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
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.
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
Could anyone tell whether these sentences are gramatically correct or not-
1. "She went to the college the other day when she found out that her father's name had been misspelled on her degree"
2. "After she had collected her degree, she found out that her father's name had been misspelled on her degree"
Also should i be using has been in the above sentences?
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
Is this past simple or present simple ‘the cars are exported’. I’m confused because ‘are’ is a form of be and used in the present but ‘ed’ on exported is a past tense marker. Help
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
Can we say 'We learn at school' or 'We learn in school'?
Please explain the difference.
Thanks
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
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