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In English grammar, the past simple tense is used to talk about actions that happened at a specific time in the past. It helps us tell stories, recount old memories, or state facts about something that took place earlier.
1. Past simple chart
The past simple chart above provides a clear overview of how to use the past simple tense in English. It outlines the structure and forms for regular and irregular verbs to help you understand the differences in conjugation. The chart includes examples for affirmative sentences, negative sentences, and questions in the past simple tense.
2. Various uses of the past simple tense
We use the past simple tense while:
- describing events in the past,
- expressing a wish or regret about the present situation,
- expressing wishes for the future,
- referring to hypothetical situations,
- and expressing preferences.
Describing events in the past
We use the past simple tense to describe actions that happened in the past. It is often used when there is a specific reference to past time: yesterday, in 1948, two years ago.
- I finished my study last year.
- He called me yesterday afternoon.
- My parents were here last week.
- Did you do your homework?
- Where were you last night?
- Napoléon Bonaparte was a military general and emperor of France.
- Marie Curie was the first woman to win a Nobel Prize and the first person to win the award twice.
Expressing a wish or regret about the present situation
The form wish / if only + past simple is frequently used to express a wish or regret about the present situation.
- I wish I had a car. (You do not have a car at the moment).
- If only my parents were here right now. (Your parents are not here right now).
- I wish I wasn't married. (You are married, and you regret it.)
- I wish I spoke English.
- If only we had the power to stop hunger in the world.
Expressing wishes for the future
The form wish / if only + the modal verb would / could is often used to express wishes for the future, especially when they are not likely to happen.
- I wish you would look for a better job.
- If only my parents would let me practice martial arts.
- I wish he would stop drinking.
- I wish I could buy a house.
- If only she would listen to me.
- If only the government would provide more job opportunities for younger people.
Referring to hypothetical situations
The past simple tense can also be used to talk about an unreal or hypothetical situation. In this case, we often use conditional words or expressions like if, if only, what if, or supposing.
- What if dogs could speak?
- What if love didn't exist?
- If I were you, I'd travel and experience different cultures.
- If only we lived in a world where people were treated with equality and respect.
- If time travel were possible, I would change my past.
- Supposing something went wrong, what would you do?
Expressing preferences
The form would rather / prefer + past simple can be used to express preferences.
- I'd rather you chose the blue colour instead of the red one.
- Can I pay you by credit card? - No, I'd rather you paid me in cash, please.
- Would you prefer it if I came back later to pick you up?
- Would you prefer it if I left you alone?
3. How to form the past simple tense?
For regular verbs, the past simple is formed by adding -ed to the infinitive of the verb.
- work => worked
- learn => learned
- walk => walked
- listen => listened
- watch => watched
For regular verbs ending with -e, we add -ed to form the past simple tense.
- live => lived
- close => closed
- bake => baked
- move => moved
- love => loved
For regular verbs ending with a consonant + y, we replace the -y with -i and add -d to form the past simple tense.
- carry => carried
- dry => dried
- fry => fried
- try => tried
- study => studied
But for regular verbs ending with a vowel + y, simply add "-ed" to form the past simple tense.
- enjoy => enjoyed
- employ => employed
- deploy => deployed
- destroy => destroyed
- annoy => annoyed
4. Past simple of irregular verbs
Irregular verbs do not follow a specific pattern to form their past simple tense. Below is a list of 100 irregular verbs with their past simple forms and example sentences.
| Verbs | Past simple | Sentences |
|---|---|---|
| be 🔊 | was / were 🔊 | I was in my office yesterday. |
| beat 🔊 | beat 🔊 | We beat the Chinese team last week. |
| become 🔊 | became 🔊 | He became a doctor in 1990. |
| begin 🔊 | began 🔊 | She began to feel tired after the long hike. |
| bend 🔊 | bent 🔊 | He bent down to tie his shoelaces. |
| bet 🔊 | bet 🔊 | I bet $50 on the horse with the best odds. |
| bite 🔊 | bit 🔊 | The dog bit the postman yesterday. |
| bleed 🔊 | bled 🔊 | She cut her finger and it bled for a few minutes. |
| blow 🔊 | blew 🔊 | The wind blew strongly last night. |
| break 🔊 | broke 🔊 | I accidentally broke the vase while cleaning. |
| bring 🔊 | brought 🔊 | He brought flowers for her on their anniversary. |
| build 🔊 | built 🔊 | My parents built this house in 2000. |
| burn 🔊 | burned 🔊 | The paper burned quickly. |
| buy 🔊 | bought 🔊 | She bought a new dress for the party. |
| catch 🔊 | caught 🔊 | The police caught the suspect last week. |
| choose 🔊 | chose 🔊 | She chose the red dress over the blue one. |
| come 🔊 | came 🔊 | He came to the party late last night. |
| cost 🔊 | cost 🔊 | The shoes cost fifty dollars. |
| cut 🔊 | cut 🔊 | I cut the paper into small pieces. |
| dig 🔊 | dug 🔊 | The dog dug a hole in the garden. |
| do 🔊 | did 🔊 | They did their homework together. |
| draw 🔊 | drew 🔊 | She drew a beautiful picture of a sunset. |
| dream 🔊 | dreamed 🔊 | I dreamed about flying last night. |
| drink 🔊 | drank 🔊 | He drank a glass of water after the run. |
| drive 🔊 | drove 🔊 | She drove to the supermarket. |
| eat 🔊 | ate 🔊 | We ate pizza for dinner. |
| fall 🔊 | fell 🔊 | He fell off the stairs. |
| feed 🔊 | fed 🔊 | She fed the birds in the park. |
| feel 🔊 | felt 🔊 | I felt happy after receiving the good news. |
| fight 🔊 | fought 🔊 | He fought hard not to pass out. |
| find 🔊 | found 🔊 | She found her lost keys under the sofa. |
| fly 🔊 | flew 🔊 | The birds flew south for the winter. |
| forbid 🔊 | forbade 🔊 | My parents forbade me from staying out late. |
| forget 🔊 | forgot 🔊 | I forgot my umbrella at home. |
| forgive 🔊 | forgave 🔊 | She forgave him for his mistakes. |
| freeze 🔊 | froze 🔊 | He froze to death in the park. |
| get 🔊 | got 🔊 | I got my salary yesterday. |
| give 🔊 | gave 🔊 | She gave him a beautiful gift. |
| go 🔊 | went 🔊 | They went to the bank. |
| grow 🔊 | grew 🔊 | I grew up in a village. |
| hang 🔊 | hung 🔊 | She hung her coat by the door. |
| have 🔊 | had 🔊 | We had a great time at the party. |
| hear 🔊 | heard 🔊 | I heard a strange noise. |
| hide 🔊 | hid 🔊 | I hid the keys in a secret place. |
| hit 🔊 | hit 🔊 | He hit the baseball out of the park. |
| hold 🔊 | held 🔊 | I held his arms to steady him. |
| hurt 🔊 | hurt 🔊 | It really hurt when I stubbed my toe. |
| keep 🔊 | kept 🔊 | He hept his promise. |
| know 🔊 | knew 🔊 | I knew he would come. |
| lay 🔊 | laid 🔊 | She laid the book on the table. |
| lead 🔊 | led 🔊 | He led his team to victory. |
| leave 🔊 | left 🔊 | He left the keys on the counter. |
| lend 🔊 | lent 🔊 | He lent me some money? |
| let 🔊 | let 🔊 | I let him choose his own destiny. |
| lie 🔊 | lay 🔊 | I lay down for a nap. |
| light 🔊 | lit 🔊 | She lit the candles for dinner. |
| lose 🔊 | lost 🔊 | I lost my keys during the mountain hike. |
| make 🔊 | made 🔊 | She made a delicious cake. |
| mean 🔊 | meant 🔊 | He meant to hurt me. |
| meet 🔊 | met 🔊 | We met at a coffee shop last week. |
| pay 🔊 | paid 🔊 | She paid for the groceries. |
| put 🔊 | put 🔊 | He put the book on the shelf. |
| read 🔊 | read 🔊 | I read a nice book last night. |
| ride 🔊 | rode 🔊 | She rode her bike to the park. |
| ring 🔊 | rang 🔊 | The phone rang three times. |
| rise 🔊 | rose 🔊 | The sun rose at 6am. |
| run 🔊 | ran 🔊 | She ran to catch the bus. |
| say 🔊 | said 🔊 | He said he was coming. |
| see 🔊 | saw 🔊 | I saw a beautiful bird. |
| seek 🔊 | sought 🔊 | They sought advice from the wise man. |
| sell 🔊 | sold 🔊 | He sold his old car. |
| send 🔊 | sent 🔊 | She sent a letter to her friend. |
| set 🔊 | set 🔊 | They set the table for dinner. |
| shake 🔊 | shook 🔊 | He shook hands with the mayor. |
| shine 🔊 | shone 🔊 | The sun shone brightly. |
| shoot 🔊 | shot 🔊 | He shot an arrow into the sky. |
| show 🔊 | showed 🔊 | She showed me the way to the station. |
| shut 🔊 | shut 🔊 | He shut the door as I left. |
| sing 🔊 | sang 🔊 | She sang a beautiful song at the concert last night. |
| sink 🔊 | sank 🔊 | The boat sank in the deep sea. |
| sit 🔊 | sat 🔊 | He sat next to a beautiful lady. |
| sleep 🔊 | slept 🔊 | I slept early last night. |
| speak 🔊 | spoke 🔊 | We spoke about the new project during the meeting. |
| spend 🔊 | spent 🔊 | He spent all his money on betting. |
| stand 🔊 | stood 🔊 | He stood up to voice his opinion during the meeting. |
| steal 🔊 | stole 🔊 | Someone stole my wallet! |
| stick 🔊 | stuck 🔊 | He stuck a sticker to the wall. |
| sting 🔊 | stung 🔊 | A bee stung me! |
| strike 🔊 | struck 🔊 | The clock struck midnight. |
| swear 🔊 | swore 🔊 | He swore to tell the truth. |
| sweep 🔊 | swept 🔊 | She swept the floor clean. |
| swim 🔊 | swam 🔊 | We swam in the lake. |
| swing 🔊 | swung 🔊 | The children swung on the swings. |
| take 🔊 | took 🔊 | She took the bus to work. |
| teach 🔊 | taught 🔊 | He taught me all I know about football. |
| tear 🔊 | tore 🔊 | She tore the letter in half to manifest her anger. |
| tell 🔊 | told 🔊 | I told him the truth. |
| think 🔊 | thought 🔊 | I already thought about that. |
| throw 🔊 | threw 🔊 | He threw the ball to the dog. |
| understand 🔊 | understood 🔊 | I understood the assignment. |
