Definition: Past Simple Tense is used to express an action that happened at some specific time in the past.
Form of Past Simple
Affirmative: Subj + V2 (past) + …
Interrogative: Did + subj + V (bare infinitive) + …?
Negative: Subj + did + not + V (bare infinitive) + …
Note1: We normally add "_d/_ed" to the base form of the verb.
- To love → loved; To plant → planted; To cook → cooked
Note2: The verb that ends in (one consonant + y) is changed "y" to "ied".
- To carry → carried; To apply → applied; To supply → supplied
Note3: The verb that ends in (one vowel + y) is added "ed".
- To play → played; To stay → stayed; To destroy → destroyed
Note4: The verb that ends in (one vowel + one consonant) is doubled the consonant before putting "ed".
- To plan → planned; To split → splitted; To ban → banned
Note5: The verb that ends in (w, x) is added "ed".
- To mix → mixed; To snow → snowed; To fix → fixed
Note6: The verb that has two syllables and ends in (one vowel + one consonant) is doubled the consonant, if the stress is on the second syllable.
- To admit → admitted; To regret → regretted; To submit → submitted
Note7: The verb that has two syllables and ends in (one vowel + one consonant) is not doubled the consonant, if the stress is on the first syllable.
- To cancel → canceled; To frighten → frightened; To distrain → distrained
Important Note*
| Tense: | Past | + | Simple |
| Form: | V2 |
| Basic Structure and Short Answer |
| Affirmative | Interrogative | Negative | Affirmative | Negative | |
| I learned | Did I learn? | I did not learn | Yes, I did | No, I didn't | |
| We learned | Did we learn? | We did not learn | Yes, we did | No, we didn't | |
| You learned | Did you learn? | You did not learn | Yes, you did | No, you didn't | |
| They learned | Did they learn? | They did not learn | Yes, they did | No, they didn't | |
| He learned | Did he learn? | He did not learn | Yes, he did | No, he didn't | |
| She learned | Did she learn? | She did not learn | Yes, she did | No, she didn't | |
| It learned | Did it learn? | It did not learn | Yes, it did | No, it didn't |
Auxiliary Verbs
* “be”, (was/were), is used as main verb in Past Simple.
Affirmative: (I was..., We/You/They were..., He/She/It was...)
Interrogative: (Was I..., Were we/you/they..., Was he/she/it...)?
Negative: (Iwas not..., We/You/They weren’t..., He/She/It wasn’t...)
* “have”, (had), is used as main verb in Past Simple.
Affirmative: (I/We/You/They/He/She/It had...,)
Interrogative: (Did I/we/you/they/he/she/it have...,)
Negative: (I/We/You/They/He/She/It didn’t have...,)
WH Questions
* “WH Questions”, (What/When/Where/Why/Who/How…), is used to ask for information.
What: is used to ask for Thing. Ex: What were the causes of civil war?
When: is used to ask for Time. Ex: When was Angkor Wat built?
Where: is used to ask for Place. Ex: Where did you go last night?
Why: is used to ask for Reason. Ex: Why did he steal your money?
Who: is used to ask for Person. Ex: Who had the most money in 2019?
How: is used to ask for Manner. Ex: How did the communication begin?
Expressions
* Adverbs of Frequency are placed before the main verb.
(always, usually, sometimes, often, rarely, never, seldom…)
- We sometimes watch TV after school.
- Sam often leaves his apartment without locking the door.
* Time Expressions are placed at the beginning or the end of the sentence.
(every day / week / Friday…, on Mondays / Sundays…, at the weekend…, in the morning / afternoon…, in winter / spring…, once a day / week…)
- Samantha goes to music class on Sundays.
- In every winter we build many snowmen in front of the house.
10 Irregular Verbs
Infinitive (to/bare)V | Present Simple V1 | Past Simple V2 | Past Participle V3 | Present Participle V-ing |
| (to)be | is/am/are | was/were | been | being |
| (to)become | become(s) | became | become | becoming |
| (to)begin | begin(s) | began | begun | beginning |
| (to)break | break(s) | broke | broken | breaking |
| (to)bring | bring(s) | brought | brought | bringing |
| (to)build | build(s) | built | built | building |
| (to)buy | buy(s) | bought | bought | buying |
| (to)catch | catch(es) | caught | caught | catching |
| (to)choose | choose(es) | chose | chosen | choosing |
| (to)come | come(s) | came | come | coming |
Active Voice and Passive Voice
* Active Voice refers to the subject which is the doer of the action.
* Passive Voice refers to the subject which is the receiver of the action.
| Present Simple Active Voice | Present Simple Passive Voice |
| + | Subj + V1 (present) + obj | ➣ | Subj + (is/am/are) + V3 |
| ? | (Do/Does) + Subj + V (bare) + obj? | ➣ | (Is/Am/Are) + Subj + V3 |
| - | Subj + (do/does) + not + V (bare) + obj | ➣ | Subj + (is/am/are) + not + V3 |
1. A: He always drives his new Ferrari to work.
P: His new Ferrari is always driven to work by him.
2. A: I usually drink a glass of milk every night.
P: A glass of milk is usually drunk by me every night.
3. A: Every season, we harvest at least 30 tons of production.
P: Every season, at least 30 tons of production are harvested by us.
4. A: His dad spends much money on alcohol every day.
P: Much money is spent on alcohol by his dad every day.
5. A: On Sundays, they deliver new mails from the city to people in this village.
P: On Sundays, new mails from the city are delivered to people in this village by them.
Important Note*
| Tense: | Present Simple Active | ⬌ | Present Simple Passive |
| Form: | V1+ obj | "is/am/are"+ V3 |
The passive voice is used when the receiver of the action is more important to be stressed or focused on.
Learner can find more practice exercises in Test Yourself Online section.
Learner's Materials
Video Lesson
* Session 1:
* Session 2:
* Session 3:
Test Yourself Online
Learner can find answers to these Test Yourself onlines in Answer Key worksheet below.
Worksheet
* Present Simple
* Verb Follows Subject
* Active Voice and Passive Voice
* Modal Active Voice and Passive Voice
* Answer Key
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