Past tense

Past tense

The past tense is a verb tense used for a past activity or a past state of being.

It's similar to the present simple when talking about the verb "to be", which becomes 'was' or 'were'.

Let's see some examples from present to past using the verb 'to be'.

• I am cold → I was cold

• You are tired → You were tired

• He is in the garden → He was the garden

• It is sunny →

• They were hungry →

For using the 'verb to be' in past and negative, just add NOT.

- I was not sleepy OR I wasn't sleepy

- You were not on the bus OR you weren't on the bus

- He was not at school OR he wasn't at school

To make a question, just like the present simple, we change the position of 'was / were' and the subject.

Here are the past simple 'yes / no' questions with 'be':

was I sleepy?

____ you late?

___ he at the cinema?

___ she kind?

And the 'wh' questions with 'be' (the question word just goes at the beginning, everything else is the same)

why was I sleepy?

where were you?

when was he at the cinema?

how was she?

The Past Simple with Other Verbs

We make the past simple just like the present simple except we use 'did' instead of 'do / does'. It's really easy because 'did' doesn't change, even with 'he / she / it'.

For possitive sentences:

We usually make the positive by adding '-ed' to the infinitive. For example, 'play' becomes 'played'. However, there are some irregular verbs, for example 'go' becomes 'went' and 'run' becomes 'ran'.

IS IT REGULAR OR IRREGULAR?

• I walked 

• they drank 

• he cooked 

• we ate 

• you played 

In the negative there aren't any irregular verbs. All verbs use 'did not (didn't) + infinitive':

• I did not walk OR I didn't walk

• you did not play OR you didn't play

• he did not cook OR he didn't cook

• she did not listen OR she didn't listen

• it did not rain OR it didn't rain

Questions are also very easy. Just put 'did' before the subject, and the infinitive after it.

Here are the 'yes / no' questions:

did I walk?

did you play?

did he cook?

did she listen?

To make a 'wh' question, of course, put the question word at the beginning of the sentence:

where did I go?

what did you play?

what did he cook?

why did she listen?

ARE YOU READY TO PRACTICE?

:)

Multiple Choice

We _____ (be) late for the meeting.

• Was

• Were

Multiple Choice

Julie ________ (not/be) late for the class.

• Was not

• Were not

Multiple Choice

The test ________ (not/be) easy.

• Was not

• Were not

Multiple Choice

I _________ (not/be) rude to the waitress.

• Was not

• Were not

Fill in the Blanks

(you / be / tired yesterday)?

Fill in the Blanks

She

(not/love) chocolate as a child.

Multiple Choice

You _____ (be) in the library when I called you.

• Was

• Were

Multiple Choice

Is this verb REGULAR or IRREGULAR?

ATE

• IRREGULAR

• REGULAR

Fill in the Blanks

(the weather / be / good)?

Multiple Choice

Is this verb REGULAR or IRREGULAR?

SPOKE

• REGULAR

• IRREGULAR

Fill in the Blanks

(he / be / a doctor when he was young)?

Fill in the Blanks

You

(not/wash) the dishes.