What Is Simple Past Tense? | Examples & Exercises
We use the simple past tense form of a verb to talk about actions and events that were completed in the past (e.g., “I walked to work yesterday”).
For regular verbs, we usually form the simple past tense by adding “-ed” to the base form of the verb (e.g., “jump” becomes “jumped”). Irregular verbs form the simple past tense in a number of ways (e.g., “go” becomes “went”).
Almost all simple past tense verbs use the same form no matter the subject (e.g., “I called/she called/we called”).
| Affirmative | Negative | Interrogative |
|---|---|---|
| I talked | I didn’t talk | Did I talk? |
| You talked (singular) | You didn’t talk (singular) | Did you talk? (singular) |
| He/she/it talked | He/she/it didn’t talk | Did he/she/it talk? |
| We talked | We didn’t talk | Did we talk? |
| You talked (plural) | You didn’t talk (plural) | Did you talk? (plural) |
| They talked | They didn’t talk | Did they talk? |
How to use the simple past tense
We use the simple past tense (aka the past simple) to describe actions and events that took place in the past and are not ongoing.
I worked late last night.
My computer broke last week, but I fixed it.
Forming the simple past
With regular verbs, we usually form the simple past tense by adding “-ed” (or “-d” if the verb already ends in “e”). Regular verbs can sometimes change their spelling in other ways, such as “try” becoming “tried,” but they always follow a predictable pattern.
| Base form | Simple past tense | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Short verbs (one syllable) ending with a consonant-vowel-consonant | Double the final letter and add “-ed” | beg → begged chip → chipped |
| Longer verbs (more than one syllable) that end with a consonant-vowel-consonant and have a stressed final syllable | Double the final letter and add “-ed” | occur → occurred abet → abetted |
| Ends in a consonant + y | Remove the “y” and add “-ied” | verify → verified supply → supplied |
| Ends in “-e” | Add “d” | stare → stared race → raced |
| All other endings | Add “-ed” | clean → cleaned laugh → laughed |
If the final syllable is not stressed, don’t double the final letter (e.g., “deliver → delivered”).
Irregular verbs don’t follow predictable patterns; they can change in a variety of ways to form the simple past tense, and some don’t change at all (e.g., “do” becomes “did,” but “hit” does not change). The only way to learn them is through practice and repetition.
Simple past tense of “be”
In almost all cases, you don’t need to change the form of past simple verbs to agree with the subject (e.g. “I talked/she talked/they talked”). The exception to this is the irregular stative verb “be.”
“Be” is the most irregular verb in the English language. It has two simple past forms, and the correct form to use depends on the subject.
| Subject | Verb |
|---|---|
| I | was |
| You (singular) | were |
| He/she/it | was |
| We | were |
| You (plural) | were |
| They | were |
Present perfect vs simple past
The simple past tense is used for actions and events that were completed in the past.
The present perfect tense is for actions or events that began in the past and have some connection or relevance to the present; for example, a recently completed action, an experience, a change that happened over time, or an action or state that may continue.
I have played basketball before. [I have had the experience of playing basketball; I may or may not do it again.]
I was a principal. [I’m not a principal anymore.]
I have been a principal for 10 years. [I’m still a principal now.]
Regular verbs are always the same in their simple past and past participle forms (e.g., “I danced” and “I have danced”). Irregular verbs, on the other hand, can have different simple past and past participle forms (e.g., “I saw” vs. “I have seen”).
You can check a dictionary to see the simple past and past participle forms of a verb or download our irregular verb list.
Simple past vs past perfect
The simple past tense is used to describe actions that took place in the past. The past perfect is used for past actions that occurred before another past action or up to a certain point in the past.
Mai had finished all her homework by Friday night.
How to form negatives
To form a negative past simple statement, add “did not” (or “didn’t”) after the subject and before the base form of the verb (that is, its infinitive or present form).
We didn’t hear the knock at the door.
To form the negative past simple of the verb “be,” replace “is” or “are” with “was not” or “were not” (or “wasn’t/weren’t”).
Dolores was not feeling well.
How to form questions
To ask yes or no questions about things that happened in the past in the simple past tense, use the base form of the verb and add “did” (the past simple form of “do”) before the subject.
Did Ivan finish the marathon?
For “be,” use the past simple tense (“was” or “were”) and move it before the subject without adding “did.”
Were you at the marathon?
You can add an interrogative pronoun or an interrogative adverb (e.g., “why,” “who,” “how”) before “did” or “was/were” to ask more detailed questions about past actions or events.
When did you finish the book?
How did Ivan train for the marathon?
How to form the passive voice
In the active voice, the subject performs the action described by the verb (e.g., “I ate the cake”). In the passive voice, the subject receives the action (e.g., “the cake was eaten”).
To form a past simple sentence in the passive voice, follow the subject with “was/were” and use the past participle of the main verb.
The picture was taken down.
The children were scolded by their teacher.
Simple past exercises
Test your understanding of the simple past tense with these exercise questions.
Frequently asked questions about the simple past tense
- What is the difference between the simple past and past perfect?
-
The simple past and past perfect are both past tense forms for verbs.
- The simple past tense is used to describe actions that took place in the past. For example, “Sven started a new job last year.”
- The past perfect is used for past actions that occurred before another past action or up to a certain point in the past. For example, “Sven had worked in hospitality for five years before becoming an accountant.”
The other past tense forms are the past progressive and the past perfect progressive.
- What is the difference between the simple past and present perfect?
-
The simple past is a verb tense used for actions and events that were completed in the past. For example, “I was a writer for the New York Times” expresses that the speaker wrote for the New York Times in the past but doesn’t write for them anymore.
The present perfect tense is for actions or events that began in the past and have some connection or relevance to the present (i.e., a recently completed action, an experience, a change that happened over time, or an action or state that may continue).
For example, “I have been a writer for the New York Times for two years” expresses that the speaker started writing for the New York Times two years ago and still writes for them now.
