When It Already Happened
Things that are already done: the past simple in two minutes. Regular verbs take -ed, irregular verbs change, and did does the heavy lifting for negatives and questions. Extra details are tucked away at the bottom.
What is the Past Simple?
Finished — that is the whole idea
The past simple is the tense of things that are over: yesterday, last week, five minutes ago. If it already happened, it gets the past simple — one tense for the whole past, from last year to last night.
Finished actions
The event is over — no connection to nowI watched a film yesterday
Regular verbs: add -ed
Most verbs just take -edShe played tennis
Irregular verbs: change
Some verbs change completely — go, wentHe went to school
Time words: yesterday, last…
The past loves time markersWe visited Rome last summer
⚠️ One simple idea: if it already happened, it is past simple.
The Formula
Subject + past verb, then the rest
Same skeleton as the present, one big swap: the verb takes -ed (or changes), and negatives and questions call in the helper did. After did, the verb goes back to its base form — the helper carries the past, the verb can relax.
Shewatcheda filmlast night
Shedidn'twatcha film
Didshewatcha film?
Irregular Verbs
Eight verbs that refuse -ed
Some verbs ignore the -ed rule and change completely: go becomes went, not goed. Match each base verb with its past — these eight cover most of daily English.
⚠️ Did and didn't never take a past verb: I didn't go, not I didn't went.
Common Mistakes
Five mistakes to avoid
The same five traps catch almost everyone: the double past, the -ed on irregulars, and forgetting did in questions. Here is how to escape them.
I didn't went home.
I didn't go home.
💡 After didn't, the verb goes back to its base form: go, not went.
She goed to school.
She went to school.
💡 Go is irregular: go → went. No -ed.
I watch TV yesterday.
I watched TV yesterday.
💡 Yesterday is past — the verb needs -ed: watched.
Did you watched the film?
Did you watch the film?
💡 In questions with did, the main verb stays in its base form.
He were happy.
He was happy.
💡 With he/she/it use was; with you/we/they use were.
Quick Quiz
Test what you just learned
Three minutes, five questions — check what stuck. No essay questions, we promise.
Yesterday I ___ a great film.
💡 Extra info3 sections
Timeline
The past sits behind you
Every past time word points backwards from now. The bigger the marker, the further back it sits. Yesterday is close; 2010 is far.
I saw her yesterday.
We played football last week.
She called me two days ago.
I started school in 2010.
Conjugation
No -s in the past — good news
Look at the table: every subject gets the same verb. No -s for he/she/it in the past — that rule only lives in the present. The only irregularity is be: was and were.
| Subject | Positive | Negative | Question |
|---|---|---|---|
| I | I worked | I didn't work | Did I work? |
| You | You worked | You didn't work | Did you work? |
| He / She / It | He worked | He didn't work | Did he work? |
| We | We worked | We didn't work | Did we work? |
| They | They worked | They didn't work | Did they work? |
The verb "be"Two forms, no helper needed
| Subject | Positive | Negative | Question |
|---|---|---|---|
| I | I was happy | I wasn't happy | Was I happy? |
| He / She / It | He was happy | He wasn't happy | Was he happy? |
| You / We / They | They were happy | They weren't happy | Were they happy? |
Signal Words
Words that announce the past
Spot one of these and the sentence almost certainly lives in the past. Time words point backwards; irregular verbs carry the change themselves.