Mastering Past Simple: Verbs, Negatives, Questions
Mastering “Was” and “Were” in English
Positive Statements with “Was” and “Were”
Use was with I, he, she, it. Use were with we, you, they.
Example: Last year, Rachel was 22, so she is 23 now.
Example: Those shoes are nice. Were they expensive?
Negative Forms with “Was” and “Were”
Use was not (wasn’t) with I, he, she, it.
Use were not (weren’t) with we, you, they.
Questions with “Was” and “Were”
Form questions by placing was or were before the subject.
- Was I / he / she / it…?
- Were we / you / they…?
Example: Write the questions. Use the words in brackets in the correct order + was/were.
1. (late / you / this morning / why / ?)
Response: Why were you late this morning? (The traffic was bad.)
Understanding the Simple Past Tense
Present Simple vs. Past Simple
The simple past tense describes actions completed in the past.
- Present Simple: They watch television every evening.
- Past Simple: They watched television yesterday evening.
The past simple form for regular verbs is usually formed by adding -ed to the base verb.
Example: I / we / you / they / he / she / it + watched.
Negatives and Questions with “Did”
We use did in simple past negatives and questions. The main verb remains in its infinitive form.
Infinitive Verbs:
play, start, watch, have, see, do, go
Positive Statements (Past Simple):
- I played
- We started
- You watched
- They had
- He saw
- She did
- It went
Negative Statements (Past Simple):
Subject + did not (didn’t) + infinitive verb.
Example: I / we / you / they / he / she / it did not (didn’t) play / start / watch / have / see / do / go.
Important: Use did/didn’t + infinitive (e.g., watch, play, go). Do not use the past tense form after did/didn’t.
Correct: I watched, but I didn’t watch. (Not: “I didn’t watched”)
Questions (Past Simple):
Did + subject + infinitive verb?
Example: Did I / we / you / they / he / she / it play / start / watch / have / see / do / go?
Compare: I don’t watch television very often. (Present Simple) vs. I didn’t watch television yesterday. (Past Simple)
Detailed Look at “Be” in Past Time
Present vs. Past Forms of “Be”
- Present Time: I am in class today.
- Past Time: I was in class yesterday.
Simple Past Tense of “Be”
- Singular:
- I was
- You were (one person)
- She was
- He was
- It was
- Plural:
- We were
- You were (more than one person)
- They were
Negative Forms of “Be” in the Past
I was not in class yesterday.
Negative Contractions:
- was + not = wasn’t (for I, she, he, it)
- were + not = weren’t (for we, you, they)
Questions with “Be” in the Past
Form questions by placing was or were before the subject.
Example: Were you in class yesterday?
Short Answer: Yes, I was. (Long Answer: I was in class yesterday.)
Information Questions:
Where were you yesterday? (Answer: In class. I was in class yesterday.)
The Simple Past Tense: Regular Verbs
For regular verbs, the simple past tense is formed by adding -ed to the base verb.
- Simple Present: I walk to school every day.
- Simple Past: I walked to school yesterday.
(Structure: Subject + Verb + -ed = The Simple Past Tense)
Past Time Words and Phrases
- Yesterday: Bob was here yesterday.
- Last: He was here last night.
- Ago: Tom was here five minutes ago.
Irregular Verbs in the Simple Past Tense
Some verbs do not follow the regular -ed pattern. Their past forms are irregular and must be memorized.
Group 1 Irregular Verbs
Here are some common irregular verbs and their past simple forms:
- Present – Past
- Come – Came
- Do – Did
- Eat – Ate
- Get – Got
- Go – Went
- Have – Had
- Put – Put
- See – Saw
- Sit – Sat
- Sleep – Slept
- Stand – Stood
- Write – Wrote
Example: I come to class every day. (Present)
Example: I came to class yesterday. (Past)
Group 2 Irregular Verbs
- Bring – Brought
- Buy – Bought
- Catch – Caught
- Drink – Drank
- Drive – Drove
- Read – Read (pronounced differently in past tense)
- Ride – Rode
- Run – Ran
- Teach – Taught
- Think – Thought
Group 3 Irregular Verbs
- Break – Broke
- Fly – Flew
- Hear – Heard
- Leave – Left
- Meet – Met
- Pay – Paid
- Ring – Rang
- Send – Sent
- Sing – Sang
- Speak – Spoke
- Take – Took
- Wake up – Woke up
Group 4 Irregular Verbs
- Begin – Began
- Find – Found
- Lose – Lost
- Hang – Hung
- Say – Said
- Sell – Sold
- Steal – Stole
- Tell – Told
- Tear – Tore
- Wear – Wore