Simple Past for Beginners Read the following discussion using the simple past tense Robert: Hi Alice, what did you do last weekend? Alice: I did a lot of things. On Saturday, I went shopping. Robert: What did you buy? Alice: I bought some new clothes. I also played tennis. Robert: Who did you play? Alice: I played Tom. Robert: Did you win? Alice: Of course I won! Robert: What did you do after your tennis match. Alice: Well, I went home and took a shower and then went out. Robert: Did you eat in a restaurant? Alice: Yes, my friend Jacky and I ate at 'The Good Fork' Robert: Did you enjoy your dinner? Alice: Yes, we enjoyed our dinner very much thank you. We also drank some wonderful wine! Robert: Unfortunately, I didn't go out this weekend. I didn't eat in a restaurant and I didn't play tennis. Alice: What did you do? Robert: I stayed home and studied for my test! Alice: Poor you! Examples Usage Where did you go yesterday? The flight left at 8 o'clock. They didn't come last night. Finished past actions, definite past Common past time expressions include: last (week, year, night), yesterday, ago, in 1987, when I was a child. Structure In the positive form, for regular verbs, add an -ed to the verb. Many verbs are irregular. Some of the most common are: go -went, buy - bought, take - took, come - came, have - had, eat - ate, drink - drank. There are many irregular verbs so you will need to start learning them now. I You He arrived late last night. (regular verb) came back late last night. (irregular verb) She It We You They Use the conjugated helping verb 'did' + not (didn't) + the base form of the verb to make negatives. I You He She It We You They didn't go to New York last week. Use the conjugated helping verb 'did' + subject + the base form of the verb in question forms. When Did I You He She It We You They leave yesterday? Try this past simple quiz. Past Simple Quiz 1. Tom ……………………(buy) a new house last month. 2. When ………………………(they/arrive) last week? 3. She ………………………… (not/understand) the question yesterday. 4. Fred ………………………….(take) a lot of pictures on his holiday last summer. 5. What …………………… (you/get) for your birthday? 6. They ……………………… (not remember)to get the bread this morning! 7. Alice…………………………… (play) tennis this morning. 8. Where…………………… (you/go) last weekend? 9. I ………………………… (want) to buy that computer, but it was too expensive. 10. Why ……………………………(they/not/come)? . Simple Past for Beginners Read the following discussion using the simple past tense Robert: Hi Alice, what did you. subject + the base form of the verb in question forms. When Did I You He She It We You They leave yesterday? Try this past simple quiz. Past Simple Quiz 1.