What is Simple Past Tense?

The simple past tense shows that an action started and completed in the past and has no
relevance to the present time at all. It can also be used to describe how someone felt, what their
emotional condition was, at a point in the past. There are no forms of the verb to be’ or to have’
(was, were) with this tense as there are with others.

Examples: walked, visited, decided, looked

Simple Past Tense Structure

Simple Past Tense with Regular Verbs

Verbs have different forms, called tenses. The tense of a verb tells us when the action happens.
We use the simple past tense to talk about things that happened in the past.

Examples:
1. Last Wednesday, we decided to visit the zoo.
2. We walked toward the first exhibits.
3. I looked up at a giraffe as it stared back at me.

For most verbs, the simple past tense is created by adding d, ed or ied at the end of the word.
These are called regular verbs.
The following are some of the rules for regular verbs.
1. For verbs ending in e add d.

Present Tense Past Tense

live lived
love loved
date dated
agree agreed
care cared

Activity 1: In the Past

Write the correct form of the verb found inside the parenthesis.

1. The Filipinos (welcome) the foreign people with a warm smile.

2. The students (practice) their dance yesterday.
3. Tom (invite) us to his birthday party last Sunday.
4. I (love) my teacher.
5. Tessa (serve) snacks to all visitors.
2. For verbs ending in consonant + y, change y to i and add ed.
Present Tense Past Tense
try tried
carry carried
dirty dirtied
hurry hurried
Activity 2: Gear Up
Write the past form of the verbs below.
1. spy - ________________
2. copy-________________
3. try- _________________
4. worry-_______________

5. cry- _________________

3. For other verbs, just add ed.

Present Tense Past Tense

cross crossed
jump jumped
lift lifted
allow allowed
Activity 3: You Complete Me
Complete the sentences in simple past tense.
1. I _______________ my teeth. (brush)
2. Susan __________ to me quietly. (talk)
3. Daniel __________ his toy. (fix)
4. The man ________ so fast. (walk)
5. Thomas _________ me with my homework. (help)

Examples of Time Expressions Used with the Simple Past Tense

yesterday hour ago last weekend

last night last Saturday a year ago
Examples:
a. She worked hard last night.
S V (ed) time expression

b. The teacher dismissed the class early yesterday.

S V time expression

Activity 4: Try this!

Write the correct Simple Past Tense found inside the parenthesis.

1. My Father ____________ (wash) his car yesterday.

2. They _____________ (study) for their exam last night.
3. We ___________ (play) mobile legend a while ago.
4. The monkey _____________ (climb) on a tree an hour ago.
5. He ____________ (dance) onstage with his friends last Saturday.
 Simple Past Tense of Irregular Verbs

Irregular verbs are common verbs in English that do not follow the simple system of adding “d”
or “ed” to the end of the word to form the past tense or past participle. There are a number of
irregular verbs with different forms and you will be studying some of them in this section. Study the
sentences below.

Examples:
1. The Hare sat down an hour ago. (verb SIT)
2. The Tortoise won the race. (verb WIN)
3. He told them to wait in different places along the path. (verb TELL)

The verbs sat, won, and told are examples of irregular verbs in the past tense.

SOME OF THE MOST COMMON Simple Past

IRREGULAR VERBS Base Form Past Participle
become became become
begin began begun
buy bought bought
come came come
cut cut cut
do did done
draw drew drawn
fall fell fallen
find found found
get got gotten
go went gone
know knew known
run ran run
throw threw thrown
wear wore worn

Activity 5: Remember Me

Write the simple past form of each irregular verb.

1. buy - ________________

2. come- _______________

3. find- _______________

4. speak - _______________

5. know - _______________

Past Perfect Tense

 expresses the idea that an action happened before another action in the past
 forms by combining had with the past participle of the main verb
 had + past participle of the main verb (ex. had asked) is called verb phrase
 Formula: had + past participle of the main verb

Examples using the Past Perfect Tense of the verb

1. John had called Ana when Mary asked her to go out.

had + Past Participle
2. After Anna had set an appointment, Mary called.
had + Past Participle

Activity 6: Perfect!

Write the past perfect tense of the verb inside the parenthesis.
Example: The storm destroyed the sandcastle that we (build) had built.

1. My brother ate all of the cake that our mother (bake) ___________.
2. I could not remember the poem we (learn) _____________.
3. The children collected the chestnuts that (fall)___________from the tree.
4. She (ride) ____________ a horse before that day.
5. He (drive) ____________ the car fast when his mother called.

Past Perfect Tense Structure

Past perfect tense is formed by using the word “had + past participle”.
In order to better understand the Past Perfect Tense, you can use “time expression” to emphasize
the completed action.
Some Examples of Time Expressions Used with the Past Perfect Tense
Already Yet For Since
Just After Before Until
Sentences:
1. When Judah went to Palawan, he had written a letter for his Mother.
Time Expression had+ Past Participle

2. James had arrived at their house before his mother cooked dinner.
had+ Past Participle Time Expression
3. After Dwight had eaten dinner, he and his brother watched basketball.
Time Expression had+ Past Participle

Activity 7:

Underline the verb phrase in the Past Perfect Tense in each sentence.

Example: Cora had arrived before Shirley served breakfast.

1. They had collected all the money for the field trip when the bell rang.
2. He had learned Spanish before he went to Spain.
3. By the time I returned home, he had left.
4. He began to run after he had seen the cat.
5. Mary had cleaned the room before she went to bed.