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.

Past Simple

The Past Simple tense is sometimes called the “preterite tense”. We can use several tenses and forms to talk about the past, but the Past Simple tense is the one we use most often.

In this lesson we look at the structure and use of the Past Simple tense, followed by a quiz to check your understanding.

How do we make the Past Simple tense?

There are two basic structures for the Past Simple tense:

1. Positive sentences

subject
+
main verb

Past Simple

2. Negative and question sentences

subject
+
auxiliary do
+
main verb

conjugated in Past Simple

 

did
base

Look at these examples with the main verbs go (irregular) and work (regular):

 
subject
auxiliary verb
 
main verb
 

+
I
 
 
went
to school.

You
 
 
worked
very hard.

–
She
did
not
go
with me.

We
did
not
work
yesterday.

?
Did
you
 
go
to London?

Did
they
 
work
at home?

From the above table, notice the following points…

For positive sentences:

• There is no auxiliary verb.
• The main verb is conjugated in the Past Simple, invariable: -ed (or irregular)

For negative and question sentences:

• The auxiliary is conjugated in the Past Simple, invariable: did
• The main verb is invariable in base form: base
• For negative sentences, we insert not between the auxiliary verb and main verb.
• For question sentences, we exchange the subject and the auxiliary verb.

Emphatic did
Normally, for positive sentences we do not use the auxiliary did. But if we want to emphasize (stress) something, or contradict something, we may use it. For example: “I didn’t use a spellchecker but I did use a dictionary.” Here are some more examples:

• “Why didn’t you go to the party?” / “I did go.”
• It did seem a bit strange.
• After drinking it I did in fact feel better.

Normally, for positive sentences we do not use the auxiliary did. But if we want to emphasize (stress) something, or contradict something, we may use it. For example: “I didn’t use a spellchecker but I did use a dictionary.” Here are some more examples:

Past Simple with main verb be

The structure of the Past Simple with the main verb be is:

subject
+
main verb be

conjugated in Past Simple

was, were

Look at these examples with the main verb :

 
subject
main verb be
 
 

+
I, he/she/it
was
 
here.

You, we, they
were
 
in London.

–
I, he/she/it
was
not
there.

You, we, they
were
not
happy.

?
Was
I, he/she/it
 
right?

Were
you, we, they
 
late?

From the above table, notice the following points…

• There is no auxiliary verb, even for questions and negatives.
• The main verb (be) is conjugated in the Past Simple: was, were
• For negative sentences, we insert not after the main verb.
• For question sentences, we exchange the subject and the main verb.

How do we use the Past Simple tense?

We use the Past Simple tense to talk about an action or a situation – an event – in the past. The event can be short or long.

Here are some short events with the Past Simple:

The car exploded at 9.30am yesterday.
She went to the door.
We did not hear the telephone.
Did you see that car?

past
present
future

 
 

The action is in the past.
 
 

Here are some long events with the Past Simple tense:

I lived in Bangkok for 10 years.
The Jurassic period lasted about 62 million years.
We did not sing at the concert.
Did you watch TV last night?

past
present
future

 
 

The action is in the past.
 
 

Notice that it does not matter how long ago the event is: it can be a few minutes or seconds in the past, or millions of years in the past. Also it does not matter how long the event is. It can be a few milliseconds (car explosion) or millions of years (Jurassic period). We use the Past Simple tense when:

• the event is in the past
• the event is completely finished
• we say (or understand) the time and/or place of the event

In general, if we say the past time or place of the event, we must use the Past Simple tense; we cannot use the present perfect.

Here are some more examples:

• I lived in that house when I was young.
• He didn’t like the movie.
• What did you eat for dinner?
• John drove to London on Monday.
• Mary did not go to work yesterday.
• Did you play tennis last week?
• I was at work yesterday.
• We were not late (for the train).
• Were you angry?

Note that when we tell a story, we usually use the Past Simple. We may start with the Past Continuous tense to “set the scene”, but we almost always use the Past Simple tense for the action. Look at this example of the beginning of a story:

“The wind was howling around the hotel and the rain was pouring down. It was cold. The door opened and James Bond entered. He took off his coat, which was very wet, and ordered a drink at the bar. He sat down in the corner of the lounge and quietly drank his…”

This page shows the use of the Past Simple tense to talk about past events. But note that there are some other uses for the Past Simple, for example in conditional or if sentences