Past simple

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:

Average

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Hi Rikimaru,

The past simple is used for completed/finished actions in the past. For example:

I read this book last week. [I finished it]

I read this book four times last year. It's my favourite! [I finished it four separate times]

I went to school in the 1990s. [I don't go to school now]

However, there are a couple of things to remember. The first is that the action may have consequences which are ongoing even if the action is complete:

He was born in 1933. [Being born is complete but he may still be alive]

The second thing to remember is that a state may not be finished but the speaker may only be interested in talking about a particular part of it which is in the past, or may choose to divide the time in to discrete chunks. For example:

I was a teacher in 1993 and in 1994 and in 1995 – in fact, I'm still a teacher now! [The speaker treats 1993/4/5 as separate and distinct periods of time in the past]

Peter

The LearnEnglish Team

Hi, So quoting your example, "I read this book four times last year. It's my favourite! [I finished it four separate times]", for instance, this means that the action of reading started and ended four times last year?

Hello Tim,

Yes, that's correct. The speaker would have to really like the book!

Peter

The LearnEnglish Team

Can I use "everyday" in past tense?? For example, can I say he went to school everyday or I met him everyday. Is that correct?or I have to change "everyday" into yesterday or any thing like that.

Hi marwah,

Yes :) You can use it with the past tense. But, it should be "every day" (two words). The single word "everyday" is an adjective (e.g., an everyday activity).

Jonathan
The LearnEnglish Team

I read this book last week. [I finished it]

I started reading a book two weeks ago and I'm still reading it. I haven't finished it. Somebody asks me what did you do yesterday? Can I reply with "I read a book" I neither started nor finished it yesterday, but this is exactly what I did yesterday. I spent some time reading the book.

Another example "I read the paper on the bus" does it mean that I started and finished the paper on the bus?

Hello IlyaTretyakov,

In itself, the verb 'read' doesn't clearly indicate whether we finished the text that is read; it refers more to the activity itself.

That said, often we leave out the object when we want to focus on the activity itself. Taking your second example, if somebody asked me what I did yesterday (and I read a book, but neither started or finished it), I'd say 'I read' or perhaps 'I read for half an hour after lunch'. That doesn't explicitly indicate that I did not finish the book, but usually if I started and finished a book all in a given time period, I'd say 'I read a book' (or 'I finished a book') instead of 'I read'. But if you really want to be clear, you generally have to use other words or expressions to specify these details, unless of course the context has made it clear.

As for your third example, it kind of depends on what the question was. I can't speak for everyone, but in general I think most people wouldn't say that 'reading the paper' means one reads the whole thing -- it's different from a novel, which people generally finish (though I suspect that trend is declining).

So if someone asked me when I read the paper and it was while I was on the bus that I had read part of the paper, I could use the sentence you ask about without indicating that I read it all. Though it could also indicate that I read it all if I actually did that. Again, you have to use additional words to make it completely clear. And, just like before, often the context will make it clear, as what has been said before usually makes it clear whether we're talking about reading part of or all of a text.

I wish there were a simpler answer, but I hope that helps you make sense of things, at least.

All the best,
Kirk
The LearnEnglish Team

Hi, I wish to know if it is true that the simple past tense can be used (in speech or writing) without any time references and time adverbs/time adverbials? For example, can I write/say "I washed the car" to mean that my washing of the car happened (i.e. started and ended in the past) without including any specific time references/adverbials like "last night" or "last week" etc? So in other words, whether it be "I washed the car" (i.e. use of simple past tense without any time reference) or "I washed the car last night/last week etc" (use of simple past tense with time references), both sentences are grammatical and make sense?

Hi Rikimaru,

Yes, that's right. The simple past shows that the action took place in the past, but stating when it took place (i.e., by adding a time reference) is optional.

I hope that helps.

Jonathan

The LearnEnglish Team

When you say "The simple past shows that the action took place in the past", do you mean the simple past shows that the action started and ended in the past (i.e. took place in the past = started and ended in the past)?

Hello Rikimaru,

Yes, that's right. The results of the action may persist or not, but the action itself was begun and completed in the past.

Peter

The LearnEnglish Team

In addition, simple past tense can be used regardless whether (a) the action/event happened recently (i.e. it does not matter how long ago the event is: it can be a few minutes or seconds in the past, or millions of years in the past), or (b) the action/event happened a long time ago, correct?

This means that regardless if its scenario (a) - simple past for events that happened recently, or (b) simple past for events that took place a long time ago, for both such scenarios, stating when the actions/events took place (i.e., by adding a time reference) is optional?

Hi Rikimaru,

Yes, that's right. At this point I think it's worth pointing out that we should look at the context (including the rest of the conversation) in which the past simple verb is used, as that will probably indicate which timeframe is relevant. For example, if I am telling somebody about dinosaurs, it is clear that I am talking about millions of years ago, even if I don't mention any time reference. So, yes - the time reference is optional with the past simple.

Best wishes,
Jonathan
The LearnEnglish Team

I was reading this and would like to chip in with my own questions. What if there is no context/background, or if the context/background is vague or not obvious, can we still use the simple past tense without any time reference/adverbials just to indicate/express that an event (action or situation) started and ended in the past?

Hello Tim,

I'm finding it hard to think of a situation in which there is absolutely no suggested time period or assumption that one will be provided. Of course, we're talking about how people understand the context of a particular interaction and how it maps onto what is known and assumed about the world, but I would say that without some understood or assumed time reference we would either provide one in the sentence or use the present perfect.

Peter
The LearnEnglish Team

I worked hard today and became lazy after that. ;)

please help i (visit)lots of interesnig places

Hello frodo123,

'visit' is a regular verb; its past simple form is 'visited'.

All the best,

Kirk

The LearnEnglish Team

this article lists a few uses of the simple past tense, two of which are "something that happened several times in the past" with example - "When I was a boy, I walked a mile to school every day", and "something that was true for some time in the past" - with example being "She played a lot of tennis when she was younger". Is there any difference between these two uses? sounds the same to me. Thks.

Hi Timothy555,

It's a good question! They are similar, but there is a difference.

For the meaning of something that was true for some time in the past, we don't think of it as divisible into individual, repeated actions. The other examples show this more clearly: I lived abroad for ten years. / He enjoyed being a student. In these examples, we understand 'lived' and 'enjoyed' as long-lasting actions, rather than individual and repeated.

So, how about the tennis example? We can understand She played a lot of tennis as a general action over a longer period of time, just like 'lived' and 'enjoyed' in the other examples, without the more detailed sense of it consisting of repeated individual actions. A speaker might intend this meaning if there's no particular need in the conversation to emphasise the repeatedness of the action or its frequency.

But it's true that we can also understand the tennis example as the first meaning you mentioned, something that happened several times in the past - i.e. a repeated individual action: she played match after match, week after week (for example). We could add the frequency to support this intended meaning:

She played a lot of tennis every weekend when she was younger.

Best wishes,

Jonathan

The LearnEnglish Team

Hi Jonathan, Thanks for your reply. Just to verify two things about your answer. Firstly, you mentioned "A speaker might intend this meaning", by "this meaning", you are referring to the idea of a general action occurring over a longer period of time? Secondly, you also mentioned "we understand 'lived' and 'enjoyed' as long-lasting actions". Correct me if I'm wrong, but aren't verbs like "live" and "enjoy" state or stative verbs? If so, why call them "long lasting actions" when such verbs are not dynamic (i.e. action) verbs? Regards, Tim

Hello Tim,

Obviously I'm not Jonathan, but I'm confident that you've correctly understood what Jonathan meant.

We use the past simple with stative verbs and non-stative verbs to talk about past states or actions.

All the best,

Kirk

The LearnEnglish Team

Hi, ok, I think I get what you mean. "She played a lot of tennis when she was younger" obviously means that even though this lady's action of playing tennis when she was younger must have occurred repeatedly (something that happened several times in the past - i.e. a repeated individual action) when she was younger, since we know that she could not have possibly played tennis all the time when she was younger to the point of ignoring other things like eating/sleeping, we are now simply choosing to think of this lady's action as a long general action or state (that is, we are simply choosing to focus on this lady's action of playing tennis as a factual truth or state that lasted for sometime in the past). May I know if I've understood you correctly?

Hi Timothy555,

Yes, that's right :)

Jonathan

The LearnEnglish Team

Hi,

Another query I have is when you say "She played a lot of tennis every weekend when she was younger" - this refers to a past repeated action (i.e. a habit) correct?

In addition, if I were to omit the "every weekend", can I take it that the sentence (i.e. just "She played a lot of tennis when she was younger") may be interpreted to mean either (a) a past repeated action (i.e. a habit), or (b) a general action over a longer period of time (i.e. a state/truth), and that because such a sentence can mean either (a) or (b), further explanation from the speaker/writer, or perhaps the context, will indicate whether the speaker/writer intended to express meaning (a) or meaning (b). Am I right?

Thanks

Hi Rikimaru,

Yes to all your questions :) But let me just add that further explanation about whether (a) or (b) is intended may not necessarily be given by the speaker. It depends on whether or not this subtle difference is important to the speakers and conversation, and what level of detail they require. In many cases, I would imagine that, since (a) and (b) mean something very similar, the general meaning (i.e., she played tennis a lot) is sufficient for the conversation.

Jonathan
The LearnEnglish Team

Hi! Firstly, this article talks about the Simple Past Tense, correct? Secondly, the title of this article says "Past Simple", however, the article then goes on to say "We use the past tense to talk about..". Does this mean that the "Past Simple Tense" can also be referred to simply as the "Past Tense" (i.e. we can drop the term "simple") and it still means the same thing?

Hi Timothy555,

Yes, that's right! Past simple and Simple past are the same thing. Both names are commonly used in learning materials and by teachers.

Yes, it's also common to refer to the past simple as the past tense. (Technically speaking, English has only two tenses: present and past. Other perfect or continuous forms that we sometimes call 'tenses' are more properly called aspects.)

Best wishes,

Jonathan

The LearnEnglish Team

Hello Turki123456,

Both of your sentences are about the past. We know this because there are past tense verbs in each (died). Thus, the correct form is the past simple in each case: loved and was.

Of course, sometimes people still feel love after someone dies, but the convention is to place it in the past.

You can also sometimes hear people use a present form when defining something from history, using it with the sense 'Pablo Picasso is the name of a painter who died in...' In other words, the present is really referring to the name or title rather than the person.

By the way, Picasso was Spanish, not Italian.

Peter

The LearnEnglish Team

Can anybody help me to write a story about Feeling under the weather – (I am sick ) must have to use past simple and past continuous tense. Thanks

It must have been COVID-19 depression... thought I. It took away my freedom putting me in an isolation, which had a depressing influence on me. But when I looked at two sides of a coin, it was not necessarily bad. Actually I was fed up with crazy mass tourism and excessive commercialism and wanted someone to stop it! Surprisingly enough, it happened. I think we are heading off in a new direction and in a transition period at the moment. How exciting it is!! That’s why I got out of feeling under the weather... ;)

Hi, If l list a series of actions in the simple past, for example: "On Sunday my brother and I went to a nice lake. There we met our friends. We swam in the warm water and played volleyball in the afternoon. Too bad that we had to go home in the evening. We didn't want to go to school on Monday." Does it mean, by default, that the actions described above using the simple past tense all happened one after another? Regards, Tim

Hello Timothy555,

Yes, in general, such a list of actions is understood as a narrative, i.e. a sequence of actions.

All the best,

Kirk

The LearnEnglish Team

Hi, "a sequence of actions" means the actions/events occured chronologically/sequentially (i.e. following the order in which they occurred)?

Hi Timothy555,

Yes, that is correct. :)

Jonathan
The LearnEnglish Team

How can we use Past Simple without a specific time reference in the past? I am really confused,as i have come across some native speakers using Past simple without time reference in the past, Please help me to clear this doubt. Thanks in Advance

Hello Abdul Azeez Ibrahim,

It's very common for the past simple to be used without a specific time reference and it is perfectly correct to do so.

All the best,

Kirk

The LearnEnglish Team

Hi, I came across this sentence "The hike was one of the best hikes I've ever done." Correct me if I am wrong, I am guessing "was", was used, because the hike was an event of the past. Would it be correct to say "The hike IS one of the best hikes I've ever done.", to mean that at present / right now / currently, you find this hike one of the best hikes you have ever done? And say 5 years down the road, you will have gone for many more fulfilling hikes, and so this current hike will no longer be seen as one of the best. Then you use the sentence "The hike was one of the best hikes I've ever done." to mean that at some point in the past, you did see it as one of the best hikes, but you no longer feel so. Thank you.

Hi Piglet,

Both present and past can be used here and both mean the same as the present perfect (I've ever done) makes it clear that you are referring to the whole of your life up to the present.

If you want to show that the statement is no longer true then you need to use a past perfect: That hike was the best I had ever done.

Peter

The LearnEnglish Team

What's the difference between 'I have lived here for 20 years' and 'I lived here for 20 years'?

Hello kennyMcCormik300 'I have lived here for 20 years' = You still live in the same place now. (We use the present perfect for actions that started in the past but continue to the present moment.) 'I lived here for 20 years' = You lived in that place in the past. That time is finished and now you live in a different place. (We use the past simple for actions that finished in the past.) Hope that helps. Best wishes Jo LearnEnglish Team

Hello what tense are these I had a car- past perfect/ simple past I have a car I bought a CD that had a famous singer's songs

Hi Samin,

Here are the tenses of those sentences:

past simple (had)
present simple (have)
past simple (bought / had).

Best wishes,

Jonathan

The LearnEnglish Team

Hi, Would you give the difference in meaning and its (grammatical) usage of "Before and Ago", please! Thank you.

Hi rajeshvr,

Ago is an adverb. It tells us the distance in time from the present moment to another event. When you use ago you need to include a time reference, which can be a number or a description:

It happened 3 years ago.

He died a long time ago.

I saw her not long ago.

Before is a flexible word. It can be a preposition, a conjunction or an adverb. When it describes location rather than time it can also be an adjective. We use before to say that an event happened earlier in time than another. Whereas ago relates an action to the present, before simply relates one action to another.. With before we do not have to specify the length of time we are talking about, though we may:

I saw her before you.

I read the book before I watched the film.

I heard of him a long time before I met him.

Peter

The LearnEnglish Team

Hello Please I found in tutorial website that the past simple in negative and yes or no questions form would take infinitive without to ( the question is that I don't know why ???since We can say for instance I didn't want "to" bring something from the market and still that is supposed to be past simple form!!!) So that is shat one of important tutorial websites said for reference: -We make the negative form with didn’t (did not) + infinitive without ‘to’. I didn’t like working in a bank. -Past simple yes/no questions are made from did + subject + infinitive without ‘to’. Did you like living in Japan?

Hello Reema,

I'm afraid I can't comment on an explanation that I haven't seen. I expect that what the website meant was that the negative form of 'I wanted' is 'I didn't want' (not 'I didn't to want').

If you have any doubts, please refer to the explanation on this page -- it is correct.

All the best,
Kirk
The LearnEnglish Team

Hi, you mentioned that "We use the Past Tense to talk about...something that happened once in the past...something that happened several times in the past" Firstly, to be specific, you mean to say "the simple past tense" instead of just "Past Tense" right? because "Past Tense" can refer to "Past simple tense, Past continuous tense, Past perfect tense or Past perfect continuous tense". Secondly, out of all the four past tenses (as mentioned above), is it a case where the simple past tense is also known or referred to widely as just the "Past Tense" (that is when a person simply says "the past tense", and assuming no other unique background/context that suggests anything else, we may assume that the person is referring to the simple past tense)?

Hello magnuslin,

As the Past tense page explains, in this grammar's view, there are only two tenses in English -- present and past -- though each has several different forms. On this (Past simple) page, only the past simple is discussed.

I wouldn't assume that someone who says 'past tense' definitely means 'past simple'.

By the way, if you're interested, you can read more about the idea that English has only two tenses in the Wikipedia, where it's explained a bit more.

All the best

Kirk

The LearnEnglish Team