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:
Hello Tim
We don't use this terminology on LearnEnglish, but if you'd like to read more about it, I'm sure you can find some information by doing an internet search for 'indefinite aspect' or 'indefinite tenses'.
All the best
Kirk
The LearnEnglish Team
Hello Tim
Your understanding is mostly correct, but I wouldn't say it's true that a time expression usually accompanies a past simple verb. That is sometimes the case, but it is in no way required. Often the context will make the time period clear, but not always, and there is nothing wrong with that.
A past simple verb simply expresses that the action is entirely in the past -- as you say, it began and ended in the past.
Actually, a past simple verb can express other ideas (e.g. unreal present events, as in a second conditional), but I don't think that's what you're asking about here.
Best wishes
Kirk
The LearnEnglish Team
Hello Tim,
Yes, you are right about all three points!
All the best
Kirk
The LearnEnglish Team
Hello Fey,
We form negatives in simple past with the verb do, in the form of did (not). The exception to this is the verb be, which forms questions by inversion in all tenses and not just simple past. You can read more about the verb be here:
https://learnenglish.britishcouncil.org/english-grammar-reference/verb-be
Can is a modal verb. These have their own grammar structures. Note that modal verbs do not occur in the infinitive; there is no form with to. You can read more about modal verbs in this section:
https://learnenglish.britishcouncil.org/english-grammar-reference/modal-verbs
Peter
The LearnEnglish Team
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
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
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
Hello Ne9en7even
Yes, it is!
All the best
Kirk
The LearnEnglish Team
Hello Ahmed Dawoud,
The correct answer is the second one (rained) as the time period is a finished one, not one continuing into the present.
Please note that we generally from elsewhere such as this which may be from tests or homework. We are happy to explain our own material, of course.
Peter
The LearnEnglish Team
Hello Anubhav,
Both sentences are grammatically correct. In 2, you could change 'had collected' to 'collected' and it would also be correct. In 1, it's a little strange to say 'the other day', which we usually use to talk about a non-specific day in the past, in combination with 'when she found out ...', which speaks about a specific time, but the sentence is not incorrect.
Both sentences refer to a finished past time that has no connection with the present, so the present perfect ('has been') would not be appropriate.
All the best
Kirk
The LearnEnglish Team
Hello Naomi03
In this sentence, 'are exported' is a passive verb in the present simple tense. You're right that the ending '-ed' is a past tense marker, but it also has other meanings and uses -- in this case, for example, it a past participle.
You can find an explanation of all of this on our Active and passive page. If you have any other questions after reading that, please let us know.
All the best
Kirk
The LearnEnglish Team
Hello Sad,
In the UK, at school can mean either of these:
In school generally only has the second meaning.
When you want to ask about, for example, what was done during the day, then either can be used:
Peter
The LearnEnglish Team
Hello Sad,
There is nothing grammatically wrong with either sentence. I think the most likely way to phrase it would be 'We learn to write at school', but it really depends on the context and to what question the person is responding, if any.
Peter
The LearnEnglish Team
Hello Sad,
Both of these are fine:
There is no difference in meaning or strength.
The sentence 'We write at school' is, as I said, grammatically correct. I think it's very unlikely anyone would say it in conversation but it's possible to think of a context in which it would make sense:
The teacher doesn't give us writing homework. Usually, we have lists of words to learn at home. We write at school.
Peter
The LearnEnglish Team
Hello fdrewaserera,
I'm not sure there is a 'why' to explain this. It's simply a feature of how the verb system words in English. The present perfect has a retrospective meaning: it looks back on the past from now and thus requires an open time reference. It is never used with a completed time reference.
I can say
However, if I add a completed time reference then I need to use a past form:
Peter
The LearnEnglish Team
Hello fdrewaserera
Could you please give a specific example of what you're asking about?
Thanks.
All the best
Kirk
The LearnEnglish Team
Hello yasiraq,
All of those are correct grammatically. Which one is appropriate in a given context will depend on the context.
Peter
The LearnEnglish Team
Hello Scarlettleg,
Could you check to see if you have quoted the sentence accurately, please? I think I recognise this from a Sherlock Holmes story, but I think you may have misquoted it.
Peter
The LearnEnglish Team
Hello Widescreen,
The correct form is 'came', because 'came into being' is a completed act (words such as 'survive', 'live' or 'endure' would describe ongoing actions).
Peter
The LearnEnglish Team
Hello AfnanAlAhmad
Yes, with time expressions that refer to a completed past time (for example, 'last week', 'yesterday', 'five minutes ago', '10,000 years ago', 'last year') we use the past simple.
All the best
Kirk
The LearnEnglish Team
Hello Sad1974
'at home' is the correct way to say this, not 'in home'.
All the best
Kirk
The LearnEnglish Team
Hello patph0510,
I think the past simple is the most likely choice here, and we would only use the present tense if we wanted to emphasise that we consider it to be still a current event in some way.
For example:
The existence of slavery in the US was a national disgrace. [past as slavery existed in the past]
The existence of slavery in the US is a national disgrace. [present because the speaker wants to emphasise that the disgrace remains even though slavery ended]
Peter
The LearnEnglish Team
Hello patph0510,
If the person is still a taxi driver then both past and present could be used. I think a newspaper describing an ongoing or very recent trial would probably use the present; someone describing a trial long ago would use the past.
Peter
The LearnEnglish Team
Hello bakh.sh85,
Both of those sentences are possible, as are many others (he typed, he was going to type, he had been typing etc). Without any context, it is not possible to say which form is preferable.
Peter
The LearnEnglish Team