The Past Simple describes actions and states that started and finished in the past. It is the most common way to talk about completed events.
The key idea behind Past Simple is that the action is done — it belongs entirely to the past, often with a clear time reference (even if that time is only implied).
Form: regular and irregular verbs
For most verbs, Past Simple is formed by adding -ed to the base form.
Many common verbs are irregular — they change form in unpredictable ways and need to be memorised. Irregular verb forms are covered separately.
| BASE FORM | PAST SIMPLE |
|---|---|
| go | went |
| see | saw |
| have | had |
| come | came |
| take | took |
| make | made |
The past form stays the same for every subject — there is no difference between I, you, he, she, we, or they.
Negative: didn't + base form
To make a negative sentence, use did not (or the contraction didn't) followed by the base form of the verb — not the past form.
This applies to both regular and irregular verbs. The word didn't already carries the past meaning, so the main verb returns to its base form: didn't go, not didn't went.
Questions: did + subject + base form
Yes/no questions put did before the subject, followed by the base form.
Wh-questions add the question word at the front.
There is one exception. When who or what asks about the subject of the sentence, did is not used — the verb takes its past form directly.
The verb *be*: was and were
The verb be has its own past forms and does not use did at all.
| SUBJECT | PAST FORM |
|---|---|
| I / he / she / it | was |
| you / we / they | were |
Negatives add not directly to was or were.
Questions invert the subject and verb — no did needed.
Uses
Past Simple covers three main situations.
Completed actions at a specific past time
The action happened once (or a known number of times) and is finished. A time marker often makes this explicit.
Sequences of past events
When you describe several actions in order, each verb in Past Simple represents the next step in the sequence.
The order of verbs is the order of events. Changing the sequence changes the meaning.
Past states
Past Simple can describe a state or situation that lasted for a period in the past and is now over.
The key signal is that the state is finished — the person no longer lives there, no longer works there, no longer owns it.
Time markers
Past Simple often appears with expressions that point to a specific moment or period in the past.
Yesterday and last: yesterday, last night, last week, last month, last year, last summer.
Ago: placed after the time period — two days ago, a year ago, ten minutes ago.
In + year or month: in 2020, in March, in the 1990s.
When-clauses and other past references: when I was young, when we lived in Paris, at 5 o'clock, that morning.
Even without an explicit time marker, Past Simple still implies that the speaker has a finished past time in mind.
This sense of "finished, with a specific time" is what separates Past Simple from Present Perfect, which is covered separately.
Common mistakes
Using the past form after didn't
Using did in questions with the past form
Using did with the verb be
Mixing up was and were
Missing past form in positive sentences