Today we are going to learn more about the simple past and how to make sentences with them.
The simple past is a verb tense that is used to talk about actions or events that happened in the past.
These are some examples of simple past sentences:
- I went to the store.
- She ate a sandwich for lunch.
- He played soccer with his friends.
- We watched a movie together.
- They visited the museum on Saturday.
Continue reading so you can learn how to make affirmative, negative, and interrogative sentences correctly
Table of Contents
Simple Past: Uses
The Simple Past is used to talk about actions completed in the past.
- She came back last Thursday.
- I saw her in the building.
- I made a cake for my mom, it was delicious
- I ran to the train station every day
- I sent some flowers to my girlfriend, today is her birthday
- They didn’t agree with me.
- They did their homework, but it was kind of difficult
- They played video games the whole night
- Yesterday I did exercise.
- I didn’t go to the gym last Sunday.
It can also be used to talk about a period of time
- She lived in California for seven years.
- They were in London from Monday to Friday
- Last week, I stayed with my sister for a few days
- Joe lived in Boston for ten years.
- From 1981 to 1984, he worked for a large multinational company.
Simple Past and Expressions of Time
You will often find the past simple used with time expressions such as these:
- I met him yesterday
- I traveled to Europe last summer.
- I saw him two weeks ago
- I played soccer from May to June
- I worked there for 4 weeks
- In the 1990s, I stole many cars
- She came to visit me last year
- She started her new job last month.
- She graduated from college last year.
- She was the best singer of the last century
- The last time I went to a concert was in 2009
- They have known him for a long time
- They went on a vacation to Hawaii last December.
- In the past, I made so many mistakes
- We moved into our new house last week.
Simple Past: Affirmative Sentences
The structure to make affirmative sentences with the simple past is the following:
| Structure | Example |
| Subject | I |
| Verb | went |
| Complement | to the supermarket |
These are some examples of affirmative sentences in the simple past:
- I walked to the park.
- She cooked dinner for us.
- He finished his homework.
- We went to the movies.
- They had a party at their house.
- I played tennis with my friends.
- She read a book before bed.
- He drove to work.
- We watched a TV show.
- They visited their grandparents.
Simple Past Examples: Negative Sentences
To make the negative form, we add the negative form (didn’t) between the pronoun or subject and the verb.
| Structure | Example |
| Subject | I |
| Didn’t | Didn’t |
| Verb | went |
| Complement | to the supermarket |
The verb in negative statements is in its infinitive form
| Simple Past Affirmative | Simple Past Negative |
| I went to the store | I didn’t go to the store |
| She wanted money | She didn’t want money |
| He played soccer | He didn’t play soccer |
| It worked well | It didn’t work well |
| We watched a movie | We didn’t watch a movie |
| you cooked dinner | You didn’t cook dinner |
| they ran yesterday | They didn’t run yesterday |
Simple Past Examples: Questions
To make a question in the simple past, you have to add the word “did” at the beginning of every question and keep the verb in its infinitive form.
| Simple Past Affirmative | Simple Past Questions |
| I went to the store | Did I go to the store? |
| She wanted money | Did you want money? |
| He played soccer | Did he play soccer? |
| It worked well | Did it work well? |
| We watched a movie | Did we watch a movie? |
| you cooked dinner | Did you cook dinner? |
| they ran yesterday | Did they run yesterday |
Wh-Questions in the Simple Past
These are some examples of questions and answers with the simple past
- Where did you go on vacation last year?
- I went to the beach
- What did you eat for dinner?
- I ate a salad
- How did you get to work today?
- I took the bus
- Which movie did you see last night?
- I didn’t watch any movies
- Who did you call yesterday?
- I called a woman I met at the bar
- What did you do on your birthday?
- I spent time with my kids
- Who did you go to the concert with?
- I went with my girlfriend
Simple Past Conversation questions
These are some common questions you can make when talking about the past
- Where did you go on your last vacation?
- What did you do for your last birthday?
- What did you do last week?
- How did you spend your weekend?
- What did you do yesterday morning?
- Did you watch any movies last night? What movies did you watch?
- Who was your first crush?
- What did you do for the last 24 hours?
- What was the last movie that you watched?
- When was the last time you went shopping?
- When was the last time you went on a date?
- When was the last time you had a party?
- Did you do any exercises last week? What exercises did you do?
- How did you spend your days when you were a kid?
- How did you have fun when you were in high school?
More about English Grammar
I hope that you have found all the simple past examples you were looking for
These are some posts with more examples of different grammar topics
