Use the Past Simple for an action that started and finished in the past. The time is over, and the result belongs to the past too. In I watched a film last night, the watching is complete. In She moved to Chicago in 2020, the move happened once and is finished. The sentence points to a past moment, not to a present connection. For verb forms and how verbs work in English, see Verbs and Introduction.

Finished past action meaning

Example	Pattern
I visited my aunt last night.	Use the Past Simple for an action that started and ended in the past.
We watched a funny film yesterday.	Use it when the finished past time is already clear.
She bought a new coat in April.	Use it for a single completed event, not an ongoing one.

The Past Simple often appears with time expressions that show a finished period. Common signals include yesterday, last week, last year, two days ago, in 2010, when I was a child, and at 6:00 this morning. These expressions tell the listener the time is over. In We visited my aunt last weekend, last weekend closes the time. In He started work in April, in April names a finished point in the past.

Time expressions with finished past time

Usage	Explanation	Example
Yesterday	Use yesterday to show that the event happened on the day before today.	I called my friend yesterday.
Last week	Use last week to talk about a past time in the previous seven day period.	They moved house last week.
In a past year	Use in plus a year to point to a finished time in the past.	She started college in 2010.
Ago phrase	Use ago to count back from the present and show a finished past time.	We met two days ago.

Regular verbs make the past tense with -ed. Add -ed to the base form: walk becomes walked, play becomes played, and watch becomes watched. The past form is the same for I, you, he, she, it, we, and they: I walked, they played, she watched. Regular verbs are covered again in Regular Verbs.

Regular verb past tense forms

Subject	Infinitive	Conjugation	Example
I	visit	visited	I visited the museum on Saturday.
you	visit	visited	You visited your cousins last month.
he	visit	visited	He visited the park after school.
she	visit	visited	She visited her dentist yesterday.
we	visit	visited	We visited a small cafe downtown.
they	visit	visited	They visited the seaside in July.

Scramble

Some regular verbs change their spelling before -ed is added. Verbs ending in silent e only add d: love becomes loved, move becomes moved. Verbs with one stressed syllable and a short vowel usually double the final consonant: stop becomes stopped, plan becomes planned. Verbs ending in consonant + y change y to i and add ed: study becomes studied, carry becomes carried. If a verb ends in vowel + y, keep the y: play becomes played.

Regular past spelling changes

Example	Pattern
like becomes liked in the past.	When a verb ends in e, add only d.
stop becomes stopped after the final consonant doubles.	When a short verb ends in a single vowel and consonant, double the final consonant.
study becomes studied in the past.	When a verb ends in y after a consonant, change the y to ied.

The ending -ed has three pronunciations. Say /t/ after voiceless sounds: walked, finished, helped. Say /d/ after voiced sounds: played, cleaned, called. Say /ɪd/ after t or d: wanted, needed. The spelling stays the same, but the sound changes with the final sound of the verb. For more verb form patterns, Past Participles is also useful.

Three ed ending sounds

Word	Notation	Description	Example
walked	t sound	Use the t sound after a voiceless final sound such as k or p.	He walked home after dinner.
played	d sound	Use the d sound after a voiced final sound such as y or g.	They played cards all evening.
wanted	id sound	Use the id sound after t or d at the end of the verb.	She wanted a quiet room.

The past forms of be are was and were. Use was with I, he, she, and it: I was tired, she was late. Use were with you, we, and they: you were right, they were at home. In questions, the form moves before the subject: Were they ready? In negatives, add not: was not, were not. The verb be is irregular, so it does not take -ed. Its use depends on the subject, not on the main verb system in Verbs.

Past forms of be

Subject	Infinitive	Conjugation	Example
I	be	was	I was late for class.
you	be	were	You were very helpful.
he	be	was	He was at home all day.
she	be	was	She was excited about the trip.
it	be	was	It was a quiet morning.
we	be	were	We were ready at six.
they	be	were	They were on the train.

Scramble

Many frequent verbs have a special past form that does not end in -ed. Go becomes went, eat becomes ate, make becomes made, have becomes had, and say becomes said. These forms must be learned as complete words. The base form and past form are different, so go and went are two separate forms of the same verb. In We ate at 8:00, the past form is ate, not eat.

Common irregular past verbs

Word	Definition	Example
go went	The past form of go is went.	We went home after the movie.
eat ate	The past form of eat is ate.	She ate a sandwich for lunch.
make made	The past form of make is made.	He made a cake for her birthday.
see saw	The past form of see is saw.	I saw a fox near the road.
have had	The past form of have is had.	They had a long meeting.
take took	The past form of take is took.	She took the early bus.
come came	The past form of come is came.	My friends came to dinner.
find found	The past form of find is found.	We found a key on the floor.
give gave	The past form of give is gave.	He gave me a postcard.
say said	The past form of say is said.	She said hello and smiled.

Scramble

Other common irregular verbs also change their vowel or final sounds in the past. Take becomes took, think becomes thought, bring becomes brought, buy becomes bought, and teach becomes taught. Some follow a similar pattern with a changed vowel or a new ending, but they do not use -ed. Compare keep and kept, or feel and felt. These forms are irregular because the past tense is not built from a regular spelling rule.

Additional irregular past verbs

Word	Definition	Example
think thought	The past form of think is thought.	I thought about your idea all night.
bring brought	The past form of bring is brought.	They brought snacks to the picnic.
buy bought	The past form of buy is bought.	She bought a notebook at the station.
feel felt	The past form of feel is felt.	He felt tired after work.
leave left	The past form of leave is left.	We left early because of the rain.
keep kept	The past form of keep is kept.	She kept the receipt in her wallet.
speak spoke	The past form of speak is spoke.	He spoke clearly during the meeting.
write wrote	The past form of write is wrote.	I wrote a short email after dinner.
break broke	The past form of break is broke.	The vase broke when it fell.
choose chose	The past form of choose is chose.	They chose the blue curtains.

Scramble

Use did not plus the base verb for negatives: I did not work, she did not call, they did not leave. In speaking, did not often becomes didn't. For questions, use did before the subject and the base verb after it: Did you see him?, Did they arrive late? The main verb stays in the base form because did already shows past time. Do not say did saw or did went. The same pattern appears in many sentences about finished events and can be checked alongside Present Simple for contrast.

Did form in negatives and questions

Example	Pattern
I did not call him last night.	Use did not plus the base verb to make a past negative.
Did you call your sister yesterday?	Use did plus the base verb to make a past question.
Did she see the film?	Do not use a past verb form after did.

Past Simple can describe repeated actions in the past when the context makes the habit clear. In When I was a student, I always walked to school, the meaning is repeated past action, not a single event. Words like always, every day, often, and usually can support this meaning. The situation usually has a past time frame, such as when I lived in Madrid or before I had a car. The action is finished now, but it happened many times then.

Past habit meanings with always

Usage	Explanation	Example
Repeated childhood action	Use the Past Simple with always when you want to show a repeated habit in a past period.	My grandfather always walked to school as a child.
Past routine	Use it for a routine that happened many times in a finished past time.	We always played chess after dinner in summer.
Strong emphasis	Use always to make the habit sound very regular or memorable.	She always made tea for her guests.

Use the Past Simple for a finished past time: I saw that movie yesterday, She finished her work last night. Use the Present Perfect when the time is unfinished or when the result is connected to now: I have seen that movie says only that the experience happened before now. In American English, a finished time usually takes the Past Simple, not the Present Perfect: I ate lunch already is normal, while I have eaten lunch already is less natural in that variety. When the sentence names a past time like in 2018 or last week, choose the Past Simple.

Choosing finished past time

Example	Pattern
I met her last Friday.	Use the Past Simple when a time expression shows that the action is finished.
They arrived at eight oclock.	Use the Past Simple for a past event with a specific date or time.
We saw that film this week.	In American English, avoid the Present Perfect when the time period is already finished.

Past Simple often appears in short stories and reports about completed events. Use sequence words to show the order clearly: first, then, after that, later, finally. For example: First, I locked the door. Then I took the train. After that, I met Anna. Finally, we had dinner. The verbs stay in the Past Simple because each event is finished. These time words guide the listener through the order of the actions without changing the tense.