Simple Past Tense

What Is the Simple Past Tense? (with Examples)

Uses of the Simple Past Tense

• The Martians landed near the aqueduct.
• The burglar considered using the fire escape.

• The Martians did not land near the aqueduct.
(We could have used didn't instead of did not.)
• The burglar did not consider using the fire escape.

• Did the Martians land near the aqueduct?
• Why didn't the burglar consider using the fire escape?

Forming the Simple Past Tense

The Simple Past Tense with Time Expressions

• 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.)

• 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.)

• 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.)

The Other Past Tenses

A Note from Teacher

Regular Verbs

If it's a regular verb, the simple past tense is formed like this:

Add "ed" to most verbs:

• jump > jumped
• paint > painted

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

Irregular Verbs

If it's an irregular verb, the 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.

Click here for a list of the most common irregular verbs.

A Quick Test