Past Simple

Past Repeated actions Action is Definite time in

facts in the past. finished the past

Rules
Used to Yesterday
When I was
Key
word
s
Would Sometimes Last week

Structure
Where were you?
Did she go?

Was I here?
Q. word + “BE” or What did he say?
Questions Aux. verb “did” +
“?” main verb Did they work?

Was it good?

I wasn’t in a meeting.
No, she didn’t
Subject + Aux. verb
Negative No, you weren’t.
“did” + not + main I didn’t hear him.
Simple “-” verb past
Past No, they didn’t No, it wasn’t.

They walked home.

Subject + main verb We talked all day.
“ED” past I needed to stop.
Statement You played games.
“+”
He went to work.
Subject + main verb She slept all day.
Irregular past It ate very much.

Past Present
Future
 Past Simple

USE 1 Completed Action in the Past

Use the Past Simple to express the idea that an action started and finished at a specific time in the
past. Sometimes the speaker may not actually mention the specific time, but they do have one
specific time in mind.

Ex:

1. I went to the beach last weekend. 3. He traveled to Europe for a meeting.

2. I saw you at the supermarket. 4. They went to a meeting before lunch.
 Past Simple
USE 2 A Series of Completed Actions

We use the Past Simple to list multiple actions completed in the past. These actions happened 1st,
2nd, 3rd, 4th etc...

Ex:

1. They had dinner, saw a movie then 3. He talked with you, his boss and the
went home. President.
2. We went to England, France and 4. She ate a salad, lunch and a dessert.
Germany.

USE 3 Single Duration

The Past Simple can be used with a duration which starts and stops in the past. A duration is a long
action often used with expressions like "for two years," "for five minutes," "all day" or "all year.", but
not connected with the present tense.

Ex:

1. I was out of work for six months. 3. She spoke for more than 45 minutes.
2. The meeting was from 9 am to 2 pm. 4. It showed in the cinema for 3 months.

USE 4 Habit in the Past

The Past Simple can also be used to describe a habit which stopped in the past. It can have the same
meaning as "used to". To make it clear that we are talking about a habit we often use “would” + (base
verb) expressions such as "always," "often," "usually," "never," "...when I was a child" or "...when I was
…" in the sentence (use with past verb).

Ex:

1. He would always travel at the end of 3. It often rained in the afternoon.

the month. 4. I would smoke cigarettes when I was
2. I never liked working in a big younger.
corporation.
 Past Simple
USE 5 Past Facts or Generalizations

The Simple Past can also be used to describe past facts or generalizations which are no longer true.
As in USE 4 above, this use of the Simple Past is quite similar to the expression "used to."

Ex:

1. She was shy as a child, but now she is 3. Did you live in the USA when you
very outgoing. were a kid?
2. He didn’t like tomatoes before. 4. People paid much more to make cell
phone calls 5 years ago.
➢ IMPORTANT "When clauses" happen first

Clauses are groups of words which have meaning but are not complete sentences. Some clauses
begin with the word when such as "When I dropped my pen..." or "When class began..." These clauses
are called "when clauses" and they are very important, because they tell the first action. The
examples below contain "when clauses."

Ex:

1. When I was a kid, I played outside. 3. He traveled a lot when he was with the
2. I saw you when I was at the mall. company.
4. When we sat down for dinner, the phone
rang.