exercise 1 | exercise 2 | exercise 3
exercise 1 | exercise 2 | exercise 3 | exercise 4
exercise 1 | exercise 2 | exercise 3 | exercise 4
Positive statement: I worked, He worked
Negative statement: I did not work (I didn't work), He did not work (He didn't work)
Question: Did you work?
Neg. question: Did you not work? (Didn't you work?)
The past simple tense is usually formed by -ed ending. It is the same for all persons, singular and plural.
Passive voice: The test was finished. The emails were sent. - The letter was being finished. The emails were being sent. (See more at active and passive voice.)
We add -d (not -ed) to the verb that ends with -e: like - liked
If it ends with a consonant and -y, we change -y into -i: carry - carried, try - tried.
But: play - played, because it ends with a vowel and -y.
If it has only one syllable and ends with a vowel and a consonant, we double the consonant to keep the same pronunciation: stop - stopped. The same rule applies to the -l ending: travel - travelled.
All the irregular verbs have different forms. For example: choose - chose, draw - drew, drink - drank, meet - met, see - saw, think - thought. But the question and negative are made in the same way: I learnt - Did you learn? No, I did not learn.
You can find the answer in the List of verbs. And you can also practise them online in irregular verbs exercises 1, 2 and 3 or in irregular verbs exercises 4 and 5 which also include the past participle.
Notes
In the past simple we do not use did with to be and modals.
Were you a student? Was he in London? I was not at home. He was not happy.
Could you sing? Could he come? I could not swim. He could not stay.
The auxiliary did is not used in questions beginning with wh- pronouns (who, which) in case that the pronoun is the subject of the question.
Who met you? (who is the subject)
Which train arrived on time? (which train is the subject)
But: Who did you meet? Which train did you miss? (who and which train are the objects)
The negative question normally expresses a surprise.
Didn't you know it?
1. We use it for activities or situations that were completed in the past at a definite time.
a) The time can be given in the sentence:
I came home at 6 o'clock. When he was a child, he didn't live in a house.
b) The time is asked about:
When did they get married?
c) The time is not given in the sentence, but it is clear from a context that the action or situation finished in the past.
He is 20 years old. He was born in Canada. - Alan: I've been to Iceland. (present perfect) - Greg: Did you enjoy it? (past simple)
2. We use it for repeated activities.
We walked to school every day. - And did you ever go by bus?
3. It is used in stories to describe events that follow each other.
Charles entered the hall and looked around. He took off his coat and put it on a chair. He was at home.
To compare it with the past continuous tense, go to printable Past tense grammar rules in pdf.
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