Simple Past Tense

The simple past tense is one of the most common tenses used in English. With over four different structures designated to cover the past tense, it is often difficult for ESL learners to learn which one to use in which situation.

The main structure for a simple past tense sentence is as follows:

subject + main verb written in the past tense

Simple Past Tense Verbs

Simple past tense verbs are usually created by adding -ed to the base form of the verb.

If a verb ends in an -e, then a -d is added.

• bake → baked

• hope → hoped

• save → saved

• date → dated

If a verb ends in a consonant + -y, then -y is changed to i and -ed is added.

• cry → cried

• magnify → magnified

• study → studied

• try → tried

• spy → spied

If a verb ends in a -y but is preceded by a vowel, then -ed is added.

• play → played

• enjoy → enjoyed

• employ → employed

• delay → delayed

• pray → prayed

• stay → stayed

If a verb ends in one vowel + one consonant (not including -w or -y), then the consonant is doubled and -ed is added.

• snap → snapped

• drop → dropped

• zip → zipped

• commit → committed

• admit → admitted

• pop → popped

• permit → permitted

Irregular Verbs

There are some irregular verbs that do not follow a specific rule when they are conjugated into the past tense. Because they do not follow any set rule, they must be memorized. Here are some common irregular verbs:

Questions

Questions in the simple past tense are structured a bit differently than declarative sentences in the simple past tense. A few words are added, and the structure is slightly re-arranged. The biggest difference is that the main verb is no longer written in the past tense, but the auxiliary verb is. The to be verb is an exception. With to be, the verb is simply moved before the subject. The simple past tense statement "I was wrong" would become a simple past tense question by moving the verb (was) before the subject (I) to form "Was I wrong?" The simple past tense is constructed as follows:

auxiliary verb + subject + main verb

Negative Sentences

Similar to questions in the simple past tense, negative sentences in the simple past tense also have auxiliary verbs. The word not is inserted in between the auxiliary verb and the main verb. Just like the structure of a question in the simple past tense, the main verb in a negative sentence in the simple past tense is written in the present tense. The structure of a negative sentence written in the simple past tense is as follows:

subject + auxiliary verb + not + main verb

The auxiliary verb did and the word not can be contracted to didn't, and the meaning will remain the same.

Exception

When the verb to be is used as the main verb in a question or a negative sentence in the simple past tense, an auxiliary verb is not used.

Here are some simple past tense questions written with to be:

And here are some simple past tense negative sentences written with to be:

When Is the Simple Past Tense Used?

The simple past tense is used when an action has occurred in the past and is now finished. We can use the simple past to describe things that have happened at various points in the past. This first set of examples are things that happened firmly in the past.

• Millions of years ago, dinosaurs roamed the earth.

• Christopher Columbus discovered the Americas.

• Lee Harvey Oswald assassinated President John F. Kennedy.

The second set of examples are of actions that have occurred in the immediate past. This applies to situations when the time and place is known or unknown.

• Suzy kicked the dog.

• The doorbell just rang, right?

• I watched a movie last week.

The third set of examples use the simple past to describe a former habit.

• I slept in until 2 p.m. every day until I got my job.

• I drank five cups of coffee a day until my doctor told me it was bad for my health.

Summary

While the simple past may seem like it doesn't have as many uses as other tenses, it is just as versatile. As with other verb tenses, when editing ESL documents look for errors in subject-verb agreement, and look for cases in which another tense may be more appropriate to use.

Last Updated: 09/29/2022