THE SIMPLE PAST

Formation:

Regular verbs

 

Affirmative: (add -ed or –d to the base form of the verb)

I worked, I played, I hoped etc.

 

Negative: (add did not or didn’t before the base form)

I didn’t work etc.

 

Question: (add did + subject before the base form)

Did you work? etc.

 

The rules of the simple past tense forms:

Here are the rules:

1. Regular verbs ending in a silent e take /-d/ in the simple past and past participle: 
   Example:
   close=closed
2. Regular verbs ending in a vowel + y take /-ed/ in the simple past and past participle:
   Example:
   play=played
3. Regular verbs ending in a consonant + y take /-ied/ in the simple past and past participle (the y becomes an i followed by /-ed/)
   Example:
   marry=married
4. All the other regular vebs take /-ed/ in the simple past and past participle.
   Example:
   visit=visited

Special cases of the -ed forms:

Follow these rules when there is a consonant after a vowel (stop, ban, open, offer...)

·        If there is a consonant after a stressed vowel at the end of the word, double the consonant
stop – stopped
ban - banned 
swap - swapped

·         If the vowel is not stressed, we do not double it:
open - opened (Here the stress is on'o', not the 'e'.)
offer - offered ( Here the stress is on 'o', not the 'e'.)

 

In British English we double the last l even though the last vowel is not stressed. Here are some examples:

·         travel - travelled

·         cancel - cancelled

·         level - levelled

·         marvel - marvelled

 

 

 

Irregular verbs

There is only one simple past verb which has two forms according to person. That is the verb ‘to be’ which has the forms ‘was’ (used with I, he, she and it) and ‘were’ (used with you, we and they). For all other verbs the form stays the same for all persons.

Many common verbs in English have an irregular simple past form (i.e. one that is not created simply by adding ed). Unfortunately, there are no rules to help students know which are irregular, or how they are formed. For example:

 

BASE FORM                                     PAST SIMPLE          

be                                                         was/were

catch                                                     caught

come                                                    came

do                                                        did

drink                                                    drank

eat                                                        ate  

find                                                      found

forget                                                    forgot  

get                                                         got

give                                                       gave

go                                                         went

have                                                     had

know                                                     knew

 let                                                        let

make                                                    made      

put                                                        put

say                                                        said

see                                                        saw

sleep                                                     slept

take                                                       took

think                                                     thought

understand                                            understood

write                                                     wrote

 

Usages

It is used for actions completed at a definite time in the past. It is therefore used:

 

For a past action when the time is given

I met him yesterday.

Pasteur died in 1890.

Their time expired 30 seconds ago.

 

When the time is asked about

When did you meet him?

When did the Second World War break out?

 

When the action clearly took place at a definite time even though this time is not mentioned.

The train arrived ten minutes late.

How did you get your present job?

We sold our Porsche a long time ago.

My grandmother met Queen Victoria.

 

Sometimes the time becomes definite as a result of a question and answer in the present perfect

Where have you been? – I’ve been to the opera. – Did you enjoy it?

It’s probably worth pointing out to students that if they see the word ago, then the tense associated with it is probably going to be the past simple.

 

Common mistakes/errors

Most mistakes/errors with this tense arise from the use of did and did not for questions and negatives, and use of irregular verbs. Usage problems often lead to confusion with present perfect tense.