Past simple
FORM
Spelling rules of regular verbs
- use → used
- try → tried
- plan → planned
- admit → admitted
- cancel → cancelled
- panic → panicked
Negative
Regular verbs
- I / You / He / She / It / We / They didn't (did not) call your friend.
Irregular verbs
- I / You / He / She / It / We / They didn't speak to James.
Interrogative
Regular verbs
- Did I / you / he / she / it / we / they call your friend?
Irregular verbs
- Did I / you / he / she / it / we / they speak to James?
Short answers
Regular and irregular verbs
- Yes, I / you / he / she / it / we / they did.
- No, I / you / he / she / it / we / they didn't.
Three kinds of irregular verbs
- Always the same form hit, hit, hit
Same form in the past simple and past participle or in the infinitive and past participle
- sleep, slept, slept
- become, became, become
Three different forms
SIGNAL WORDS
- This morning / afternoon / evening.
- The day before yesterday.
- Last week / month / Tuesday
- Two / Three minutes / days / weeks / months ago
- In 2015 / in the 12th century
- When we arrived / When I was a child.
USE
To talk about finished states, events, and actions that took place at a specific time in the past.
Examples:
- We met last Sunday.
- She graduated from university in 2005.
To describe completed actions which happened in sequence.
Examples:
- First they opened the door, then they turned on the light.
- She cooked dinner, then she set the table.