Past Simple Tense - Grammar Lesson

What is the Past Simple?

We use the Past Simple to talk about:

✅ Finished actions in the past
🕐 A specific time in the past (yesterday, last week, in 2010…)

Common Time Expressions for the Past Simple

Specific points in the past

yesterday → I watched a film yesterday.
last night / last week / last month / last year → She visited Fes last summer.
ago (two days ago, a week ago, ten years ago…) → He left three days ago.
in + past year/date → They got married in 2010.
on + past day/date → I met her on Monday. / on the 5th of June.

Past periods

when I was a child → I played football when I was a child.
when I was younger → I didn't have a phone when I was younger.
in the past → People travelled by horse in the past.
a long time ago → Dinosaurs lived a long time ago.

Past events with a reference

the other day → I saw him the other day.
once (meaning "one time") → I once met a famous singer.
back in + year/time → Back in 1999, I lived in Rabat.

💡 Tip for students: These expressions usually signal that the Past Simple is needed — they refer to a finished time, not connected to the present.

Regular Verbs

Definition: Verbs that form the past tense by adding -ed to the base form.

Rules for spelling:

Most verbs: add -ed → play → played
Verbs ending in -e: add -d → like → liked
Consonant + y: change y to i and add -ed → study → studied
One-syllable verbs (CVC pattern): double the final consonant + -ed → stop → stopped

Irregular Verbs

Definition: Verbs that do NOT follow the -ed rule. Their past tense forms must be memorized.

Examples:

go → went
eat → ate
see → saw

Structure of Past Simple

Form	Structure	Example
Affirmative	Subject + past verb	She visited her grandmother.
Negative	Subject + did not (didn't) + base verb	She didn't visit her grandmother.
Question	Did + subject + base verb?	Did she visit her grandmother?

Most Common Irregular Verbs (for 1st Year Bac)

Base Form	Past Simple	Base Form	Past Simple
be	was/were	go	went
become	became	have	had
begin	began	hear	heard
break	broke	leave	left
bring	brought	make	made
buy	bought	read	read (/red/)
choose	chose	run	ran
come	came	say	said
do	did	see	saw
drink	drank	sit	sat
eat	ate	speak	spoke
find	found	take	took
get	got	tell	told
give	gave	think	thought

Examples

Regular Verbs:

Yesterday, I watched a movie.
He studied for the test.

Irregular Verbs:

She went to the park last Sunday.
We ate pizza for dinner.

Practice Exercises

A. Fill in the blanks with the correct past tense form.

1. I __________ (play) football yesterday.

2. She __________ (go) to school by bus.

3. They __________ (study) English last night.

4. We __________ (eat) couscous on Friday.

5. My father __________ (buy) a new phone.

B. Rewrite in the negative form.

1. He visited his uncle. → ___________________________

2. They saw the movie. → ___________________________

3. We cooked lunch. → ___________________________

C. Make questions.

1. She travelled to Paris. → ___________________________

2. They met their friends. → ___________________________

Extra Speaking Activity

Pair Work: Students ask and answer questions about last weekend using both regular and irregular verbs.

Example dialogue:

"What did you do last Saturday?"

"I visited my cousin and ate lunch with her."

Homework

Write a short paragraph (6–8 sentences) about what you did during your last holiday. Use at least 4 regular verbs and 4 irregular verbs.

📚 Past Simple Tense