Simple Past
We use simple past tense to talk about:
- an action in the past taking place once, e.g. I met Mark two years ago.
- actions in the past taking place one after another, e.g. I came, I saw, I conquered.
- an action in the past interrupting another ongoing action, e.g. Just as I was leaving the house, the phone rang.
Form of simple past:
- regular verbs: we add -ed to the verbs (walked, jumped) or -d (danced, arrived)
- for irregular verbs we use the past form from the 2nd column in the List of Irregular Verbs (see-saw, go-went)
- we use did to form negative sentences and questions:
She danced. She did not dance. Did she dance?
(didn't)
He spoke. He didn't speak. Did he speak?
Simple past TO BE
I was We were
You were You were
She, He, It was They were
We use was/were to form negative and interrogative sentences:
She was late. She was not late. Was she late?
wasn't
They were happy. They weren't happy. Were they happy?