Past Simple Tense

Past simple tense with regular verb

The past simple tense is one of the most exciting and important tenses of the
English tenses, because we use this tense for often to talk about all kinds of things.
The past simple tense can use when it is trying to describe that happened once in
the past. For example, you can use this tense to tell someone that you did yesterday.
You can also this tense to tell somebody what happened in the world 500 years ago.
The past simple tense of a regular verb is formed by adding of the suffix “ed” to
base form of the verb or infinitive form.
For example:
To walk + ed Walked
base verb suffix

To Cook + ed Cooked
base verb suffix

But there are always some exceptions, and here are a few of that exceptions:
1. When the base form of the verb ends with an “e”, in this case for formed the past
simple is not necessary to add another “e”, it only is necessary to add a “d”.
For example:
To Use Used

2. When we have a word that ends with “y” and has a consonant before it, then the
past simple tense is formed canceling the consonant “Y” and adding the suffix
“ied”.
For example:
To Cry Cried
To Study Studied

3. When the base form of the verb is formed by a word of the type CVC, that is
say, a word that is formed by a vowel between two consonants. In this case the
past simple tense is formed doubling the last letter and adding the suffix “ed”.
For example:
CVC From the end
To shop Sh o p Shopped
The past simple tense with irregular verbs
An irregular verb is that verb which its past form is quite or sometime is
completely different from the regular base form of the verb. This type of verb for
general doesn’t follow the rule of the using of the suffix “ed” at the end of the word to
build past tense.
For example:
To go Went
To make Made
To sell Sold
To say Said
To take Took

Formation of sentences in past simple tense

I. Affirmative sentences (regular verb):
An affirmative sentence in the past simple tense using a regular verb has the next
structure:
Subject + base form + ed
For example:
We + walk + ed = We walked
Subject base form suffix
▪ We walked in the park yesterday.

II. Affirmative sentences (irregular verb)

An affirmative sentence in the past simple tense using an irregular verb has the next
structure:
Subject + irregular form
We + Went = We went
Subject irregular verb
▪ We went to the park yesterday
In the former example was used the irregular verb “Went” which it is the past form
of the verb “Go”.
III. Negative sentences
For forming a negative sentence in the past simple tense is necessary to do use of
auxiliary verb “Did”, which is past form of the verb “Do”. The negatives sentences in
the past simple tense have the next structure:
Subject + Did + not + base verb
For example:
We + Did + Not + GO
Subject auxiliary base form
▪ We did not go to the park yesterday.
Also, can use “Didn’t” that is the contraction of the form “Did not”, for example:
▪ We didn’t go to the park yesterday.

IV. Interrogative sentences

The interrogative sentences just like that negative sentences are necessary to do use
of the auxiliary verb “Did”, but in this case these don’t have the same structure. This is
structure of the interrogatives:
Did + Subject + base verb
For Example:
Did + They + GO
auxiliary Subject base verb
▪ Did they go to the park yesterday?