Simple Past Tense

In the Simple Past tense, the action is simply mentioned and understood to have taken place in the past. The action started and ended sometime in the past but the time may or may not be mentioned.

POSITIVE STATEMENTS

SUBJECT	VERB (in past form)	REST OF THE SENTENCE
I	played	cricket yesterday.
You	played	cricket yesterday.
He	played	cricket yesterday.
Mohan	played	cricket yesterday.
The boy	played	cricket yesterday.
She	played	cricket yesterday.
Pooja	played	cricket yesterday.
The girl	played	cricket yesterday.
We	played	cricket yesterday.
You	played	cricket yesterday.
They	played	cricket yesterday.
The children	played	cricket yesterday.

For making positive statements in the simple past tense, notice how we use the verb in the past form for all subjects.

NEGATIVE STATEMENTS

SUBJECT	DIDN’T (DID NOT)	VERB (in base form)	REST OF THE SENTENCE
I	didn’t	talk	to Mohit last week.
You	didn’t	talk	to Mohit last week.
He	didn’t	talk	to Mohit last week.
Mohan	didn’t	talk	to Mohit last week.
The boy	didn’t	talk	to Mohit last week.
She	didn’t	talk	to Mohit last week.
Pooja	didn’t	talk	to Mohit last week.
The girl	didn’t	talk	to Mohit last week.
We	didn’t	talk	to Mohit last week.
You	didn’t	talk	to Mohit last week.
They	didn’t	talk	to Mohit last week.
The men	didn’t	talk	to Mohit last week.

For making negative statements in the simple past tense, notice how we use ‘didn’t’ or ‘did not’ and the verb in the base form for all subjects.

INTERROGATIVE STATEMENTS / QUESTIONS

DID	SUBJECT	VERB (in base form)	REST OF THE SENTENCE
Did	I	complete	the work?
Did	you	complete	the work?
Did	he	complete	the work?
Did	Mohan	complete	the work?
Did	the boy	complete	the work?
Did	she	complete	the work?
Did	Pooja	complete	the work?
Did	the girl	complete	the work?
Did	we	complete	the work?
Did	you	complete	the work?
Did	they	complete	the work?
Did	the men	complete	the work?

For making questions in the simple past tense, notice how we use ‘did’ and the verb in the base form for all subjects.

What is Simple Past Tense?

PAST SIMPLE

USE: We use PAST SIMPLE to talk about an action which happened and completely finished in the past (past action or situation) with the definite time expression.

Here are some definite time expressions.

last Monday, last week, last month, last year, last summer, yesterday, before yesterday, one year ago, in January, in 2008…

Example:

- I went to Russia last month.

- They arrived Cambodia at 5 p.m.

- She joined a part with me yesterday.

FORMULA

Positive Sentence:

Subject + past verb + Object/Complement

Example:

- I met my old friend this morning.

- Jony watched TV alone last night.

- They had a party last week.

Negative Sentence₁:

Sub + did + not + infinitive + obj/comp

Example:

- She did not buy anything from the market this evening.

- He did not get married last month.

Negative Sentence₂:

Sub + past modal verb + not + infinitive + obj/comp

Example:

- They could not sing yesterday.

- You would not wish anything last night.

Negative Sentence₃:

Sub + was/were + not + obj/comp

Example:

- She was not happy yesterday.

- We are not at Phnom Penh this morning.

Question₁:

Did + sub + infinitive + obj/comp ?

Example:

- Did you finish you work this afternoon?

- Did they get a letter from USA last week?

Question₂:

Past modal verb + sub + infinitive + obj/comp ?

Example:

- Could she dance in the wedding party last night?

- Would you leave the party early last night?

Question₃:

Was/Were + sub + obj/comp ?

Example:

- Was he good-looking in the event yesterday?

- Were you bored this evening?

Related page

What is Tense? Definition of Tense.

What is the type of tense?

What Is the Past Tense?

What Is the Present Tense?

What is the Future Tense?

Structure of All Tense

Simple Present Tense

Present Continuous Tense

Present Perfect Tense

Present Perfect Continuous Tense

Simple Past Tense

Past Continuous Tense

Past Perfect Tense

Past Perfect Continuous Tense

Simple Future Tense

Future Continuous Tense

Future Perfect Tense

Future Perfect Continuous Tense

All Tense with example

Table of English Tenses with example

TENSE CHART