A2daily

Past Simple (Other Verbs) - Daily English

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Use the past simple to talk about a finished action at a definite time in the past: "I sent the report yesterday." For most verbs, you make the affirmative by adding -ed to regular verbs (work to worked, ask to asked) or by using the special past form of irregular verbs (go to went, take to took, write to wrote). The past form is the same for every subject: I, you, he, she, we and they all use "worked" or "went". For questions and negatives you use "did" plus the base verb, and the main verb goes back to its base form: "Did you call the client?" "No, I didn't call him." A common pitfall is keeping -ed after "did" or "didn't": say "Did she send it?" and "He didn't reply", not "Did she sent it?" or "He didn't replied". Spelling rules matter too: verbs ending in -e add only -d (live to lived); a final -y after a consonant becomes -ied (study to studied); and short verbs often double the last consonant (stop to stopped, plan to planned). Time expressions like "yesterday", "last week", "in 2019" and "two hours ago" signal the past simple.

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  1. I (visit) my grandparents last weekend.
  2. She (buy) a new dress at the mall yesterday.
  3. They (eat) pizza for dinner last night.
  4. He (drink) a large glass of water after the run.
  5. We (watch) a funny movie on Friday.
  6. You (lose) your keys in the park this morning.
  7. The cat (sleep) on the sofa all afternoon.
  8. Sarah (write) a long email to her friend.
  9. My brother (make) a delicious cake for my birthday.
  10. We (go) to the beach during our summer holiday.
  11. The students (finish) their homework early.
  12. Tom (read) a very interesting book last month.
  13. I (see) a beautiful rainbow after the rain.
  14. They (clean) the entire house on Saturday.
  15. She (give) me a lovely present for my graduation.
  16. He (take) many photos during his trip to Italy.
  17. We (meet) our friends at the cafe at noon.
  18. The plane (arrive) at the airport on time.
  19. You (speak) to the manager about the problem.
  20. I (find) some money on the street yesterday.
  21. My parents (travel) to France last year.
  22. She (forget) her umbrella on the bus.
  23. We (listen) to music in the car.
  24. He (break) his phone screen yesterday.
  25. They (play) football in the garden for two hours.

Common questions

How do I form negative sentences and questions in the past simple?

Use "did" for questions and "did not / didn't" for negatives, then keep the main verb in its base form. So: "I finished the task" becomes the question "Did you finish the task?" and the negative "I didn't finish the task." Never add -ed after did: write "Did he call?", not "Did he called?"

What is the difference between regular and irregular past simple verbs?

Regular verbs form the past simple by adding -ed: "work" to "worked", "email" to "emailed". Irregular verbs change their form in a way you must learn individually: "go" to "went", "buy" to "bought", "take" to "took". Both types behave the same in questions and negatives, where "did" carries the past: "Did you take notes?"

When should I use the past simple instead of the present perfect?

Use the past simple for a finished action at a stated or understood past time: "I met the supplier on Monday." Use the present perfect when the time is unspecified or still relevant: "I have met the supplier" (we don't say when). If a sentence has a finished-time word like "yesterday" or "last week", choose the past simple: "We launched the product last year."