Simple past

Simple Past (Regular/Irregular verbs)

Affirmative:
I/You/He/etc. walked.
Negative:
I/You/He/etc. didn't walk.
Interrogative:
Did I/you/he/etc. walk?
Short answers:
Yes, I/you/he/etc. did.
No, I/you/he/etc. didn't.

Spelling:

Simple Past affirmative of regular verbs

• We add -d to verbs ending in -e. I live → I lived

With verbs ending in a consonant + y, we drop the -y and add -
ied. I try → I tried With verbs ending in a vowel + y, we add -ed. /
play → I played

• With verbs ending in one vowel between two consonants, we

double the last consonant and add -ed. I drop → I dropped

Irregular verbs

For the simple past form of irregular verbs consult the Irregular
Verbs section.
Use

We use the simple past:

• for an action which happened at a definite time in the past. The

time is stated, already known, or implied
Bob bought a new car last month. (The time is stated.)

• for actions which happened immediately one after the other in

the past.
First he took a shower and then he went to bed.

• for past habits or states which are now finished. In such cases
we can also use the expression used to.

My grandmother read/used to read bedtime stories to me

when / was younger. (past habit)
Time expressions used with simple past:
yesterday, yesterday morning/evening etc., last night/week etc.,
two weeks/a month ago, in 1984, etc.