Walked, went, ate, saw: tell the story of your weekend. In this short guide you learn how to talk about things that already happened.
This article is the reading companion to the free Mondosol lesson 🇬🇧 English A2: Past Simple (What Did You Do Yesterday?), part of the English course. Read it, watch the videos, or press play and listen first, then practise in the lesson.
Free: create your free Mondosol account to practise this lesson and track your progress.
In this article
Past simple: the phrases you need
Regular verbs add -ed, and many common verbs are irregular. These example sentences show the rule behind each one.
| Phrase | What it means |
|---|---|
| I walked | moved on foot in the past — regular verbs add -ed: walk → walked, play → played |
| She studied | studied in the past — consonant + y changes to -ied: study → studied |
| We went to Oslo | travelled there in the past — go → went is irregular, learn it by heart |
| I ate pizza | ate in the past — eat → ate is irregular, no -ed |
| I didn’t go | negative past — didn’t + base verb: I didn’t go, not I didn’t went |
| Did you see it? | a past question — Did + subject + base verb. Answer Yes, I did or No, I didn’t |
| It was great | was and were are the past of to be — I was, you were, it was |
| He bought | bought in the past — buy → bought is irregular |
Check yourself
Try each question before you open the answer.
Yesterday I ___ to the cinema.
Options: go / went / goed. Answer: went
Choose the correct negative sentence:
Options: I didn’t went / I not go / I didn’t go. Answer: I didn’t go
Which question is correct?
Options: Did you see it? / Did you saw it? / Do you saw it?. Answer: Did you see it?
What is the past of ‘study’?
Options: studyed / studied / studdied. Answer: studied
Watch: the past simple in English
Two short videos from other teachers show the same idea in a different voice. Watch one, then come back to the lesson.
Video: “Simple Past – Grammar & Verb Tenses”, on YouTube.
Video: “The Simple Past Tense of Verbs | Regular and Irregular | English Grammar”, on YouTube.
Take it further
Tell a friend three things you did yesterday, in the past simple. Use regular and irregular verbs together, and remember that after didn’t the verb goes back to its base form.
Frequently asked questions
What will I learn in this lesson?
You learn 8 key phrases, such as I walked, She studied, We went to Oslo, and how to use them in real sentences.
What level is this lesson?
It is an A2 (elementary) lesson in the Mondosol English course.
Is the lesson free?
Yes. Create a free Mondosol account to practise this lesson and track your progress.
How do I practise after reading?
Open the lesson and work through the exercises. Tell a friend three things you did yesterday, in the past simple.
Keep learning
- Practise it: 🇬🇧 English A2: Past Simple (What Did You Do Yesterday?)
- Full course: Learn to speak English
- Related reading: The English verb “to be” and English likes and dislikes
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