The full rule, with examples. This is your reference before the exam.
What is the Simple Past for?
We use the Simple Past to talk about an action that started and finished in the past. There is usually a clear time word that tells us when.
Time words: yesterday, last week, last year, two days ago, in 2020, when I was young
“I studied English yesterday.”
“We visited Fes last year.”
Regular verbs — just add -ED
Most verbs are regular. You simply add -ed to the end.
VERB + -ED
But watch the spelling:
— If the verb ends in e, just add -d (like → liked)
— If the verb ends in a consonant + y, change y to ied (study → studied)
— If it’s a short verb ending in one vowel + one consonant, double the last letter (stop → stopped)
Irregular verbs — a different word completely
Some verbs don’t follow the -ed rule at all. They change into a completely different word. There’s no shortcut — you just have to learn them.
Was / Were — the past of 'to be'
“To be” is special and doesn’t use -ed at all.
I / He / She / It → WAS
You / We / They → WERE
“I was tired yesterday.”
“They were happy with their grades.”
Negative and question form
This is where most students make mistakes — pay close attention.
Negative: SUBJECT + DIDN’T + BASE VERB
“I didn’t go to school yesterday.” (not “didn’t went”)
Question: DID + SUBJECT + BASE VERB?
“Did you finish your homework?” (not “Did you finished”)
Once you use “did” or “didn’t”, the verb goes back to its base form — no -ed, no irregular past.
Short rounds testing everything from the Learn zone above.
🔍 Find the mistake — tap the wrong word.
🧩 Tap the words in the correct order.
🔍 Find the mistake — tap the wrong word.
🧩 Tap the words in the correct order.
🔎 Tap the word that doesn't belong.
🔍 Find the mistake — tap the wrong word.
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