The Simple Past – Part 1

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Use the simple past for actions and events that began and ended at specific past moments.

simple_past

  1. Actions completed at a specific past moment
    Thomas lost his student job last month.
  2. Repeated actions in the past
    Last week, I got up at 7.00 a.m. every day.
Be
Affirmative form Negative form Question form
I was was not Was I …?
You were were not Were you …?
He / She / It was was not Was he / she / it …?
We / You / They were were not Were we / you / they …?
All other Verbs
Affirmative form Negative form Question form
I / You worked did not work Did I / you work?
He / She / It Did he / she / it work?
We / You / They Did we / you / they work?
Spelling Changes
Liked Verbs ending in –e: add only –d.
Studied Verbs ending in –y preceded by a consonant: change –y to –i and add –ed.
Stopped
Referred
Opened		 Verbs ending in consonant-vowel-consonant (except –w or –x): double the final consonant before adding –ed – only if the last syllable is stressed.

Many verbs have an irregular simple past form, which you need to study.

begin → began
buy → bought
know → knew
write → wrote

Numbers – Grammar – The simple past – Part 1