Simple Past Tense

Simple Past Tense is used to talk about past events, actions completed in the past and to talk about the situations in the past. It is the basic form of the Past Tense.

As you can see in the above example, Simple Past Tense also conveys information about our past states or situations.

• I was a doctor.
• We were happy.
• He was a good friend.
• I had a car.
• I liked the way she addressed the meeting.

The verbs in the above sentences are underlined. Let’s list them according to different categories and then analyze the usage of the verb forms.

Verbs used in Simple Past Tense

The “be verbs” used in the Simple Past Tense are “was” and “were”.

Was = with singular subjects

Were = with plural subjects.

Let’s talk about the usage of “be verbs” in the Simple Past Tense.

Use of correct verb according to different subjects:-

The following table elaborates how we should use the verb for different purposes;-

• Conveying a positive idea. (Say Yes)
• Conveying a negative idea. (Say No)
• Interrogations (Asking Questions)

Talking about past state :-

	Positive Sentences	Negative Sentences	Questions
Singular	I was a teacher.	I was not a teacher.	Was I a teacher?
	She was a teacher. He was a teacher. Nina was a teacher.	She was not a teacher. He was not a teacher. Nina was not a teacher.	Was she a teacher? Was he a teacher? Was Nina a teacher?
Plural	We were teachers. You were teachers. They were teachers.	We were not teachers. You were not teachers. They were not teachers.	Were we teachers? Were you teachers? Were they teachers?

Note: When we write negative sentences, we simply have to add “not” after the main verb.

Talking about things we possessed:-

	Positive Sentences	Negative Sentences	Questions
Singular	I had a car.	I did not have a car.	Did I have a car?
	She had a car. He had a car. Mary had a car.	She did not have a car. He did not have a car. Mary did not have a car.	Did she have a car? Did he have a car? Did Mary have a car?
Plural	We had a car. You had cars. They had a car.	We did not have a car. You did not have cars. They did not have a car.	Did we have a car? Did you have cars? Did they have a car?

Note: For both singular and plural subjects we use “had”.

When we create the negative sentence and the question we need to make use of the auxiliary verb “did” along with “have”; the base form of the verb.

Talking about our emotions.

	Positive Sentences	Negative Sentences	Questions
Singular	I liked the job.	I did not like the job.	Did I like the job?
	She liked the job. He liked the job. Mary liked the job.	She did not like the job. He did not like the job. Mary did not like the job.	Did she like the job? Did he like the job? Did Mary like the job?
Plural	We liked the job. You liked the job. They liked the job.	We did not like the job. You did not like the job. They did not like the job.	Did we like the job? Did you like the job? Did they like the job?

Notice in Section “B” and “C” we have used “did” for negative sentences and to ask questions. “Did” is thus used for both Singular and Plural subjects.

Let’s talk about Past Actions (Use of Action Verbs in the Past Tense)

Use of correct verb according to different subjects:-

The following table elaborates how we should use the verb for different purposes;-

• Conveying a positive idea. (Say Yes)
• Conveying a negative idea. (Say No)
• Interrogations (Asking Questions)

	Positive Sentences	Negative Sentences	Questions
Singular	I worked hard.	I did not work hard.	Did I work hard?
	She worked hard. He worked hard. Mary worked hard.	She did not work hard. He did not work hard. Mary did not work hard.	Did she work hard? Did he work hard? Did Mary work hard?
Plural	We worked hard . You worked hard. They worked hard.	We did not work hard. You did not work hard. They did not work hard	Did we work hard? Did you work hard? Did they work hard?

Practical Usage of Simple Past Tense

Past Actions (Completed actions)

• I talked to him yesterday.

Past Durations (Completed actions)

• I He worked as a teacher for 4 years.
• She lived in India for a long time.

Past Habits

• She always carried a small hand bag with her.
• They never argued with their parents.

Past Situations /states

• The bus was late.

Past Possessions

• I had a blue car.

To talk about Feelings in the past. (love, hate, like)

• I did not love him.
• She hated me.

In If Type 02 (Conditional Sentences)

• If I lived near my office, I would be in time for work.

Clue words used in Simple Past Tense

Following words are very commonly seen in Simple Past Tense Sentences.

• Yesterday
• last week
• long time ago
• Last year
• the day before yesterday
• before 20 years
• 3 days ago
• 05 years ago
• long time back