Past Simple use
Past Simple is used for completed actions in the past, often with a finished time (yesterday, last week, in 2019).
I finished the task yesterday.
Past Simple Form
Subject + V2 / V-ed.
She worked late.
They went home early.
Past Simple Rule
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We often use past time markers:
yesterday, last week, in 2019, two days agoWe met last week.
He called two hours ago.
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For regular verbs we add -ed (with a few spelling rules).
work → worked, play → playedlike → liked, stop → stopped, study → studied
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Spelling rules:
- If a verb ends in -e, add only -d (like → liked).
- If a verb ends in a consonant + -y, change y to i and add -ed (study → studied).
- If a one-syllable verb ends in consonant–vowel–consonant, double the final consonant (stop → stopped).
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Irregular verbs have a special V2 form:
go → went, buy → boughtI bought a new phone.
They went to the office.
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The verb be in Past Simple: was / were
I was tired.
They were at home.
Past Simple Negation
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With most verbs we use didn't + V1 (the verb stays in the base form after didn't).
✅ I didn't go there.❌ I didn't went there.She didn't answer the message.
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With be we use wasn't / weren't.
He wasn't ready.
We weren't in the meeting.
Past Simple Questions
In questions with most verbs we use did + V1; with be we use inversion (was/were before the subject).
Did + subject + V?
Wh-word + did + subject + V?
Was / Were + subject ...?
Did you finish the report?
Where did they meet?
Why did she leave early?
Was he at home yesterday?
Were you busy last night?
Past Simple Common mistakes
❌ I didn't went to work.
✅ I didn't go to work.
❌ Did you went there?
✅ Did you go there?
❌ She did a mistake yesterday.
✅ She made a mistake yesterday.
Past Simple Sentences
Yesterday I finished the report and sent it to my manager.
Last week we visited a new restaurant near the office.
She bought a new laptop two days ago.
He called me in the evening and asked about the meeting.
They moved to a new apartment last month.
We watched an interesting documentary yesterday.
I forgot my password and couldn't log in.
She finished the project earlier than expected.
He missed the bus and arrived late for work.
We met our old friends during the conference.
Past Simple Examples
I woke up early and went for a short walk.
She forgot her phone at home and came back to get it.
They finished the task and started a new project.
We discussed the problem and found a simple solution.
He opened the email and read the message carefully.
I tried the new app and liked its design.
She arrived late but quickly joined the meeting.
We booked the tickets online and printed them at home.
He checked the code and fixed several small bugs.
They organized a small party and invited their friends.