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      English past simple

      What is past simple in English grammar? Past simple describes actions that happened in the past. Learn English past simple usage and find out past simple types, examples and common mistakes.

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      Past simple tense (regular, irregular): Played, ate A1

      Explanation

      The past simple tense talks about an action that happened before now. There are regular and irregular past tense forms.

      Regular verbs: add '-ed' ending
      Irregular verbs: have unique forms and must be studied

      Subject + past simple verb...
      'Was/were' + subject...?
      'Did' + subject + verb...?

      Example

      Nicole was at her parents' house last weekend.
      Her brother and his wife were there too.
      Was her sister there?
      Where was her sister?
      They played in the park.
      We listened to our favorite music.
      Mike ate all the pizza.
      Did he eat all the pizza?
      Why did he eat all the pizza?
      Because he was hungry.

      Common mistakes

      The third-person singular of 'be' in past simple is 'was.'

      Where were his sister?

      Where was his sister?

      Past simple tense (irregular): Went, bought A2

      Explanation

      The past simple tense talks about an action that happened before now. Some verbs are irregular in the past and change their form.

      go -> went
      have -> had
      make -> made
      say -> said
      buy -> bought

      Subject + past simple verb...
      Subject + 'did' [+ 'not/n't'] + verb...
      'Was/were' [+ 'not/n't'] + subject...?
      'Did' [+ 'not/n't'] + subject + verb...?

      Example

      Salli went to the supermarket on Saturday. She didn't go yesterday.
      She bought meat, eggs and vegetables. She didn't buy fish.
      We had pizza on Friday.
      Did you have dessert?
      What dessert did you have?
      We didn't have any dessert.

      Common mistakes

      Irregular verbs change their form. Don't add '-ed' to irregular verbs.

      We goed to the cinema yesterday.

      We went to the cinema yesterday.

      Past simple vs. past progressive: Ate, were eating A2

      Explanation

      A verb is a word or phrase that is the main part of a sentence and expresses action or a state of being.

      The past simple tense is used to talk about an action that happened before now. There are regular and irregular past tense forms.

      Subject + past simple verb...
      Subject + 'did' [+ 'not/n't'] + verb...
      'Was/were' [+ 'not/n't'] + subject...?
      'Did' [+ 'not/n't'] + subject + verb...?

      The past progressive tense is used to talk about something that was happening at a specific point in the past. It is also called the 'past continuous.'

      Subject + 'was/were' [+ 'not/n't'] + present participle of verb ('-ing')...
      'Was/were' [+ 'not/n't'] + subject + present participle of verb ('-ing')...?

      Example

      What were you doing in this picture? I was talking to an American girl.
      She didn't want to have dinner with us.
      We ate dinner at an Italian restaurant downtown.
      In this one, I was watching a tennis match. We saw the best games.
      I looked really happy in this picture. I was going to the beach with my friends.

      Common mistakes

      Generally, the answer to a question is the same tense as the question.

      What were you doing at 1:00? I ate lunch.

      What were you doing at 1:00? I was eating lunch.

      Past simple tense (regular, irregular): Rented, came A2

      Explanation

      A verb is an action word or 'be.'

      The past simple tense talks about an action that happened before now. There are regular and irregular past tense forms.

      Subject + past simple verb...
      Past simple verb 'be' + subject...?
      Past simple auxiliary 'do' + subject + verb...?

      Example

      We rented a beautiful condo.
      We didn't have tickets, so we had to wait a long time.
      Our friends from Chicago came to see us.
      We had lunch together.
      What did you have? Was it expensive?

      Common mistakes

      Many verbs are irregular in the past simple.

      They comed to see us.

      They came to see us.

      Past simple vs. present perfect: Walked vs. have walked B1

      Explanation

      A verb is a word or phrase that is a main part of a sentence and expresses action or a state of being.


      The past simple tense talks about an action that happened before now. Some verbs are regular in their form; they add ‘-ed’. Some verbs are irregular in the past. They change their form.



      subject + past simple verb
      subject + did (+ not/n’t) + verb


      The present perfect tense connects the past to the present with the present simple of the verb 'to have' and the past participle of the verb.



      subject + has/have + past participle of verb (-ed/irregular)

      Example

      The puppy had a bath yesterday.
      The puppy has already had a bath.

      Common mistakes

      The present perfect uses the present simple of 'have' and the past participle of the verb.

      I've wait for two hours already.

      I've waited for two hours already.

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      Exercise 1

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      Exercise 2

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      Free resources about English Tenses

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