:
Did she go to the United States of America ?
The structure of an interrogative sentence in Simple Past is as follows:
Did + subject + main verb in infinitive without to