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
"Documentation was sent to guide ".
Is this sentence is correct?
Hello Shanthini,
No, I'm afraid that sentence is not grammatically correct. I'm not sure what you want to say and what the context is, so I don't want to guess what the correct way to phrase it would be.
Peter
The LearnEnglish Team
Dear Peter,
Is it correct to use the phrase " Rabbit is caught " ?
Thank you
Hello Praveen,
The verb phrase is caught is grammatical, but I think you would probably need an article (a, the) before rabbit. However, without knowing the context it is impossible to be sure.
Peter
The LearnEnglish Team
Thanks for the clarification.
Can we use the phrase. " The rabbit is caught"
If the job completed just now
Hello again Praveen,
If the action was performed just a moment ago, so you have the result in your hands or on your table, then the present perfect is the most likely form:
The rabbit has been caught.
Peter
The LearnEnglish Team
very good page to learn easily and
very practical
Is the sentence "he's a good person" right?
Hello Ne9en7even
Yes, it is!
All the best
Kirk
The LearnEnglish Team
Plz. Need your help. Which is correct and why ?
It has been raining for 3 days. The farmers were happy to water their fields.
OR:
It rained for 3 days . The farmers were happy to water their fields.
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