Verbs and tense A2

Past simple

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

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Guía visual

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 Gramática A2 Vocabulario A1 Neutral

I visited my aunt last weekend.

A finished action in a finished past time.

Bloques de significado

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last weekend

time_anchor

A finished past time that makes the past simple natural.

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Core Gramática A2 Vocabulario A1 Neutral

She was tired yesterday.

Past simple also describes finished past states.

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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 Gramática A2 Vocabulario A2 Neutral

We lived in Madrid in 2021.

The state is placed inside a closed past time.

Bloques de significado

Lee la oración en bloques de significado, no palabra por palabra.

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 Gramática A2 Vocabulario A1 Neutral

They played tennis after work.

Regular affirmative past simple uses the past verb form.

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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 Gramática A2 Vocabulario A2 Neutral

I didn't understand the question.

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

Bloques de significado

Lee la oración en bloques de significado, no palabra por palabra.

didn't understand

negative_frame

didn't plus the base verb makes a past simple negative.

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Question Gramática A2 Vocabulario A1 Neutral

Did you watch the game?

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

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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 Gramática A2 Vocabulario A1 Neutral

What did you buy?

Wh-questions keep the base verb after did.

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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 Gramática A2 Vocabulario A1 Neutral

He started a new job.

Started is a regular -ed past form.

Bloques de significado

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started a new job

regular_past_form

A regular past verb plus its object.

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Core Gramática A2 Vocabulario A1 Neutral

They studied late.

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

Bloques de significado

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studied late

regular_y_to_ied

Studied is the past form of study.

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Core Gramática A2 Vocabulario A1 Neutral

She went home early.

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

Bloques de significado

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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 Gramática A2 Vocabulario A1 Neutral

The meeting was short.

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

Bloques de significado

Lee la oración en bloques de significado, no palabra por palabra.

was short

be_past_description

was plus adjective describes a past state.

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Core Gramática A2 Vocabulario A1 Neutral

They were at home.

Were is used with plural subjects like they.

Bloques de significado

Lee la oración en bloques de significado, no palabra por palabra.

were at home

be_past_location

were plus place describes a past location.

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Question Gramática A2 Vocabulario A2 Neutral

Was it expensive?

Past simple questions with be do not use did.

Bloques de significado

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Was it expensive

be_question_frame

Move was before the subject to ask a past be question.

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Negative Gramática A2 Vocabulario A1 Neutral

It wasn't ready.

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

Bloques de significado

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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 Gramática A2 Vocabulario A1 Neutral

I saw that film last year.

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

Bloques de significado

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last year

finished_time_contrast

A finished past time, so past simple is needed.

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Contrast Gramática A2 Vocabulario A1 Neutral

I've seen that film.

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

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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 Gramática A2 Vocabulario A1 Neutral

Did you went there?

After did, do not use the past form went.

Corrected Gramática A2 Vocabulario A1 Neutral

Did you go there?

The base verb go follows did.

Bloques de significado

Lee la oración en bloques de significado, no palabra por palabra.

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 Gramática A2 Vocabulario A1 Neutral

I didn't saw him.

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

Corrected Gramática A2 Vocabulario A1 Neutral

I didn't see him.

The base verb see follows didn't.

Bloques de significado

Lee la oración en bloques de significado, no palabra por palabra.

didn't see

corrected_negative_frame

didn't plus the base verb is the correct negative frame.

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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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Past simple

Past simple: the closed time box

What the past simple does

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A closed time box

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Main verb patterns

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Regular and irregular forms

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Past simple of be

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Time words and stories

Past simple or present perfect?

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Do not double the past

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Key takeaways

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