Was I, he, she, it

+ To be
Were We,You, they

Was not I, he, she, it

- To be
Were not We,You, they
• I was ill last weekend
• I was in class last Sunday
• You were very kind last night
• They were in Paris last year
• Jane was at the library yesterday
• They weren’t at home lastnight
• The weather wasn’t sunny yesterday.
• I wasn’t at school last Monday
• She wasn't in Los Angeles
• They weren't at the station
• Was Diana sad about the break up?
• Were Scott and his cousin the ones who robbed the bank?
• Was Sarah dancing when you got to the party?
• Was it as difficult as Jhon said?
• Were you a student at Cambridge University?
• Weren’t you at home when the fire started?
• Weren’t you at home when the fire started?
• Wasn’t Nick in New York when her nephew was born?
 How to form the Past Tense in English
• The main rule is that for every verb in English, there is only one form of it
in the past tense.
(The exception is the Past tense of To Be, which has two
forms: was and were)
• This is totally different from other languages such as Spanish, French,
Italian etc. where you change the verb ending for every subject.
• For example: The past tense of the verb want is wanted.
Wanted is used as the past tense for all subjects/pronouns.
• I wanted
• You wanted
• He wanted
• She wanted
• It wanted
• We wanted
• They wanted
• So you just have to learn one word to be able to use it in the past tense. In
this case we just needed to learn the one word wanted which can be used
for all subjects (or people).
 Past Tense Regular Verbs

• To change a regular verb into its past tense form, we normally add
–ED to the end of the verb.
• play – played
• cook – cooked
• rain – rained
• wait – waited

There are some exceptions with a slight change in spelling which

you can see here:
https://www.grammar.cl/english/spelling-ed-ending.htm
 Examples of sentences using regular verbs in the past tense

• Last night I played my guitar loudly and the neighbors complained.

• She kissed me on the cheek.
• It rained yesterday.
• Angela watched TV all night.
• John wanted to go to the museum.

Note: There are three different ways of pronouncing the –ed at the
end of a verb in the past tense.
Negative sentences in the Past
Tense
•We use didn't (did not) to make a
negative sentence in the past tense.
This is for regular AND irregular
verbs in English.
(Exception is To Be and Modal Verbs
such as Can)
• Compare the following:
• Present: They don't live in Canada.
Past: They didn't live in Canada.

• The main verb (live in the example above) is in its base

form (of the infinitive). The auxiliary DIDN'T shows
that the sentence is negative AND in the past tense.
• NOTICE: The only difference between a negative sentence in the
present tense and a negative sentence in the past tense is the change
in the auxiliary verb.
• Both don't and doesn't in the present tense become didn't in the past
tense.
• Compare the negative sentences in the examples below:
• Present: You don't need a mechanic.
Past: You didn't need a mechanic.
• Present: You don't walk to work.
Past: You didn't walk to work.
• Present: He doesn't speak Japanese.
Past: He didn't speak Japanese.
Examples of negative sentences in the
Past Tense
• I didn't want to go to the dentist.
• She didn't have time.
• You didn't close the door.
• He didn't come to my party.
• They didn't study so they didn't pass the test.
• We didn't sleep well last night.
 Questions in the Past Tense

• We use did to make a question in the past tense.

This is for regular AND irregular verbs in English.
(Exception is To Be and Modal Verbs such as Can)
• Compare the following:
• Present: Do they live in France?
Past: Did they live in France?
• The main verb (live in the example above) is in its
base form (of the infinitive). The auxiliary DID shows
that the question is in the past tense.
• NOTICE: The only difference between a question in the present tense and a
question in the past tense is the change in the auxiliary verb.
Both Do and Does in present tense questions become Didn't in past tense
questions.
• Compare the questions in the examples below:
• Present: Do you need a doctor?
Past: Did you need a doctor?
• Present: Do you ride your bike to work?
Past: Did you ride your bike to work?
• Present: Does he live in Italy?
Past: Did he live in Italy?
• We can also use a question word (Who, What, Why etc.)
before DID to ask for more information.
• Did you study? – Yes, I did.

• When did you study? – I studied last night.

• Where did you study? – I studied at the library.

Examples of Questions in the Past Tense

• Did you go to work yesterday?

• Did they arrive on time?
• Did she like the surprise?
• Where did she go?
• What did you do yesterday?
• What did you say? - I didn't say anything.
• Why did we have to come?
 Irregular Verbs in the Past Tense

• Irregular verbs are ONLY irregular in affirmative/positive sentences.

(An exception to this is with the verb TO BE in the Past Tense).
• For example: The past tense of GO is WENT.
It does not end in –ED so it is considered irregular.
• The word went is used for all subjects – I, you, we, they, he, she, it.
• I went to the beach
• He went to the park.
• She went to the zoo.
• They went to the library.
• BUT, as we mentioned before, it is only in its irregular form (went) in
sentences that are affirmative/positive.
• Compare the following using GO in the past tense.
• They went to the beach
• They didn't go to the beach --- Didn't shows that we are talking in the
past tense.
• Did they go to the beach? --- Did shows that we are talking in the past
tense.
• Another example with an irregular verb.
The past of EAT is ATE.
• You ate my cake.
• You didn't eat my cake.
• Did you eat my cake?
 Spelling -ED Ending Rules
• The following is a guide to the correct spelling of words
ending -ED.
• Remember: Not all words that end in -ED are verbs in
the past tense. Sometimes they are Past Participles or
they could even be Adjectives ending in -ED. For now we
will mostly use verbs in the Past Tense as examples
though the same rules
Infinitive ED formapply to all words ending in -ED
to play played •He played with his dog in the backyard.
• toThe
wait general rule when
waited changing a word •(or verb)them
I waited for intotoits
invite me.
-ED
to workform is just to worked
add -ED to the end of•She worked until
it. late last night.
to rain rained •It rained all day.
• Spelling Exceptions
• The following exceptions exist when spelling words ending in ED:
• 1). If a word ends in an E we just add the D to the end.

Infinitive ED form
to live lived
to love loved
to smile smiled
to dance danced

• Ilived in Japan for two years and then moved to Thailand.

•I loved the surprise you had for me.
•He smiled when he saw his wife come through the door.
•They danced until their feet hurt.
2). If the word ends in a Consonant + Vowel +
Consonant, we double the final consonant and add ED.
Infinitive ED form
to stop stopped
to admit admitted
to plan planned
to refer referred
to commit committed

•The policeman stopped the thief from escaping.

•He admitted that he was wrong.
•We planned a surprise birthday party for our friend.
•I referred the students to the website where they could practice some more.
•They committed a serious crime and will end up in jail.
3). If a two-syllable verb ends in a Consonant + Vowel + Consonant,
we DO NOT double the final consonant when the stress is on
the FIRST syllable.

Infinitive ED form
to happen happened
to enter entered
to offer offered
to suffer suffered

•What happened?
•I entered through the back door.
•She was offered a new position with a higher salary.
•Many people are suffered from a lack of food and water.
4). BUT, we DO NOT double the final consonant when the word
ends in W, X or Y or when the final syllable is not stressed.

Infinitive ED form
to fix fixed
to enjoy enjoyed
to snow snowed

•He fixed his bike.
•We enjoyed our time in the North of Chile.
•It snowed yesterday.
5). If the verb ends in consonant + vowel + L, we normally double the final L and add ED.
Note: In the United States (US) they DO NOT double the L when the accent is on the first
syllable.

Infinitive ED form ED form

(UK) (US)
to travel travelled traveled
to marvel marveled marveled

•I traveled around South America in 2012.

•Her beauty marveled us.
Past tense
Explanation

• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wLuNOWXw96c

• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2wdHinJh8no
Exercises
• https://first-english.org/english_learning/english_tenses/simple_past
/2/13_simple_past_irregular_verbs_examples.htm

• https://www.englisch-hilfen.de/en/exercises/questions/simple_past2.
htm
Exercises
• https://www.thoughtco.com/expressions-of-quantity-quiz-4064285
• https://www.englisch-hilfen.de/en/exercises_list/mengen.htm