
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
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, I was reading a book until I saw the sentence “I have to have fallen into the arms of the murderous Ghazis”. I don’t understand the grammatical structure of this sentence. Thank you for your time!
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
Hi Kirk, could you please clarify which tense is correct for this sentence? “ no one knows exactly how the planets come/ came/ had come/ have come into being”. Thank you
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
Thank you for your explanation, I have a question:
Is the past simple should be in a specific time ? like " last week, yesterday ..etc "
thank you
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
Hi. One question please.
Can I say 'Does your child speak English in home'?
If yes, why 'at' is not used here?
Thanks.
Hello Sad1974
'at home' is the correct way to say this, not 'in home'.
All the best
Kirk
The LearnEnglish Team
Hello Sad1974
Did you perhaps see 'in the home'? I can't think of a time when 'in home' is correct in standard British English, but 'in the home' is used in some formal contexts. But I'd not recommend you use it in general.
All the best
Kirk
The LearnEnglish Team
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