Level: beginner
With most verbs, the past tense is formed by adding –ed:
| called | liked | wanted | worked |
But there are a lot of irregular past tense forms in English. Here are the most common irregular verbs in English, with their past tense forms:
| Base form | Past tense |
|---|---|
| be begin break bring buy build choose come cost cut do draw drive eat feel find get give go have hear hold keep know leave lead let lie lose make mean meet pay put run say sell send set sit speak spend stand take teach tell think understand wear win write |
was/were began broke brought bought built chose came cost cut did drew drove ate felt found got gave went had heard held kept knew left led let lay lost made meant met paid put ran said sold sent set sat spoke spent stood took taught told thought understood wore won wrote |
We use the past tense to talk about:
- something that happened once in the past:
I met my wife in 1983.
We went to Spain for our holidays.
They got home very late last night.
- something that happened several times in the past:
When I was a boy, I walked a mile to school every day.
We swam a lot while we were on holiday.
They always enjoyed visiting their friends.
- something that was true for some time in the past:
I lived abroad for ten years.
He enjoyed being a student.
She played a lot of tennis when she was younger.
- we often use expressions with ago with the past simple:
I met my wife a long time ago.
- Past simple 1
- GapFillTyping_MTYzMjI=
- Past simple 2
- GapFillTyping_MTYzMjM=
Past simple questions and negatives
We use did to make questions with the past simple:
Did she play tennis when she was younger?
Did you live abroad?
When did you meet your wife?
Where did you go for your holidays?
But questions with who often don't use did:
Who discovered penicillin?
Who wrote Don Quixote?
- Past simple questions 1
- ReorderingHorizontal_MTYzMjQ=
- Past simple questions 2
- GapFillTyping_MTYzMjU=
We use didn't (did not) to make negatives with the past simple:
They didn't go to Spain this year.
We didn't get home until very late last night.
I didn't see you yesterday.
- Past simple negatives 1
- GapFillDragAndDrop_MTYzMjY=
- Past simple negatives 2
- GapFillTyping_MTYzMjc=
Level: intermediate
Past simple and hypotheses
We can also use the past simple to refer to the present or future in hypotheses (when we imagine something). See these pages:
Comments
Hi aseel aftab,
This is the same issue (present perfect or past simple) that has already been explained in answers to several previous questions. Please take a look at those answers.
Best wishes,
Peter
The LearnEnglish Team
I have a question as regards reporting speeches. A girl told me: "cats are better than dogs because they are cuter". Now I don't believe this but i still want to report what she said. Can I say what she said I.e "cats are better than dogs because they are cuter" and then say I don't believe this or am I meant to report it using the indirect speech i.e you said cats were better than dogs because they were cuter automatically every time I don't believe an idea or expression?
Hello Timmosky,
As I mentioned in my other response to your similar question on another page, I'd say indirect speech is more common, though really you can choose whether to use direct or indirect speech.
All the best,
Kirk
The LearnEnglish Team
Hello sir!
Why we say that floods have resulted in loss of valuable lives. Rather we can say floods resulted in loss of valuable human lives because the action has finished
Hello aseel aftab,
We use the present perfect when there is a result in the present of a past action. If the floods happened very recently and the results are still being felt then 'have resulted' is appropriate. If, however, the floods happened a long time ago and are more historical then 'resulted' would be better.
Best wishes,
Peter
The LearnEnglish Team
Best wishes,
Peter
The LearnEnglish Team
Hi sir! Why we say that he passes away at 98 is it correct to use present tense in a past situation or we should say that he passed away at 98
Hello aseel aftab,
In most contexts, the past simple would be the best form here. The present simple, however, can be used to speak about the past when we're telling a story or speaking about history.
All the best,
Kirk
The LearnEnglish Team
can i say "I went out five minutes ago " or I have gone out five minutes ago"
Hello aseel aftab,
The present perfect isn't used with 'ago'. This is because the present perfect speaks about an unspecified past time and 'five minutes ago' specifies a past time. Therefore 'I went out five minutes ago' is the correct choice here.
All the best,
Kirk
The LearnEnglish Team
Hi Sir, as for the grammar rule, I am uncertain if I should use remind or reminded in the sentence below.
Question: Whenever I saw an ML350, it remind or reminded me of my very favorite uncle.
My uncle is late. He used an Ml350. Someone passed-by with the car and I wanted to express how I feel on twitter.
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