Past simple

• 3 Past simple

  3.1

  Regular Verbs (-ed)

  

  

  The Past Simple tense describes actions or states that were completed in the past. Regular verbs add -ed to the end.

  Structure: 主语 + 动词-ed(same for all persons)

  我I 看watched 一部a 电影film 昨天yesterday.

  I watched a movie yesterday.

  我们We 打played 篮球basketball 上last 周week.

  We played basketball last week.

  Spelling of -ed:

  • Generally add -ed directly: work → worked, play → played.
  • End in -e, only add -d: like → liked, live → lived.
  • Consonant + -y ending, change y to i and add -ed: study → studied, try → tried.
  • Stressed closed syllable, double the final consonant: stop → stopped, plan → planned.

  Note

  • The past tense form does not change based on person: I worked, she worked (no -s).
  • Often used with past time markers: yesterday, last week, in 2019, two days ago.

  3.2

  Irregular Verbs

  Many common verbs are irregular; their past forms must be memorized individually without adding -ed.

  我I 去went （介词）to 北京Beijing 上last 月month.

  I went to Beijing last month.

  她She 看见saw 她的her 朋友friends.

  She met her friend.

  High-frequency irregular verbs you must memorize:

  • go → went, have → had, do → did, make → made.
  • see → saw, come → came, get → got, take → took.
  • eat → ate, buy → bought, think → thought, say → said.

  我们We （吃了）had 一顿a 丰盛的big 晚餐dinner.

  We had a big dinner.

  Note these follow no pattern; practice reading and memorizing them frequently.

  3.3

  Negatives & questions (did)

  For negative and interrogative forms in the Past Simple, use the auxiliary did (past form). The following verb returns to its base form.

  Negative structure: 主语 + didn't + 动词原形

  我I 没有didn't 去go （介词）to 上学school.

  I didn't go to school.

  Interrogative structure: Did + 主语 + 动词原形 ?

  （助动词）Did 你you 看见see （冠词）the 电影film?

  Did you see that movie?

  Short answers: Yes, I did. / No, I didn't.

  Note

  • After using did / didn't, the verb must be in the base form: ~~I didn't went~~ ✗ → I didn't go ✓.
  • The past tense of the be verb (was / were) does not use did: Were you tired? (Were you tired?)

  Common Errors

  • ❌ ~~I go to Beijing last month.~~ → ✓ I went to Beijing last month. — Chinese verbs do not change form, but in English, once a past time marker is present, you must switch to the past tense. This is the most common error.
  • ❌ ~~She buyed a new phone.~~ → ✓ She bought a new phone. — Irregular verbs cannot simply add -ed.
  • ❌ ~~I didn't was hungry.~~ → ✓ I wasn't hungry. — For negative sentences with the verb 'be', use wasn't / weren't directly, not didn't.
  • ❌ ~~yesterday night~~ → ✓ last night — Fixed expression: 'last night' is used for last evening, not 'yesterday night' (though 'yesterday morning/afternoon' is correct).

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