Simple past tense

Simple past tense

Functions of the Simple Past Tense

The simple past is used to talk about a completed action in a time before now. Duration is not important. The time of the action can be in the recent past or the distant past.

Examples

• John Cabot sailed to America in 1498.
• My father died last year.
• He lived in Fiji in 1976.
• We crossed the Channel yesterday.

You always use the simple past when you say when something happened, so it is associated with certain past time expressions

• frequency: often, sometimes, always I sometimes walked home at lunchtime. I often brought my lunch to school.
• a definite point in time: last week, when I was a child, yesterday, six weeks ago We saw a good film last week. Yesterday, I arrived in Geneva. She finished her work atseven o'clock I went to the theatre last night
• an indefinite point in time: the other day, ages ago, a long time ago People lived in caves a long time ago.
• She played the piano when she was a child.

Note: the word ago is a useful way of expressing the distance into the past. It is placed after the period of time: a week ago, three years ago, a minute ago.

Be Careful: The simple past in English may look like a tense in your own language, but the meaning may be different.

Forming the Simple Past Tense

Patterns of simple past tense for regular verbs

To Walk

Simple past tense of to be, to have, to do

Notes on affirmative, negative, & interrogative forms

Affirmative

The affirmative of the simple past tense is simple.

• I was in Japan last year
• She had a headache yesterday.
• We did our homework last night.

Negative and interrogative

For the negative and interrogative simple past form of "do" as an ordinary verb, use the auxiliary "do", e.g. We didn't do our homework last night. The negative of "have" in the simple past is usually formed using the auxiliary "do", but sometimes by simply adding not or the contraction "n't".

The interrogative form of "have" in the simple past normally uses the auxiliary "do".

Examples

• They weren't in Rio last summer.
• We didn't have any money.
• We didn't have time to visit the Eiffel Tower.
• We didn't do our exercises this morning.
• Were they in Iceland last January?
• Did you have a bicycle when you were young?
• Did you do much climbing in Switzerland?

Note: For the negative and interrogative form of all verbs in the simple past, always use the auxiliary 'did''.

Simple past, irregular verbs

Some verbs are irregular in the simple past. Here are the most common ones.

to go

• He went to a club last night.
• Did he go to the cinema last night?
• He didn't go to bed early last night.

to give

• We gave her a doll for her birthday.
• They didn't give John their new address.
• Did Barry give you my passport?

to come

• My parents came to visit me last July.
• We didn't come because it was raining.
• Did he come to your party last week?

EXERCISES:

Put the verbs into the simple past:

1. Last year I (go) to England on holiday.
2. It (be) fantastic.
3. I (visit) lots of interesting places. I (be) with two friends of mine.
4. In the mornings we (walk) in the streets of London.
5. In the evenings we (go) to pubs.
6. The weather (be) strangely fine.
7. It (not / rain) a lot.
8. But we (see) some beautiful rainbows.
9. Where (spend / you) your last holiday?

Write sentences in simple past.

1. Janet / miss / the bus → .
2. she / tidy / her room → .
3. Nancy / watch / not / television→ .
4. she / read / a book → .

Complete the sentences, put the verb into the correct form, positive or negative. (simple past tense)

1. Начало формы

1. It was warm, so I off my coat. (take) 2. The film wasn't very good. I it very much. (enjoy) 3. I knew Sarah was very busy, so I her. (disturb) 4. I was very tired, so I to bed early. (go) 5. The bed was very uncomfortable. I very well. (sleep) 6. Sue wasn't hungry, so she anything. (eat) 7. We went to Kate's house but she at home. (be) 8. It was a funny situation but nobody (laugh) 9. The window was open and a bird into the room. (fly) 10. The hotel wasn't very expensive. It very much. (cost) 11. I was in a hurry, so I time to phone you. (have) 12. It was hard work carrying the bags. They very heavy. (be)