Simple Past Tense

Simple Past Tense
What is Simple past tense?
The simple past tense, in English, represents an action/event that took place in
the past. With many verbs, the simple past tense is formed by adding an ‘ed’ or a
‘d’ to the end of the base verb. However, there are other verbs which behave
differently and take different spellings when used in the simple past form.
Definition of simple past tense
The ‘simple past tense’, according to the Cambridge Dictionary, is defined as
“the form of a verb used to describe an action that happened before the present
time and is no longer happening. It is usually made by adding ed.” The Collins
Dictionary defines the ‘simple past tense’ as “a tense used to refer to the past.”
The Macmillan Dictionary defines the simple past tense as “the tense used to talk
about habitual actions, behaviour, or situations that happened or existed before
now.”
Example:
My parents called me yesterday.

I woke up early this morning.
Sam played basketball when he was at university.
Structure of the Simple Past Tense
Learning the structure of the simple past tense can be made simple if you analyze
how the tense is used in the positive, negative, interrogative and negative
interrogative formats. Look at the table below to have a better understanding of
the same.
Structure of the Simple Past Tense
Positive Negative Interrogative Negative

Interrogative
Subject + Verb in the past Subject + Did + Subject Didn’t + Subject

form (base form of the Didn’t + + Verb in the + Verb in the
verb + ed/d for regular Verb in the base form base form
verbs or past tense form of base form
the irregular verbs)
Example: You spoke really Example: Example: Example:

well. You did Did you Didn’t you
I had my breakfast. not speak really speak really
speak really well? well?
well. Did I have my Didn’t I have my
I did not breakfast? breakfast?
have my
breakfast.
Rules and Points to Remember When Using the Simple Past Tense
When conjugating a verb in the simple past tense, there are a few points you
have to bear in mind.
• Conjugating regular verbs – In order to present the main verb in the

sentence, you just have to add ‘-ed’ to the end of the regular verb and ‘-d’
to the end of a regular verb which ends with an ‘e’.
For example: Reach – reached, kick – kicked, walk – walked, confess –

confessed, work –worked
Like – liked, introduce – introduced, force – forced, announce –

announced,
notice – noticed
• Verbs that remain the same – Some verbs take the same spelling as the
base verb and remain the same in the past tense.
For example: Cut – cut, put – put, hurt – hurt, set – set, hit – hit
• Verbs that take different spelling patterns – Irregular verbs are seen to
follow different spelling patterns and there is no rule as such to explain
why they are so.
For example: Buy – bought, think – thought, draw – drew, drink – drank,
see-saw
What Do You Use the Simple Past Tense For?
The simple past tense can be used to,
• Refer to an action or event that happened in the past
• Speak about something that was true for some time in the past
• Explain something that happened more than once in the past
Forming the Simple Past Tense – Examples
To help you understand how the simple past tense can be used, here are a few
examples.
Referring to an action that happened in the past
• We went to the park yesterday evening.
• I totally forgot about the meeting.
• Manu opened the door for the guests.
Referring to an action that was true for some time in the past.
• Karthik played tennis when he was in school.
• Miss Holly worked as a guest lecturer at our college.

• Santana used to love reading fantasy novels when she was younger.
Referring to an action that took place several times in the past
• I worked as an academic counsellor for six months.

• We enjoyed playing Pictionary every time we met.
• My father dropped me at school every day till I entered high school.

Test Your Understanding of Simple Past Tense
Fill in the blanks with the simple past tense of the verbs mentioned in the
brackets:
1. I _____ (pay) the bills already.
2. The teacher ________ (motivate) her kids to stand up for themselves and
their fellow classmates.
3. Reena ______ (to be) a student at Manitoba University.
4. ______ you ______ (finish – interrogative) the science and maths
assignments?
5. Tina __________ (know – negative) about yesterday’s test.
6. _________ he ________ (complete – negative interrogative) the paper yet?
7. Pablo __________ (play) basketball in college.
8. Will and Emma _________ (to be) at the fair.
9. Brandy _________ (sell) all the clothes.
10. I _________ (think) about it, but I don’t think it will work.
Let’s check it out if we filled in the blanks with the right form of the verb.
1. I paid the bills already.
2. The teacher motivated her kids to stand up for themselves and their fellow
classmates.
3. Reena was a student at Manitoba University.
4. Did you finish the science and maths assignments?
5. Tina did not know about yesterday’s test.
6. Didn’t he complete the paper yet?
7. Pablo played basketball in college.
8. Will and Emma were at the fair.
9. Brandi sold all the clothes.
10. I thought about it, but I don’t think it will work.

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Simple Past Tense

What is Simple past tense?

Definition of simple past tense

The ‘simple past tense’, according to the Cambridge Dictionary, is defined as

about habitual actions, behaviour, or situations that happened or existed before

My parents called me yesterday.

Structure of the Simple Past Tense

Positive Negative Interrogative Negative

Subject + Verb in the past Subject + Did + Subject Didn’t + Subject

Example: You spoke really Example: Example: Example:

• Conjugating regular verbs – In order to present the main verb in the

For example: Reach – reached, kick – kicked, walk – walked, confess –

Like – liked, introduce – introduced, force – forced, announce –

The simple past tense can be used to,

• Refer to an action or event that happened in the past

Forming the Simple Past Tense – Examples

Referring to an action that happened in the past

• We went to the park yesterday evening.

• I totally forgot about the meeting.

• Manu opened the door for the guests.

• Karthik played tennis when he was in school.

• Miss Holly worked as a guest lecturer at our college.

Referring to an action that took place several times in the past

• I worked as an academic counsellor for six months.

• My father dropped me at school every day till I entered high school.

1. I _____ (pay) the bills already.

their fellow classmates.

3. Reena ______ (to be) a student at Manitoba University.

4. ______ you ______ (finish – interrogative) the science and maths

5. Tina __________ (know – negative) about yesterday’s test.

6. _________ he ________ (complete – negative interrogative) the paper yet?

7. Pablo __________ (play) basketball in college.

8. Will and Emma _________ (to be) at the fair.

9. Brandy _________ (sell) all the clothes.

1. I paid the bills already.

3. Reena was a student at Manitoba University.

4. Did you finish the science and maths assignments?

5. Tina did not know about yesterday’s test.

6. Didn’t he complete the paper yet?

7. Pablo played basketball in college.

8. Will and Emma were at the fair.

9. Brandi sold all the clothes.

10. I thought about it, but I don’t think it will work.

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4. you (finish – interrogative) the science and maths

6. _ he (complete – negative interrogative) the paper yet?