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
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- Past simple 2
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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
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- 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 Almaz Kalabaev,
Welcome to LearnEnglish! Many of our members have told us that they've managed to improve their English using our site, so you're in the right place!
I'm not sure whether I understand your question. Do you mean is it necessary to use some kind of time expression (words like yesterday, in 1983, etc.) when using the past simple?
If that's what you mean, the answer is no. If you like at some of the examples above, you'll see sentences in the past simple without a time expression:
If you meant something else, then please ask us again!
Best wishes,
Kirk
The LearnEnglish Team
One more request Could you tell me where I admit mistakes? especially in grammar)))))))
hello sir ,
Is it true that after did or didn't we use only present tense words like :
Which sentence is correct ?
She didn't expected that ?
OR
She didn't expect that ?
thank you :)
Hello dhruv_r,
You are almost correct. When we form a negative in the past simple we use:
did + not + infinitive (base form)
We do not use a past form of the main verb, so 'expect' is correct in your examples and 'expected' is incorrect. The main verb is an infinitive form (base form), however, not a present tense.
I hope that clarifies it for you.
Best wishes,
Peter
The LearnEnglish Team
hello sir,
Please tell me the correct sentence ...
I have sent you the mail
OR
I have send you the mail
OR
I had send you the mail
I want to tell someone that i did this already..
thank you :)
Hello dhruv_r,
The first sentence ('have sent') is the correct form. To form the present perfect we use 'have' and the third form of the verb (also called the past participle) and the other two sentences have the base form (intfinitive) instead.
You can find more information on perfective forms here.
Best wishes,
Peter
The LearnEnglish Team
Sir,
Just tell me the correct sentence with reason..
You haven't told me yet
OR
You haven't tell me yet
What i think is the first sentence is correct but if we apply the rule that we use present tense word with did or didn't then the second sentence should be correct. Does that rule apply with have or haven't also ?
Thank you
Hello dhruv_r,
The first sentence is correct; the second is not.
We use the base form/infinitive (not the present tense) when we use 'didn't' to make a negative sentence in the past simple:
You didn't tell me.
She didn't go.
However, when we make a present perfect negative we use 'haven't' or 'hasn't' and the past participle (third form):
You haven't told me yet.
She hasn't gone.
You can find more information on the present perfect form here.
Best wishes,
Peter
The LearnEnglish Team
hello teacher,
can i use the past simple with past continuous or present perfect or future.
I went to school yesterday and I was meeting my friends there.
I went to school yesterday and I had met my friends there.
I did my homework after I have finished my school-day.
I learned how to depend on myself because I will go outside the country.
Hello sdgnour2014,
The issue is not necessarily whether these tenses can be used together, but more what you wish to say. For example, we can use the past continuous when an action is interrupted in some way - when another even occurs while the past continuous even is ongoing. Thus your first sentence is only possible if there is some other event:
I went to school yesterday and I was meeting my friends there (when something happened).
Your second sentence is not possible as the meeting could not happed before you went to school.
Your third sentence is not possible as the finishing of the school day was before you did your homework; you would need to use past perfect here, not present perfect.
Your last sentence is possible but unlikely; presumably your going out of the country is something you have planned, and so 'am going', 'am going to go' or (if it is in the past) 'was going' or 'was going to go' would be more likely.
Best wishes,
Peter
The LearnEnglish Team
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