Past Simple
7 lessons about past simple in English, explained in Spanish. Practice with exercises and download worksheets.
- A1Grammar 14 min
Regular verbs: -ed
Regular verbs form the past with -ed: work, worked. Learn the spelling rules, the three ways to say -ed, and practice with exercises.
View lesson - A1Grammar 14 min
Irregular verbs
Irregular verbs don't take -ed: go is went and buy is bought. A list of the most common ones, groups that look alike, and exercises.
View lesson - A1Grammar 12 min
Was and were
Was with I, he, she, it and were with you, we, they: I was tired, they were late. The negative (wasn't), questions (Was it...?), and exercises.
View lesson - A1Grammar 12 min
There was / there were
There was and there were are the past of there is. The negative, questions (Was there...?), and the difference from it was, with exercises.
View lesson - A1Grammar 12 min
Present or past of to be
When to use am, is, are and when to use was, were: the time words that decide, plus negatives and questions in both tenses. With exercises.
View lesson - A1Grammar 14 min
Past simple affirmative
Affirmative past sentences need no helper verb: She left at five. How to build them, where yesterday, last, and ago go, with exercises.
View lesson - A1Grammar 14 min
Negatives and questions with did
Past simple negatives and questions use did: I didn't go. Did you go? How to build them, short answers, wh- questions, and exercises.
View lesson
What is Past Simple?
The Past Simple tells about finished actions at a point in the past. Regular verbs add -ed (worked, played, decided) and irregular verbs have their own form (went, saw, had). It is the main tense for telling stories and describing what happened yesterday, last week or years ago.
When to use it
Use it for completed actions with a definite time: yesterday, last night, two days ago, in 2019, when I was a child. It also links a series of events in a story: "I woke up, took a shower and left".
Common mistakes and tips for Spanish speakers
- Questions and negatives use did and the verb goes back to its base form: "Did you go?", not "Did you went?".
- Learn the most common irregular verbs first: be, have, do, go, see, get, make, take, come and say.
- The verb be never takes did: "Was she there?" and "They weren't ready".
Examples
I visited my grandmother last weekend.
Visité a mi abuela el fin de semana pasado.
She didn't call me yesterday.
Ella no me llamó ayer.
Did you see the game?
¿Viste el partido?
They went to Mexico in 2019.
Ellos fueron a México en 2019.