In this lesson we’re looking at The Past Simple in English.
This is an introductory lesson to the Present Simple, and we’re looking at using regular and irregular verbs, as well as using BE in the past.
Have fun with the lesson, and don’t forget to try the quizzes by clicking on their links below
– James.
Lesson Contents
What is the Past Simple?
Have a look at this sentence:
Roland Garros was born in Saint Denis. He became an aviator in 1909 and flew a monoplane. He died in France in 1918.
The actions WAS, BECAME, FLEW, and DIED are all in the past. So we use the Past Simple.
Regular and irregular verbs
Most of the time, to put a verb in the past you add +ED. These are regular verbs:
walk → walked
work → worked
talk → talked
stop → stopped
invite → invited
Sometimes you have to change the verb completely. These are irregular verbs:
write → wrote
see → saw
have → had
go → went
think → thought
Write about the Past Simple Story in this quiz. Simply take the underlined verbs and put them in their Past Simple form. Some verbs are regular, some are irregular.
Marcus’ Daily Routine
“I usually wake up at 6am and have my breakfast. I go running until 7, then I get ready for work. I start work at 8am. I never eat lunch, because I never have the time. I finish at 5pm. I‘m always tired when I get home. I usually cook in the evening. I go to bed at about 11pm, and I always sleep like a baby.”
What did Marcus do yesterday?
Auxiliaries in the Past Simple
The auxiliary in the Past Simple is DID. These are used in questions and negative sentences:
Did you taste my cake?
I didn’t go to the cinema last night.
Why did you eat the last slice of cake?
Sometimes, you can use the auxiliary DID with the verb DO:
I didn’t do my homework!
Did you do the washing up?
Complete the Past Simple sentences in this quiz. Use the verbs in their correct form. Some verbs are regular, some are irregular.
Your Words
| buy | catch | cost | fall | hurt |
| sell | spend | teach | throw | write |
TO BE in the past
In the Past Simple, we use WAS/WERE to say TO BE:
I was born in 1984.
We were really happy with your presentation.
Notice that we do not use DID when we use WERE:
He was so tired.
(not “He did was so tired.”)
Complete the Past Simple sentences in this quiz. You will need to add the auxiliary and sometimes a verb. Use the verbs in their correct form. Look at the sentence that follows to see which verb to use.
Recap
- When the action you want to talk about is in the past, use the Past Simple.
- Regular verbs are when you add +ED to the infinitive.
- Irregular verbs are when you change the verb completely.
- The auxiliary for the Past Simple is DID.
- The past for TO BE is WAS/WERE.
- You cannot use DID and WERE in the same sentence.
