English Grammar: Past Simple Tense

Study Notes

The past simple is formed using the verb in its base form and adding -ed (regular verbs) or changing the verb ending (irregular verbs).
Examples:
- Regular verbs: walk -> walked, run -> ran
- Irregular verbs: go -> went, take -> took

The past simple is used to talk about completed actions in the past.
It is often used with time expressions such as:
- Yesterday
- Last week/month/year
- Ago (e.g. three years ago)
- At (e.g. at 5 o'clock)
It can be used to describe:
- A completed action in the past: I went to school yesterday.
- A series of completed actions in the past: I woke up, had breakfast, and went to school.
- A habit or routine in the past: I used to walk to school when I was a child.

The past simple is often used with time expressions to specify when the action happened.
Common time expressions include:
- Yesterday
- Last night
- Last week/month/year
- Ago (e.g. three years ago)
- At (e.g. at 5 o'clock)
- In (e.g. in 2010)

The past simple is often used in combination with other verb tenses, such as:
- Past continuous: I was studying when my friend called me.
- Past perfect: I had studied for three hours before the exam started.
- Past perfect continuous: I had been studying for three hours before the exam started.

Past simple is formed by adding -ed to regular verbs or changing the verb ending for irregular verbs.
Examples of regular verbs: walk -> walked, run -> ran
Examples of irregular verbs: go -> went, take -> took

Past simple is used to describe completed actions in the past.
It is often used with time expressions such as:
- Yesterday
- Last week/month/year
- Ago (e.g. three years ago)
- At (e.g. at 5 o'clock)
Past simple can be used to describe:
- A single completed action in the past
- A series of completed actions in the past
- A habit or routine in the past

Past simple can be used in combination with other verb tenses, such as:
- Past continuous: to describe an action that was in progress at a specific time in the past
- Past perfect: to describe an action that was completed before another action in the past
- Past perfect continuous: to describe an action that started before another action in the past and continued up to that time

Past simple is formed by adding -ed to regular verbs (e.g. walk -> walked, run -> ran)
Irregular verbs change their ending to form the past simple (e.g. go -> went, take -> took)

Used to talk about completed actions in the past
Often used with time expressions such as:
- Yesterday
- Last week/month/year
- Ago (e.g. three years ago)
- At (e.g. at 5 o'clock)
Describes:
- Completed action in the past (e.g. I went to school yesterday)
- Series of completed actions in the past (e.g. I woke up, had breakfast, and went to school)
- Habit or routine in the past (e.g. I used to walk to school when I was a child)

Past simple is often used with other verb tenses, such as:
- Past continuous (e.g. I was studying when my friend called me)
- Past perfect (e.g. I had studied for three hours before the exam started)
- Past perfect continuous (e.g. I had been studying for three hours before the exam started)