{"id":3841,"date":"2021-05-20T11:24:49","date_gmt":"2021-05-20T18:24:49","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/magoosh.com\/ielts\/?p=3841"},"modified":"2021-05-20T13:56:36","modified_gmt":"2021-05-20T20:56:36","slug":"past-simple-tense-how-and-when-to-use-it","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/magoosh.com\/ielts\/past-simple-tense-how-and-when-to-use-it\/","title":{"rendered":"Past Simple Tense: How and When to Use It"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"past<\/p>\n

In this article, we will review and break down the Past Simple tense<\/em><\/strong>. We\u2019ve included several tables so you can easily see how to create past simple sentences if you need a reminder. And, for tables and resources of verb tenses in every form, check out our main article<\/a> on verb tenses.<\/p>\n

Forming the Past Simple Tense (with Tables)<\/h2>\n

Quick Reference Table: The Simple Present Tense in All forms<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

KEY<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

V \u2192 Root Verb<\/p>\n

V2 \u2192 the second form (Past Simple) of an irregular verb<\/p>\n

Ved \u2192 Past form for regular verbs<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n
The Past Simple Tense<\/em><\/strong><\/td>\nMost Verbs<\/em><\/strong><\/td>\n\u201cTo be\u201d<\/em><\/strong><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
+<\/td>\nVed\/V2<\/strong><\/p>\n

Last night, I worked<\/em><\/strong>.<\/td>\n

Was\/Were<\/strong><\/p>\n

I was<\/strong> convinced.<\/em><\/p>\n

He was<\/strong> smart.<\/em><\/p>\n

They were<\/strong> fast.<\/em><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n

–<\/td>\nDid not\/Didn\u2019t + V<\/strong><\/p>\n

Last night, I didn\u2019t work<\/em><\/strong>.<\/td>\n

Was not\/Were not<\/strong><\/p>\n

I was not<\/strong> convinced.<\/em><\/p>\n

He was not<\/strong> smart.<\/em><\/p>\n

They were not<\/strong> fast.<\/em><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n

?<\/td>\nDid + subject + V<\/strong><\/p>\n

Did you work<\/em><\/strong> last night?<\/td>\n

Was\/Were + Subject<\/strong><\/p>\n

Was I ready?<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

Was she here?<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

Were you there?<\/em><\/strong><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n

Form this tense with regular verbs<\/em><\/strong> by adding -ed<\/strong> or -d<\/strong> to the root verb.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n
Root Verb<\/em><\/strong><\/td>\nPast Tense<\/em><\/strong><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Call<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

He calls me every day.<\/td>\n

Called<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

I called him last week.<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n

Stay<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

You can stay today.<\/td>\n

Stayed<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

She stayed with me yesterday.<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n

Jump<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

Jump over the puddle.<\/td>\n

Jumped<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

She jumped over the puddle yesterday.<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n

Lift<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

Lift the bar over your head.<\/td>\n

Lifted<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

I lifted the bar over my head yesterday.<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n

Carry<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

Carry your books to the next room.<\/td>\n

Carried<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

We carried our books to the next room.<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n

However, English has a long list of irregular verbs<\/a> (over 200) with their own forms. Some verbs in the past tense will remain exactly the same as their root form.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n
Root Verb<\/em><\/strong><\/td>\nPast Tense<\/em><\/strong><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Bet<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

I bet he won\u2019t win.<\/td>\n

Bet<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

I bet $20 on the Super Bowl last week.<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n

Cost<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

They cost a lot of money.<\/td>\n

Cost<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

The choice cost a lot of lives.<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n

Shut<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

They shut the door.<\/td>\n

Shut<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

She shut the door last night.<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n

Let<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

I let him work.<\/td>\n

Let<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

They let me work last week.<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n

Hurt<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

I hurt them every time.<\/td>\n

Hurt<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

She hurt her wrist in the game last night.<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n

Other irregular verbs are even more unpredictable.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n
Root Verb<\/em><\/strong><\/td>\nPast Tense<\/em><\/strong><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Drive<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

I drive every day.<\/td>\n

Drove<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

I drove my mom to the doctor yesterday.<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n

Bite<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

I bite my tongue sometimes on accident.<\/td>\n

Bit<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

Yesterday, I bit my tongue on accident.<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n

Break<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

I break things sometimes.<\/td>\n

Broke<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

Earlier, I broke a lamp.<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n

Choose<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

I choose the third door.<\/td>\n

Chose<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

She chose to open the red door.<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n

Grow<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

I grow roses every year.<\/td>\n

Grew<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

We grew roses last year.<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n

The positive aspect to verbs in the Past Simple tense is that they do not have to agree with the subject regarding numbers.<\/p>\n

Examples:<\/p>\n

    \n
  • I called<\/em><\/strong> my mom last night.<\/li>\n
  • After I called my mom, everyone else called<\/em><\/strong> their mom as well.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n

    Making It Negative<\/h2>\n

    To make a Past Simple verb negative, use this formula: Did + not + Root Form of Verb.<\/em><\/strong> You can also use the contraction of did not<\/em> (didn\u2019t<\/em><\/strong>) instead.<\/p>\n

    Examples<\/p>\n

      \n
    • He did not call<\/em><\/strong> anymore.<\/li>\n
    • You didn\u2019t go<\/em><\/strong> to the store.<\/li>\n
    • They did not ask<\/em><\/strong> us to go with them.<\/li>\n
    • Jerry didn\u2019t run<\/em><\/strong> in the marathon last month.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n

      Asking a Question<\/h2>\n

      To ask a question in the Past Simple, use the formula: Did + subject + root form of the verb.<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

      Examples:<\/p>\n

        \n
      • Did you call<\/em><\/strong> every day?<\/li>\n
      • Did he want<\/em><\/strong> us to stay or go?<\/li>\n
      • Did John need<\/em><\/strong> to be at the meeting?<\/li>\n
      • Did we go<\/em><\/strong> to the movies last week?<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n

        \u2018To Be\u2019 (or Not \u2018To Be\u2019)<\/h2>\n

        \u2018To be\u2019 is the most-used verb in the English language and was probably the first you learned when you started your English learning journey. It\u2019s important to note that \u2018to be\u2019 is also an irregular verb. Use the table below when you\u2019re not sure of which form to use in the Past Simple tense.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n
        Singular<\/em><\/strong><\/td>\nSubject Pronoun<\/em><\/strong><\/td>\nTo be<\/em><\/strong><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
        First-Person<\/em><\/strong><\/td>\nI<\/td>\nwas<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
        Second-Person<\/em><\/strong><\/td>\nYou<\/td>\nwere<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
        Third-Person<\/em><\/strong><\/td>\nHe\/She\/It<\/td>\nwas<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n
        Plural<\/em><\/strong><\/td>\nSubject Pronoun<\/em><\/strong><\/td>\nVerb<\/em><\/strong><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
        First-Person<\/em><\/strong><\/td>\nWe<\/td>\nwere<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
        Second-Person<\/em><\/strong><\/td>\nYou<\/td>\nwere<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
        Third-Person<\/em><\/strong><\/td>\nThey<\/td>\nwere<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n

        The rules for using \u2018to be\u2019 in negative and question form<\/em><\/strong> remain the same (scroll up to the first table in this article). Note that the contractions wasn\u2019t<\/em><\/strong> and weren\u2019t<\/em><\/strong> could be used in place of was not<\/em><\/strong> and were not<\/em><\/strong>.<\/p>\n

        Examples:<\/p>\n

          \n
        • I wasn\u2019t<\/strong> here.<\/li>\n
        • They weren\u2019t<\/strong> smart.<\/li>\n
        • Were you<\/strong> there?<\/li>\n
        • Was she<\/strong> okay?<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n

          When to Use Past Simple Tense<\/h2>\n

          Use #1<\/em><\/strong><\/h3>\n

          When describing things that were completed in the past or existed before the present.<\/em><\/p>\n

          For example, if I wanted to tell you what happened when my friend Johnny and his band visited last week, I would use sentences like:<\/p>\n

            \n
          • Johnny and his group arrived<\/em><\/strong> around 3 p.m.<\/li>\n
          • Their show was<\/em><\/strong> at 9.<\/li>\n
          • My parents screamed<\/em><\/strong> when they heard the news about the show.<\/li>\n
          • We all went<\/em><\/strong> to the concert together.<\/li>\n
          • It was<\/em><\/strong> an amazing experience that I will never forget.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n

            When using the Past Simple tense, you\u2019re describing an action that happened in the past and is finished.<\/p>\n

            **Note: Use the past continuous tense if you want to emphasize that the action was in progress.**<\/em><\/p>\n

            Use #2<\/em><\/strong><\/h3>\n

            When describing something that happened for a duration of time in the past but stopped.<\/em><\/p>\n

            Durations are longer actions that happen over a period of time. They\u2019re often used with time indicators like for three years, for 20 minutes, all day, all night, etc.<\/em><\/p>\n

            Examples:<\/p>\n

              \n
            • I waited<\/em><\/strong> for 30 minutes.<\/li>\n
            • Emily lived<\/em><\/strong> in China for five years.<\/li>\n
            • We worked<\/em><\/strong> all day.<\/li>\n
            • They searched<\/em><\/strong> all night.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n

              Use #3<\/em><\/strong><\/h3>\n

              When describing an old habit from the past.<\/em><\/p>\n

              This usage is often accompanied by time indicators like never, when, always, often, usually, etc\u2026<\/em><\/p>\n

              Examples:<\/p>\n

                \n
              • I studied<\/em><\/strong> Spanish when I was in high school.<\/li>\n
              • We often walked<\/em><\/strong> the dogs in the afternoon.<\/li>\n
              • Cheryl usually baked<\/em><\/strong> cakes on Tuesdays.<\/li>\n
              • Did you play<\/em><\/strong> football when you were in grade school?<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n

                Use #4<\/em><\/strong><\/h3>\n

                When talking about past facts or generalizations<\/em><\/p>\n

                Use the Past Simple tense to describe something that was factual but is no longer true.<\/p>\n

                Examples:<\/p>\n

                  \n
                • Johnny was<\/em><\/strong> timid, but loosened up when his mother smiled at him.<\/li>\n
                • She didn\u2019t like<\/em><\/strong> guacamole when she was young.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n

                  Knowing the verb conjugations in the Past Simple tense is must-have knowledge for effective communication. Keep practicing, and you will get the hang of it!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

                  This article focuses on the past simple tense, one of the 12 English verb tenses. Read on to learn how and when to use it!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":422,"featured_media":3810,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5072],"tags":[],"ppma_author":[5091],"class_list":["post-3841","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-english-learning"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nPast Simple Tense: How and When to Use It - Magoosh Blog \u2014 IELTS\u00ae Exam<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"This article focuses on the past simple tense, one of the 12 English verb tenses. 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