Past Simple - Practice Practice Simple with interactive English exercises

Past Simple

What is the Past Simple?

The Past Simple is a verb tense that as its name implies: refers to the past.
There are several verb tenses to talk about the past, but the Past Simple is the most used verb tense for the past.

The easy part about the Past Simple is that the conjugation of the verb is the same for all the persons.

For example, the past of work is worked, so you say:
I worked, you worked, he worked, we worked, etc.

The difficult part is that there is a long list of irregular verbs, which we simply have to memorize.

How to form the Past Simple

You make the Past Simple as follows:
Subject + infinitive verb + ED

I worked

You talked

She walked

He called

It rained

We cooked

You booked

They looked

If the E is the last letter of the infinitive, you only add the -D:

smoke	smokeD	I smoked 5 cigarettes yesterday
live	liveD	I lived in Spain from 1999 to 2001

If the last three letters of the infinitive are: consonant – vowel – consonant, for example: stop or rob, we must double the last consonant:

Stop	Stopped
Rob	Robbed

If a verb has only three letters and ends in ay, for example: pay and say, then the Past Simple is formed with -aid:

Pay	Paid
Say	Said

All the above examples are called regular verbs.

Irregular verbs

As mentioned before; there is a long list if irregular verbs. Many of the most frequently used verbs are irregular, to start with the most important verb: to be.
The Past Simple of to be is: was were.

I	Was
You	Were
He	Was
She
It
We	Were
You
They

Other common irregular verbs are:

Buy	Bought
Drink	Drank
Eat	Ate
Get	Got
Go	Went
Know	Knew
See	Saw
Speak	Spoke
Think	Thought
Write	Wrote

Full list of the irregular verbs in English

Simple Present	Past Participle	Past Participle
arise awake be bear beat become begin bend bet bite bleed blow break bring build burn burst buy catch choose cling come cost creep cut deal dig dive do draw dream drink drive eat fall feed feel fight find fit flee fling fly forbid forget forgive forgo freeze get give go grind grow hang have hear hide hit hold hurt keep kneel knit know lay lead leap leave lend let lie (down) light lose make mean meet pay prove put quit read ride ring rise run saw say see seek sell send set sew shake shave shear shine shoot show shrink shut sing sink sit slay sleep slide sneak speak speed spend spill spin spit split spread spring stand steal stick sting stink strew strike strive swear sweep swim swing take teach tear tell think thrive throw undergo understand upset wake wear weave weep win wind withdraw wring write	arose awoke was, were bore beat became began bent bet bit bled blew broke brought built burned or burnt burst bought caught chose clung came cost crept cut dealt dug dived or dove did drew dreamed or dreamt drank drove ate fell fed felt fought found fit, fitted fled flung flew forbade or forbad forgot forgave forwent froze got gave went ground grew hung or hanged had heard hid hit held hurt kept knelt or kneeled knitted or knit knew laid led leapt or leaped left lent let lay lit or lighted lost made meant met paid proved put quit read rode rang rose ran sawed said saw sought sold sent set sewed shook shaved sheared shone or shined shot showed shrank or shrunk shut sang sank sat slew slept slid sneaked or snuck spoke sped spent spilled or spilt spun spat or spit split spread sprang stood stole stuck stung stank or stunk strewed struck strove or strived swore swept swam swung took taught tore told thought thrived or throve threw underwent understood upset woke or waked wore wove wept won wound withdrew wrung wrote	arisen awoken been borne beaten or beat become begun bent bet bitten bled blown broken brought built burned or burnt burst bought caught chosen clung come cost crept cut dealt dug dived done drawn dreamed or dreamt drunk driven eaten fallen fed felt fought found fit, fitted fled flung flown, forbidden or forbade forgotten forgiven forgone frozen gotten or got given gone ground grown hung or hanged had heard hidden hit held hurt kept knelt or kneeled knitted or knit known laid led leapt or leaped left lent let lain lit or lighted lost made meant met paid proved or proven put quit read ridden rung risen run sawed or sawn said seen sought sold sent set sewn or sewed shaken shaved or shaven sheared or shorn shone or shined shot shown or showed shrunk or shrunken shut sung sunk sat slain slept slid sneaked or snuck spoken sped spent spilled or spilt spun spat or spit split spread sprung stood stolen stuck stung stunk strewn struck or stricken striven or strived sworn swept swum swung taken taught torn told thought thrived or thriven thrown undergone understood upset woken or waked worn woven wept won wound withdrawn wrung written

Use (of the) Past Simple

Why Past Simple?	Example
Completed action with expression of time	Yesterday I saw Tom Last week I was on holiday
Series of completed actions	I cooked, cleaned the house, fed the dog, called my mother... First I wrote the letter, then I put it in an envelope, then I went to the post office and I posted the letter
Period of time in the past. Something that started and finished in the past	He lived in Paris for 3 years I worked there from 2002 until 2005
Habits in the past	I played volleyball when I was a child I worked a lot when I was young

Grammar Guide

1.	Do Does
2.	Make Do
3.	Question Tags
4.	Some Any
5.	To Be
6.	Past Simple
7.	Prefixes
8.	Present Perfect

Try The Course Free

Why You Should Enroll

15,000 satisfied students
40 years teaching English
100% proven

What People Say

LP Method has helped me a lot in learning English well. The great thing about it is that I don’t have to think first. It’s automatic, modern and fun. Read More »