Past Simple Tense

We use the Past Simple Tense to talk about finished actions in the past. The action started and ended in the past.


 <----x----- now ---->

I played tennis on Saturday.

They went to Rome last month.

This month is June. They went to Rome in May. They are back from Rome.
Last month is an example of a relative time expression. Learn more about relative time expressions.

Making the Past Simple Tense

+ I played tennis on Saturday. s=‘I’ + v past=‘played’

- I didn’t play tennis on Saturday. s=‘I’ + ‘didn’t’ v =‘play’

? Did you play tennis on Saturday? did + s=‘you’ + v=‘play’

For most verbs, we add -ed to make them past.

VerbPast Simple
playplayed
watchwatched

Examples of past simple verbs

Pronunciation

I played tennis on Saturday.

I didn’t play tennis on Saturday.

Did you play tennis on Saturday?