Simple Past

We use the Past Simple to talk about:

✅ Actions that started and finished in the past
✅ Past facts or situations that are no longer true

Examples:

I watched a great movie last night.
They visited Paris in 2022.
She didn’t go to work yesterday.

⚙️ Grammar Focus

✅ Affirmative Form

Structure:

Subject + past form of the verb

Examples:

I walked to school yesterday.
He studied English last night.
We went to the park last weekend.

❌ Negative Form

Structure:

Subject + didn’t + base verb

Examples:

I didn’t watch TV last night.
They didn’t go out yesterday.
She didn’t finish her homework.

🧠 Remember: After didn’t, the verb goes back to its base form (no -ed).

❌ I didn’t watched TV.
✅ I didn’t watch TV.

❓ Question Form

Structure:

Did + subject + base verb?

Examples:

Did you study yesterday?
Did he play football?
Did they go to the concert?

Short answers:

Yes, I did. / No, I didn’t.
Yes, she did. / No, she didn’t.

Regular Verbs

Regular verbs form the past by adding -ed to the base verb.

Base VerbPast SimpleExample
workworkedI worked on Monday.
visitvisitedWe visited our grandparents.
cleancleanedShe cleaned her room.

🧠 Spelling Rules:

  • Verbs ending in -e → add -d (live → lived)
  • Verbs ending in -y → change y → ied (study → studied)
  • One vowel + one consonant → double the consonant (stop → stopped)

Irregular Verbs

Some verbs don’t follow the -ed rule. These are irregular verbs, and you need to memorize them.

Base VerbPast SimpleExample
gowentI went to the park.
havehadWe had pizza for dinner.
seesawHe saw his friends.
buyboughtShe bought new shoes.
dodidThey did their homework.
bewas / wereI was tired. We were happy.

💡 Tip: Practice a few irregular verbs every day to remember them!

Time Expressions 🕓

We often use time expressions to show when something happened.

ExpressionExample
yesterdayI watched a movie yesterday.
last night / last week / last yearShe visited her parents last weekend.
two days agoWe studied English two days ago.
in 2019They moved here in 2019.
when I was a childI played football when I was a child.

Position: Time expressions usually go at the end of the sentence.

I went shopping yesterday.

Let’s Practice

Practice 1

Practice 2

Speaking

Practice 1

Practice 2

Flip a card.

Look at the emojis.

Make a sentence using the simple past.

REPEAT

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