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WhiteSmoke's Dictionary
Home > Reference > Glossary > P > Past Simple Tense

Term: Past Simple Tense


Definition:

The Past Simple tense, also called the Simple Past, is used for past actions that happened either at a specific time, which can either be given by a time phrase (yesterday, last year, etc.) or understood from the context. Regular Verbs add -ed to the base form, or -d if the verbs ends with -e. Irregular verbs can change in many different ways. The verb form is the same for all persons:

EXAMPLES OF THE PAST SIMPLE TENSE:

eg: I liked, you liked, she/he/it liked, we liked, they liked.

NOTE: After the auxiliary verb, Did/Didn't, it returns to the base form:

eg: Did you take it?

eg: She didn't like it.

 

See also:

See Also:

Present Simple; Irregular Verb

More Information on Irregular Verbs

Browse our English Irregular Verb List which contains over 600 verbs, and includes their base form, past simple, past participle, 3rd person singular, and the present participle / gerund.

Related Pages: What is an Irregular Verb?

'Past Simple Tense' - Related Links

Grammar Topic:  Verbs and Tenses

Browse the following links to other content related to 'Past Simple Tense' from the 'Verbs and Tenses' grammar category:

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