Past Simple (Regular verbs)

In this lesson, you will learn how to talk about finished actions in the past using regular verbs.

By the end of this lesson, you will know:

• when to use the past simple
• how to form regular past tense verbs
• how to make positive sentences, negatives, and questions
• the most common spelling rules

1. When Do We Use the Past Simple?

We use the past simple to talk about actions that started and finished in the past.

These actions are finished. They are not happening now.

We use it for...	Example
A completed action	I watched a movie yesterday.
A sequence of events	She visited her grandparents, called her sister, and walked home.
A past state	We lived in Berlin last year.
A repeated past habit	They walked to school every day.

2. Building the Past Simple

Regular verbs form the past simple by adding -ed.

Pattern: subject + past verb (-ed) + information

The verb is the same for every subject.

3. Spelling Rules for Regular Verbs

Most regular verbs follow one of these spelling patterns.

Rule	Example
Add -ed	work → worked
Add -d after -e	live → lived
Change y → i, then add -ed	study → studied
Double the last letter in a final stressed consonant + vowel + consonant syllable	stop → stopped; prefer → preferred

Rule 1: Most verbs

• work → worked
• help → helped
• listen → listened

Rule 2: Verbs ending in -e

Simply add -d.

• live → lived
• like → liked
• use → used

Rule 3: Verbs ending in consonant + y

Change y to i, then add -ed.

• study → studied
• cry → cried
• try → tried

One-Syllable CVC Verbs

For a one-syllable verb ending in consonant + vowel + consonant (CVC), double the last letter before adding -ed:

• stop → stopped
• plan → planned

Longer Verbs with Final Stress

For a longer verb, double the final consonant only when the final syllable is stressed:

• prefer → preferred

Visit is an important counterexample: visit → visited, not visitted, because the stress is not on the final syllable.

British and American spelling

With verbs ending in -l, British English often doubles the l, while American English often does not:

• British English: travel → travelled
• American English: travel → traveled

Pronunciation of -ed

The spelling is always -ed, but its sound changes:

Sound	When	Examples
a t sound	after words such as work and watch	worked, watched
a d sound	after words such as play and clean	played, cleaned
an extra id syllable	after verbs ending in t or d	wanted, needed

4. Making Sentences

Once you know the past form, you can easily make positive sentences, negatives, and questions.

Sentence type	Pattern	Example
Positive	Subject + past verb	She worked yesterday.
Negative	Subject + didn’t / did not + base verb	She didn’t work yesterday. / She did not work yesterday.
Question	Did + subject + base verb?	Did she work yesterday?

Short answers

Question	Yes	No
Did she work yesterday?	Yes, she did.	No, she didn't.
Did they work yesterday?	Yes, they did.	No, they didn’t.

5. Time Words That Show the Past

These words often tell you that you need the past simple.

Time word	Example
yesterday	I worked yesterday.
last night	She studied last night.
last week	We visited our grandparents last week.
last year	He lived in London last year.
two days ago	They played tennis two days ago.

6. Common Mistakes

❌ Incorrect	✅ Correct
I didn't worked.	I didn't work.
She studyed English.	She studied English.
He stoped the car.	He stopped the car.
We liveed there.	We lived there.

7. Quick Summary

Remember	Rule
Use the past simple	for finished actions in the past
Positive	use the -ed form
Negative	use didn't + base verb
Questions	use Did + base verb