The past simple tense is quite straightforward. The main problem is its spelling rules, which you’ll find below.
We use the past simple to describe an action that started in the past and ended in the past. It could be something that happened twenty years ago or something that happened two minutes ago. It started. It stopped. It’s over.
I visited a client in London yesterday.
She planned the event all by herself.
The most common time expressions used for the past simple are: yesterday, a week (month, year) ago, last (month, year, weekend, Monday) night, the day before yesterday, two days (months, years) ago. The time expression appears either at the beginning or at the end of the sentence – never in the middle of the sentence.
Forming the Past Simple
Subject Verb + d, ed, ied
or irregular form (V2) Rest of Sentence
I / He / She / It You / We / They walked to the shop yesterday
slept late last Saturday
The past simple is usually formed by adding d, ed, or ied to the base form of the verb, however, in English there are many irregular verbs that take on a completely different form in the past tense. Some people call this the V2 form of the verb. The best thing to do is to try and memorize them.
Negative Sentences in the Past Simple Tense
Spelling Tip
When shortening the 3rd person (he, she, it) negative, just remove the o in not and add an apostrophe (‘)
did not > didn’t
To create a negative sentence in the past simple, use didn’t (did not) + the base form of the verb.
Note: Save the long forms (did not) for when you want to create emphasis. When speaking, put the stress on ‘not’.
Subject didn’t + verb in the base form Rest of Sentence
I / He / She / It You / We / They didn’t walk to the shop yesterday
didn’t sleep late last Saturday
I didn’t talk to John yesterday.
He didn’t steal those ideas from the company.
You didn’t show me the photos from the wedding.
Ron did not sign the document.
