PAST SIMPLE

-Affirmative form
Subject + V-ed ... / 2nd column of the list of irregular verbs ....
Ej.: She worked there in 1995. (regular)
They learnt all the irregular verbs last year. (irregular)
 Spelling rules (V+ ‘-ed’)
1 Verbs ending in ‘-e’, ‘-ee’ o ‘-ie’, only add ‘-d’ in the past simple.
e.g. love  loved
agree  agreed
die  died
2 Monosyllable verbs ending in one single consonant preceded by one single vowel
double the final consonant before ‘-ed’.
e.g. stop  stopped
3 Verbs of two or more syllables whose last syllable contains only one vowel and ends in
a single consonant double this consonant if the stress falls on the last syllable.
e.g. prefer preferred; but enter entered
4 A final l after a single vowel is, however, always doubled.
e.g. travel  travelled (British English) traveled (American English)
5 Verbs ending in y following a consonant change the y into i before ed.
e.g. cry  cried
play  played
 Pronunciation rules (‘-ed’)
1 /t/  If the verb ends in a voiceless sound, except /t/:
work  worked  /w3:kt/
2 /d/  If the verb ends in a voiced sound, except /d/:
call  called  /k:ld/
3 /id/  If the verb ends in /t/ or /d/:
decide  decided  /di’saidid/
-Negative form
Subject + did + not + infinitive without ‘to’ ...
Didn’t
e.g. She didn’t stay here long.
We didn’t give her a present.

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-Question form
(Question word +) Did + subject + infinitive without ‘to’ ...?
e.g. Where did you live?
Did she buy a new shirt? Yes, she did. / No, she didn’t.
-Negative question form
1 With a contracted form:
Didn’t + subject + infinitive without ‘to’...?
e.g. Didn’t you know that she was coming?
2 Without a contracted form:
Did + subject + not + infinitive without ‘to’ ...?
e.g. Did he not go to the party?
-Use
1 It is used to express completed actions in the past that took place at a definite time. So,
the verb is usually followed by an adverb or time expression.
e.g. They trained for about two hours yesterday.
The bus was ten minutes late.
2 It may also be used to express consecutive actions in the past. Sequence connectors are
frequent in this case: First, next, then, after that, finally, etc.
e.g. Ann visited her sister. Then she went to the library.
3 We often use the past simple and the past continuous together to say that something
happened (past simple) in the middle of something else, another action in progress (past
continuous).
e.g. They were reading the paper when she arrived. (The verb ‘arrived’ expresses a short
action in the past which interrupts a longer action in progress, ‘were reading’).
4 The simple past is also used for past habits.
e.g. They never drank wine.
5 It is also used in the if-clause in the Second Conditional.
e.g. It she came to the party, we’d have a great time.

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 PAST CONTINUOUS
-Affirmative form
Subject + was / were + ‘V-ing’ ...
e.g. They were carrying umbrellas at ten o’clock.
-Negative form
Subject + was / were + not + ‘V-ing’...
Wasn’t / Weren’t
e.g. She wasn’t listening to the radio when I called her.
-Question form
(Question word +) Was / Were + subject + V-ing ...?
e.g. When were you doing that?
Was he working at half past three?
-Negative question form
1 With a contracted form:
Wasn’t / Weren’t + subject + ‘V-ing’ ...?
Wasn’t I cooking when you came?
2 Without a contracted form:
Was / Were + subject + not + ‘V-ing’ ...?
Were we not watching TV at ten o’clock?
-Use
1 Used with a point in time it expresses an action which was in progress at that time in
the past.
e.g. At eight he was having breakfast.
2 We often use the past simple and the past continuous together to say that something
happened (past simple) in the middle of something else, another action in progress (past
continuous).
e.g. We were playing cards when our parents came home. (A past action in progress, ‘were
playing’, was interrupted by a shorter action in the past simple, ‘came’).
3 To describe two or more simultaneous actions in the past linked by and, as or while.
e.g. I was reading and / as / while he was swimming.

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 PAST PERFECT SIMPLE
-Affirmative form
Subject + had + Past participle...
e.g. She had worked there before coming here.
-Negative form
Subject + had + not + Past participle...
e.g. They hadn’t arrived when we called.
-Question form
Had + subject + past participle...?
e.g. Had we done all the chores before the neighbours rang?
-Negative question form
1 With a contracted form:
Hadn’t + subject + past participle...?
e.g. Hadn’t you realized what he was talking about?
2 Without a contracted form:
Had + subject + not + Past participle...?
e.g. Had she not dug the garden before going on holiday?
-Use
1 It is used to express a past action which happened before another action in the past
simple.
e.g. When we arrived, the concert had already begun.
2 In third conditional sentences.
e.g. If he had done all his chores, his parents wouldn’t have told him off.
3 With the expression it was the first / second / third time.
e.g. It was the second time that we’d been there.