Practice
Simple past tense: forms and examples
Yesterday, you may have finished work, called a friend, and cooked dinner. The simple past helps you place those actions in finished time.
Use the simple past for finished events and choose the correct affirmative, negative, and question form.
Read and practice
Read the examples and try the written questions in this guide. Listening recordings are not available for this lesson yet.
Try the written questions
We worked late last night. /wi wɝːkt leɪt læst naɪt/
The short answer
Use the simple past for a finished time. Say I walked home yesterday or We met last Friday. In negatives and most questions, use did plus the base verb: I did not walk and Did you walk?
We visited the museum last Saturday.
Why it works: Last Saturday is a finished time, so visited is in the simple past.
5 more examples
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I finished the report before lunch.
Finished shows that the report was completed before a past point in the day.
Not this:I
have finishedthe report. What changes: The present perfect connects the completed report to the present situation. -
They moved to a new apartment in March.
In March names a finished time, so the simple past is natural.
Not this:They
have movedto a new apartment. What changes: This sentence focuses on the present result and does not name a finished time. -
Maya did not bring her notebook to class.
Bring stays in its base form after did not.
Not this:Maya
broughther notebook to class. What changes: A positive statement uses the irregular past form brought. -
Did you see the message this morning?
Did begins the question, and see remains the base form.
Not this:You
sawthe message this morning. What changes: A positive statement uses the irregular past form saw. -
When I was a student, I walked to the library every day.
The sentence describes a repeated past habit during a finished period of life.
Not this:I
walkto the library every day. What changes: The present simple describes a current routine instead of a past habit.
Read the full guide
First, look for a finished time or a completed event. Then choose the verb form. Use the past form in a positive statement. After did or did not, return to the base form of the verb.
Find the finished time
Use the simple past when the action belongs to a finished period. A time expression can show this clearly, but a completed event can also be enough.
Our team presented the plan last Thursday.
Last Thursday is over, so presented places the action in the simple past.
Which tense fits a completed event last Thursday?
Use the simple past: Our team presented the plan last Thursday.
Make regular past forms
Many verbs form the simple past with -ed. Add -d when the base verb already ends in e. Change a final consonant plus y to ied, as in studied.
She studied for the exam on Sunday.
Study changes to studied because the verb ends in a consonant plus y.
Complete the sentence: We ___ the office at six.
Use left: We left the office at six. Left is an irregular past form.
Learn irregular past forms
Irregular verbs do not follow the -ed pattern. Learn each common past form with a useful sentence. For example, go becomes went, buy becomes bought, and see becomes saw.
We bought tickets online yesterday.
Bought is the past form of buy. It does not end in -ed.
Choose the past form of go: goed or went?
Use went: They went home after the meeting.
Use did in negatives
Use did not or didn't to make most simple past negatives. The verb after did not stays in the base form, even when the positive sentence has an irregular past form.
I didn't take the bus this morning.
Take stays in the base form after didn't. Do not write didn't took.
Complete the negative: He did not ___ the invitation.
Use accept: He did not accept the invitation.
Ask about a past event
For most simple past questions, put did before the subject and use the base verb after the subject. This pattern works with regular and irregular verbs.
Did your neighbor call you last night?
Call stays in the base form because did already marks the past.
Put the words in order: did / they / arrive / on time?
Did they arrive on time?
Describe a past habit
The simple past can describe something you did regularly during a past period. A phrase such as when I was younger or every summer can make the past habit clear.
Every summer, my family stayed near the coast.
Every summer refers to a past routine here because the sentence describes family habits from an earlier period.
Does I played chess every Friday describe one event or a past habit?
It describes a past habit because every Friday shows repeated action in an earlier period.
Before you go
Remember this
Use the simple past for finished events, past facts, and past habits. Use the past verb form in a positive statement. Use did or didn't with the base verb in a question or negative sentence.
Practice with the written examples
You can practice with the written questions in the Learn tab. Each answer includes an explanation.
Try the written questionsListening test not available yet
This lesson does not have the recordings needed for a listening test. Use the written questions in the guide to check your understanding.
Try the written questionsQuestions about "Simple past tense: forms and examples"
When should I use the simple past tense?
Use the simple past for an event, action, state, or habit that ended before now. A finished-time expression such as yesterday, last month, or in 2022 often makes the choice clear. Use it when the conversation already makes the completed time clear too.
I finished the report before lunch.
How do I form the simple past of regular verbs?
Many regular verbs add -ed, as in worked and called. Add -d after a final e, as in moved. When a verb ends in a consonant plus y, change y to i and add -ed, as in studied. Check spelling rules when a short verb doubles its final consonant.
I have finished the report.
Why do I use did with the base verb?
Did already carries the past meaning in a negative sentence or question. For that reason, the following verb stays in its base form: Did she go? and She did not go. Do not combine did with a past form such as went or took.
They moved to a new apartment in March.
What are irregular simple past verbs?
Irregular verbs have past forms that do not follow the usual -ed pattern. Common examples include went, saw, made, took, and bought. Learn an irregular verb with a complete sentence, then notice the base form you need after did and didn't.
They have moved to a new apartment.
Can the simple past describe a past habit?
Yes. Use the simple past for actions that happened regularly during an earlier period, especially when a phrase gives the past setting. For example, when I was at college, I played tennis every weekend. The sentence describes a repeated routine that is no longer presented as current.
Maya did not bring her notebook to class.