Yesterday Debbie had a job interview.

She
went downtown to the company. The
interview was for an accounting job. Debbie
graduated university 3 months ago. Her
interview was at 10:00 am. She woke up at
7:00 am and left her house before 8:00 am.
She waited for the bus, but it was late. She
was very worried because she did not want to
be late for the interview. She tried to phone
the company to warn them, but her phone
battery was dead. When the bus arrived, it
was almost 9:00 am. Then the bus was slow
because there were many other cars. The bus
finally arrived at Debbie’s stop at 9:45 am.
Debbie ran from the bus stop to the office
building. When she entered, she saw a sign. It
said that the company was on the 24th floor.
The elevator ride took almost 5 minutes
because many people stopped at different
floors. When Debbie arrived at reception, it
was 9:58. She was in time! “I am here to see
Mrs. Lewis” said Debbie. The receptionist
checked her book and replied: “She is not
here today. What is your name please?” “My
name is Debbie Gregson.” “Sorry Debbie, but
your appointment is tomorrow.” Debbie
checked her agenda. It was true. She was
there on the wrong day!
Look at the text above, and find the
verbs in the simple past tense.

We use the past tense to talk about the

following:

We use the simple past for something that

happened once in the past:
-I met my wife in 1983.
-We went to Spain for our holidays.
-They got home very late last night.

We use the simple past for something that

happened several times in the past and
past habits:
-When I was a child, I played with baby dolls.
-When I was a boy, I walked a mile to school
every day.
-We swam a lot while we were on holiday.
-They always enjoyed visiting their friends.
We use the simple past for something that
was true for some time in the past:
-I lived abroad for ten years.
-He enjoyed being a student.
-She played a lot of tennis when she was
younger.

We often use expressions with ago (two

days ago, decades ago/ etc.) and last (last
week/month/year/etc.) with the past simple;
other time expressions are yesterday, the
day before yesterday, in 2000, in June,
on Monday, on August 15, in the
(early/late) 1980s, when she was in
London, …, etc.:
-I met my wife a long time ago.
-We submitted the test last week.

We can also use frequency adverbs with

the simple past. (Remember! We mostly use
them with the simple present).
-I always wanted to be a singer when I was a
child.
-I never smoked at university.
-I often visited my grandparents when they
were alive.
-When I was a primary school student, I
walked to school every day.

The verb, 'be' in the past is: was/were. For

the subjects, I/She/He/It: was; for
We/You/They: were.
-I was a student in 2010.
-They were happy when they passed the
exam.
To talk about birthdays and birth places,
we use was/were born.
-When/Where were/was you/she born?
-She was born in 2000.
-She was born in New York.
-She was born in New York, in 2000. (place
+ time)
-I was born on Oct. 12, 2005.
-I was born in Ankara.
-I was born in Ankara, on Oct. 12, 2005.
(place + time)
‘There was’ and ‘There were’ are the
simple past forms of There is and There
are.
-There were a lot of people in the room. (+)
-There was a strange noise. (+)
-There weren't many kids playing in the
park. (-)
-There wasn't any milk left. (-)
-Were there any books on the table? (?)
-Was there a man with her? (?)
-Yes, there were. / No, there weren't.
(short answer)
-Yes, there was. / No, there wasn't. (short
answer)

The sentence structure in the past simple

is as follows:
(+) S + V2 + (O) + (the rest).
(+) S + was/were …
(+) There was/were …
(-) S + didn’t V1 + (O) + (the rest).
(-) S + wasn’t/weren’t …
(-) There wasn’t/weren’t …
(short answer)
Yes,S+did.
No,S+didn’t.
(short answer)
Yes,S+was/were.
No,S+wasn’t/weren’t.
(short answer)
Yes,There+was/were.
No,There+wasn’t/weren’t.

The question form in the simple past tense

is:
(Wh-) + did + S + V1 + (O) + (the rest)?
(verbs)
(Who/What/Which+n) + the rest?
(subject question)
(Wh-) + was/were + S + …? (to be)
Was/Were there + ...? (there was/were)

-A: Did Mary call Elizabeth? (Yes/No question)

B: Yes, she did. / No, she didn't. (Short
answer)
-A: What did Brad study yesterday? (Wh-
question)
B: (He studied) maths (yesterday).

-A: Who gave you the money? (Subject

question)
B: My friend (gave me the money).

-A: What happened? (Be careful! 'What

happened' questions cannot be answered
with the verb, 'happen'. You are expected to
give another verb explaining what happened.
There is also no short answer for 'What
happened' questions. You need to write a full
sentence)
B: Jackie broke up with Liz.

-A: Were the kids with Joshua? (Yes/No

question)
B: Yes, they were. / No, they weren't.
(Short answer)
-A: Where were you last night? (Wh-
question-to be)
B: (I was) at home (last night).

-A: Were there any kids at the party? (There

was/were question)
B: Yes, there were. / No, there weren't.
(Short answer)

With most verbs, the past tense is formed by

adding
-ed or -d (if the verb ends in -e)
*call-called *want-wanted
*live-lived *like-liked

If the verb ends in consonant+-y, omit -y and

add
-ied to the verb
*try-tried
BUT:
*play-played
If the verb ends in
consonant+vowel+consonant, double the
final consonant and add -ed
*travel-travelled
BUT:
*open-opened *listen-listened

There are a lot of irregular past tense forms

in English. Here are the most common
irregular verbs in English, with their past
tense forms:
Base Past
form tense
be was/
become were
begin became
break began
bring broke
buy brought
build bought
choose built
come chose
cost came
cut cost
do cut
draw did
drive drew
eat drove
feel ate
find felt
get found
give got
go gave
have went
hear had
hold heard
keep held
know kept
leave knew
lead left
let led
lie let
lose lay
make lost
mean made
meet meant
pay met
put paid
run put
say ran
sell said
send sold
set sent
 sit set
speak sat
spend spoke
stand spent
take stood
teach took
tell taught
think told
understa thought
nd understo
wear od
win wore
write won
wrote

The past form of 'can' is 'could'.

-He couldn't talk to her. Again!
-They couldn't go on holiday as the boss
organised a meeting on that day.
-Could you please help me with the
preparations? (Here 'could' is not the past
form of 'can'. It is a more polite version)
For specific abilities in the past, we can
use 'was/were able to V1'.
-He was able to swim well when he fell off
the ship.
(He managed to swim well when he fell off
the ship)

We use 'used to V1' and 'didn't use to V1'

to describe repeated past actions, habits and
situations.
-She used to play with baby dolls.
-He used to smoke a lot, but now, he
doesn't any more.
-They didn't use to be so emotional.
-This city used to be very crowded.
-There used to be few cars in the town, but
now there are many.

SIMPLE PAST NOTES:

Suddenly: You see 'suddenly' a lot in
this tense.
-He was walking down the street. Suddenly,
he heard a noise.

First/Last: You can see 'first/last' in the

past when people talk about the time
sth happened.
-A: When did you first meet him?
B: I first met him at university.
-A: When did he last see his best friend?
B: He last saw him on that unfortunate day.

You can see them in narrative when

people give the order of events, as well.
(First(ly), First of all, Second(ly),
Third(ly), Later, Next, Then, and then,
After that, Afterwards, Finally, Last(ly),
etc.)
-He woke up early. First(ly), he checked his
emails. Then, he called his boss..... Last(ly),
he left a note for his wife.

BUT:
Be careful! You can see them with other
tenses, as well. For example, they are
used to give:
a process with imperative or in the
simple present.
-First(ly), (You) take a big bowl. Then, (You)
put some oil in it. After that, (You) put an
egg. Later, (You) mix ..... Last(ly), (You)
serve the cake on a plate.

a routine in the simple present tense.

-First(ly), I wake up. After that, I wash my
face. Then, I get dressed.....Finally, I leave
home for work.

or plans in the future.

-First, I am going to call my girlfriend. Later,
I am going to tell her.....

Be careful with ‘later’. It can be used in the

following way, as well.
-He left the house, saying nothing. Two days
later, they found a note in his room saying
that he will be back in a week.
When, After, Before: We use these
connectors in the simple past a lot. They
can be used in other tenses, though.
They can be used at the beginning of a
sentence or in the end. If used in the
beginning, a comma is used before the
second clause. With 'before' and 'after',
either a clause or a noun phrase (n/Ving)
is used (In the part coming just after
'before' and 'after')
-When I saw her, I got so excited.
-I was a student when I went abroad.
-Before I started school, I borrowed money
from my sister.
-He went out before the post-credit scene.
-After the accident, he felt so bad.
-They left the town after they got married.
 During, At the same time, At that time:
They are also used to show order of
events.
-During his stay in Ankara, he looked for a
job.
He looked for a job during his stay in
Ankara.
(during + n)

-In 2003, he started studying engineering. At

that time, he went to a language course.
In 2003, he started studying engineering. He
went to a language course at that time.

-In 2015, she got married. At the same

time, she moved to France.
In 2015, she got married. She moved to
France at the same time.