Grammar / Past Simple
Past Simple: Explanation, Examples & Exercises
The past simple describes finished actions and states at a definite time in the past. Regular verbs add -ed (worked, arrived), but many common verbs are irregular (go → went, have → had). The form is the same for every subject, and questions and negatives use did / didn't with the base verb.
Reviewed by Brando Oxley · 9 Aug 2026
Form
Regular verbs add -ed: work → worked, start → started, finish → finished. Verbs already ending in -e add only -d: live → lived, arrive → arrived.
Verbs ending in a consonant + -y change -y to -ied: study → studied, try → tried. A short verb ending in one vowel + one consonant doubles the consonant: stop → stopped, plan → planned.
Many frequent verbs are irregular and must be learned: go → went, have → had, make → made, see → saw, take → took, get → got.
The form is the same for every subject: I worked, she worked, they worked — no extra -s in the third person.
Negatives use did not (didn't) + the base verb: I didn't call. She didn't come. The main verb loses its -ed ending.
Questions use did + subject + base verb: Did you finish? Where did they go? Again the main verb has no -ed.
The verb be is different: was (I / he / she / it) and were (you / we / they), with no did in questions or negatives: Were you there? I wasn't ready.
How it is used
Talk about a completed action at a finished time: I sent the email yesterday. We moved to Berlin in 2020.
Tell a sequence of past events, as in a story or a report: She opened the shop, checked the till and turned on the lights.
Describe past habits and states that are no longer true: He worked in a bank for years. I didn't like coffee when I was younger.
Time markers such as yesterday, last week, two days ago, in 2019 and when I was a child all signal the past simple.
Common errors
✗I go to the meeting yesterday.
✓I went to the meeting yesterday.
A finished past time (yesterday) needs the past simple, and go is irregular: went.
✗She didn't went home.
✓She didn't go home.
After did / didn't the main verb goes back to its base form.
✗Did you saw the report?
✓Did you see the report?
In questions with did, the main verb has no past ending.
✗We was late for the train.
✓We were late for the train.
Use were with we, you and they; was with I, he, she and it.
✗I buyed a new laptop.
✓I bought a new laptop.
Buy is irregular — buy → bought, not buyed.
Example sentences
Regular verbs (-ed)
- I finished the project on Friday.
- We watched a documentary last night.
- She emailed the client this morning.
Irregular verbs
- He drove to the airport before dawn.
- They took the early train to Madrid.
- I lost my umbrella on the bus.
Questions and negatives
- Did you speak to the manager?
- I didn't sleep well before the interview.
- Where did she go after the meeting?
Exercise 1 — Fill the gaps
Complete each sentence, then tap to check your answer.
1.We · dinner at a new restaurant last night.(have)
2.She · the report before the deadline.(finish)
3.I · my keys, so I waited outside.(lose)
4.They · to Rome for their holiday in 2019.(go)
5.He · well before the interview.(not / sleep)
6.I · a great film at the weekend.(see)
7.We · late because the bus was delayed.(be)
Exercise 2 — Choose the correct form
Tap an option to check it immediately.
1.I ____ the email an hour ago.
2.Did you ____ the manager this morning?
3.She ____ come to the meeting yesterday.
4.We ____ at the station when the train arrived.
5.He ____ a new phone last week.