This document provides information about using the past simple tense in English. It discusses regular and irregular verbs. Regular verbs follow a consistent pattern of adding "-ed" or "-d" in the past form. Irregular verbs have unique past forms that must be memorized. It also describes how to form affirmative, negative, and interrogative sentences in the past simple tense and gives examples of its common time expressions like "yesterday" and "last week."

1. PAST SIMPLE
Anna Torrent

2. GENERAL INFORMATION

When we talk abourt Past Simple tense in English we distinguish two kinds of
verbs: regular verbs and irregular verbs.

Regular verbs are called like that because they follow the same pattern: they
end in –ed or –d.
play – played
decide – decided
study – studied
From these examples it is easy to see that sometimes changes are needed:

We usually add –ed to the infinitive form of the verb:
play – played
act - acted
•
Those verbs ending in –e just add –d:
like – liked
save - saved
•
When a verb ends in –y, it changes into i and we add –ed:
cry – cried
study – studied
•
Verbs ending in CVC double the last consonant and add –ed:
stop – stopped
sit - sitting

3. 
Irregular verbs completely change from the base form, and they need to be
learnt by hard.

4. FORM

Affirmative: S + Vpast + C
Example: She liked playing the piano when she was ten.
My neighbours bought a new house last month

Negative: S + DIDN’T + Vinf + C
Example: She didn’t like playing the piano when she was ten.
My neighbours didn’t buy a new house last month

Question: DID + S + Vinf + C
Example: Did she like playing the piano when she was ten?
Yes, she did / No, she didn’t
Did your neighbours buy a new house last month?
Yes, they did / No, they didn’t

5. USE

We use PAST SIMPLE to talk about finished actions in the past.
That is, actions that started and finished in the past.
Ex: Jack and Susan painted their house last week.
I lost my keys yesterday

Time expressions: yesterday, last month, in 1992, two years
ago, etc.

6. ACTIVITIES

Write the past form of the following verbs in the right column. Then
translate them.
come
play
jump
REGULAR
see
write
study
be
cry
open
IRREGULAR
TRANSLATION
came
venir
played
jugar
jumped
saltar
saw
veure
wrote
escriure
studied
estudiar
Was/were
Ser/estar
cried
plorar
opened
obrir
drove
conduir
drive

7. ACTIVITIES

Write the past form of the following verbs in the right column. Then
translate them.
come
play
jump
REGULAR
see
write
study
be
cry
open
IRREGULAR
TRANSLATION
came
venir
played
jugar
jumped
saltar
saw
veure
wrote
escriure
studied
estudiar
Was/were
Ser/estar
cried
plorar
opened
obrir
drove
conduir
drive