Creative Grammar and Writing — Unit 2: The simple past
Learning goals
By the end of this topic you can...
- Write the simple past of regular verbs using the four spelling rules (+ed, +d, consonant + y → ied, doubling the final consonant).
- Remember and use the simple past of 20 common irregular verbs (go → went, buy → bought, read → read...).
- Use was and were correctly with different subjects.
- Make negative sentences with didn't + base form.
- Make questions with Did + subject + base form and answer them with short answers.
1. What is the simple past?
We use the simple past to talk about actions that started and finished in the past.
- I watched a movie yesterday.
- We went to the beach last weekend.
- She was at my house two days ago.
Typical time expressions: yesterday, last night, last week, two days ago, in 2019, when I was six.
There are two families of verbs in the simple past: regular verbs (they end in -ed) and irregular verbs (you have to learn them one by one).
2. Regular verbs: the -ed ending
Good news: with regular verbs the past form is the same for every subject. I worked, you worked, he worked, she worked, we worked, they worked.
- I worked on my project. → She worked on her project.
- They listened to music. → He listened to music.
Careful! We never add an -s in the past. ❌ He workeds. ✅ He worked.
3. The four spelling rules for regular verbs
Rule 1 — Most verbs: add -ed
| Verb | Simple past | Example |
|---|---|---|
| work | worked | I worked all morning. |
| watch | watched | She watched two videos. |
| listen | listened | They listened to the teacher. |
| walk | walked | He walked to school. |
Rule 2 — Verbs that end in -e: add only -d
The verb already has an e, so we do not write ee.
| Verb | Simple past | Example |
|---|---|---|
| like | liked | I liked that song. |
| dance | danced | We danced at the party. |
| close | closed | She closed the door. |
| live | lived | They lived in Cartago. |
Careful! ❌ likeed — ✅ liked. One e is enough.
Rule 3 — Consonant + y → -ied
Look at the letter before the y. If it is a consonant, change y → i and add -ed. If it is a vowel (a, e, i, o, u), just add -ed.
| Verb | Letter before y | Simple past |
|---|---|---|
| study | d (consonant) | studied |
| cry | r (consonant) | cried |
| carry | r (consonant) | carried |
| play | a (vowel) | played |
| enjoy | o (vowel) | enjoyed |
Careful! ❌ studyed, ❌ plaied. ✅ studied, ✅ played.
Rule 4 — Double the final consonant
When a short verb of one syllable ends in consonant + vowel + consonant (C-V-C), we double the last consonant and add -ed.
| Verb | C-V-C | Simple past |
|---|---|---|
| stop | s-t-o-p | stopped |
| plan | p-l-a-n | planned |
| shop | s-h-o-p | shopped |
| chat | c-h-a-t | chatted |
We do not double the consonant when there are two vowels together (rain → rained, clean → cleaned) or when the verb ends in w, x or y (play → played).
Careful! ❌ stoped, ❌ planed. ✅ stopped, ✅ planned. Two consonants, please!
4. Irregular verbs: learn them by heart
Irregular verbs do not take -ed. They change their form, and the only way to learn them is with practice.
| Base form | Simple past | Example sentence |
|---|---|---|
| go | went | I went to the park. |
| have | had | She had a big breakfast. |
| be | was / were | We were very happy. |
| do | did | He did his homework. |
| see | saw | I saw a beautiful bird. |
| eat | ate | They ate pizza on Friday. |
| take | took | We took many photos. |
| come | came | My cousin came to my house. |
| get | got | She got a good grade. |
| make | made | My mom made a cake. |
| buy | bought | I bought a new notebook. |
| write | wrote | He wrote a short story. |
| read | read | I read two books. |
| run | ran | The dog ran in the garden. |
| give | gave | They gave me a present. |
| find | found | She found her keys. |
| think | thought | I thought about the answer. |
| drink | drank | We drank fresh lemonade. |
| sleep | slept | He slept for ten hours. |
| teach | taught | The teacher taught us a song. |
Careful! Read is written the same in the present and in the past, but the sound changes: present /riːd/ ("reed"), past /red/ ("red"). The sentence tells you which one it is: I read a book every night. / I read a book last night.
5. The special verb be: was / were
Be is the only verb with two past forms: was for I, he, she, it, and were for you, we, they.
- I was at home. / She was tired.
- You were right. / We were in the library. / They were late.
Negatives and questions with be do not use did: She wasn't at school. / Were they ready?
Careful! ❌ Did she was tired? ✅ Was she tired?
6. Negative sentences: didn't + base form
To make a negative sentence we use didn't (= did not) + the base form of the verb. The verb goes back to its normal form, with no -ed and no irregular change.
| Affirmative | Negative |
|---|---|
| I played football. | I didn't play football. |
| She studied English. | She didn't study English. |
| We went to the beach. | We didn't go to the beach. |
| He bought a phone. | He didn't buy a phone. |
Careful! The past is already inside didn't, so the main verb never repeats it.
❌ She didn't studied. ❌ We didn't went. ✅ She didn't study. ✅ We didn't go.
7. Questions: Did + subject + base form
The word order is always the same: Did + subject + base form + ... ?
| Statement | Question |
|---|---|
| You watched the game. | Did you watch the game? |
| She wrote a poem. | Did she write a poem? |
| They ate lunch. | Did they eat lunch? |
Short answers: Did you finish your homework? → Yes, I did. / No, I didn't.
With wh- words, the question word goes first: Where did you go last weekend? → I went to Jacó.
Careful! ❌ Did you went? ✅ Did you go? After did, always the base form.
Quick summary
- Regular verbs form the past with -ed (work → worked), and the form is the same for all subjects.
- Spelling: verbs ending in -e add only -d; consonant + y becomes -ied; short C-V-C verbs double the final consonant.
- Irregular verbs change completely (go → went, buy → bought) and must be memorised.
- Be has two past forms: was (I, he, she, it) and were (you, we, they).
- Negatives use didn't + base form; questions use Did + subject + base form.
- After did or didn't, the verb never carries the past ending.
Key vocabulary
| Word | Meaning in this topic |
|---|---|
| simple past | The verb tense for finished actions in the past. |
| regular verb | A verb that forms its past with -ed. |
| irregular verb | A verb with a special past form to memorise. |
| base form | The verb without any ending: go, play, eat. |
| ending / suffix | The letters we add at the end: -ed, -d, -ied. |
| syllable | Each sound group in a word: stop = 1, listen = 2. |
| consonant / vowel | Vowels are a, e, i, o, u; every other letter is a consonant. |
| to double | To write the same consonant twice: stop → stopped. |
| affirmative / negative | I played / I didn't play. |
| interrogative | A question: Did you play? |
| short answer | Yes, I did. / No, I didn't. |
| time expression | Words like yesterday, last week, two days ago. |