Simple Past: Formula, usage, signs

Simple past tense (Past Simple) is one of the basic and extremely important tenses in English. Let's ETEST English for Study Abroad Learn in detail about the formula, usage and identifying signs of this tense. The article also comes with interesting exercises with answers for you to practice right away!

Simple past tense concept

Simple past tense in English (Past Simple or Simple Past) is an important grammatical tense used to describe actions or events that happened and ended in the past. In addition, this tense is also used to describe actions or events that were recently completed.

For example:

• They played soccer in the park yesterday.

• I didn't finish my homework before dinner.
• Did she visit her grandparents last weekend?

Besides:

• The past simple is also used to express repeated actions in the past. For example: Every day, I went to school by bus.
• The past simple is also used to describe a situation that existed in the past. For example: She lived in Hanoi for 10 years.

Simple past tense formula

Verbs in the simple past tense usually appear in two main forms: regular verbs and To Be verbs. Let's explore the simple past tense structure in detail right after this!

Past simple tense formula with the verb “To be”

Simple past affirmative sentence structure

Structure: S + was/ were + N/Adj

In there:

• S (Subject): subject
• was/were: forms of the verb “to be” in the simple past tense

Note:

S is the subject I/ He/ She/ It/ Singular noun + was

S is the subject We/ You/ They/ Plural noun + were

For example:

• I was at the library all day yesterday.
• She was very excited about the trip to Paris.
• We were happy to see our old friends at the reunion.

Negative sentence structure (simple past)

Structure: S + was/ were + not + N/Adj

In there:

• S (Subject): subject
• was/were: forms of the verb “to be” in the simple past tense

Note:

weren't = weren't

wasn't = wasn't

For example:

• She wasn't happy with the results.
• We weren't able to finish the project on time.
• He wasn't interested in the offer.

Question sentence structure (Past simple)

Yes/No Question

Structure: Did + S + V- inf ?

In there:

• S (Subject): subject
• V-inf: infinitive

Reply

Yes, S + did./No, S + didn't.

For example:

• Did they finish their homework on time?

No, they didn't.

• Did he eat all the pizza?

Yes, he did.

Wh-Question

Structure: Wh-question + did + S + (not) + V-inf?

In there:

• S (Subject): subject
• V-inf: infinitive

Answer: S + V-ed + N/Adj

For example:

• Why did she not attend the meeting?

She attended the meeting because she was feeling sick. (She didn't attend the meeting because she was feeling sick.)

• Where did we leave the keys?

We left the keys on the kitchen counter.

• What did you eat for breakfast?

I ate toast and eggs for breakfast. (I ate toast and eggs for breakfast.)

Past simple tense formula with regular verbs

Simple past affirmative sentence structure

Structure: S + V2/ed + N/Adj

In there:

• S (Subject): subject
• V2: past tense verb forms column II

For example:

• She cooked a delicious dinner for the family.
• The dog barked at the stranger.
• I read an interesting book last week. (I read an interesting book last week.)

Negative sentence structure (Simple Past)

Structure: S + did not + V- inf

In there:

• S (Subject): subject
• V-inf: infinitive forms

Note:

• did not = didn't

For example:

• We did not meet them at the airport.
• The cat did not catch the mouse.
• John did not take the bus to work today.

Question sentence structure (Past Simple)

Yes/ No question

Structure: Did + S + V-inf ?

Answer: Yes, S + did/ No, S + didn't.

For example:

• Did the train leave at 8:00?

Answer: Yes, it did. / No, it didn't.

Wh-question

Structure: Wh-question + did + S + (not) + V-inf ?

Answer: S + V2/ed + N/Adj

For example:

• Where did she go for her vacation?

Answer: She went to Hawaii.

In addition to the past simple, you should learn about 12 tenses in English to use richer and more grammatically diverse sentences.

How to use simple past tense in English

Simple past tense is one of the English tenses with a simple and easy-to-understand structure. However, it will have many different uses. To master and use the past simple tense fluently, let's study the table below.

How to conjugate verbs with the past simple tense 

For the verb “TO BE”

Was: Dùng cho ngôi thứ nhất số ít (I), ngôi thứ ba số ít (He, She, It).

For example:

• She was a doctor before she retired. (Cô ấy đã là bác sĩ trước khi nghỉ hưu.)
• It was a sunny day yesterday. (Hôm qua là một ngày nắng.)

Were: Dùng cho ngôi thứ nhất số nhiều (We), ngôi thứ hai (You), và ngôi thứ ba số nhiều (They).

For example:

• We were classmates in high school. (Chúng tôi là bạn cùng lớp trong trường trung học.)
• They were not happy with the result. (Họ không hài lòng với kết quả.)

For regular verbs

Đối với động từ không phải bất quy tắc, chúng ta thêm “-ed” vào cuối từ.

For example:

• Clean → Cleaned: They cleaned the house before the guests arrived. (Họ đã dọn dẹp căn nhà trước khi khách đến.)
• Talk → Talked: He talked to his boss about the upcoming presentation. (Anh ấy đã nói chuyện với sếp về bài thuyết trình sắp tới.)
• Help → Helped: We helped our neighbors move into their new apartment. (Chúng tôi đã giúp hàng xóm chuyển đến căn hộ mới của họ.)

Đối với động từ khi chúng kết thúc bằng “e”, chúng ta chỉ cần thêm “-d” vào cuối từ.

For example:

• Move → Moved: We moved to a new city last year. (Chúng tôi đã chuyển đến một thành phố mới vào năm ngoái.)
• Hope → Hoped: He hoped for good weather during his vacation. (Anh ấy hy vọng thời tiết đẹp trong kỳ nghỉ của mình.)
• Change → Changed: The weather changed suddenly this afternoon. (Thời tiết đã thay đổi đột ngột vào chiều nay.)

Đối với động từ khi chúng kết thúc bằng “y”

Khi động từ kết thúc là “y” và trước đó là MỘT nguyên âm (a, e, i, o, u), chúng ta thêm “ed” vào cuối từ.

For example:

• Delay → Delayed: The flight was delayed due to bad weather. (Chuyến bay bị trì hoãn do thời tiết xấu.)
• Display → Displayed: The museum displayed ancient artifacts from Egypt. (Bảo tàng trưng bày các hiện vật cổ từ Ai Cập.)
• Employ → Employed: The company employed new staff for the project. (Công ty đã tuyển dụng nhân viên mới cho dự án.)

Nếu trước “y” là phụ âm (còn lại), chúng ta đổi “y” thành “i” rồi thêm “ed”.

For example:

• Apply → Applied: She applied a fresh coat of paint to the walls.(Cô ấy đã sơn lại lớp sơn mới cho tường.)
• Reply → Replied: She replied to the text message as soon as she could.(Cô ấy đã trả lời tin nhắn ngay khi có thể.)
• Identify → Identified: The scientist identified the new species of plant.(Nhà khoa học đã xác định loài thực vật mới.)

Đối với các động từ có một âm tiết, kết thúc là một phụ âm, và trước đó là một nguyên âm, chúng ta nhân đôi phụ âm cuối rồi thêm “ed”.

For example:

• Rob → Robbed: They robbed the bank in broad daylight.(Họ đã cướp ngân hàng vào ban ngày.)
• Slip → Slipped: They slipped on the icy pavement. (Họ đã trượt trên lớp đá băng trên vỉa hè.)
• Lop → Lopped: She lopped off the dead branches from the tree. (Cô ấy đã cắt bớt những cành cây chết.)

Các từ có ngoại lệ không áp dụng quy tắc này: Transfer → Transferred, Occur → Occurred, Benefit → Benefited,…

Để hiểu rõ hơn về cách đọc động từ có thêm -ed trong thì quá khứ đơn. Bạn hãy tìm hiểu về tổng hợp quy tắc phát âm tiếng anh.

Irregular verbs in the past simple tense (verbs without adding “ed”)

Trên đây chỉ là một phần nhỏ trong số 360 động từ bất quy tắc mà bạn cần biết. Để xem danh sách đầy đủ xem ngay 360 động từ bất quy tắc chuẩn nhất.

Signs to recognize the simple past tense – Simple past

Để nhận biết thì quá khứ đơn (Simple Past Tense), chúng ta có thể dựa vào những dấu hiệu sau:

• Các từ chỉ thời gian cụ thể trong quá khứ: Yesterday (hôm qua), In the past (trong quá khứ), The day before (ngày hôm trước), Ago (trước đây), Last (week, year, month): tuần trước, năm trước, tháng trước.

For example:

He went to the park yesterday. (Anh ấy đã đi công viên hôm qua.)

Many people travelled to Europe in the past. (Nhiều người đã đi du lịch châu Âu trong quá khứ.)

I forgot to bring my homework the day before. (Tôi đã quên mang bài tập về nhà ngày hôm trước.)

I met her five years ago. (Tôi đã gặp cô ấy cách đây 5 năm.)

I visited my hometown last summer. (Tôi đã về quê vào mùa hè năm ngoái.)

• Những khoảng thời gian đã qua trong ngày: Today (hôm nay), This morning (sáng nay), This afternoon (chiều nay).

For example:

I woke up early this morning. (Tôi đã thức dậy sớm sáng nay.)

I will go to the cinema this afternoon. (Tôi sẽ đi xem phim vào chiều nay.)

• Sau các cấu trúc đặc biệt: As if, as though (như thể là), it’s time (đã đến lúc), Would sooner/rather (thích hơn), If only (ước gì), Wish (ước gì).

For example:

She looked as if she had seen a ghost. (Cô ấy trông như thể đã nhìn thấy ma.)

It’s time we left. (Đã đến lúc chúng ta đi.)

I would rather stay at home than go to the party. (Tôi thà ở nhà còn hơn đi dự tiệc.)

If only I knew the answer. (Giá như tôi biết câu trả lời.)

I wish I could go on vacation. (Ước gì tôi có thể đi nghỉ mát.)

• Một số cấu trúc nhất định: It’s + (high) time + S + Ved, It + is + khoảng thời gian + since + Simple Past, Câu điều kiện loại 2.

For example:

It’s high time she started looking for a new job. (Đã đến lúc cô ấy nên bắt đầu tìm một công việc mới rồi.)

It is two years since they last visited us. (Đã hai năm kể từ lần cuối họ đến thăm chúng tôi.)

Conditional sentences type 2: If they lived closer, we would see them more often. (Nếu họ sống gần hơn, chúng tôi sẽ gặp họ thường xuyên hơn.)

Xem thêm: 17 Website kiểm tra lỗi ngữ pháp tiếng anh hiệu quả

Past simple exercises

Dưới đây là một số dạng bài tập về thì quá khứ đơn kèm đáp án để bạn luyện tập:

A. Fill in the blanks using Past Simple tense:

1. I ______ (visit) my grandparents last weekend. 
2. We ______ (eat) pizza for dinner yesterday. 
3. She ______ (study) for her exam all night yesterday. 
4. They ______ (play) soccer in the park after school two days ago. 
5. He ______ (watch) a horror movie the day before yesterday.
6. I ______ (go) to the beach last summer. 
7. We ______ (buy) new clothes for the party last week. 
8. She ______ (speak) to her friend on the phone five minutes ago. 
9. They ______ (take) a taxi to the airport a moment ago.  
10. He ______ (live) in Ho Chi Minh city in 2018.
11. I _________(forget) to bring my umbrella, so I got soaked in the rain!
12. We__________ (not/go) to the cinema because the movie was sold out.
13. They________ (argue) about the movie they just watched.
14. I ____________(finish) my homework early so I could watch TV.
15. She__________ (learn) to play the guitar when she was younger.

B. Sentence correction:

1. They was at the beach yesterday.

 ->____________________________________________

1. We eated dinner early last night.

 ->____________________________________________

1. Did you see a movie last night? No, I didn’t watched one.

 ->____________________________________________

1. My friend learn French when he lived in Paris.

 ->____________________________________________

1. We go to the party even though we were tired.

 ->____________________________________________

1. He sleept for eight hours last night.

 ->____________________________________________

1. Did you ever visited Paris?

 ->____________________________________________

1. I used to play the piano when I was a child.

 ->____________________________________________

1. She has written a letter to her friend yesterday.

 ->____________________________________________

C. Sentence completion:

1. I woke up early yesterday, so I ______ (have) enough time to finish my project.
2. We went to the park for a picnic, but it started to rain, so we ______ (leave) early.
3. She studied hard for the exam, and in the end, she ______ (pass) with flying colors!
4. They didn’t have any milk for breakfast, so they ______ (go) to the store to buy some.
5. The children built a sandcastle on the beach, but the waves ______ (wash) it away.
6. My brother ______ (win) the first prize in the competition, and he was very happy.
7. We ______ (not/go) to the cinema because the movie was sold out.
8. She ______ (write) a poem about her experience traveling abroad.
9. They ______ (catch) the early train to avoid traffic congestion.
10. He ______ (meet) his old friend at the coffee shop for a chat.
11. It ______ (rain) all day yesterday, so we stayed indoors and played board games.
12. She ______ (learn) to play the guitar when she was a teenager.
13. We ______ (take) a lot of pictures on our trip to remember all the amazing sights.
14. They ______ (argue) about the movie they just watched because they had different opinions.
15. I ______ (finish) my homework early so I could watch my favorite TV show.

D. Sentence scramble

1. yesterday / the library / I / went / to 

 ->____________________________________________

1. movie / a / watched / with / friends / she / last night

 ->____________________________________________

1. early / woke up / we / didn’t / because / it / rain / was / raining

 ->____________________________________________ 

1. the test / studied / for / they / all week / hard 

 ->____________________________________________

1. a delicious meal / cooked / her mother / for dinner

 ->____________________________________________

1. a bike / rode / to school / he / yesterday

 ->____________________________________________

1. the party / early / left / we / because / tired / were 

 ->____________________________________________

1. a book / interesting / read / she / an 

 ->____________________________________________

1. the game / they / won / easily.

 ->____________________________________________

1. a surprise party / threw / for / her / friends / they 

 ->____________________________________________

Simple past tense exercise answers

A.

B.

1.Change “was” to “were” for subject-verb agreement)

2.Change “eated” to “ate” – past tense of “eat”

3.Change “watched” to “watch” – past tense for yes/no questions

4. Change “learn” to “learned” – past tense for regular verbs

5.Change “go” to “went” – past tense for statements

6.Change “sleept” to “slept” – past tense for regular verbs

7.Change “visited” to “visit” – past simple for yes/no questions

8.This sentence is correct!

9.Change “has written” to “wrote” – single action in the past

 C.

1.I woke up early yesterday, so I had enough time to finish my project.

2.We went to the park for a picnic, but it started to rain, so we left early.

3.She studied hard for the exam, and in the end, she passed with flying colors!

4.They didn’t have any milk for breakfast, so they went to the store to buy some.

5.The children built a sandcastle on the beach, but the waves washed it away.

6.My brother won the first prize in the competition, and he was very happy.

7.We didn’t go to the cinema because the movie was sold out.

8.She wrote a poem about her experience traveling abroad.

9.They caught the early train to avoid traffic congestion.

10.He met his old friend at the coffee shop for a chat.

11.It rained all day yesterday, so we stayed indoors and played board games.

12.She learned to play the guitar when she was a teenager.

13.We took a lot of pictures on our trip to remember all the amazing sights.

14.They argued about the movie they just watched because they had different opinions.

15.I finished my homework early so I could watch my favorite TV show.

D.

1. I went to the library yesterday.
2. She watched a movie with friends last night.
3. We didn’t wake up early because it was raining
4. They studied hard for the test all week.
5. Her mother cooked a delicious meal for dinner.
6. He rode a bike to school yesterday.
7. We left the party early because we were tired.
8. She read an interesting book
9. They won the game easily.
10. They threw a surprise party for her friends.

Trên đây là toàn bộ kiến thức nền tảng và bài tập áp dụng cho thì quá khứ đơn (Simple Past). Nếu bạn muốn nâng cao trình độ tiếng Anh của mình, hãy đến ngay với ETEST English for Study Abroad. Chúng tôi cam kết mang đến cho từng học viên một lộ trình học cá nhân hóa, được xây dựng để tối ưu hóa khả năng đạt điểm cao trong các kỳ thi tiếng Anh quan trọng.

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