How does it work? The past simple
- Joanne
- Apr 11, 2024
- 3 min read
This tense is perhaps the least 'simple' of all! We use it to talk about something that happened in the past where both the start and end time of the activity are in the past.
For example:
I walked to the shops yesterday. (to walk)
I went to the cinema last night. (to go)
I drove home from the cinema last night. (to drive)
All of these things happened yesterday so the past simple is used. The past simple is also used for events that took place last week, last month, last year or ten years ago.
As you can see from the verbs used some of these are regular and some are irregular.
What is a regular verb?
This is when we take the verb and add 'ed' to form the past tense
walk - walked
wait - waited
What is an irregular verb?
This is where the format of the verb does not take 'ed' and a new word is used instead.
go - went
drive - drove
A lot of the most frequently used verbs are irregular and there are many websites and grammar books which will provide comprehensive listings of these verbs. We also need to know which ones are regular so we can just add an 'ed'! There's a lot to learn with the past simple!
Let's look at some sentences using a selection of the most common regular and irregular verbs in the English language. Do you know what the past tense of each verb is?
ask She ________ me if she could borrow my book.
Answer
asked
be Tim ______ very shy when he was younger.
Answer
was
become The singer ________ famous.
Answer
became
bring Anna ________ me some soup when I was sick.
Answer
brought
call I __________ the doctor when I was sick.
Answer
called
choose Sally ________ a new outfit to wear to my party.
Answer
chose
come Sally _______ to my party in a new outfit!
Answer
came
drink Sally _______ a glass of wine at my party.
Answer
drank
eat Sally _______ a slice of pizza.
Answer
ate
feel George ______ sick because he had eaten too much cake.
Answer
felt
get I ______ changed after working in the garden.
Answer
got
go Adam ______ to visit his friends at the weekend.
Answer
went
have Betty _____ an exam at school last week.
Answer
had
hear Yesterday, Betty _______ that she passed her exam.
Answer
heard
help I __________ Betty revise for her exam.
Answer
helped
know Betty _________ the answers to most of the questions.
Answer
knew
listen Colin ________ carefully to the instructions.
Answer
listened
look Simon ________ everywhere for his book, but he couldn't find it.
Answer
looked
pay I _______ the bill.
Answer
paid
put Fiona ________ the rubbish in the bin.
Answer
put (the verb doesn't change)
read Thomas ________ a book when he was on holiday.
Answer
read (pronounced 'red')
say Helen _______ I should read her new book.
Answer
said
see I ______ Helen's new book in the bookshop.
Answer
saw
send Tom ________ me a postcard when he was on holiday.
Answer
sent
show Elena ________ me around her new house.
Answer
showed
sleep I _________ in the guest bedroom in Elena's new house.
Answer
slept
start Mabel ________ to run when she saw the ice-cream van.
Answer
started
stay Norman ________ with his grandparents last summer.
Answer
stayed
take Norman's grandparents _______ him to the zoo.
Answer
took
tell Norman _______ his parents about all the things he had done.
Answer
told
think I ________ about you when I was on holiday.
Answer
thought
try Melanie _______ to read the menu in Spanish.
Answer
tried
use Olive accidentally ______ salted in her tea instead of sugar!
Answer
used
walk Rachel _______ to school every day when she was a child.
Answer
walked
want Robin ______ chocolate sprinkles on his ice-cream!
Answer
wanted
watch We _________ a movie together at the weekend.
Answer
watched
work We ________ together when we were younger.
Answer
worked
write Tom ______ a best-selling book last year.
Answer
wrote
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