Instructions
The past simple is the most common way of talking about past events or states which have finished. It is often used with past time references (e.g. yesterday, two years ago).
Please explain past events or states!
A past event could be one thing that happened in the past, or a repeated thing.
I stopped at a zebra crossing.
We carried on with the test.
We played tennis every day in August.
A state is a situation without an action happening.
We stayed at my grandparents' house last summer.
How do you form the past simple?
Regular past simple forms are formed by adding -ed to the infinitive of the verb.
start → started
kill → killed
jump → jumped
That seems easy!
Yes, but there are some spelling rules. If a verb ends in -e, you add -d.
agree → agreed
like → liked
escape → escaped
If a verb ends in a vowel and a consonant, the consonant is usually doubled before -ed.
stop → stopped
plan → planned
If a verb ends in consonant and -y, you take off the y and add -ied.
try → tried
carry → carried
But if the word ends in a vowel and -y, you add -ed.
play → played
enjoy → enjoyed
OK, not quite so easy! But the past simple form doesn't change at all for I, you, he, she, we and they, does it?
No, the form doesn't change. See, it is easy!
What about the pronunciation of the -ed ending?
There are three kinds of pronunciation: /d/, /t/ and /ɪd/. Look at the table below.
| /d/ | /t/ | /ɪd/ |
|---|---|---|
| arrived | asked | wanted |
| failed | crossed | decided |
| agreed | stopped | started |
Aaagh! How do I know how to pronounce each one?
Good question. Well, really all you need to know is that /d/ is easier to say after arrive, and /t/ is easier to say after ask. For /ɪd/, the infinitive ends in a /d/ or a /t/ sound already so you must add an extra syllable for these verbs.
All right, that makes sense, but how do you form questions and negatives?
With the verb did (do in the past) + the infinitive.
Did you pass?
You didn't fail, did you?
Yes, I did. / No, I didn't.
Right, thanks, I've got it now!
Good. But you also need to learn the irregular past simple forms.
You mean there are verbs that don't end in -ed in the past?
Yes, they don't all end in -ed. Have a look at the past simple irregular verbs too.
Worksheets and downloads
Transcript
Discussion
Did you like this grammar snack? What did you do yesterday? Tell us about your day.
Comments
I love this class .This is very helpful . I use learning grammar .
yesterday I went to shopping to buy a daily items such as chopstick ,hanger,cup,and soap.
On my way I stuck in heavy rain .It was strong wind .I forget umbrella in my house .I was disappointed for that.I got in the rain on my way .I alive at the store ,I bought umbrella and daily items. Return to the house rain was stopped .I thought I spend waste of money.
He didn’t drive fast when the accident happened.
He wasnt’t drive fast when the accident ( correct) happened.
Are they both past simple?
Why do we use “wasn’t in here?
Hi Vivian8899,
Good question! He didn't drive is the past simple. He wasn't driving is the past continuous.
In your example, we would usually say He wasn't driving fast when the accident happened. This is because we often use the past simple and the past continuous together when one action 'interrupts' another one. In this case, the accident 'interrupted' the driving.
Hope that helps!
Rachael
LearnEnglish Teens team
Thank you very much. i got it
Yes I like this grammar class
Yesterday was a rainy day .I couldn't go anywhere outside. I took a picture in my mobile of outside of my house that filled with water.Some people were walking in the water,it was very difficult for them to move. And I watched a good film with my family.
Yesterday I worked out, then took a nap and then did chores around the house. Then I practiced for a play.
My name is Ghali. I am from Morocco. I live in Rabat. I go to the gym very often. I help my mom in the kitchen. I play games in my.
my name was GHALI. I WAS from MOROCCO .I LIVED IN RABAT .I STUDIED I WENT
I helped I played
Hi G123M,
Thanks for your comments on LearnEnglish Teens. You mentioned that you are eleven years old. I'm sorry to tell you that the Teens site is for students from 13 to 17 years old, so we can't publish any more of your comments.
But do you know LearnEnglish Kids? This is the site for students of your age group and you can join and comment there. The address is: www.britishcouncil.org/learnenglishkids.
Best wishes and good luck with your studies!
Tina, (LearnEnglishTeens Team)
Yesterday my friend came to visit me and I made an indian curry.
of course, yesterday I had class in university of 8am to 1pm, at 1pm I ate in dining room, I picked up to friend in door 3 of the university, I speaked with my friend, I played with my friend in the gree areas, I ate in house, I bathed in the night and I sleeped at 11pm
Of course i love grammar snack videos,Yesterday i prepared for worshiping and i went to home at 4 o'clock,then i didn't go to the english course because it was late.When i arrived at home and i slept because i very tired and sleepy,then i did my homework at my bedroom,and i watched tv.It was so tirering day.
Yesterday i woke up very late beacuse the party of the saturday was very good. after I woke up i had breakfast with my family then i slpet for another hour and after that I ate the food that we have for the party and then i visisted my girlfriend and ew had a really good time
I do not really like the grammar of any language, so I do not really enjoy doing this. Yesterday was a quiet day, a little tired for the new year, arranging the house of the family reunion of year end, watching movies in bed, in the afternoon we went out to play basketball with my family, then we took a tea and we went to Sleep, we were all a little tired but happy for the new year.
Happy new year 2017 to everyone!
Happy New Year to you too! :)
Best wishes, Jo (LearnEnglish Teens team)
Hello Im Aden
I really like this grammer video. I think it is good for me.
I went to hike yesterday. I had great time.
My day is too complicated to explain in words (-.-)
It was easier to learn new words for me after I divided them into groups, how they are formed, they are formed with some rules and after I classify them it became easier to learn. I had nothing different yesterday, I had an ordunnary day
yesterday, i went to school ,then i went to my house , i ate, i did homework during the day and finally i went to bed
This Grammar snack is very helpful to me and it's fun.
yesterday I had a workshop at school, that workshop started at 8 a.m and finished at 4 p.m...we ate lunch at 1 p.m...there were 32 students in the workshop, we built 8 teams and there were 4 students in any team...we worked together and learnt about teamwork...
This video is very great as presents and explains the simple past and apply it as
Yesterday was the opposite! It was a very fun day and everything was going right.
I love this grammar snack! :D But my day was awful, i had to take my bird to the vet because her wound got worse and I'm very concerned about her. I also hurt my leg pretty bad at football today, now i can't play the next match. Also, school today wasn't fun. I could barely listen and I was really tired, the exercises didn't go to well at all and i got falsely accused of something and i got punishment for no reason, I'm too shy to walk up to the teacher and tell i didn't do it. I'm glad it's Friday though so i can sort things out in the weekend. Altough I feel pretty sad now. ):
Yes, I like it, thanks! :)
I don't really remember what I did yesterday,and it probably wasn't much, so I will make something up. :D
Yesterday, I went to the park to hang out with my BFF. We had a lovely meal; it consisted of chicken curry, rice and curry, and peas. Then, we visited the Giza Pyramids and took photos there. Finally, we went home. We had a fantastic time! :)
Today, I ate Chinese food for lunch (spicy chicken meal) which I liked very much. That meal is one of my favourite.
The End :)
A question...how can I download audio of this video (and other grammar videos)?
Hi shamin, I'm sorry but our grammar videos are not available for download.
Best wishes, Joanna (LearnEnglish Teens team)
Yesterday...I didn't go to school, wasn't a good feeling. my mum phoned to school and said to my teacher. I slept until 10 AM and then I went to hospital with my mum. my mum cooked mushroom soap for lunch, I drank a glass of orange juice. I phoned my friend from school and asked about our homework. I went to bed at 10 PM.
Hello, I'm looking for the rules about when you use the past simple and when the past continuous.
Hi DutchTessa,
I'm afraid we haven't got anything on the past continuous yet but we would like to! Thanks for your comment. Meanwhile, have a look at these pages on LearnEnglish (our website for adults): past continuous and continuous aspect. See if that helps and please come back and tell us if it was useful! Best wishes, Joanna (LearnEnglish teens team)
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