Simple Past Tense Definition

Simple Past Tense Definition

English Grammar Rules, Explanation, and Examples

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Simple Past Tense Definition

Grammar rules Present Simple and Present Continuous Tenses

Simple Past Tense Definition and Examples

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Grammar rules Present Simple and Present Continuous Tenses

English Gramma

Simple Past Tense Definition and Examples

Daily grammar lesson with Elo Kasia. When do we use the Past Simple Tense?

• I call my best friend every day. Present
• I called my best friend yesterday. Past

For questions, we use the “helping verb” – “did”.

• Did you call your best friend yesterday?
• For negative sentences, we use “didn’t”.
• I didn’t call my best friend yesterday. I forgot.

• I usually drive to work. (drive – present) I drove to work last week. (drove – past)
• I always have a cup of coffee first thing in the morning. (have – present) I had a cup of coffee this morning with my breakfast. (had – past)
• We are on the beach now. (are (be) – present) We were on the beach when you called. (were – past)
• He always makes dinner, his wife can’t cook. (make – present) He made us dinner last Sunday. (made – past)

Past Simple is easy to use but you must learn the correct verb form in the past.

We use Past Simple:

1. To talk about actions which started and finished at a specific time in the past. We usually say when it happened using yesterday, last night, last month, in 1999, when I was a child, etc.

Sometimes, we may not actually mention the specific time, but we have a specific time in mind.

• I went to see a film last night. (go-went)
• We saw our old friend for coffee this morning. (see – saw)
• Last year, I travelled to Japan. (travel – travelled)
• What did you have for lunch yesterday? I had sushi. (have – had)

2. To talk about a series of completed actions in the past. These actions happen 1st, 2nd, 3rd, 4th, and so on. It is often used when we tell a story about something that happened.

• He arrived from the airport at 8:00, checked into the hotel at 9:00, and met the others at 10:00.
• We went shopping, then my friends came over for a couple of drinks. We stayed up until 1 am ! I am wrecked today!

3. To talk about events which lasted for some time in the past, but are now finished ie. for two years, for five minutes, all day, all year, etc.

• I lived in the United States for two years.
• Samira studied Japanese for five years.
• They sat at the beach all day.
• They did not stay at the party for long.
• How long did you wait for them? We waited for an hour and then went home.

4. To talk about habits in the past, which are no longer true (similar to “used to”). To make it clear that we are talking about a habit, we often add expressions such as: always, often, usually, never, when I was a child, when I was younger, etc.

• I studied French when I was at university.
• He played the violin as a child.
• He often skipped school.
• Did you play a musical instrument when you were a child?

These are the most common usages of the past tense. Make sure you follow our exercises and practice whenever you can!

Make sure you follow our Daily *TT exercises to practise in our ever growing “English Grammar and Speaking Academy”.

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Elo Kasia Community Mentor for ” English Grammar and Speaking Academy“.

Director at Eloquent Learning Online, educational institution based in the UK. www.eloquentlearning.com. What is the difference between Present Simple and Present?e

Simple Past Tense Definition

Simple Past Tense Definition

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