Simple Past

Carla Muniz

Professora licenciada em Letras

O Simple Past , também chamado de Past Simple (passado simples), é um dos tempos verbais do inglês. Ele é equivalente ao passado simples na língua portuguesa.

Quando usar?

O Simple Past é usado para indicar ações passadas já concluídas, ou seja, para falar de fatos que já aconteceram; que começaram e terminaram no passado.

Expressões temporais usadas com o Simple Past

Para reforçar o uso do Simple Past, muitas expressões temporais são utilizadas nas frases.

Os exemplos mais usuais são: yesterday (ontem), the day before yesterday (anteontem), last night (ontem à noite), last year (ano passado), last month (mês passado), last week (semana passada), ago (atrás), etc.

Veja algumas frases no Simple Past com as expressões acima:

• We did not go to school yesterday. (Nós não fomos para a escola ontem.)
• His birthday was the day before yesterday. (O aniversário dele foi anteontem.)
• She studied Math last night. (Ela estudou matemática ontem à noite.)
• I traveled1/ travelled2 to Brazil last year. (Eu viajei para o Brasil ano passado.)
• They visited their uncle last month. (Eles visitaram o tio deles mês passado.)
• I called you three days ago. (Eu telefonei para você três dias atrás.)
• We learned how to dance samba last week. (Nós aprendemos a dançar samba semana passada.)

1 grafia americana; 2 grafia britânica

Formação do Simple Past

A formação básica do Simple Past é feita com o uso do auxiliar did nas formas negativa e interrogativa, e com o acréscimo de –ed, –ied ou –d ao final do verbo principal no infinitivo, sem o to, na forma afirmativa.

Observe as tabelas abaixo e confira exemplos de conjugação do Simple Past.

Exemplo: verbo to dance (dançar – regular)

Affirmative
Negative
Interrogative

I danced
I did not dance
Did I dance?

You danced
You did not dance
Did you dance?

He danced
He did not dance
Did he dance?

She danced
She did not dance
Did she dance?

It danced
It did not dance
Did it dance?

We danced
We did not dance
Did we dance?

You danced
You did not dance
Did you dance?

They danced
They did not dance
Did they dance?

Veja também:

Simple Future

Exemplo: verbo to fly (voar – irregular)

Affirmative
Negative
Interrogative

I flew
I did not fly
Did I fly?

You flew
You did not fly
Did you fly?

He flew
He did not fly
Did he fly?

She flew
She did not fly
Did she fly?

It flew
It did not fly
Did it fly?

We flew
We did not fly
Did we fly?

You flew
You did not fly
Did you fly?

They flew
They did not fly
Did they fly?

Veja também:

Past Perfect

Confira as explicações abaixo e aprenda como escrever frases com verbos no passado em inglês na forma afirmativa, na forma negativa e na forma interrogativa.

Affirmative form (forma afirmativa)

Regular verbs (verbos regulares)

Para usar os verbos regulares em frases afirmativas no Simple Past, basta mudar a terminação do verbo de acordo com as seguintes regras:

1. Aos verbos regulares terminados em –e, acrescenta-se somente o –d no final do verbo:

• to love (amar) – loved
• to lie (mentir) – lied
• to arrive (chegar) – arrived
• to like (gostar) – liked

2. Aos verbos regulares terminados em consoante+vogal+consoante (CVC), duplica-se a última consoante e acrescenta-se o –ed:

• stop (parar) – stopped
• control (controlar) – controlled
• plan (planejar) – planned
• prefer (prefer) – preferred

3. Aos verbos terminados em –y precedido de consoante, retira-se o y e acrescenta-se o –ied:

• to study (estudar) – studied
• to worry (preocupar-se) – worried
• to cry (chorar) – cried
• to try (tentar) – tried

4. Aos verbos terminados em –y precedido de vogal, acrescenta-se somente o –ed:

• enjoy (aproveitar) – enjoyed
• stay (ficar) – stayed
• play(brincar; jogar) – played

Veja também:

Verbos Regulares e Irregulares em Inglês

Irregular verbs (verbos irregulares)

Os verbos irregulares não possuem um padrão de formação. Eles não seguem as regras indicadas acima pois possuem uma forma própria.

Confira abaixo alguns verbos irregulares no passado simples:

Infinitive
Simple Past
Translation

abide
abode
permanecer, sobreviver

awake
awoke
despertar, acordar

be
was/were
ser; estar

become
became
tornar-se; transformar-se

begin
began
começar

buy
bought
comprar

come
came
vir; chegar

do
did
fazer; cuidar; funcionar

go
went
ir; partir

have
had
ter; possuir

make
made
fazer; criar

say
said
dizer

sleep
slept
dormir

speak
spoke
falar; dizer

take
took
pegar; tirar

write
wrote
escrever; anotar

A formação de frases na afirmativa no Simple Past segue a estrutura abaixo:

Sujeito + verbo + complemento

Exemplo: She liked the English teacher. (Ela gostou da professora de inglês).

Veja também:

Verbos Irregulares em Inglês

Negative Form (Forma Negativa)

Para construção de frases negativas no Simple Past, o verbo did é empregado como verbo auxiliar.

O verbo principal não é conjugado no passado, uma vez que o auxiliar já indica o tempo verbal.

Sua estrutura frasal é da seguinte forma:

Sujeito + did + not + verbo principal + complemento

Exemplo: She did not like the English teacher. (Ela não gostou da professora de inglês)

Obs.: a forma contraída de did not é didn’t.

Veja também:

Present Perfect

Interrogative Form (Forma Interrogativa)

Da mesma maneira que acontece na forma negativa, o did é o verbo auxiliar utilizado para as frases interrogativas no Simple Past .

Veja a estrutura abaixo:

Did + sujeito + verbo principal + complemento

Exemplo: Did she like the English teacher? (Ela gostou da professora de inglês?)

Obs.: somente o verbo auxiliar (did) é conjugado no Simple Past. Não é necessário conjugar o verbo principal.

Veja também:

Simple Present

Simple Past x Past Continuous

Muitos confundem os usos do passado em inglês, sobretudo do Simple Past (passado simples) e do Past Continuous (passado contínuo). Vejamos abaixo as diferenças entre eles:

Simple Past

Expressa ações passadas, ou seja, refere-se a fatos que começaram no passado e terminaram no passado. Nesse caso, as ações que já foram concluídas. O verbo auxiliar did é usado somente nas formas negativa e interrogativa do Simple Past.

Exemplos:

• You ran in the marathon. (Você correu na maratona.)
• You did not run in the marathon. (Você não correu na maratona.)
• Did you run in the marathon? (Você correu na maratona?)

Past Continuous

Expressa uma ação contínua que ocorreu no passado.

Diferentemente do Simple Past, ele é formado pelo verbo auxilar to be conjugado no Simple Past (was/were) + o gerúndio (-ing) do verbo principal.

Exemplos:

• You were running in the marathon. (Você estava correndo na maratona.)
• You were not running in the marathon. (Você não estava correndo na maratona.)
• Were you running in the marathon? (Você estava correndo na maratona?)

Veja também:

Past Continuous

Vídeo sobre Simple Past

No vídeo abaixo você encontra um resumo sobre o uso do Simple Past e dicas valiosas que vão ajudar você a usar esse tempo verbal corretamente.

Exercises (Exercícios)

1. (PUC-GO) Complete the following text using the correct past tense conjugation of the verbs in parenthesis in English:

Last night Susan (go) ____________ to her friend’s birthday party. She (dance) ____________ with her boyfriend, and (eat) ____________ cake. After they (leave) ____________ the party, Susan and her boyfriend (decide) ____________ to go and watch a movie at the theater. They (see) ____________ the new Transformer’s movie, and then they went home. When she (get) ____________ home, Susan (take) ____________ a shower and (fall) ____________ asleep quickly.

Choose the correct option from the ones listed below:

a) go/ dance / eat / leave / decide / see / get / take / fall.
b) went / danced / ate / left / decided / saw / got / took / fell.
c) will go / will dance / will eat / will leave / will decide / will see / will get / will take / will fall.
d) had gone / had danced / had eaten / had left / had decided / had seen / had gotten / had taken / had fallen.

Ver Resposta

Alternativa correta: b) went / danced / ate / left / decided / saw / got / took / fell.

a) ERRADA. Todos os verbos desta alternativa estão no infinitivo.

b) CORRETA: Todos os verbos desta alternativa estão conjugados no Simple Past, que é usado para indicar ações que começaram e terminaram no passado.

Em todas as frases, as lacunas correspondem a ações que tiveram início e foram concluídas no passado (last night = noite passada).

c) ERRADA. Todos os verbos desta alternativa estão conjugados no Simple Future (Futuro Simples).

d) ERRADA. Todos os verbos desta alternativa estão conjugados no Past Perfect (Passado Perfeito), tempo verbal utilizado para expressar ações passadas que iniciaram e foram concluídas antes de uma ou mais ações também no passado. A primeira ação a ocorrer é indicada pelo Past Perfect e as demais ações (que ocorrem depois) são indicadas pelo Simple Past.

Exemplo: When we arrived, the movie had finished. (Quando chegamos, o filme tinha acabado.)

Veja que had finished (tinha terminado) é a flexão de Past Perfect e foi a primeira a começar e ser concluída. Já a ação que aconteceu depois (we arrived = nós chegamos), está conjugada no Simple Past.

Nas frases do exercício, as lacunas correspondem a ações que começaram e terminaram no passado; sem que haja qualquer subordinação a outras ações.

2. (Mackenzie) The negative form of He sold his car last week is:

a) He doesn’t sells his car last week.
b) He doesn’t sold his car last week.
c) He didn’t sold his car last week.
d) He didn’t sell his car last week.
e) He doesn’t sell his car last week

Ver Resposta

Alternativa correta: d) He didn’t sell his car last week.

O verbo da frase (sold) está flexionado no Simple Past, logo, a forma negativa também deve estar no mesmo tempo verbal.

a) ERRADA. A flexão doesn’t sells não existe. Além disso, tanto doesn’t quanto sells são flexões do Simple Present.

b) ERRADA. A flexão doesn’t sold não existe. Doesn’t é um auxiliar do Simple Present enquanto sold é uma flexão do Simple Past.

c) ERRADA. Quando o auxiliar did é usado, o verbo principal não deve ser flexionado, mas sim estar na forma de infinitivo, sem o to.

d) CORRETA. Sold é a flexão de Simple Past do verbo to sell (vender), usada em frases afirmativas. Nas frases negativas no Simple Past, devemos usar did not ou didn’t + verbo principal no infinitivo sem o to.

e) ERRADA. Doesn’t sell é uma flexão de Simple Present, e não de Simple Past.

3. Complete as lacunas com os verbos entre parênteses conjugados no Simple Past:

a) She _______(go) to the shopping mall.
b) Marisa _______ (want/not) a ride.
c) Your parents _______ (make) a cake.
d) ______ (you talk) to his friends?
e) Sofia and Jane _______ (be) at the party.

Ver Resposta

Respostas corretas:

a) She went to the shopping mall.

O verbo to go é um verbo irregular. Ele não segue o mesmo modelo de conjugação da forma afirmativa do Simple Past dos verbos regulares, onde a terminação é –ed, pois possui sua forma própria.

b) Marisa didn’t want a ride. ou Marisa did not want a ride.

A forma negativa do Simple Past é formada de acordo com a seguinte estrutura:

Did + not + verbo principal no infinitivo sem o to

Também é possível substituir o did + not pela sua forma contraída: didn’t

c) Your parents made a cake.

O verbo to make é um verbo irregular. Ele não segue o mesmo modelo de conjugação da forma afirmativa do Simple Past dos verbos regulares, onde a terminação é –ed, pois possui sua forma própria.

d) Did you talk to his friends?

A forma interrogativa do Simple Past é formada de acordo com a seguinte estrutura:

Did + sujeito + verbo principal no infinitivo sem o to

e) Sofia and Jane were at the party.

O verbo to be é um verbo irregular. Ele não segue o mesmo modelo de conjugação da forma afirmativa do Simple Past dos verbos regulares, onde a terminação é –ed, pois possui sua forma própria.

Veja também:

Tempos Verbais em Inglês

4. Assinale a alternativa correta para o Simple Past dos verbos irregulares: drive, forget e got.

a) drive; forgot; got
b) driven; forgotten; get
c) driven; forgotten; gotten
d) drove; forget; get
e) drove; forgot; got

Ver Resposta

Alternativa correta: e) drove; forgot; got

a) ERRADA. Esta alternativa está errada, pois drive pode ser uma flexão de Simple Present ou o infinitivo sem o to, mas não uma flexão de Simple Past. As flexões forgot e got estão corretas.

b) ERRADA. Driven e forgotten são flexões de Past Participle, e get pode ser uma flexão de Simple Present ou o infinitivo sem o to. Nenhuma das opções é flexão de Simple Past.

c) ERRADA. Todas as opções são flexões de Past Participle e não de Simple Past.

d) ERRADA. Drove é uma flexão de Simple Past, mas forget e get podem ser flexões de Simple Present ou formas de infinitivo sem o to.

e) CORRETA. Todas as flexões estão conjugadas no Simple Past.

5. Escreva a frase abaixo no Simple Past nas formas afirmativa, negativa e interrogativa:

She will go to the United States of America.

Ver Resposta

Respostas corretas:

A frase disponibilizada está flexionada no Simple Future, com o auxiliar will. O verbo principal da frase é to go (ir).

Forma afirmativa:

She went to the United States of America.

A flexão de Simple Past do verbo to go é went.

Como to go é um verbo irregular, ele não segue um modelo de conjugação como acontece com os verbos regulares, onde as flexões do Simple Past terminam em –ed.

Forma negativa:

She did not go to the United States of America. ou She didn’t go to the United States of America.

A estrutura de uma frase negativa no Simple Past é a seguinte:

Sujeito + did + not + verbo principal no infinitivo sem o to

Também é possível substituir o did + not pela sua forma contraída: didn’t

Forma interrogativa:

Did she go to the United States of America?

A estrutura de uma frase interrogativa no Simple Past é a seguinte:

Did + sujeito + verbo principal no infinitivo sem o to

Quer saber mais sobre os verbos em inglês? Não deixe de ler os conteúdos abaixo:

Carla Muniz

Professora, lexicógrafa, tradutora, produtora de conteúdos e revisora. Licenciada em Letras (Português, Inglês e Literaturas) pelas Faculdades Integradas Simonsen, em 2002.

What Is the Simple Past Tense? (with Examples)

The simple past tense is used to describe a completed activity that happened in the past. In other words, it started in the past and ended in the past. For example:

• John

  baked

  a cake.

• They

  painted

  the fence.

A Video Summary

Here is a short video summarizing the simple past tense:

Theis used to describe a completed activity that happened in the past. In other words, it started in the past and ended in the past. For example:Here is a short video summarizing the simple past tense:

Infographic for the Simple Past Tense

Here is an infographic explaining the simple past tense:

Real-life Examples of the Simple Past Tense

Here are some real-life examples of the simple past tense:

• I

  saw

  the angel in the marble and

  carved

  until I

  set

  him free. (Italian sculptor Michelangelo)

• I

  asked

  God for a bike, but I know God doesn’t work that way so I

  stole

  a bike and

  asked

  for forgiveness.

Forming the Simple Past Tense

If you’re dealing with a simple past tense is formed like this:

Here is an infographic explaining the simple past tense:Here are some real-life examples of the simple past tense:If you’re dealing with a regular verb , theis formed like this:

base form of verb

+

“ed”

• jump > jumped
• paint > painted

However, there are some spelling rules.

Spelling Rules

If a verb of one syllable ends [consonant-vowel-consonant], double the final consonant and add “ed”:

• chat > chatted
• stop > stopped

If the final consonant is w, x, or y, don’t double it:

• sew > sewed
• play > played
• fix > fixed

If last syllable of a longer verb is stressed and ends [consonant-vowel-consonant], double the last consonant and add “ed”:

• incur > incurred
• prefer > preferred

If the first syllable of a longer verb is stressed and the verb ends [consonant-vowel-consonant], just add “ed”:

• open > opened
• enter > entered
• swallow > swallowed

If the verb ends “e”, just add “d”:

• thrive > thrived
• guzzle > guzzled

If the verb ends [consonant + “y”], change the “y” to an “i” and add “ed”:

• cry > cried
• fry > fried

Forming the Simple Past Tense of Irregular Verbs

If it’s an simple past tense is formed in all sorts of different ways. Here are some examples:

• break > broke
• catch > caught
• find > found
• see > saw

You just have to learn them.

Read more about irregular verbs (includes a list of the most common irregular verbs).

Using the Simple Past Tense

When making a statement, you can use the following word order:

However, there are some spelling rules.If a verb of one syllable ends [consonant-vowel-consonant], double the final consonant and add “ed”:If the final consonant is w, x, or y, don’t double it:If last syllable of a longer verb is stressed and ends [consonant-vowel-consonant], double the last consonant and add “ed”:If the first syllable of a longer verb is stressed and the verb ends [consonant-vowel-consonant], just add “ed”:If the verb ends “e”, just add “d”:If the verb ends [consonant + “y”], change the “y” to an “i” and add “ed”:If it’s an irregular verb , theis formed in all sorts of different ways. Here are some examples:You just have to learn them.When making a statement, you can use the following word order:

[subject]

+

[verb]

• The Martians

  landed

  near the aqueduct.

• The burglar

  used

  the fire escape.

The Negative Version

If you need the negative version, you can use the following word order:

If you need the negative version, you can use the following word order:

“did not”

+

base form of verb

• The Martians

  did not land

  near the aqueduct.

(We could have used “didn’t” instead of “did not.”)

• The burglar

  did not use

  the fire escape.

The Question Version

If you need to ask a question, you can use the following word order for a yes/no question:

If you need to ask a question, you can use the following word order for a yes/no question:

“did”

+

[subject]

+

base form of verb

• Did the Martians land

  near the aqueduct?

• Did the burglar use

  the fire escape?

You can use the following word order for a

You can use the following word order for a question-word question

[question word]

+

“did”

+

[subject]

+

base form of verb

• Why did the Martians land

  near the aqueduct?

• When did the burglar use

  the fire escape?

You can use the following word order for a choice question:

You can use the following word order for a choice question:

“did”

+

[subject]

+

base form of verb

+

choice A

+

or

+

choice B

• Did the Martians land near the aqueduct or the town?
• Did the burglar use the fire escape or the stairs?

The Simple Past Tense with Time Expressions

The simple past tense is often seen with a time expression explaining when the activity took place or how long it lasted.

Examples of “when an activity took place”:

• On Tuesday last week, the Martians

  landed

  near the aqueduct.

(“On Tuesday last week” tells you when it happened. It’s called an adverbial phrase of time. Other examples are”Yesterday,” “Last year,” “Before breakfast,”. They are really common. When any adverb appears at the front of a sentence, it is usual to follow it with a comma. A comma is not usually used when the adverbial phrase appears at the back of a sentence. NB: This is not a strict rule. Use a comma if it helps your reader.)

Read more about commas with adverbial phrases.

• The Martians

  landed

  near the aqueduct on Tuesday last week.

(Note: No comma)

• Just before he was caught, the burglar

  considered

  using the fire escape.

(“Just before he was caught” tells you when the activity took place.)

Examples of “how long an activity took”:

• Last week, the council

  inspected

  the drains.

(“Last week” tells you when it happened and for how long.)

• Her daughter

  hid

  under the bed for three hours.

(Using “for” is a common way of describing how long an activity lasted.)

Verb Tense Widget

Use this widget to learn about the different tenses. How do you use this widget? Well, if there’s a button, a drop-down menu, or a , then you can click it!

to

base form

(

verb)

verb)

Select the tenses.

Present Tenses

Simple Present Tense
The simple present tense is mostly used to describe facts and habits. More…(opens new tab)
I base form
you base form
he/she/it 3rd pers sing present
we base form
you base form
they base form

Present Progressive Tense
The present progressive tense is used for an ongoing action in the present.
More…(opens new tab)
I am present participle
you are present participle
he/she/it is present participle
we are present participle
you are present participle
they are present participle

Present Perfect Tense
The present perfect tense is used for actions that began in the past. (Often, the actions continue into the present.)
More…(opens new tab)
I have past participle
you have past participle
he/she/it has past participle
we have past participle
you have past participle
they have past participle

Present Perfect Progressive Tense
The present perfect progressive tense is used for a continuous activity that began in the past and continues into the present, or a continuous activity that began in past but has now finished (usually very recently).
More…(opens new tab)
I have been present participle
you have been present participle
he/she/it has been present participle
we have been present participle
you have been present participle
they have been present participle

Past Tenses

Simple Past
The simple past tense is used to describe a completed activity that happened in the past.
More…(opens new tab)
I past tense
you past tense
he/she/it past tense
we past tense
you past tense
they past tense

Past Progressive Tense
The past progressive tense is used to describe an ongoing activity in the past. Often, it is used to set the scene for another action.
More…(opens new tab)
I was present participle
you were present participle
he/she/it was present participle
we were present participle
you were present participle
they were present participle

Past Perfect Tense
The past perfect tense is used to emphasize that an action was completed before another took place.
More…(opens new tab)
I had past participle
you had past participle
he/she/it had past participle
we had past participle
you had past participle
they had past participle

Past Perfect Progressive Tense
The past perfect progressive tense is used to show that an ongoing action in the past has ended.
More…(opens new tab)
I had been present participle
you had been present participle
he/she/it had been present participle
we had been present participle
you had been present participle
they had been present participle

Future Tenses

Simple Future
The simple future tense is used for an action that will occur in the future.
More…(opens new tab)
I will base form
you will base form
he/she/it will base form
we will base form
you will base form
they will base form

Future Progressive Tense
The future progressive tense is used for an ongoing action that will occur in the future.
More…(opens new tab)
I will be present participle
you will be present participle
he/she/it will be present participle
we will be present participle
you will be present participle
they will be present participle

Future Perfect Tense
The future perfect tense is used to describe an action that will have been completed at some point in the future.
More…(opens new tab)
I will have past participle
you will have past participle
he/she/it will have past participle
we will have past participle
you will have past participle
they will have past participle

Future Perfect Progressive Tense
The future perfect progressive tense is used for an ongoing action that will be completed at some specified time in the future.
More…(opens new tab)
I will have been present participle
you will have been present participle
he/she/it will have been present participle
we will have been present participle
you will have been present participle
they will have been present participle

The Other Past Tenses

The simple past tense is one of four past tenses. This table shows all four of the past tenses:

Slider Showing All the Tenses

The following slider shows all 12

The simple past tense is often seen with a time expression explaining when the activity took place or how long it lasted.Use this widget to learn about the different tenses. How do you use this widget? Well, if there’s a button, a drop-down menu, or a, then you can click it!Theis one of four past tenses. This table shows all four of the past tenses:The following slider shows all 12 tenses . The simple past tense is highlighted with a yellow background.