What is Past Simple Tense in the English Language

by | Apr 10, 2024 | Verb Tenses

Past simple tense with examples and explanation
What is past simple tense in the English language?

Past simple tense describes things, actions, or events that occurred in the past and were completed in the past. In a sentence, she passed the exam, and we learn that she took the exam and passed it. It is the past event. It does not relate to the present time. 

In this article, you will learn what past simple tense is in English grammar, how to make past simple tense, and when to use the past simple tense. You will also find some helpful examples of past simple at the end of the article.

What is Past Simple Tense?

Past simple is a verb tense that is used to describe an action that started in the past and ended in the past. In past simple, the past form of the main verb is used in the positive sentence. However, when we make negative or question sentence, we add did  and first form the main verb. Did is infact the past form of the main verb do. Therefore, the main verb in the sentence is used as the base form.

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Examples:

  • He went to the office.
  • She ate breakfast.
  • You read a book.
  • They wrote a letter.
  • His brother woke up early in the morning.
  • I took a shower.
  • He took tea.
  • He worked on his project.

How to Make Past Simple Tense

In English Grammar, past simple tense uses the past participle form of the main verb to describe past actions or things. The past participle form of the verb is also called the past form of the verb. To make a past form of the verb, we usually add -d, -ed, -ied at the end of the base verb of regular verbs. However, irregular verbs don’t follow the same pattern or rule of regular verbs to form past form. Therefore, irregular verbs have their own past form of the base verb.

For example:

  • He bought a computer.
  • She gave it to me.

Formule of Past Simple Tense

Subject + past participle

Positive Sentence of Past Simple

To make positive sentences of past simple tense, we use the past participle form with the subject. 

Subject + Past participle

Examples:

  • He went outside.
  • He played soccer.
  • He drove a car.
  • He put his shoes on.
  • He washed dishes. 
  • He cooked food.
  • He watched tv.

Negative Sentence of Past Simple

As compared to the positive sentence of past simple, we use “did not” and the first form of the main verb. 

Subject + did not + base verb + Object.

Examples:

  • He did not go outside.
  • He did not play soccer.
  • He did not drive a car.
  • He did not put his shoes on.
  • He did not wash dishes.
  • He did not cook food.
  • He did not watch tv.

Question of Past Simple Tense

In question sentences of past simple tense, did comes at the beginning of the sentence, followed by the subject and base verb. The construction of the sentence will look like this:

Did + Subject + Base Verb

Examples of questions sentences of past simple

  • Did he go outside?
  • Did they play soccer?
  • Did she drive a car?
  • Did you put your shoes on?
  • Did it wash dishes?
  • Did you cook food?
  • Did he watch TV?

Wh Questions

Wh-words like what, when, where, who, and why come at the beginning of the sentence, followed by did and the rest of the sentence.

For example:

  • Where did he go?
  • When did she sleep?
  • What did he ask?
  • How did he finish his work on time?

When to use the past simple

Past simple tense is used when an action started in the past and ended in the past. In other words, an action must be started and ended in the past to use the past simple tense.

If the action starts in the past and continues in the present, we use the present perfect tense instead of the past simple.

To make sentences in the past simple, we simply use the past form, the main verb after the subject.

Conclusion

The past simple tense is easy to use in sentences. We use the past form of the verb to make positive sentences. In negative sentences, we use did not with the first form of the verb. To ask a question using the past simple tense, the sentence starts with did, followed by the subject and the first form of the verb.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is past simple tense?

Past simple is a verb tense that is used to talk about things that happened in the past and completed in the past.

What is the rule of past simple?

The rule of past simple is:

Subject + past form of the verb + Object.

We mostly add—d, -ed, or—ied to the base form of the verb to make its past form. However, irregular verbs don’t follow the same rule to make their past form. 

What are some examples of past simple?

  • He worked.
  • He did not work?
  • Did he work?
  • When did he work?

I hope this article helped you learn what the present simple tense is, how to make sentences in it, and when to use it. If you liked this article, please share it and subscribe to our newsletter for more language-learning tips and the latest blog posts. You can also follow us on Facebook, Instagram, and YouTube.

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