The Past Simple Tense
The past simple is used to talk about a completed action in a
time before now.
How we form it
 For regular verbs we just add –ed to the end of the base form.
Happen  Happened
Talk  Talked
 For verbs that end in ‘e’ we add a ‘d’ to the base form.
Love  Loved
Arrive  Arrived
 For verbs that end in a consonant and ‘y’, we drop the y and add
‘ied’
Carry  Carried
Try  Tried
EXCEPTION – If there is a vowel before the ‘y’, we keep it and simply
add ‘ed’
Play  Played
Stay  Stayed
Irregular Verbs
 There are many irregular verbs in English that do not comply
with the regular rules. Here are some of them:
Break  Broke
Bring  Brought
Come  Came
Dream  Dreamt
Eat  Ate
Find  Found
Get  Got
Know  Knew
Make  Made
Mean  Meant
Match the verb with the past tense
play watched
do played
watch did
dance ate
drink danced
eat drank
work listened
listen worked
swim showed
show swam
Negative
Subject + Didn’t + Verb
She didn’t drink
They didn’t watch TV
We didn’t sleep
I didn’t read
Interrogative
Positive
Did + Subject + Verb?
Did she eat?
Did they play football?
Negative
Didn’t + Subject + Verb?
Didn’t he cook lunch?
Didn’t you run?
What is the past tense of these verbs?
Break
Play
Eat
Happen
Create
Make
Talk
Travel
Wash
Kick
Broke
Played
Ate
Happened
Created
Made
Talked
Travelled
Washed
Kicked

Past simple

  • 1.
    The Past SimpleTense The past simple is used to talk about a completed action in a time before now.
  • 2.
    How we formit  For regular verbs we just add –ed to the end of the base form. Happen  Happened Talk  Talked  For verbs that end in ‘e’ we add a ‘d’ to the base form. Love  Loved Arrive  Arrived  For verbs that end in a consonant and ‘y’, we drop the y and add ‘ied’ Carry  Carried Try  Tried EXCEPTION – If there is a vowel before the ‘y’, we keep it and simply add ‘ed’ Play  Played Stay  Stayed
  • 3.
    Irregular Verbs  Thereare many irregular verbs in English that do not comply with the regular rules. Here are some of them: Break  Broke Bring  Brought Come  Came Dream  Dreamt Eat  Ate Find  Found Get  Got Know  Knew Make  Made Mean  Meant
  • 4.
    Match the verbwith the past tense play watched do played watch did dance ate drink danced eat drank work listened listen worked swim showed show swam
  • 5.
    Negative Subject + Didn’t+ Verb She didn’t drink They didn’t watch TV We didn’t sleep I didn’t read
  • 6.
    Interrogative Positive Did + Subject+ Verb? Did she eat? Did they play football? Negative Didn’t + Subject + Verb? Didn’t he cook lunch? Didn’t you run?
  • 7.
    What is thepast tense of these verbs? Break Play Eat Happen Create Make Talk Travel Wash Kick Broke Played Ate Happened Created Made Talked Travelled Washed Kicked