The simple past is used to talk about things that happened or existed before now.
We use the simple past with words like yesterday, ago and the other day.
WATCH THE VIDEO AND REPEAT:
"WHAT DID YOU DO YESTERDAY? I PLAYED TENNIS.
WHAT DID YOU DO AFTER THAT? I STUDIED GEOGRAPHY.
WERE YOU TIRED? YES, I WAS. BUT I LIKE GEOGRAPHY!
LAST YEAR I TRAVELLED TO MEXICO AND I DIDN’T GET LOST."
We make the past simple by adding ED to the base form of a verb:
I PLAYED
YOU PLAYED
HE/SHE/IT PLAYED
WE PLAYED
YOU PLAYED
THEY PLAYED
Watch out!
If a verb ends in E, we add D:
If a verb ends with a consonant + Y, Y becomes I and we add ED:
If a verb ends with a vowel and a consonant, we double the consonant and add ED:
Download the worksheet below and practise!
We use DID to make questions. Follow this structure: DID + PERSONAL PRONOUN + VERB (base form)
| DID | PERSONAL PRONOUN | VERB |
| DID | I | PLAY ? |
| DID | YOU | PLAY ? |
| DID | HE/SHE/IT | PLAY ? |
| DID | WE | PLAY ? |
| DID | YOU | PLAY ? |
| DID | THEY | PLAY ? |
Download the worksheet below and practise!
We use DID to make negatives and then we add NOT. Follow this structure: PERSONAL PRONOUN + DID NOT/DIDN'T + VERB (base form)
| Long form | Contracted form |
| I DID NOT PLAY | I DIDN'T PLAY |
| YOU DID NOT PLAY | YOU DIDN'T PLAY |
| HE/SHE/IT DID NOT PLAY | HE/SHE/IT DIDN'T PLAY |
| WE DID NOT PLAY | WE DIDN'T PLAY |
| YOU DID NOT PLAY | YOU DIDN'T PLAY |
| THEY DID NOT PLAY | THEY DIDN'T PLAY |
Download the worksheet below and test yourself!
The verb TO BE is an irregular verb. Look at the table:
| AFFIRMATIVE FORM | NEGATIVE FORM | INTERROGATIVE FORM |
| I WAS | I WAS NOT | I WASN'T | WAS I ? |
| YOU WERE | YOU WERE NOT | YOU WEREN'T | WERE YOU ? |
| HE/SHE/IT WAS | HE/SHE/IT WAS NOT | HE/SHE/IT WASN'T | WAS HE/SHE/IT ? |
| WE WERE | WE WERE NOT | WE WEREN'T | WERE WE ? |
| YOU WERE | YOU WERE NOT | YOU WEREN'T | WERE YOU ? |
| THEY WERE | THEY WERE NOT | THEY WEREN'T | WERE THEY ? |
Let's see if you know the past simple of the verb TO BE! Download the worksheet below:
The verb TO HAVE is an irregular verb too. Look at the table:
| AFFIRMATIVE FORM | NEGATIVE FORM | INTERROGATIVE FORM |
| I HAD | I HAD NOT | I HADN'T | HAD I ? |
| YOU HAD | YOU HAD NOT | YOU HADN'T | HAD YOU ? |
| HE/SHE/IT HAD | HE/SHE/IT HAD NOT | HE/SHE/IT HADN'T | HAD HE/SHE/IT ? |
| WE HAD | WE HAD NOT | WE HADN'T | HAD WE ? |
| YOU HAD | YOU HAD NOT | YOU HADN'T | HAD YOU ? |
| THEY HAD | THEY HAD NOT | THEY HADN'T | HAD THEY ? |
Let's see if you know the past simple of the verb TO HAVE! Download the worksheet below:
