The past simple

The past simple

by Alessandro Ursic, PC MUIC

​Look at the verb in the following sentences:

1. ​I graduated in Marketing two years ago.

2. ​In the past, families had more children than today.

3. ​Yesterday you went to a shopping mall.

4. ​When my parents were young, they did not have much money.

Notice how all of these actions or situations were completed at some point in the past:

1. ​I graduated in Marketing two years ago.

2. ​In the past, families had more children than today.

3. ​Yesterday you went to a shopping mall.

4. ​When my parents were young, they did not have much money.

Things to remember about the past simple:

• In Thai, verbs don't change in the past. However, in English they do!

• ​For regular verbs, the past simple is easy: simply add "-ed" to the base form of the verb. For example:

​

​to play ----> played

​to love ----> loved

• ​Many verbs are irregular, and you need to learn the past simple form (also called "V2" in some tables of verbs) by heart. For example:

​to teach ----> taught

​to go ----> went

​Here are some common irregular verbs:

​V1

​to be

​to have

​to eat

​to drink

​to break

​to become

​to find

​to rise

​V2

was/were

had

ate

drank

​broke

became

found

rose

​V3

been

had

eaten

drunk

​broken

become

found

risen

Negative verbs in the past simple:

• ​It's actually quite easy. Simply use "did + not + V1". For example:

I did not play football yesterday.

She did not go to school last week.

• ​However, if the verb is "to be", simply add "not" after "was" or "were":

I/he/she was not tired yesterday.

We/you/they were not at home last week.

​The movie was not interesting.

Multiple Choice

Last year my father _______ a new car.

• buy

• bought

• will buy

• buyed

Multiple Choice

I ______ to a new restaurant two weeks ago.

• goed

• go

• went

• gone

Multiple Choice

My teacher _________ us the date of the exam.

• not told

• did not told

• was not tell

• did not tell

Multiple Choice

My mother _______ happy when I told her that I failed the exam.

• was not

• is not

• did not be

• were not

Fill in the Blanks

When I was a child, I

(to like) playing football.

Fill in the Blanks

She

(to listen) to the teacher during yesterday's class.

Fill in the Blanks

My brother

(to fail) his exam last week.

Fill in the Blanks

My father

(to sell) his old car last month.

Fill in the Blanks

My sister

some extra writing classes two months ago.

Fill in the Blanks

The stock market

(to rise) to a new high last week.

Fill in the Blanks

When we

(to be) young, we lived in Japan.

Fill in the Blanks

In the past it

(to be) more difficult for students to study abroad.