The Past Simple tense describes actions or situations that were finished at a specific time in the past. It is the main way to talk about completed events in narratives, schedules, and past experiences. In statements, negatives, and questions, the form changes in predictable ways. Time expressions like yesterday, last week, and in 2010 often signal the Past Simple.

Regular verbs form the Past Simple by adding -ed to the base form of the verb. The spelling changes depend on the ending of the base verb. The Past Simple form does not change for person or number in statements.

Rule
Add -ed to the base form to make the Past Simple of regular verbs.
If the base ends in e, add -d to make the Past Simple.
If the base ends in consonant+y, change y to i and add -ed.
For most one-syllable verbs ending CVC, double the final consonant and add -ed.

Spelling rules help create the correct Past Simple form for regular verbs. These rules apply to written English and are stable across subjects. Common patterns include verbs ending in e, verbs ending in consonant+y, and short verbs with consonant-vowel-consonant structure.

Word/Phrase	Definition
liked	The base ends in e, so the Past Simple adds d.
studied	The base ends in consonant+y, so y changes to i and adds ed.
stopped	A one-syllable verb ends CVC, so the final consonant is doubled and ed is added.
planned	A short verb with CVC at the end doubles the final consonant and adds ed.

Irregular verbs have Past Simple forms that do not follow the regular -ed pattern. These forms must be memorized as single units. In the Past Simple, irregular verbs also do not change for person or number in statements.

Word/Phrase	Definition
was, were	Past Simple of be; was is used with I, he, she, it, and were is used with you, we, they.
had	Past Simple of have; it is the same for all subjects.
did	Past Simple of do; it is the same for all subjects.
went	Past Simple of go; it is the same for all subjects.
made	Past Simple of make; it is the same for all subjects.
got	Past Simple of get; it is the same for all subjects.
said	Past Simple of say; it is the same for all subjects.
took	Past Simple of take; it is the same for all subjects.

Past Simple negatives use did not plus the base form of the verb. Did not can be contracted to didn’t in informal writing and speech. The main verb stays in the base form after did not, even with irregular verbs.

Rule
Use did not plus the base form to make a negative in the Past Simple.
After did not, do not use the Past Simple form of the main verb.
Didn’t is the contracted form of did not and can replace did not in negatives.

Past Simple questions use did before the subject and the base form of the main verb. The question structure is did plus subject plus base verb. Short answers often use did or didn’t without repeating the full verb phrase. With be, questions use was or were directly, not did.

Rule
Use did plus subject plus base verb to form a Past Simple question.
After did in a question, use the base form, not the Past Simple form.
With be, use was or were to form questions and do not use did.

Be has two forms in the Past Simple: was and were. Was is used with I, he, she, and it. Were is used with you, we, and they. These forms are used in statements, negatives, and questions with be.

Subject	Form
I	was
You	were
He	was
She	was
It	was
We	were
They	were

Certain time expressions are commonly used with the Past Simple to show that an action is finished. These phrases often identify a specific time or completed period. Using these expressions helps clarify that the Past Simple is the correct tense.

Word/Phrase	Definition
yesterday	A completed day before today; signals a finished past action.
last week	The week before this week; describes a finished period.
last year	The year before this year; refers to a completed time.
in 2010	A specific past year; marks a finished time point.
an hour ago	A specific interval before now; shows the action is complete.

The Past Simple describes finished actions at a specific past time. Regular verbs add -ed, and irregular verbs have special forms. Negatives and questions use did plus the base form, and be uses was and were. Time expressions help signal when to use the Past Simple.