Past Simple
[A2] Past Simple in English grammar teaches how to form the simple past with regular and irregular verbs, and how to use it in statements, negations, and questions. This module covers usage, rules, pronunciation, and common time expressions.
Purpose
The Past Simple is used to talk about finished actions and situations in the past. The time is understood as “before now,” and the action or state is complete. It is common when you say when something happened or when the sequence of events is clear from context.
El Pasado Simple se usa para hablar de acciones y situaciones terminadas en el pasado. El tiempo se entiende como “antes de ahora,” y la acción o estado está completo. Es común cuando dices cuándo ocurrió algo o cuando la secuencia de los acontecimientos es clara por contexto.
Time Markers
Past Simple often appears with finished-time expressions that point to a completed past period. These markers help listeners place the action at a specific past time or within a finished past timeframe. You can also use Past Simple without a marker when the past time is clear from the conversation.
El Pasado Simple a menudo aparece con expresiones de tiempo terminado que señalan un periodo pasado completado. Estos marcadores ayudan a los oyentes a situar la acción en un tiempo pasado específico o dentro de un marco de tiempo pasado terminado. También puedes usar el Pasado Simple sin marcador cuando el tiempo pasado es claro por la conversación.
Word/Phrase | 🇪🇸 Español Palabra/Frase | Definition | 🇪🇸 Español Definición | Example | 🇪🇸 Español Ejemplo |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 yesterday | 🕒 ayer | one day before today | 🕒 un día antes de hoy | I called you yesterday. | 🕒 Te llamé ayer. |
| last week | 🕒 la semana pasada | in the week before this one | 🕒 en la semana anterior a esta | We met last week. | 🕒 Nos vimos la semana pasada. |
| in 2019 | 🕒 en 2019 | at a specific year in the past | 🕒 en un año específico en el pasado | She moved to London in 2019. | 🕒 Ella se mudó a Londres en 2019. |
| two hours ago | 🕒 hace dos horas | a finished time before now | 🕒 un tiempo terminado antes de ahora | He left two hours ago. | 🕒 Él se fue hace dos horas. |
| when I was a child | 🕒 cuando era niño | during a finished past life period | 🕒 durante un periodo pasado terminado | When I was a child, I loved comics. | 🕒 Cuando era niño, me encantaban los cómics. |
Regular Verbs
Most verbs form the Past Simple by adding -ed to the base form. Spelling changes happen with verbs ending in -e, verbs ending in consonant plus -y, and some one-syllable verbs that double the final consonant. The pronunciation of -ed can change, but the spelling is still -ed.
La mayoría de los verbos se forman el Pasado Simple añadiendo -ed a la forma base. Los cambios de ortografía ocurren con verbos que terminan en -e, verbos que terminan en consonante más -y, y algunos verbos de una sílaba que duplican la consonante final. La pronunciación de -ed puede cambiar, pero la escritura sigue siendo -ed.
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Irregular Verbs
Many common verbs have an irregular Past Simple form that must be memorized because it does not follow the -ed pattern. The Past Simple form stays the same for all subjects. Learning the most frequent irregular verbs quickly improves accuracy and comprehension.
Muchos verbos comunes tienen una forma irregular del Pasado Simple que debe memorizarse porque no sigue el patrón -ed. La forma de Pasado Simple permanece igual para todos los sujetos. Aprender los verbos irregulares más frecuentes mejora rápidamente la precisión y la comprensión.
Affirmative Form
Affirmative Past Simple uses the past form of the main verb: regular -ed forms or irregular forms. The verb form does not change with I, you, he, she, it, we, or they. Word order is the same as in the present: subject + verb + object or complement.
La Forma Afirmativa del Pasado Simple usa la forma pasada del verbo principal: formas regulares con -ed o formas irregulares. La forma del verbo no cambia con I, you, he, she, it, we, o they. El orden de las palabras es el mismo que en el presente: sujeto + verbo + objeto o complemento.
Negative Form
Negative Past Simple is formed with did not or didn’t plus the base form of the main verb. The main verb does not take -ed in negatives because did already shows past time. This pattern is the same for all subjects.
La Forma Negativa del Pasado Simple se forma con did not o didn’t, más la forma base del verbo principal. La forma verbal no lleva -ed en las negativas porque did ya indica el tiempo pasado. Este patrón es el mismo para todos los sujetos.
Rule | 🇪🇸 Español Regla | Example | 🇪🇸 Español Ejemplo |
|---|---|---|---|
 Use did not or didn’t plus base verb | 📌 Usa did not o didn’t más el verbo base | I didn’t watch the film. | 📌 I didn’t watch the film. |
| Do not use a past verb form after didn’t | 📌 No uses una forma verbal en pasado después de didn’t | She didn’t go home early. | 📌 She didn’t go home early. |
| Place not after did in formal writing | 📌 Coloca not después de did en la escritura formal | They did not agree. | 📌 They did not agree. |
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Questions
Most Past Simple questions use did plus the subject plus the base form of the verb. Like negatives, the main verb stays in the base form because did carries the past meaning. Wh- questions use a question word first, then did, then subject, then base verb.
La mayoría de las preguntas en Pasado Simple usan did más el sujeto más la forma base del verbo. Al igual que las negativas, el verbo principal permanece en la forma base porque did transmite el significado pasado. Las preguntas con Wh- usan la palabra interrogativa primero, luego did, luego el sujeto y luego el verbo base.
Rule | 🇪🇸 Español Regla | Example | 🇪🇸 Español Ejemplo |
|---|---|---|---|
| Yes no questions use Did plus subject plus base verb | 📌 Las preguntas de sí/no usan did más el sujeto más la forma base del verbo | Did you enjoy the trip? | 📌 ¿Disfrutaste del viaje? |
| Wh questions use Wh word plus did plus subject plus base verb | 📌 Las preguntas Wh usan la palabra Wh más did más el sujeto más la forma base del verbo | Where did he park? | 📌 ¿Dónde aparcó? |
| Short answers use did or didn’t | 📌 Las respuestas cortas usan did o didn’t | Yes, I did. No, I didn’t. | 📌 Sí, lo hice. No, no lo hice. |
Verb Be
The verb be is special in the Past Simple: it does not use did in negatives or questions. Use was with I, he, she, it and were with you, we, they. For questions, invert was or were with the subject; for negatives, add not after was or were.
El verbo ser/estar es especial en el Pasado Simple: no se usa did en las negaciones o preguntas. Usa was con I, he, she, it y were con you, we, they. Para preguntas, invierte was o were con el sujeto; para negaciones, añade not después de was o were.
Subject | 🇪🇸 Español Sujeto | Form | 🇪🇸 Español Forma | Example | 🇪🇸 Español Ejemplo |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 I | 👤 I | was | 👤 was | I was tired. | 👤 I was tired. |
| you | 👤 you | were | 👤 were | You were late. | 👤 You were late. |
| he | 👤 he | was | 👤 was | He was at home. | 👤 He was at home. |
| she | 👤 she | was | 👤 was | She was happy. | 👤 She was happy. |
| it | 👤 it | was | 👤 was | It was cold. | 👤 It was cold. |
| we | 👤 we | were | 👤 were | We were surprised. | 👤 We were surprised. |
| they | 👤 they | were | 👤 were | They were ready. | 👤 They were ready. |
Completed States
Past Simple can describe past states and repeated or habitual actions that are finished. It is common with stative verbs like know, like, want, and have when the meaning is a past state. For past habits, Past Simple often appears with frequency words or with time periods that are finished.
El Pasado Simple puede describir estados pasados y acciones repetidas o habituales que están terminadas. Es común con verbos de estado como saber, gustar, querer y tener cuando el significado es un estado pasado. Para hábitos pasados, el Pasado Simple a menudo aparece con palabras de frecuencia o con periodos de tiempo que ya están terminados.
Narrative Sequence
Past Simple is the main tense for telling stories and describing a sequence of completed events. It helps you present actions in the order they happened, often one after another. This is frequent in anecdotes, news reports, biographies, and instructions about past events.
El Pasado Simple es el tiempo principal para contar historias y describir una secuencia de eventos terminados. Te ayuda a presentar las acciones en el orden en que ocurrieron, a menudo una tras otra. Esto es frecuente en anécdotas, informes de noticias, biografías y instrucciones sobre eventos pasados.
