In English, there are two types of verbs: regular and irregular. In order to construct the Past Simple correctly, we must know whether the main verb is regular or irregular.

Regular verbs form the past by adding the particle -ed to the verb. There are some spelling changes we must take into account:

Ending	Rule	Examples
One-syllable verbs ending in consonant + vowel + consonant	The last consonant is doubled	Stop	Stopped	Chat	Chatted
More than one-syllable verbs ending in: consonant + vowel + consonant when the stress is in the last syllable.		Admit	Admitted	Permit	Permitted
Verbs ending in consonant + vowel plus -L		Travel	Travelled	Cancel	Cancelled
Verbs ending invowel plus -Y	We just add -ED	Play	Played	Stay	Stayed
Verbs ending in consonant plus -Y	The -Y is replaced by -IED	Study	Studied	Tidy	Tidied
Verbs ending in -E	We add -D	Live	Lived	Like	Liked

However, there are a number of verbs which do not follow this form, the irregular ones. Here is a list of the most common ones.

Present	Past Simple	Past Participle
Buy	Bought	Bought
Choose	Chose	Chosen
Put	Put	Put
Sing	Sang	Sung

As we can see, there are some verbs that share the same form for the present, past and participle, so we will know if the sentence is in the past tense by the context.

2. Structure of past simple

Affirmative form

Subject	verb (past form)	Examples
I	enjoyed	I enjoyed the holidays.
You		You enjoyed the holidays.
He		He enjoyed the holidays.
She		She enjoyed the holidays.
It		It enjoyed the holidays.
We		We enjoyed the holidays.
You		You enjoyed the holidays.
They		They enjoyed the holidays.

Negative form

Subject	auxiliary	Verb (infinitive form)	Examples
I	did not didn't	enjoy	I didn't enjoy the holidays.
You			You didn't enjoy the holidays.
He			He didn't enjoy the holidays.
She			She didn't enjoy the holidays.
It			It didn't enjoy the holidays.
We			We didn't enjoy the holidays.
You			You didn't enjoy the holidays.
They			They didn't enjoy the holidays.

Remember that in negative sentences the verb is used in the infinitive because the particle did already indicates that the sentence is in the past tense. The same thing will happen in interrogative sentences.

Interrogative form

AUXILIARY	Subject	Verb (infinitive form)	Examples
Did	I	enjoy?	Did I enjoy the holidays?
	You		Did you enjoy the holidays?
	He		Did he enjoy the holidays?
	She		Did she enjoy the holidays?
	It		Did it enjoy the holidays?
	We		Did we enjoy the holidays?
	You		Did you enjoy the holidays?
	They		Did they enjoy the holidays?

Interrogative sentences in simple past also have their own short answers.

Adverb	Subject	AuxiliarY
Yes,	I	did
	you
	he
	she
	it
	we
	you
	they

Adverb	Subject	AuxiliarY
No,	I	didn't
	you
	he
	she
	it
	we
	you
	they

Did she work last night? Yes, she did.

Did they finish the food? No, they didn't.

3. How is the past simple used?

The Simple Past is used to talk about actions that began and ended sometime before now, either in the recent or distant past.

When I was young I went to China.

Last night we sang in a karaoke.

With the past simple we usually use certain time expressions.

Expressions	Examples
Last week/month/year	It was his birthday last week.
When I was a child/six	When I lived in London, my English improved.
Yesterday	It rained all day yesterday.
Six weeks / ten days / ages / a long time ago	Most people didn't have mobile phones ten years ago.
The other day	I saw your brother at the bus stop the other day.

Note that last is placed before the expression of time. However, ago is placed after.

Last summer we got married.

I won the lottery three years ago.

There are two other tenses related to the past simple, the present perfect and the past continuous.

Remember!

The simple past is used to express actions that began and ended at some point in the past.

	Structure	Examples
AFFIRMATIVE	Subject + verb (in past) + (complement)	John bought a present for his sister.
NEGATIVE	Subject + didn't + verb (infinitive) + (complement)	They didn't get married.
INTERROGATIVE	Did + subject + verb (infinitive) + (complement)	Did you call Marta? Yes, I did.