The past simple is one of the twelve verb tenses that exist in English. Since it is one of the most used on a day-to-day basis, it is very important to know when it is used and what its structure is like in order to use it correctly.

In this post we will learn the past simple at level II, so the explanations are in English and the examples shown have an intermediate difficulty.

Uses of the past simple

We use the past simple for:

1. Talking about completed actions or situations that started and finished in the past.

I visited Mykonos and Santorini when I was in my 20s.
We didn’t see Elsa and John at the restaurant last Friday.
He found his lovely black cat on a stormy Halloween night.
They got married secretly on a paradisiacal beach in the Caribbean.

2. Talking about something that happened several times in the past.

We watched a lot of films in the new cinema during our holidays.
I walked to work when I lived in a small town in the countryside.
Harry Potter went to Hogwarts School during his teenage years.
Tim and Tom studied many hours this year for their English exam.

3. Narrating a series of actions that took place in the past.

Maria went to her room, changed her clothes, got into bed and went to sleep.
I picked up the gift under the Christmas tree, gave it to my mother and she opened it.
The car increased its speed, turned left and crashed into the streetlight.
He read her WhatsApp message and called her quickly, but she didn't answer the phone.

4. Expressing past habits, which is often done by utilizing used to.

When I was a child, I used to drink coke every weekend.
I usually took the underground when I lived in Paris.
Morgen used to cook for two when she lived with her roommate.
They didn’t go for walks when they lived near the park.

Structure of the past simple

Affirmative sentences

Subject + verb in past + rest of the sentence

Marie Curie won a Nobel Prize for the discovery of radioactive elements.
My cat hissed at my boyfriend when he came home for the first time.
My book club met every Wednesday afternoon during this last winter.
Yesterday morning I got up, had a coffee and went to work.

Note: Remember that some verbs are regular, therefore ending with –ed, –d or –ied, and some are irregular.

Negative sentences

Subject + auxiliary verb in past (did) + not + verb + rest of the sentence

Marie Curie didn’t win a Nobel Prize for the discovery of radioactive elements.
My cat didn’t hiss at my boyfriend when he came home for the first time.
My book club didn’t meet every Wednesday afternoon during this last winter.
Yesterday morning I didn’t get up, didn’t have a coffee and didn’t go to work.

Note: We usually use the contraction didn’t instead of did not: these are more used in a formal register.

I didn't dress up for Halloween last year. = I did not dress up for Halloween last year.
They didn't go on a trip in August. = They did not go on a trip in August

Interrogative sentences

Auxiliary verb in past (did) + subject + verb + rest of the sentence + ?

Did Marie Curie win a Nobel Prize for the discovery of radioactive elements?
Did my cat hiss at my boyfriend when he came home for the first time?
Did my book club meet every Wednesday afternoon during this last winter?
Did I get up, have a coffee and go to work yesterday morning?

Past simple - Level II