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.

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.

Examples of past simple verbs
Verb Past Simple
play played
watch watched

Learn more about making past simple verbs and the spelling rules for adding -ed.

Pronunciation

I played tennis on Saturday.

I didn't play tennis on Saturday.

Did you play tennis on Saturday?