HOW IS THE PAST SIMPLE FORMED?

PAST In English there are two types of verbs: regular and irregular. There are some rules for the formation of regular verbs in

SIMPLE
English that are based on what are the last letters of the verb in the infinitive. The two endings for the past simple
formation are –d or –ed and depend on the following, the rules are:

Close - Closed: She Jump - Jumped:

closed the store 2. The –ed is All the people
USE: yesterday. 1. The –d is for jumped when

verbs whose for verbs in they heard that
The past simple is used for sentences Believe - Believed: any other song at the
Last time, you last letter is e. concert.
in which the idea, act, or state has believed that I had For example: ending. For

lied to you. I started to do

already been completed. It could example: exercise when I
was 10 years old .
have ended five minutes ago or five

centuries ago, the completion time

does not matter, the only important
thing is that it is talking about 3. When there 4. When there
Play - Played: Study - Studied:
is no vowel
something that no longer happens or She played like
a pro in the final
is a y at the
end, after a
PAST before y, it is
I studied all
night for the last
exists in the present. match. test.

Pray - Prayed:
vowel, just SIMPLE changed to i +
ed. For

Try - tried to
My add –ed. For repair car all the
To underline that it is a fait accompli, grandmother example: example: morning.
prayed for me
when I was in
it can be accompanied by context, hospital.

for example:

A year ago, I ate in that 5. In other

cases, the last
restaurant. consonant of
In 1970, The Beatles split up. the word must
be repeated to
When you were a child you liked add the formula
apples. –ed. For
example:

Stop - Stopped: You stopped

just in time, before the train
crossed.
Plan - Planned: The
musicians planned their last
concert almost a year ago. By: Natalia Meneses Capella
 How to form the past simple in regular verbs in
affirmative, negative and interrogative forms?

AFFIRMATIVE NEGATIVE INTERROGATIVE

Subject+ past verb+ Subject + didn't+ Did + subject +

complement. infinitive verb + infinitive
Examples: complement. verb + complement.

Examples: Examples:
I went to your house

on my bicycle. She didn't pass the Did you remember the

They practiced their exam. correct answer?
play all weekend. We didn’t practice Did your dog destroy my
their play all weekend. new shoes in five
minutes?

The verb to be is an irregular verb, as can be seen in its past simple

RULES OF THE VERB TO BE forms: I was, you were, he/she/it was, we were, they were.

For the first and third person singular the word "was" is used; for the rest, "were" is used. For example:

"She was a student." She was a student.

"They were doctors." They were doctors.

To ask a question, place "was / were" at the beginning of the sentence:

"Was she a student?" She was a student?
"Are they doctors?" Were they doctors?

In negative sentences you have to add the adverb "not" and put it after the word "was / were". Remember that most
of the time the contraction (abbreviated form) is used in negative sentences: “wasn’t = was not” “weren’t = were
not”.

"He wasn’t at the cinema with us." He wasn't at the movies with us.
"We weren't at home on Sunday." We weren't home on Sunday.
"I wasn’t hungry." I was not hungry.
By: Natalia Meneses Capella
 STRUCTURE OF THE VERB TO BE

INTERROGATIVE
AFFIRMATIVE NEGATIVE

Subject+was/were+
complement. Subject+was/were+not Was/were + Subject +
Examples: +complement. complement?

Examples: Examples:
I was sick last I was not (or wasn't) Were you ready for
week. doctor. the English test?
You were really You were not (or Was she sick
happy. weren't) really yesterday?
happy.

By: Natalia Meneses Capella