Understanding Past Simple (Rules + Examples)

Past simple is one of the important tenses in English grammar. There are quite a few forms to discuss the past but the most frequently used form is the past simple form. With past simple tense, creating affirmative sentences, negative sentences, and interrogative sentences are possible. This article discusses what past simple is, how to use it, and grammar rules of past simple, and also lists a few examples.

Let’s begin!

What is Past Simple? 

The past simple tense talks about things that happened in the past. It emphasizes actions that were completed in the past. 

The tense talks about an event that happened once in the past. For example, “They got vaccinated yesterday”.

The past simple also talks about multiple events that occurred in the past. For example, “We visited London multiple times in the past”.

It also discusses something that happened for a long time in the past. For example, “I lived in New York for four years”. Another example is, “He stayed at my house for five years”.

In addition to this, past simple is used in describing past habits. For example, “I always drank water before going to bed”.

Apart from the simple past, there are other tenses in English grammar. Let’s learn about all the tenses in English grammar and see the difference between past simple and a few other tenses.

What Are The Other Tenses?

In English grammar, there are three main tenses. Each tense is further divided into four tenses. In total, English grammar has twelve tenses. Let’s have a look at each one of them.

The three basic tenses:

• The Present Tense
• The Past Tense
• The Future Tense

These three tenses are divided into:

• The Simple Tense
• The Continuous Tense
• The Perfect Tense
• The Perfect Continuous Tense

Now, here is the total list of the twelve tenses.

• The Simple Present
• The Present Continuous
• The Present Perfect
• The Present Perfect Continuous
• The Simple Past
• The Past Continuous
• The Past Perfect
• The Past Perfect Continuous
• The Simple Future
• The Future Continuous
• The Future Perfect
• The Future Perfect Continuous

Let’s look at the difference between past simple and a few other tenses.

Tense	Function	Rule	Example
Present simple	Helps to describe habits, facts, actions, and truth that are not affected by time	Ist form of verb + s/es	He loves pizza.
Past simple	Helps to describe events that have happened in the past	IInd form of the verb	She wore a beautiful dress for the party.
Future simple	Helps to describe events that will happen in the future	Will/ shall + Ist form	He will go to New York tomorrow.
Present perfect	Helps to describe the relevance of past events in the present moment	Has/ have + IIIrd form of the verb	I have learned to ride a bike.
Past perfect	Helps to describe events that happened prior to other events in the past	Had + IIIrd form of the verb	She had finished the paper before leaving the hall.
Future perfect	Helps to describe events that will be completed between now and a specific point in the future	Will/ have + IIIrd form of the verb	She will have finished the book by tomorrow.
Present continuous	Helps to describe ongoing actions	Is/ am/ are + Ist form + ing	“She is reading a book.
Past continuous	Helps to describe ongoing events of the past, mostly in relation to another event	Was/ were + Ist form + ing	He was driving to work when the accident happened.
Future continuous	Helps to describe future events that will/are expected to continue for a period of time	Will be + Ist form + ing	I will be going to meet my grandparents tomorrow.
Present perfect continuous	Helps to describe events that started in the past and will continue into the present	Has/ have been + Ist form + ing	She has been writing a book for the past one year.
Past perfect continuous	Helps to describe events that began, continued, and ended in the past	Had been + Ist form + ing	I had been working in this company for ten years when I got the promotion.
Future perfect continuous	Helps to describe events that began in the past but will continue until a point in the future	Will/ shall have been + Ist form + ing	I will have been doing business with her for one year.

How Is Past Simple Different From Other Tenses?

To understand how past simple is different from other tenses, let’s take the difference between past simple and simple present and past simple and present perfect tense.

Past Simple Vs Simple Present

• The past simple is used to talk about events that happened in the past. For example, “I played baseball yesterday”. Here, the person has already played baseball and the action has been completed. On the other hand, the simple present is used to talk about something that happens regularly in the present. For example, “I play baseball”.

• The past simple structure is “subject + verb2 + other words”. Its negative form is “subject + did not + verb1”. In comparison, the simple present structure is “subject + verb1”. Its negative form is “subject + don’t/doesn’t + verb1”.

Past Simple Vs Present Perfect

• The Past Simple tells about events that happened in the past and are not continuing in the present. For example, “Tom was a friend of Amelie in his childhood”. Here, Tom was a friend of Amelie in childhood but now he is not. On the other hand, the Present Perfect describes the events that started in the past and are still continuing now. For example, “Tom has been a friend of Amelie since childhood”. Here, Tom was a friend in the past and still is continuing his friendship with Amelie in the present also.

• The structure of the present perfect is “subject + have/has + verb3”. Its negative form is “subject + haven’t/hasn’t + verb3”. In comparison, the structure of past simple is “subject + verb2 + other words”. Its negative form is “subject + did not + verb1”.

How to Use Past Simple

• The past simple is used with time expressions to describe an event that happened at a particular time in the past. For example, “I visited the dentist yesterday”.

• It is used in sentences that describe an event that happened a long time ago. For example, “The land was ceased by the authorities fifty years ago”. In such sentences, words like “ago”, “long time”, and “years ago” are commonly used.

Apart from these, past simple is used to construct affirmative sentences, negative sentences, and questions. Let’s look at each one of them in detail.

Positive Sentences

The structure of past simple in constructing positive sentences is “subject + verb (V2)+ object”.

Examples:

• The boy played basketball yesterday. Here, the subject is “boy”, the “verb+ed” is “played”, and the object is “basketball”.
• The girl won the match last week. Here, the subject is “girl”, the “verb2” is “won”, and the object is “match”.

Negative and Question Sentences

To construct a negative sentence in the simple past, the basic structure is “subject + did not + verb1 + other words”.

Examples:

• Tom did not eat lunch yesterday. Here, the subject is “Tom”, the negative word is “did not”, and the verb is “eat”.
• Sam did not like the clothes at the mall. Here, the subject is “Sam”, the negative word is “did not”, and the verb is “like”.

To construct questions in the simple past, the basic structure is “Did + subject + verb1 + other words + ?”.

Examples:

• Did Sam play in the basketball match yesterday? The example is in the mentioned structure – (Did + subject (Sam) + play (verb1) + other words (in the basketball match yesterday) + “?”).
• Did Tom get the US visa last week? (Did + subject (Tom) + get (verb1) + other words (the US visa last week) + “?”).

Using Past Simple With Auxiliary Verbs

When constructing affirmative sentences in past simple, auxiliary verbs are not used. However, when forming questions or negative sentences, the use of auxiliary verbs is a must. Here are a few examples of auxiliary verbs used in constructing questions and negative sentences in past simple.

Auxiliary Verbs In Negative Sentences

• Shawn did not buy the shoes at the market yesterday. (Shawn (subject) + did (auxiliary verb) + not (negative word) + buy (verb1) + other words).
• Tom did not swim at the pool last week. (Tom (subject) + did (auxiliary verb) + not (negative word) + swim (verb1) + other words).

Auxiliary Verbs In Questions

• Where did Amelie attend the party last night? ( Where (question) + did (auxiliary verb) + attend (verb1) + other words).
• Who did Tom dance with at the wedding? (Who (question) + did (auxiliary verb) + dance (verb1) + other words).

Using Past Simple With A Main Verb

Past simple is used with the main verb “be”. When forming negative, affirmative, or questions with the main verb, using auxiliary verbs is not required. Here is the structure of past simple with a main verb: “Subject + was/were (main verb) + other words”.

Here are a few examples.

Examples

Affirmative Sentences

• I was in New York last year. (I (subject) + was (main verb) + other words).
• You were in Australia two years ago. (You (subject) + were (main verb) + other words).

Negative Sentences

In constructing negative sentences with the main verb, the following is the structure.

Subject + was/were (main verb) + not (negative word) + other words.

• I was not in New York yesterday. (I (subject) + was (main verb) + not (negative word) + other words).
• They were not members of the club last year. ( They (subject) + were (main verb) + not (negative word) + other words).

Questions

In constructing questions with the main verb, the following is the structure.

Main verb (was/were) + subject + other words + ?

Here the main verb and subject exchange their positions.

• Was he in the class yesterday? (was (main verb) + he(subject) + other words).
• Were they late to college last week? (were (main verb) + they (subject) + other words).

Grammar Rules For Past Simple

Here are the grammar rules for Past Simple.

For Affirmative Sentences

The structure is “subject + verb2 + other words”. By adding verb2, the sentence is converted into past simple. The past simple of the verb “play” is “played”.

Here are a few examples of affirmative sentences.

Examples

• I played football yesterday. (Subject (I) + played (verb+ed) + other words).
• I danced at the wedding last night. (Subject (he) + danced (verb+ed) + other words).

For Negative Sentences

The structure is “subject (I/you/we/they/he/she/it) + didn’t/did not (negative word) + verb1 + other words”. Here before the verb, “didn’t or did not” is added. By adding it, the sentence becomes negative. Here contraction of the negative words is also allowed. For example: didn’t.

Here are a few examples of negative sentences.

Examples

• He did not go to the dentist yesterday. (Subject (he) + did not (negative word) + go (verb1) + to the dentist (other words)).
• We didn’t buy groceries at the supermarket. (Subject (we) + didn’t (negative word) + buy (verb1) + groceries at the supermarket (other words)).

For Questions

The structure is “Auxiliary verb (did) + subject (I/you/we/they/he/she/it) + verb1 + other words”.

Here are a few examples of construction questions using simple past.

• Did you eat your breakfast yesterday? (Did + subject (you) + verb1 (eat) + your breakfast (other words)).
• Did they meet the school principal yesterday? (Did + subject (they) + verb1 (meet) + the school principal yesterday (other words)).

Examples of Past Simple

• Sam watched baseball on television yesterday.
• Amelie visited the zoo last month.
• He didn’t cook vegetables with rice for lunch.
• She did not dance at the concert last week.
• Did we win the match yesterday?
• Did he meet the doctors at the hospital last week?

List of Past Simple Irregular Verbs

Here is a list of a few verbs that are irregular in the past simple.

• Became
• Caught
• Left
• Went
• Gave
• Came
• Sang

Sources

• Simple Past Tense—Grammar Rules
• Past Simple | LearnEnglish
• Past Simple Tense
• Present Simple Vs Past Simple – Real Grammar
• Present Perfect and Simple Past Verb Tenses
• Past Tense in English – Grammar Rules