Simple Past Tense
Talk about actions that happened and finished before now.
It happened. It's finished.
Mission brief
Talk about what already happened
We use the simple past for actions and events that started and finished in the past.
By the end of this mission, you will know how to form it with regular and irregular verbs, question it, negate it, and use was and were.
Big idea
The action is finished before now
I visited my grandmother yesterday.
The visit started and ended in the past.
She watched a movie last night.
The movie is over — it is not still playing.
They played football after school.
The game finished before this moment.
He finished his homework.
The work is done, so we use the past verb.
How it works
Basic formula
I played football. · She watched a movie. · They visited Melaka.
Good news: the past verb stays the same for every subject. I played, she played, they played.
Verb transformation
Regular verbs take -ed
Watch out: short CVC verbs double the final consonant before -ed, so stop becomes stopped, not stoped.
Learn these by heart
Irregular verbs
Irregular verbs do not simply take -ed — they change form completely. There is no shortcut here; these just need to be learned.
- gowent
- eatate
- seesaw
- comecame
- taketook
- buybought
- havehad
- dodid
- makemade
- writewrote
See it in action
Finished action in the past
Aiman played badminton yesterday.
The match is already over.
Sara visited her aunt last weekend.
The visit happened and ended last weekend.
We watched a movie last night.
The movie finished before now.
My father cooked dinner yesterday.
Dinner was cooked and served in the past.
Time clues
Time expressions
Spot one of these clues and the sentence almost always needs the simple past.
Negative structures
Did not + base verb
I did not play football.
You can also say: I didn't play football.
She did not watch the movie.
You can also say: She didn't watch the movie.
They did not visit us.
You can also say: They didn't visit us.
The most important rule in this lesson: after DID or DIDN'T, use the BASE VERB. Did already shows the past.
Question structures
Start the question with Did
Did you play football?
Play stays in the base form after did.
Did she visit her aunt?
Never say: Did she visited her aunt?
Did they finish their homework?
One did at the front is enough to show the past.
Did you play football?
Yes, I did.
No, I didn't.
Did she visit her aunt?
Yes, she did.
No, she didn't.
Past of be
Was and were
was
I was tired.
She was at home.
were
They were happy.
We were at school.
Add not after was or were
was not → wasn't
were not → weren't
Move was or were to the front
Was she tired?
Were they at school?
Watch out: was and were do not mix and match. Check the subject before you choose.
Compare it
Simple Present vs Simple Past
I play football every Saturday.
every Saturday · routine / happens regularly
I played football yesterday.
yesterday · finished action before now
Common mistakes
Error detector
I play football yesterday.
She goed to school.
He didn't played football.
Did you went there?
They was happy.
Real-life English
Talking about yesterday
Aiman What did you do yesterday?
Sara I visited my cousin.
Aiman Did you stay there long?
Sara No, I came home before dinner.
Test yourself
Quick check
Revision map
Mission summary
Simple past
finished actions before now
Positive
subject + past verb
Negative
subject + didn't + base verb
Question
Did + subject + base verb?
Past of be
I/he/she/it → was · you/we/they → were
Time clues
yesterday · last night · last week · ago
Exam strategy
Exam booster
Look for past-time clues such as yesterday, last week, and ago.
Regular verbs often end in -ed, so check the spelling rule you need.
Learn common irregular verbs — they do not follow the -ed rule.
After did or didn't, always use the base verb.
Check was and were carefully — they do not mix and match with subjects.
Worked example: “She ___ to the library yesterday.” Yesterday is a past clue and go is irregular, so go becomes went: She went to the library.
Mission review point
Simple Past complete
Your saved reading progress reaches Completed after every lesson section has been read.