The simple past is one of the most important verb tenses in English. We use it to talk about finished actions and events in the past.

For example:

• I visited my friend yesterday.
• She bought a new jacket last week.
• We watched a movie on Saturday.
• They went to Toronto last summer.

This article explains how to use the simple past and gives you practice with common situations.

1. When Do We Use the Simple Past?

A. Finished actions in the past

Use the simple past when an action started and finished in the past.

• I finished work at 5:00.
• He called me yesterday.
• We cleaned the apartment this morning.
• She studied English last night.

The action is finished.

B. Actions at a specific time in the past

We often use the simple past with a finished time expression.

Common time expressions include:

Time expression	Example
yesterday	I called her yesterday.
last night	We watched TV last night.
last week	She visited us last week.
last month	I started a new job last month.
last year	They moved to Canada last year.
two days ago	He arrived two days ago.
in 2020	We moved here in 2020.
when I was a child	I lived in a small town when I was a child.

Important: The time is finished.

I visited Vancouver last year.
I visited Vancouver in 2024.

C. A series of completed actions

We can use the simple past to describe several actions that happened one after another.

I woke up, made breakfast, took a shower, and went to work.

All of these actions are finished.

2. How to Form the Simple Past

There are two main types of past verbs:

1. Regular verbs
2. Irregular verbs

Regular Verbs

For most regular verbs, add -ed.

Present	Simple Past
work	worked
play	played
clean	cleaned
watch	watched
visit	visited
start	started

Spelling Rules

Some verbs need small spelling changes.

Most verbs: add -ed

• work → worked
• clean → cleaned
• help → helped

Verbs ending in -e: add -d

• live → lived
• love → loved
• arrive → arrived

Some verbs ending in consonant + y: change y to i and add -ed

• study → studied
• try → tried
• carry → carried

But:

• play → played
• enjoy → enjoyed

because the letter before y is a vowel.

Irregular Past Verbs

Some common verbs do not use -ed. You need to learn their past forms.

Present	Past	Example
go	went	I went to work.
have	had	We had breakfast.
eat	ate	She ate lunch.
see	saw	I saw him yesterday.
buy	bought	He bought a new phone.
get	got	They got home late.
take	took	I took the bus.
make	made	She made dinner.
come	came	He came home early.
do	did	We did our homework.
drink	drank	I drank some coffee.
find	found	She found her keys.
give	gave	He gave me a gift.
meet	met	We met at a restaurant.
write	wrote	I wrote an email.

Try to learn common irregular verbs as complete groups:

go → went
see → saw
take → took
buy → bought

3. Positive Sentences

The basic structure is:

Subject + past verb + object / complement

Examples:

• I worked yesterday.
• She visited her parents.
• We watched a movie.
• They went to the park.
• He bought a new car.

Notice that the past verb is the same for different subjects:

• I worked.
• You worked.
• He worked.
• She worked.
• We worked.
• They worked.

You do not add -s to the past verb.

❌ She works yesterday.
✅ She worked yesterday.

4. Negative Sentences

To make a negative sentence, use:

Subject + did not + base verb

or

Subject + didn’t + base verb

Examples:

• I didn’t work yesterday.
• She didn’t call me.
• We didn’t watch TV.
• They didn’t go to the party.
• He didn’t buy anything.

Important Rule

After didn’t, use the base form of the verb.

❌ I didn’t went to work.
✅ I didn’t go to work.

❌ She didn’t studied last night.
✅ She didn’t study last night.

❌ They didn’t bought anything.
✅ They didn’t buy anything.

Why?

Because did already shows the past.

didn’t + base verb

5. Questions in the Simple Past

To ask a question, use:

Did + subject + base verb?

Examples:

• Did you work yesterday?
• Did she call you?
• Did they go to the store?
• Did he buy a new phone?
• Did you enjoy the movie?

Again, use the base form after did.

❌ Did you went there?
✅ Did you go there?

❌ Did she called you?
✅ Did she call you?

Short Answers

6. WH-Questions

We also use the simple past with what, where, when, why, who, and how.

What

What did you do yesterday?

Where

Where did you go last weekend?

When

When did she arrive?

Why

Why did he leave early?

How

How did you get home?

Who

Who did you meet at the party?

Remember:

WH-Word + did + subject + base verb

Where + did + you + go?

7. The Verb “Be” in the Simple Past

The verb be is different.

Use was with:

I, he, she, it

• I was tired.
• He was at work.
• She was happy.
• It was cold.

Use were with:

you, we, they

• You were late.
• We were busy.
• They were at home.

Negatives

• I wasn’t tired.
• She wasn’t at work.
• We weren’t busy.
• They weren’t at home.

Questions

• Was she at work?
• Was he tired?
• Were you busy?
• Were they at home?

With was/were, we do not use did.

❌ Did she was tired?
✅ Was she tired?

8. Simple Past vs. Present

Compare these sentences:

Present	Simple Past
I work every day.	I worked yesterday.
She lives in Toronto.	She lived in Toronto in 2020.
We go to the gym on Mondays.	We went to the gym yesterday.
He cooks dinner every evening.	He cooked dinner last night.
They visit us every summer.	They visited us last summer.

The present simple often describes habits, routines, and facts.

The simple past describes completed actions in the past.

9. Common Mistakes

Mistake 1: Using the present after a past time expression

❌ I go to Toronto last weekend.
✅ I went to Toronto last weekend.

Mistake 2: Using the past form after “did”

❌ Did you went to work?
✅ Did you go to work?

Mistake 3: Using the past form after “didn’t”

❌ She didn’t called me.
✅ She didn’t call me.

Mistake 4: Adding -ed to an irregular verb

❌ I goed to the store.
✅ I went to the store.

Mistake 5: Using “did” with was/were

❌ Did you were tired?
✅ Were you tired?

10. More Common Time Expressions with the Simple Past

We often use the simple past with finished time expressions. These expressions tell us when something happened.

Time expression	Example
yesterday	I went shopping yesterday.
yesterday morning	She called me yesterday morning.
yesterday afternoon	We went for a walk yesterday afternoon.
yesterday evening	They watched a movie yesterday evening.
last night	I studied English last night.
last week	He started his new job last week.
last month	We moved to a new apartment last month.
last year	She travelled to Mexico last year.
last weekend	They visited their friends last weekend.
two days ago	I saw him two days ago.
three weeks ago	We bought the car three weeks ago.
a month ago	She moved here a month ago.
in 2020	I started learning English in 2020.
in January	He started his new job in January.
on Monday	I had a doctor’s appointment on Monday.
on Saturday	We went shopping on Saturday.
when I was a child	I lived in a small town when I was a child.
when I was younger	I played soccer when I was younger.
earlier today	I spoke to my manager earlier today.

Practice

Practice 1: Complete the Sentences

Put the verbs in brackets into the simple past.

1. I ________ (visit) my friend yesterday.
2. She ________ (go) to the supermarket.
3. We ________ (watch) a movie last night.
4. He ________ (buy) a new jacket.
5. They ________ (arrive) at 8:00.
6. I ________ (eat) breakfast at 7:30.
7. She ________ (study) English last weekend.
8. We ________ (take) the bus to work.
9. He ________ (call) his mother.
10. They ________ (see) a movie on Saturday.

Practice 2: Make the Sentences Negative

Use didn’t.

1. I went to the bank.
2. She called me.
3. We watched television.
4. He bought a new computer.
5. They visited Toronto.

Example:

I went to the bank.
I didn’t go to the bank.

Practice 3: Make Questions

Use Did.

1. you / work / yesterday
2. she / call / you
3. they / visit / their friends
4. he / buy / a new phone
5. you / enjoy / the movie

Example:

you / work / yesterday
Did you work yesterday?

Practice 4: Choose the Correct Answer

1. I ________ to work yesterday.
   • a) go
   • b) went
   • c) going
2. She didn’t ________ breakfast.
   • a) ate
   • b) eat
   • c) eating
3. ________ you call your friend?
   • a) Did
   • b) Do
   • c) Were
4. They ________ a new apartment last year.
   • a) rented
   • b) rent
   • c) renting
5. He ________ very tired yesterday.
   • a) were
   • b) was
   • c) is
6. We didn’t ________ to the restaurant.
   • a) went
   • b) go
   • c) going
7. ________ she at home last night?
   • a) Did
   • b) Was
   • c) Is
8. I ________ my keys this morning.
   • a) found
   • b) find
   • c) finding

Practice 5: Correct the Mistakes

Each sentence has one mistake. Rewrite it correctly.

1. I go to work yesterday.
2. She didn’t went shopping.
3. Did you watched the movie?
4. He buyed a new car last month.
5. They was at home last night.
6. We didn’t visited our friends.
7. Did she called you?
8. I was went to the store.

Practice 6: Complete the Story

Put the verbs in the simple past.

A Busy Saturday

Last Saturday, I ________ (wake) up at 8:00. I ________ (have) breakfast and ________ (drink) a cup of coffee. Then I ________ (go) to the supermarket. I ________ (buy) some vegetables, fruit, and bread.

After that, I ________ (meet) a friend for lunch. We ________ (eat) at a small restaurant and ________ (talk) for an hour.

In the afternoon, I ________ (come) home and ________ (clean) my apartment. In the evening, I ________ (watch) a movie. I ________ (be) very tired, so I ________ (go) to bed early.

Practice 7: Write About Your Past

Answer the questions using complete sentences.

1. What did you do yesterday?
2. Where did you go last weekend?
3. What did you eat for dinner last night?
4. Who did you talk to yesterday?
5. What time did you get up this morning?
6. Did you watch TV yesterday?
7. Did you go shopping last week?
8. What did you do last summer?

Challenge

Write 8–10 sentences about a recent day or weekend.

Try to use:

• at least 5 simple past verbs
• at least 2 irregular verbs
• at least 2 time expressions
• at least 1 negative sentence
• at least 1 question

Quick Review

Use	Example
Finished action	I worked yesterday.
Past event	She visited Toronto last week.
Series of actions	I woke up, ate breakfast, and went to work.
Negative	I didn’t go to work.
Yes/No question	Did you go to work?
WH-question	Where did you go?
Past of “be”	I was tired. / They were tired.

The most important rules

The simple past helps you talk about what happened, what you did, where you went, and what you experienced in the past. Practice using it with everyday topics such as work, shopping, travel, family, weekends, and daily activities.