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
Hello sirmee,
This depends on whether the sentence is still true or not:
This sentence refers to the past. You may be talking about your childhood, for example, or your memory may have faded, or you may no longer see ML350s for some reason.
This refers to the present; it is still true.
Best wishes,
Peter
The LearnEnglish Team
Thanks Mr Peter for the clear and concise explanation.
I used the past form instead of the present. Our neighbor bought the car, whenever he pass by, he reminds me of my uncle. So the whole thing is still happening except for my uncle
Good evening sir,
Which sentence is correct as per tense rule?
1) if it is definite time in the past, we should use simple past.
[as per the rule which sentence is correct]
A)The rain was late by four hours.
or
B)The train is late by four hours.
Hello asr09,
If you are describing a particular situation in the past then the first sentence is correct.
Best wishes,
Peter
The LearnEnglish Team
The 2nd sentence denotes the future in simple present .[The train is late by four hours]
Hello asr09,
This sentence describes the present rather than the past. You would say it, for example, if you are waiting for a train due at 15.00 and the time is now 19.00.
To talk about the future we would say 'will be' rather than 'is':
Best wishes,
Peter
The LearnEnglish Team
Thank you!
Hello. I don't understand why they use past simple instead of present perfect un this sentence : "who wrote DON QUIXOTE ?". DON QUIXOTE is still written. It is unfinished state , i think
Hello jau20,
I think you are confusing the state of being written (which is true of the book now) with the act of writing the book (which ended in 1605/1615 as far as we know).
The act of writing the book was completed long ago; it is now finished and Cervantes is not still writing it. For completed actions in the past we use the past simple, not the present perfect.
You would use the present perfect for actions which are still unfinished. For example, you might say:
Best wishes,
Peter
The LearnEnglish Team
I understand better now. Thank you very much Peter
Pages