Simple Past Tense

Simple Past Tense

Hello, this time you are about to learn and explore simple past tense :) 

=I sang=

The simple past tense is sometimes called the preterite tense. We can use several tenses to talk about the past, but the simple past tense is the one we use most often.

In this lesson we look at the structure and use of the simple past tense, followed by a quiz to check your understanding:

How do we use the Simple Past Tense?

We use the simple past tense to talk about an action or a situation - an event - in the past. The event can be short or long.

Here are some short events with the simple past tense:

The car exploded at 9.30am yesterday. She went to the door. We did not hear the telephone. Did you see that car?
past	present	future
The action is in the past.

Here are some long events with the simple past tense:

I lived in Bangkok for 10 years. The Jurassic period lasted about 62 million years. We did not sing at the concert. Did you watch TV last night?
past	present	future
The action is in the past.

Notice that it does not matter how long ago the event is: it can be a few minutes or seconds in the past, or millions of years in the past. Also it does not matter how long the event is. It can be a few milliseconds (car explosion) or millions of years (Jurassic period). We use the simple past tense when:

• the event is in the past
• the event is completely finished
• we say (or understand) the time and/or place of the event

In general, if we say the time or place of the event, we must use the simple past tense; we cannot use the present perfect.

Here are some more examples:

• I lived in that house when I was young.
• He didn't like the movie.
• What did you eat for dinner?
• John drove to London on Monday.
• Mary did not go to work yesterday.
• Did you play tennis last week?
• I was at work yesterday.
• We were not late (for the train).
• Were you angry?

Note that when we tell a story, we usually use the simple past tense. We may use the past continuous tense to "set the scene", but we almost always use the simple past tense for the action. Look at this example of the beginning of a story:

"The wind was howling around the hotel and the rain was pouring down. It was cold. The door opened and James Bond entered. He took off his coat, which was very wet, and ordered a drink at the bar. He sat down in the corner of the lounge and quietly drank his..."

Write the past tense of these regular verbs:

watch__________	change__________
talk__________	count__________
step__________	turn on__________
play__________	finish__________
open__________	look__________
close__________	dance__________
use__________	try__________
need__________	study__________
listen__________	want_________

 “Go,” “See,” and “Eat” are called Irregular Verbs, because you don’t add –ed to make the past tense.

Circle each past tense verb in the sentences below:

1. I wanted to play baseball, but I was sick.

2. Sarah watched a movie yesterday with her sister.

3. My mother went to China and ate strange food.

4. I did my homework last night.

5. Mr. Davis took his son to school.

6. My parents were young, but now they are old.

7. She turned on the lights and closed the door.

8. I danced with my friends and had a lot of fun.

9. Jack cleaned his room and then he played outside.

10. My mother gave me 20 dollars!

Here are some of the websites that you can browse regarding simple past tense :

simple past tense 1

simple past tense 2