English Notes
Tenses

Past Simple Tense

The Past Simple tense is used to describe actions that happened and finished in the past.

1. Form

Subject + V2

  • Regular verbs → add -ed
  • Irregular verbs → use their second form (V2)

Examples:

  • I visited Rome last year.
  • She watched a movie yesterday.
  • They went to the park.

2. When Do We Use It?

a) Completed actions in the past

  • I visited London last year.
  • She watched that movie yesterday.

b) Series of completed actions

  • He woke up, took a shower, and left for work.

c) Past facts or general truths

  • People believed the earth was flat.
  • He spoke very good English.

d) Shorter action that interrupted a longer one (with Past Continuous)

  • I dropped my phone while I was running.
  • She called me when I was cooking.

3. Signal Words

  • yesterday
  • last (night, week, year, month)
  • ago (two days ago, a year ago)
  • in (2010, March, the past)
  • when

Examples:

  • I went to Paris last summer.
  • She met him two years ago.
  • They moved here in 2018.

4. Common Mistakes

❌ Wrong✅ Correct
I didn’t went to school.I didn’t go to school.
Did you saw the movie?Did you see the movie?
He doesn’t liked it.He didn’t like it.
I was go to the park yesterday.I went to the park yesterday.

5. Comparison with Present Perfect

  • Past Simple = finished action, specific time in the past.

    • I went to London in 2019.

  • Present Perfect = experience or result, no specific time.

    • I have been to London.

Quick Review

  • Form:

    • Affirmative: verb + -ed / irregular verb form.
    • Negative: did not (didn’t) + base verb.
    • Question: Did + subject + base verb.

  • Uses:

    1. Completed actions in the past.
    2. Series of completed actions.
    3. Past facts or general truths.
    4. Shorter actions interrupting longer actions (with Past Continuous).

  • Signal Words: yesterday, last (night/week/year), ago, in (2010), when.

  • Be careful with irregular verbs and negatives/questions (use base form).

Present Simple Tense

The Present Simple tense is the most basic and commonly used tense in English. It describes habits, routines, facts, and general truths. Let's explore this fundamental tense step by step.

Future Simple Tense

The Future Simple tense is used to talk about actions or events that will happen in the future. It's formed with "will" + base verb and is one of the most common ways to express future time in English.