The English past simple tense is used to talk about many types of past events. They are usually completed events within a completed time. Here’s how to make the past simple tense. (Form)

Past Simple Form

We make regular verbs into the past tense by adding -ed to the end of the verb in affirmative sentences. We don’t need to worry about negative and question sentences because they are formed in a different way. See below. 

  • play >> played 
  • I played netball last night.
  • talk >> talked
  • They talked about their holiday yesterday
  • type >> typed
  • Johnny typed the report on Monday.
  • jump >>jumped
  • The thief jumped the fence to get away.
  • rain >> rained
  • It rained all day last Monday.
  • walk >> walked
  • I walked home from school every day as a child.

Notice we often use words that refer to the past time in the present simple tense. e.g last Monday, yesterday, last night, last month, last year, etc.

Negative Sentences

To make negative sentences, we add did not (didn’t) and we use the present tense of the verb.

  • I did not play netball last night.
  • They didn’t talk about their holiday yesterday.
  • Johnny didn’t type the report on Monday.
  • The thief didn’t jump the fence to get away.
  • It didn’t rain at all on Monday.
  • I didn’t walk home from school every day as a child.

Question Sentences

We make question sentences by adding in did or didn’t  at the top of the sentence and using the present form of the verb.
  • Did you play netball last night?
  • Did they talk about their holiday yesterday?
  • Did Johnny type the report on Monday?
  • Did the thief jump the fence?
  • Did it rain on Monday?
  • Did you walk home from school?

Question Words

We can also use question words at the top of a question. 
  • When did you Play netball?
  • When did they talk about their holiday?
  • What did Johnny type on Monday?
  • How did the thief escape?
  • How much did it rain on Monday?
  • Why did you walk home from school?

Irregular Verbs

Unfortunately, there are many irregular verbs in English, and we need to learn which ones are regular and which ones are irregular. The most common irregular English verb is the verb ‘to be’
We say: ‘I, he, she, it, was’ and ‘we, you, they were.
  • Affirmative: I was late for school yesterday.
  • Negative: I was not late for school yesterday.
  • Question: Were you late for school yesterday?
  • Question word: Why were you late for school yesterday?

Other Irregular Verbs

read >> read (pronounced ‘red’ in the past tense.)
  • I read five books last month.
stand >> stood
  • We stood in front of the heater to get warm.
Throw >> threw
  • They threw the ball to the goal shooter.
Go >> gone
  • Sally has gone home.
say >> said
  • Mum said to go home.

Trigger Words
We often use the past tense with certain words or phrases that refer to a past time. Words like yesterday, last week, last night, two days ago, this morning, in 2005. When you see these phrases, you know you are reading past tense sentences.
Try and use these phrases as much as you can. Practise recognising when you should use the simple past tense. The more you practise, the easier it gets.