This document provides information about using the simple past tense in English. It defines the simple past tense, gives examples of its uses including with finished past actions, series of completed past actions, and when interrupted by the past progressive. It then provides the affirmative and negative forms of the simple past tense and describes the formation of the past simple for regular verbs, including adding "-ed" and exceptions like doubling consonants in some cases.

1. O F R E G U L A R V E R B S
PAST SIMPLE
Susana Angelica Cruz Sanchez
Denisse Lopez Barahona
Universidad autónoma del Carmen
Facultad de Ciencias Educativas
Lic. Lengua Inglesa
23/11/2018

2. OBJETIVE
• The purpose of this document is that you as a student
and learn a new language learn to use grammatical
tenses, in this case it would be the simple past. we
explain you in a simple and easy way.

3. CONCEPT
• There are many ways to talk about the past in English,
but the simple past is the most common way. The simple
past in English is equivalent to imperfect past and
indefinite preterite of Spanish.

4. USES
• actions finished in the past (single or repeated)
• series of completed actions in the past
• together with the Past Progressive/Continuous – the
Simple Past interrupted an action which was in progress
in the past

5. EXAMPLES
• I visited Berlin last week.
• First I got up, then I had breakfast.
• They were playing cards when the telephone rang.

6. STRUCTURE
Affirmative Negative
Full forms Short forms
I played I did not play I did’t play
You played You did not play You did’t play
He played He did not play He did’t play
Sheplayed She did not play She did’t play
It played It did not play It did’t play
We played We did not play We did’t play
You played You did not play You did’t play
They played They did not play They did’t play

7. FORMATION OF THE PAST SIMPLE OF
REGULAR VERBS
Most verbs take –ed Started  star
Verb ending in –e, take –d. Danced  dance
Verb ending in a consonant + -y, take
-ied.
Tried  try
Played  played
Verbs with one syllable ending in one
vowel + one consonant, double the
consonant before the –ed.
Stopped  stop
Verbs with two or more syllables
ending in a stressed vowel + one
consonant, double the consonat
before the-ed.
Preferred  prefer
Answered  answer
Verbs ending in one vowel + -l, double
the –l before the ed.
Travelled  travel
Sailed  sailed

8. REFERENCES
• Hilfen. (1999). use of past simple. 2018, de englisc-
hilfen.de Sitio web: https://www.englisch-
hilfen.de/suche.htm