Simple Past Tense
(also called
Past Simple)
The Simple Past is a common tense in English. You should understand it, and know it well.
What's next?
English Modal Verbs: check out our new series of illustrated workbooks!
Are you a teacher?
Save yourself time and effort. Get the Step-by-Step Guide to the Simple Past Tense. It includes all the materials and worksheets you need to teach this tense effectively.
How do we use this tense?
The Simple Past is a form
of the verb that shows the action happened in the past.
Here
are the
different usages of this tense:
Make sure you also read:
Examples of Typical Time ExpressionsSimple Past Example Sentences
Simple Past or Present Perfect – Which Tense Should You Use?
Actions that happened in the past
(The verbs are
in bold)
He broke
his tooth last week.
Last year he had
only two candles on the cake.
He was very
dirty 30 minutes ago.
She asked for a kiss.
He played
and he lost.
They worked very hard for this.
Examples
of
Typical Time Expressions
- an hour ago
- yesterday
- last week
- last month
- 2 years ago
- last Monday
- in 1974
- when I was young
Practice reading, writing and speaking in the Simple Past Tense. Download the English Grammar Stories and Exercises Series.
What's Next?
-
If you want, you can REREAD the previous explanations and examples.
- Read and practice with these stories and exercises.
Simple Past Story 1
Who were they? Where did they go?
What happened?
One autumn evening, Charles and Beth went to the theater. They attended a play. The play started at 7:00. Charles and Beth enjoyed the theater.
After the play, Charles and Beth walked together in the park. They walked beside the lake. The moon was bright. They talked about their future.
When Charles and Beth went home, their children were not asleep. They waited for Charles and Beth to return. They were excited to hear about the theater!
Charles told the children about the play. Then, Beth put the children to bed. Charles and Beth were very tired. It was a good night!
Click here to download the worksheet: Simple Past Story 1.
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