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
excuse me, please can i know the different between,(did) and( was and were), they are both in the past can i know the different. and thanks
Hello ali mohamedali,
'did' is the past simple form of the verb 'do' and 'was' and 'were' are the past simple forms of the verb 'be'.
Both of these verbs are used in many, many different ways. Both of them can be the main verb in a sentence, e.g. 'I did my homework' and 'I was tired after work'.
They can also be auxiliary verbs. For example, 'did' is used to form the negative of a past simple verb: 'I didn't eat lunch today' ('didn't' is the auxiliary verb and 'eat' is the main verb).
Does that help? If you have another specific question, please feel free to ask again.
All the best
Kirk
The LearnEnglish Team
thanks for you answer, but they are both in the bast when ican use was and were,ir did , and thanks
Hello again ali mohamedali,
I'm not sure I understand your question. We use 'was' after singular nouns and the pronouns 'I', 'he', 'she' and 'it'. We use 'were' after plural nouns and the pronouns 'you', 'we', and 'they'. For example, 'I was very tired after the match, but my friends were not.'
You can use 'did' after any noun or pronoun, for example, 'I did my homework but they did the laundry.'
I hope this helps you.
All the best
Kirk
The LearnEnglish Team
Hi
Which is correct and why?
I have bought two books but I haven't read " either / both " of them.
either or both ?!
Thanks in advance
Hello Ahmed Dawoud
'I haven't read either of them yet' is the correct form. When the meaning is negative, we use 'either of' instead of 'both of'.
Best wishes
Kirk
The LearnEnglish Team
Hello LearnEnglish Teachers,
You say that one of the uses of simple past tense is for "something that happened once in the past" - does this mean the same as "an action that started and finished at a specific time in the past"?
Thank you very much.
Hello VegitoBlue,
A specific time may be given, but is not necessary. For example, I might say this without a specific time reference:
I was born in England, not Ireland.
Happened in the past tells us that the action does not continue to the present. As the information on the page makes clear, it can be a single event, a repeated event or an event with duration.
Peter
The LearnEnglish Team
Hello Mr Peter,
Thank you very much. This mean that the better explanation for simple past tense use is "something that happened in the past" which mean the same as "an action that started and finished at a specific time in the past (and I can choose to mention or not mention the time)". Is this understanding correct?
Many appreciation for your teaching.
I remember that I memorized the form (present, past, present perfect) with the rhythm ♪
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