Past Simple

Compiled from Grammar Builder Book 3

The laws of the past simple:

1. To show that an action happened in the past.
• I visited Europe in 2003.
• James studied in Western Australia five years ago.
2. To refer to an action which took place over a period of time in the past and is finished or to show that an action that took place regularly in the past is over.
• During the 1980s, both my parents worked to support the family. (past action lasting for a period of time)
• When I was a child, I drank a lot of soft drinks. (regular action in the past)
3. To report certain past events or situations in newspapers,     magazines or journals.
• Andy Murray played a great match against Novak Djokovic in the Men’s Wimbledon Final last year. 

Important!

Add ‘ed’ to regular verbs. Irregular verbs take different forms.

·         Chris worked in Beijing for three years. (regular verb)

·         We ate at that Maria’s Cafe two days ago. (irregular verb)

Some irregular verbs keep the base form.

·         Dylan cut himself with a knife this morning.

·         We let the children throw a party at the house last night.

Below are some ways of forming the past simple of regular verbs:

• Base form of verb + ‘ed’

Eg.        Play + ed = played             Work + ed = worked

• Base form of verb ending in y to ‘ied’

Eg.         Study = studied                  copy = copied

• Base form of verb ending in a consonant + the same consonant + ‘ed’

Eg.        Stop = stopped             brag = bragged

Please refer to the two tables (below) for the list of words in the past simple.

Compiled from Essential Grammar in Use