Look at the sentences:

I booked the flights yesterday.

When I was young, I watched TV every day.

Did you work yesterday? Yes, I did.

Did you watch the match last night? No, I didn’t.

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• We use the past simple to talk about finished actions in the past, either recently, or a long time in the past.

• We form the positive form of the past simple by adding -ed to the base form of regular verbs. It’s the same form in all persons. Work + ed > worked

• Some verbs have the following spelling variations:

  • Verbs which end in -e: add only -d; Arrive > arrived use > used

  • Some verbs which end in consonant + vowel + consonant: double the final consonant and add -ed; Stop > stopped travel > travelled

  • Verbs which end in consonant + -y: remove the -y and add -ied; Study > studied tidy > tidied

  • Verbs which end in vowel + -y: add -ed. Stay > stayed play > played

• Irregular verbs have their own forms (e.g.: go – went; do – did);

• To form the negative form, we use did not/didn’t + base form in all persons; Didn’t/did not play

• To form the interrogative form, we use did + subject + base form + ? in all persons.; Did you play tennis yesterday? Yes, I did. No, I didn’t.

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Now, try this quiz to assess your knowledge!

And download the pdf below with the grammar reference with some useful exercises!

 

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