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Grammatik
Verbs and tense A2

Past simple

Talk about finished past events and states with regular, irregular, and be forms.

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Past simple: the closed time box

PAST                         NOW
     ┌───────────────────┐     ●
     │ CLOSED TIME BOX   │
     │ last weekend      │
     │ yesterday / in 2021│
     └───────────────────┘
          = finished

Inside the box:
  I visited my aunt last weekend.
  She was tired yesterday.

ONE past marker:
  +  visited / was
  -  didn't + base verb
     I didn't understand the question.
  ?  Did + base verb
     Did you watch the game?

Not: Did you went there?
Yes: Did you go there?

Use past simple for a finished past time box; in negatives and questions, did carries the past, so the main verb stays base.

Introduction

What the past simple does

The past simple talks about events and states that are finished before now. It answers what happened or what was true at a past time. Use it with a clear past time, or when the past time is understood from context. The form changes with main verbs and with be: regular verbs often end in -ed, many common verbs are irregular, and be becomes was or were. In “I visited my aunt last weekend” and “She was tired yesterday,” the time is over, so the past simple is the natural choice.
Core Grammatik A2 Wortschatz A1 Neutral

I visited my aunt last weekend.

A finished action in a finished past time.

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Lies den Satz in Sinneinheiten, nicht Wort für Wort.

last weekend
time_anchor
A finished past time that makes the past simple natural.
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Core Grammatik A2 Wortschatz A1 Neutral

She was tired yesterday.

Past simple also describes finished past states.

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Lies den Satz in Sinneinheiten, nicht Wort für Wort.

was tired yesterday
past_be_state
Past form of be plus an adjective and a finished time.
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Cognitive metaphor

A closed time box

Imagine the past simple as putting an event inside a closed box on a timeline. The box may be a moment, a day, a year, or a completed period. You look back at it from now, but you do not present it as open or continuing. In “We lived in Madrid in 2021,” the year 2021 is the closed box; the sentence says the living happened inside that completed time. The exact time does not always need to be spoken, but the speaker is treating it as finished.
Core Grammatik A2 Wortschatz A2 Neutral

We lived in Madrid in 2021.

The state is placed inside a closed past time.

Satzbausteine

Lies den Satz in Sinneinheiten, nicht Wort für Wort.

in 2021
finished_period
A completed period in the past.
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Core pattern

Main verb patterns

For most main verbs, affirmative sentences use subject + past verb. Regular verbs add a past ending; irregular verbs have a special past form. Negative sentences and questions use did plus the base verb, not the past form. The core frames are subject + past verb, subject + did not or didn't + base verb, Did + subject + base verb?, and Wh-word + did + subject + base verb? Natural examples are “They played tennis after work,” “I didn't understand the question,” “Did you watch the game?” and “What did you buy?”
Core Grammatik A2 Wortschatz A1 Neutral

They played tennis after work.

Regular affirmative past simple uses the past verb form.

Satzbausteine

Lies den Satz in Sinneinheiten, nicht Wort für Wort.

They played tennis
affirmative_past
Subject plus a regular past simple verb.
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after work
time_context
A past-time context in the sentence.
Negative Grammatik A2 Wortschatz A2 Neutral

I didn't understand the question.

The main verb stays in the base form after didn't.

Satzbausteine

Lies den Satz in Sinneinheiten, nicht Wort für Wort.

didn't understand
negative_frame
didn't plus the base verb makes a past simple negative.
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Question Grammatik A2 Wortschatz A1 Neutral

Did you watch the game?

Past simple questions with main verbs use did plus the base verb.

Satzbausteine

Lies den Satz in Sinneinheiten, nicht Wort für Wort.

Did you watch
yes_no_question_frame
Did plus subject plus base verb forms a past simple question.
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the game
object
The thing asked about.
Question Grammatik A2 Wortschatz A1 Neutral

What did you buy?

Wh-questions keep the base verb after did.

Satzbausteine

Lies den Satz in Sinneinheiten, nicht Wort für Wort.

What did you buy
wh_question_frame
Wh-word plus did plus subject plus base verb.
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Form variations

Regular and irregular forms

Regular past forms are usually simple, but spelling can change. Most verbs add -ed: play becomes played. Verbs ending in -e add -d: live becomes lived. A consonant + y often changes to -ied: study becomes studied. Some short stressed verbs double the final consonant: stop becomes stopped. Many frequent verbs are irregular, so learn them as whole forms: go went, have had, see saw, make made. In sentences, the verb carries the past only in affirmative statements, as in “He started a new job,” “They studied late,” and “She went home early.”
Core Grammatik A2 Wortschatz A1 Neutral

He started a new job.

Started is a regular -ed past form.

Satzbausteine

Lies den Satz in Sinneinheiten, nicht Wort für Wort.

started a new job
regular_past_form
A regular past verb plus its object.
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Core Grammatik A2 Wortschatz A1 Neutral

They studied late.

Verbs ending in consonant plus y often change y to ied.

Satzbausteine

Lies den Satz in Sinneinheiten, nicht Wort für Wort.

studied late
regular_y_to_ied
Studied is the past form of study.
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Core Grammatik A2 Wortschatz A1 Neutral

She went home early.

Some common past forms are irregular and must be learned as whole forms.

Satzbausteine

Lies den Satz in Sinneinheiten, nicht Wort für Wort.

went home
irregular_past_form
Went is the irregular past form of go.
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early
time_adverb
Adds when in the past context.
Core pattern

Past simple of be

The verb be has its own past simple forms: I, he, she, and it use was; you, we, and they use were. Do not use did to make normal be negatives or questions. Use was not, wasn't, were not, or weren't for negatives, and move was or were before the subject for questions. This pattern is used for past states, locations, descriptions, ages, prices, and feelings. Examples include “The meeting was short,” “They were at home,” “Was it expensive?” and “It wasn't ready.”
Core Grammatik A2 Wortschatz A1 Neutral

The meeting was short.

Was is the past form of be for singular subjects like the meeting.

Satzbausteine

Lies den Satz in Sinneinheiten, nicht Wort für Wort.

was short
be_past_description
was plus adjective describes a past state.
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Core Grammatik A2 Wortschatz A1 Neutral

They were at home.

Were is used with plural subjects like they.

Satzbausteine

Lies den Satz in Sinneinheiten, nicht Wort für Wort.

were at home
be_past_location
were plus place describes a past location.
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Question Grammatik A2 Wortschatz A2 Neutral

Was it expensive?

Past simple questions with be do not use did.

Satzbausteine

Lies den Satz in Sinneinheiten, nicht Wort für Wort.

Was it expensive
be_question_frame
Move was before the subject to ask a past be question.
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Negative Grammatik A2 Wortschatz A1 Neutral

It wasn't ready.

Past simple negatives with be use wasn't or weren't, not didn't be.

Satzbausteine

Lies den Satz in Sinneinheiten, nicht Wort für Wort.

wasn't ready
be_negative_frame
wasn't plus adjective makes a past be negative.
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Usage rules

Time words and stories

Past simple often appears with finished-time expressions such as yesterday, last night, last week, in 2019, on Monday, at six, and two years ago. It also works without a time word when the time is already known in the conversation. Use it to tell a story as a chain of finished events. If an action was in progress around a past time, another tense may be better, but for the completed event itself, past simple is the basic choice. It is common in news, biographies, everyday stories, reports, and explanations of what happened.
Contrast

Past simple or present perfect?

The closest common confusion is past simple versus present perfect. Use past simple when you give or clearly mean a finished past time. Use present perfect when the life experience, result, or connection to now matters more than when it happened, and no finished time is stated. Compare “I saw that film last year” with “I've seen that film.” The first sentence uses a finished time, so past simple is needed. The second means the experience exists now; the exact time is not given. If you add last year, yesterday, or in 2020, choose past simple.
Contrast Grammatik A2 Wortschatz A1 Neutral

I saw that film last year.

Past simple is used when a finished past time is stated.

Satzbausteine

Lies den Satz in Sinneinheiten, nicht Wort für Wort.

last year
finished_time_contrast
A finished past time, so past simple is needed.
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Contrast Grammatik A2 Wortschatz A1 Neutral

I've seen that film.

Present perfect is used for experience when the exact finished time is not stated.

Satzbausteine

Lies den Satz in Sinneinheiten, nicht Wort für Wort.

I've seen that film
experience_to_now
Present perfect presents the experience as relevant now without a finished time.
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Danger zone

Do not double the past

After did or didn't, the main verb must be the base form. The word did already shows past time, so do not put the main verb in the past too. “Did you went there?” is a mistake; the corrected form is “Did you go there?” “I didn't saw him” is also a mistake; the corrected form is “I didn't see him.” Also remember that be does not use did in normal past questions and negatives. Use was, were, wasn't, or weren't directly. This one rule prevents many common past simple errors.
Mistake Grammatik A2 Wortschatz A1 Neutral

Did you went there?

After did, do not use the past form went.

Corrected Grammatik A2 Wortschatz A1 Neutral

Did you go there?

The base verb go follows did.

Satzbausteine

Lies den Satz in Sinneinheiten, nicht Wort für Wort.

Did you go
corrected_question_frame
Did plus subject plus base verb is the correct question frame.
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there
place_reference
The place being asked about.
Mistake Grammatik A2 Wortschatz A1 Neutral

I didn't saw him.

After didn't, do not use the past form saw.

Corrected Grammatik A2 Wortschatz A1 Neutral

I didn't see him.

The base verb see follows didn't.

Satzbausteine

Lies den Satz in Sinneinheiten, nicht Wort für Wort.

didn't see
corrected_negative_frame
didn't plus the base verb is the correct negative frame.
Als Einheit lernen
Summary

Key takeaways

Use the past simple when a past action, event, or state is finished. For main verbs, use the past form in affirmative sentences and did or didn't + base verb in negatives and questions. For be, use was or were and form questions or negatives without did. Time words like yesterday, last, ago, and in plus a past year often guide the choice. The most important practical habit is this: past simple names a completed past situation, while present perfect connects a past experience or result to now.
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