ESL CONNECT | Past Simple Regular and Irregular Verbs

Explanation: past simple

Use the past simple to talk about finished actions in the past.

Past time expressions:
yesterday · last night · last week · last month · last year · two days ago · in 2020 · when I was a child

1. Past simple affirmative

In affirmative sentences, regular verbs usually end in -ed. Irregular verbs have a different past form.

Verb type	Base verb	Past simple	Example
Regular	work	worked	I worked yesterday.
Regular	play	played	She played tennis last week.
Irregular	go	went	They went to Rome.
Irregular	eat	ate	He ate pizza.

2. Regular verb spelling

Rule	Base verb	Past simple
Most verbs: add -ed	work, start, watch	worked, started, watched
Verb ending in -e: add -d	like, live, close	liked, lived, closed
Consonant + y: change y to i + ed	study, try	studied, tried
Short verb ending consonant-vowel-consonant: double final consonant	stop, plan	stopped, planned

3. Irregular verbs

Irregular verbs do not use -ed. You need to learn the past form.

Base verb	Past simple	Example
be	was / were	I was tired. / They were happy.
go	went	We went to the cinema.
have	had	She had breakfast.
do	did	He did his homework.
make	made	They made dinner.
see	saw	I saw my friend.
buy	bought	She bought a book.
eat	ate	We ate pasta.
drink	drank	He drank water.
take	took	I took the bus.

4. Negative sentences

Use didn’t + base verb. Do not use the past form after didn’t.

Structure	Correct	Incorrect
subject + didn’t + base verb	I didn’t go.	I didn’t went.
subject + didn’t + base verb	She didn’t watch TV.	She didn’t watched TV.

5. Questions

Use Did + subject + base verb? Again, use the base verb after did.

Structure	Example	Short answer
Did + subject + base verb?	Did you go out yesterday?	Yes, I did. / No, I didn’t.
Question word + did + subject + base verb?	Where did she go?	She went to London.

Remember:
Affirmative: I went to school.
Negative: I didn’t go to school.
Question: Did you go to school?

Regular verbs

Choose the correct past simple form.

1. I __________ late yesterday.

work worked working

2. She __________ English last night.

studyed studied study

3. The bus __________ at the station.

stoped stopped stopt

4. They __________ in Milan in 2021.

lived liveed lives

5. We __________ football last Saturday.

played plaied play

Write the regular past form

watch →

Answer: watched

try →

Answer: tried

Irregular verbs

Choose the correct irregular past simple form.

1. We __________ to Paris last year.

goed went go

2. They __________ pizza for dinner.

eated eat ate

3. She __________ a new bag yesterday.

buyed bought buy

4. I __________ my teacher in town.

saw seed see

5. He __________ a sandwich for lunch.

haved had has

Write the irregular past form

make →

Answer: made

take →

Answer: took

Past simple negatives

Choose the correct negative sentence. Remember: didn’t + base verb.

1. Choose the correct sentence.

I didn’t went to school. I didn’t go to school. I didn’t goes to school.

2. Choose the correct sentence.

She didn’t watched TV. She didn’t watches TV. She didn’t watch TV.

3. Choose the correct sentence.

They didn’t eat breakfast. They didn’t ate breakfast. They didn’t eaten breakfast.

4. Choose the correct sentence.

We didn’t studied yesterday. We didn’t study yesterday. We didn’t studies yesterday.

Correct the mistake

Correct: He didn’t bought a ticket.

Answer: He didn’t buy a ticket.

Past simple questions

Choose the correct question. Remember: Did + subject + base verb?

1. Choose the correct question.

Did you went out yesterday? Did you go out yesterday? Did you goes out yesterday?

2. Choose the correct question.

Where did she bought it? Where she bought it? Where did she buy it?

3. Choose the correct question.

What did they ate? What did they eat? What they ate?

4. Choose the correct question.

Did he studied last night? Did he study last night? He studied last night?

Write the question

Put in order: you / yesterday / where / did / go?

Answer: Where did you go yesterday?

Was and were

The verb be is irregular in the past: was and were.

Subject	Past of be	Example
I / he / she / it	was	She was at home.
you / we / they	were	They were tired.

1. I __________ at school yesterday.

were was be

2. They __________ at the cinema last night.

was were are

3. She __________ happy yesterday.

weren’t wasn’t didn’t be

4. __________ you tired after the trip?

Was Did be Were

Mixed practice

Choose the best answer.

1. We __________ our grandparents last weekend.

visited visit visitted

2. He __________ coffee this morning.

drinked drank drink

3. She __________ dinner yesterday.

didn’t made didn’t make didn’t makes

4. __________ the film?

Did they saw Did they see They saw

5. The lesson __________ easy.

were was did

6. I __________ the train to school.

taked took take

Transform the sentence

Make negative: I went to the cinema.

Answer: I didn’t go to the cinema.

Make a question: She watched TV yesterday.

Answer: Did she watch TV yesterday?

Use the past simple: They / eat / pasta / last night.

Answer: They ate pasta last night.