The Past Simple Tense

Regular Verbs

We use the past simple tense for completed actions at a time in the past.

For regular verbs we usually add ed to the infinive.

For I, You, He, She, It, We and They the verb form is the same:

SubjectPast Form (V2)Past
Iwatchedyesterday.
Youplayedlast week.
Hewalkedlast night.
Shecookedyesterday morning.
Itworkedlast month.
Wecleaneda week ago.
Theylistenedlast year.

We add d to infinitives ending with e:

InfinitiveVerb Form
movemoved
loveloved
fadefaded
produceproduced
manufacturemanufactured

We change y to ied for words ending in y:

InfinitiveVerb Form
studystudied
carrycarried
trytried

Tip!
* We keep y if the letter before is a vowel:
plaied
played
enjoied
enjoyed

SubjectVerb FormPast
Imovedlast year.
Itriedyesterday.

Now try the quiz below!

The Past Simple Tense - Regular Verbs

The Past Simple Tense - Irregular Verbs

The Past Simple Tense - Negatives

The Past Simple Tense - Questions

The Past Simple Tense - Short Answers

The Past Simple Tense - Time Phrases

The Past Simple Tense - Review