1. Use of the Simple Past
1.1. actions finished in the past
I visited Berlin last week.
1.2. series of completed actions in the past
First I got up, then I had breakfast.
1.3. together with the Past Progressive/Continuous
The Simple Past interrupted an action which was in progress in the past.
They were playing cards, when the telephone rang.
1st action → Past Progressive → were playing
2nd action → Simple Past → rang
2. Signal words
- yesterday
- last week
- a month ago
- in 2010
3. Form
regular verbs → infinitive + ed
irregular verbs → 2nd column of the table of the irregular verbs
4. Examples
4.1. Affirmative sentences in the Simple Past – regular verbs
| Long forms | Contracted forms |
|---|---|
| I cleaned my room. | not possible |
| You cleaned your room. | |
| He cleaned his room. |
4.2. Affirmative sentences in the Simple Past – irregular verbs
| Long forms | Contracted forms |
|---|---|
| I went home. | not possible |
| You went home. | |
| He went home. |
4.3. Negative sentences in the Simple Past
Do not negates a main verb in English. Always use the auxiliary did (Simple Past of to do) and the infinitive of the verb for negations.
There is no difference between regular and irregular verbs in negative sentences.
| Long forms | Contracted forms |
|---|---|
| I did not clean the room. | I didn't clean the room. |
| You did not clean the room. | You didn't clean the room. |
| He did not clean the room. | He didn't clean the room. |
4.4. Questions in the Simple Past
You need the auxiliary did and the infinitive of the verb.
| Long forms | Contracted forms |
|---|---|
| Did I play football? | not possible |
| Did you play football? | |
| Did he play football? |
When do we use the Simple Past?
The Simple Past is used to talk about actions or situations in the past. It is also called Past Simple.
1. actions finished in the past (single or repeated)
I visited Berlin last week.
Andrew watched TV yesterday.
My friends went to Paris a week ago.
My parents ate a lot of junk food when they were young.
2. series of completed actions in the past
First I got up, then I had breakfast.
On Sunday my brother and I went to a nice lake. There we met our friends. We swam in the warm water and played volleyball in the afternoon. Too bad that we had to go home in the evening. We didn't want to go to school on Monday.
3. together with the Past Progressive/Continuous – the Simple Past interrupted an action which was in progress in the past.
They were playing cards when the telephone rang.
1st action → Past Progressive → were playing
2nd action → Simple Past → rang
While Dennis was reading outside, it started to rain.
1st action → Past Progressive → was reading
2nd action → Simple Past → started