The simple past tense is used to describe specific actions that occurred at a certain time in the past, completed actions, and past states of being. It is formed by adding "-ed" to regular verbs, though some verbs are irregular. For questions and negatives, "did" is used, such as "did not" for negatives and "did" at the beginning of questions. There are also rules for changing the spelling of verbs before adding "-ed", such as adding "d" to verbs ending in "e", changing "y" to "i" for verbs ending in consonant-y, and doubling the final consonant for single-consonant final verbs.

1. THE SIMPLE PAST
Uses
Uses 1
Specific action
• I ate lunch at noon today
Uses 2
Completed action
•She finally mailed the letter
Uses 3
Past Status
•John was will single in 1995
Forms
Positive
-A regular past form ends in ed.
-Some verbs are irregular
Negative
We use did+not in negatives
Questions
We use did in question
Rules & examples
•We played baseball yesterday
R1 verbs en ding in e, wed add a d.
•Arrive/arrived
R2 Verbs that end in y preceded by
a consonant change the y, to I
before-ed.
•Marry – married
R3 double the final consonant
before ed if final consonant is single.
•Fit – fitted
Rules & Example
•I did not arrive on time
•We did not win the
game
Rule: we do not add ed
to the verb
•They did not use
pencils and paper
•Where did you stay
•Did she leave a message?
•Didn´t you play basketball
last year?