Grammar
Past simple: uses, form, and examples
A message arrived yesterday, a train left at six, and you visited a friend last weekend. The past simple helps you tell these completed parts of a story.
Use the past simple for completed past actions, situations, and habits, and make basic affirmative, negative, and question forms.
Read and practice
Read the examples and try the written questions in this guide. Listening recordings are not available for this lesson yet.
Try the written questions
worked, played, wanted /wɜːkt/, /pleɪd/, /ˈwɒn.tɪd/
The short answer
Choose the past simple when the action or situation is finished. Use a past form in an affirmative sentence, then use did plus the base verb in most questions and negatives.
Lena cooked soup last night.
Why it works: Last night is a completed time, so cooked is a past simple form.
5 more examples
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Omar finished the report on Tuesday.
Finished names a completed action at a stated past time.
Not this:Omar
finishesthe report on Tuesdays. What changes: Finishes is present simple and describes a regular routine. -
We took the bus to the market yesterday.
Take is irregular, so its past simple form is took.
Not this:We
takethe bus to the market on Saturdays. What changes: Take is the base form used here for a present routine. -
I didn't answer the phone this morning.
Didn't carries the past negative meaning, so answer stays in the base form.
Not this:I
answeredthe phone this morning. What changes: Answered is the affirmative past form without didn't. -
Did Mia send the invitation yesterday?
Did comes before the subject, and send stays in the base form.
Not this:Mia
sentthe invitation yesterday. What changes: Sent is the irregular past form used in an affirmative statement. -
My grandparents lived near the sea when they were young.
Lived describes a situation that was true in an earlier period.
Not this:My grandparents
livenear the sea now. What changes: Live describes their current situation.
Read the full guide
First, find the time of the action. Yesterday, last month, two hours ago, and in 2023 often point to a finished period. Then choose the right verb form. Read the whole sentence, because a past simple sentence can also describe a past habit or state.
Choose a finished time
Use the past simple when you speak about a finished time before now. A time phrase can make this clear, but it is not always necessary when both people know the time.
I met my new neighbour last Saturday.
Last Saturday is over, so met refers to one completed event.
Which form fits a completed time: She calls me yesterday or She called me yesterday?
Use She called me yesterday. Yesterday tells you that the call is finished.
Make regular past forms
Many regular verbs make the past simple with -ed. Add only d after a verb ending in e. When a verb ends in a consonant plus y, change y to i before adding -ed.
Nora carried the boxes upstairs after lunch.
Carry ends in a consonant plus y, so the past form is carried.
We moved the chairs into the garden.
Move already ends in e, so add d to make moved.
Complete the sentence: I ___ my aunt last weekend. Use visit.
I visited my aunt last weekend. Visit is regular, so add -ed.
Learn irregular past forms as pairs
Irregular verbs do not use one shared -ed pattern. Learn each base verb with its past form in a useful sentence. Common pairs include go - went, see - saw, have - had, and buy - bought.
Ravi bought fresh bread on his way home.
Bought is the past simple of buy. It does not add -ed.
The children saw a rainbow after the rain.
Saw is the past simple of see.
Complete the sentence: We ___ dinner at seven. Use have.
We had dinner at seven. Had is the past simple form of have.
Use did for most questions and negatives
Did already marks the past. After did, did not, or didn't, use the base form of the main verb. In a question, put did before the subject.
Did you find your keys?
Find is the base form after did, not found.
They didn't stay for the whole meeting.
Stay remains a base form after didn't.
Correct the question: Did he went to the library?
Did he go to the library? Go is the base form after did.
Use was and were with be
Be has different past simple forms. Use was with I, he, she, and it. Use were with you, we, and they. Make negatives with was not or were not, and make questions by moving was or were before the subject.
The café was busy at lunchtime.
Was is the past form of be for the singular subject the café.
Were you at the station yesterday?
The question begins with were because be does not use did here.
Complete the sentence: We ___ not ready for the quiz. Use be.
We were not ready for the quiz. Use were with we.
Describe past habits and tell a sequence
The past simple can describe a repeated habit in an earlier period. It can also move a story forward by naming completed events in order. Time expressions and context show whether you mean a habit or one event.
When I was a child, I walked to school every day.
Every day shows that walked was a repeated past habit.
The lights went out, and everyone reached for a phone.
Went out happened first, followed by reached.
Which sentence describes a repeated past habit: I played tennis every summer or I play tennis every summer?
I played tennis every summer describes a habit in an earlier finished period.
Before you go
Remember this
Use the past simple for finished past actions, events, states, and habits. Add -ed to many regular verbs and learn common irregular forms. In most questions and negatives, use did with the base verb. With be, choose was or were.
Practice with the written examples
You can practice with the written questions in the Learn tab. Each answer includes an explanation.
Try the written questionsListening test not available yet
This lesson does not have the recordings needed for a listening test. Use the written questions in the guide to check your understanding.
Try the written questionsQuestions about "Past simple: uses, form, and examples"
When do I use the past simple?
Use the past simple for an action, event, state, or habit in a finished past time. Omar finished the report on Tuesday uses a completed action and names when it happened.
Omar finished the report on Tuesday.
How do regular verbs form the past simple?
Many regular verbs add -ed, as in finished. Some spelling rules apply: visit becomes visited, move becomes moved, and carry becomes carried. Learn the base form and past form together when spelling is new to you.
Omar finishes the report on Tuesdays.
What are irregular past simple verbs?
Irregular verbs do not follow the usual -ed pattern. For example, take becomes took, and see becomes saw. Keep each verb pair in a short sentence to help you remember its past form.
We took the bus to the market yesterday.
Why do I use the base verb after did?
Did already shows that the question or negative is in the past, so the main verb returns to its base form. In Did Mia send the invitation yesterday?, send stays in its base form after did.
We take the bus to the market on Saturdays.
Can the past simple describe a past habit?
Yes. The past simple can describe something repeated in an earlier finished period. My grandparents lived near the sea when they were young describes a past situation, and time words can show that a habit was repeated.
I didn't answer the phone this morning.