00 / Verbs & Tenses
Past simple (regular & irregular)
The past simple describes finished actions or states at a specific time in the past. It is the primary tense used for storytelling and reporting historical events.
A1Beginner
01 / Usage
The past simple refers to completed actions that happened at a definite time in the past. It is often used with time expressions such as yesterday, last week, or two years ago.
- To describe a single finished event.
- To describe a sequence of events in a story.
- To describe past habits or permanent states.
02 / Regular and Irregular Verbs
Subject + verb-ed / irregular form
Regular verbs add -ed to the base form. Irregular verbs do not follow a fixed pattern and must be memorized. In negative sentences and questions, use the auxiliary verb did with the base form of the main verb.
03 / Regular vs. Irregular
Note that the main verb returns to its base form in negative sentences because did already indicates the past tense.
| Verb Type | Positive | Negative |
|---|---|---|
| Regular (work) | They worked. | They didn't work. |
| Irregular (go) | He went. | He didn't go. |
| Irregular (get) | I got. | I didn't get. |
04 / Examples
05 / Common mistakes
He didn't went to school.
He didn't go to school.
Do not use the past tense form of the main verb with 'did' or 'didn't'.
Did you saw the movie?
Did you see the movie?
In questions, 'did' carries the past tense, so the main verb stays in the base form.
06 / Practice
Change the verb to the past simple: 'We (visit) our grandparents on Sunday.'
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Answer: visited
Why: Visit is a regular verb, so we add -ed to form the past simple.
Change the verb to the past simple: 'She (buy) a new book yesterday.'
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Answer: bought
Why: Buy is an irregular verb; its past simple form is bought.
Make this sentence negative: 'They ate dinner at 7 PM.'
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Answer: They didn't eat dinner at 7 PM.
Why: To form the negative, use 'didn't' followed by the base form of the verb 'eat'.