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With most verbs, the past tense is formed by adding -ed:

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:

We use the past tense to talk about:

something that happened once in the past:

something that happened several times in the past:

something that was true for some time in the past:

we often use expressions with ago with the past simple:

Past simple questions and negatives

We use to make questions with the past simple:

But questions with who often don't use did:
Who discovered penicillin?
Who wrote Don Quixote?

Past simple questions 1

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Past simple questions 2

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We use didn't ( did not) to make with the past simple:

Past simple negatives 1

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Past simple negatives 2

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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:

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Learn how to use the past simple to talk about the past, and do the exercises to practise using it.

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Examples

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(also called the simple past tense)

Click here to download this explanation as a pdf.
Click here to learn about how to USE the past simple.

It's similar to the present simple because it has different rules for the verb 'be', which becomes 'was' or 'were':
The Past Simple with 'be'
Here's how to make the positive:

To make the negative with 'be', just add 'not':

Here's an exercise to practise the positive and negative forms with 'be'

To make a question, just like the present simple, we change the position of 'was / were' and the subject.

Here are the past simple 'yes / no' questions with 'be':

And the 'wh' questions with 'be' (the question word just goes at the beginning, everything else is the same):

And here's an exercise for 'wh' and 'yes / no' questions

Here's another exercise with 'be' (this time it's all forms - positive, negative and questions)

The Past Simple (Simple Past) with Other Verbs

We make the past simple just like the present simple except we use 'did' instead of 'do / does'. It's really easy because 'did' doesn't change, even with 'he / she / it'.

The positive:

We usually make the positive by adding '-ed' to the infinitive. For example, 'play' becomes 'played'. However, there are some irregular verbs, for example 'go' becomes 'went' and 'run' becomes 'ran'.

(Here's some help if you are not sure how to pronounce '-ed' at the end of a verb).

Click here for a list of 50 common irregular verbs (PDF file)

Click here for an exercise about irregular verbs in this verb tense

Click here for another irregular verb exercise

In the negative there aren't any irregular verbs. All verbs use 'did not (didn't) + infinitive':

Here's an exercise about the negative form

Questions are also very easy. Just put 'did' before the subject, and the infinitive after it.

Here are the 'yes / no' questions:

And here's an exercise about 'yes / no' questions

To make a 'wh' question, of course, put the question word at the beginning of the sentence:

And here's an exercise about 'wh' questions

Here are some exercises about making all the forms:
Mixed Exercise 1
Mixed Exercise 2
Mixed Exercise 3
Mixed Exercise 4
Click here to learn about when we use this tense

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Easy explanations and examples about how to make the past simple (or simple past) tense in English with lots of exercises and quizzes.

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The past simple is the most common way of talking about past events or states which have finished. It is often used with past time references (e.g. yesterday, two years ago).
Please explain past events or states!

A past event could be one thing that happened in the past, or a repeated thing.
I stopped at a zebra crossing.
Wecarried on with the test.
Weplayed tennis every day in August.
A state is a situation without an action happening.
We stayed at my grandparents' house last summer.
How do you form the past simple?

Regular past simple forms are formed by adding - ed to the infinitive of the verb.

Yes, but there are some spelling rules. If a verb ends in - e, you add - d.

If a verb ends in a vowel and a consonant, the consonant is usually doubled before - ed.

If a verb ends in consonant and - y, you take off the y and add - ied.

But if the word ends in a vowel and - y, you add - ed.

OK, not quite so easy! But the past simple form doesn't change at all for I, you, he, she, we and they, does it?

No, the form doesn't change. See, it is easy!

What about the pronunciation of the - ed ending?

There are three kinds of pronunciation: /d/, /t/ and /ɪd/. Look at the table below.

Aaagh! How do I know how to pronounce each one?

Good question. Well, really all you need to know is that /d/ is easier to say after arrive, and /t/ is easier to say after ask. For /ɪd/, the infinitive ends in a /d/ or a /t/ sound already so you must add an extra syllable for these verbs.

All right, that makes sense, but how do you form questions and negatives?

With the verb did (do in the past) + the infinitive.

Right, thanks, I've got it now!

Good. But you also need to learn the irregular past simple forms.

You mean there are verbs that don't end in - ed in the past?

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Alfie took his driving test for the second time this morning. Did he pass?

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You need to enhance your English vocabulary!

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Shopping Vocabulary List: Most Common Words And Phrases

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Do you wish to enrich your shopping vocabulary? We will give a study sheet containing the most common words on the topic of shopping. Discover it now!

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Vocabulary based on Service:

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Thesaurus Entries Near service

Cite this Entry

"Service." Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/service. Accessed 18 Oct. 2023.

More from Merriam-Webster on service

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Merriam-Webster unabridged

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Synonyms for SERVICE: kindness, privilege, grace, courtesy, mercy, indulgence, blessing, benefit; Antonyms of SERVICE: interference, obstacle, impediment, hindrance, hurdle, worthlessness, uselessness, inapplicability

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Vocabulary about leisure activities:

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Leisure is Also known as free activities.

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Here are some phrases and phrasal verbs to describe free-time activities.

Free-time Vocabulary

play in a band: play a musical instrument (or sing) in a group with other people
"He plays in a heavy metal band."

play cards: play a card-game with other people (called "players")
"I like playing cards, but I can't play poker."

play chess: chess is a game with two players where you have to move your "pieces" (like the King, the Queen, the Knight, etc) around the board.

play pool / darts, etc: both pool and darts are games you can play in a pub. With pool you need to get the coloured balls into the holes on a table, while with darts, you throw the darts into a board on the wall
"You can play both pool and darts in that pub."

watch a film / movie / TV: remember, you watch something on a screen
"They like watching films at the weekend."

take part in (an activity): do an activity with other people
"Do you ever take part in sporting activities?"

do something for fun: do something just for pleasure
"They like going hill-walking for fun."

be keen on: enjoy doing something
"He's keen on playing tennis."

be a fan of: like doing something a lot
"She's a great fan of outdoors sports."

Phrasal Verbs

We use phrasal verbs a lot in spoken English. When you use them, you'll sound more like a native speaker.

Remember that the word order in phrasal verbs is important. For example, we can say set up a club, or set a club up. In the phrasal verbs below, the word order is shown for you.

hang out (with): spend time with someone
"At the weekend I like to hang out with my friends."

chill out: relax
"This weekend I'm just going to chill out."

get together: meet
"A group of us are going to get together for a couple of drinks."

come round: come to someone's house
"Why don't you come round later?"

get up to: do
"What did you get up to at the weekend?"

catch up with: get the latest news
"It was so nice to catch up with her."

kick (a football) around / kick around a football: play an informal game of football
"The kids often go to the park to kick a football around."

take in a play / exhibition: go to a play or exhibition
"When they go to London they often take in a couple of plays."

set up a club / set a club up: start a club
"My friends want to set up a book club."

be into: be interested in something (inseparable phrasal verb)
"She's really into stamp-collecting."

take up a hobby / take a hobby up: start a new hobby
"He's only recently taken up gardening."

Listen to the audio

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Vocabulary and Phrasal Verbs for Free-time Activities

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Here are some phrases and phrasal verbs to describe free-time activities. Free-time Vocabulary play in a band: play a musical instrument (or sing) in a group with other people"He plays in a heavy metal band." play cards: play a card-game with other people (called "players")"I like playing cards, but I can't play poker."

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Ride a Bicycle.

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Go to kayak.

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Walking.

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Swimming.

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Past Simple in Conversation | What Did You Do Yesterday?