Past Simple Tense

Past simple

We use the past simple to talk about actions and states which we see as completed in the past.

We can use it to talk about a specific point in time.

• She came back last Friday.
• I saw her in the street.
• They didn't agree to the deal.

It can also be used to talk about a period of time.

• She lived in Tokyo for seven years.
• They were in London from Monday to Thursday of last week.
• When I was living in New York, I went to all the art exhibitions I could.

You will often find the past simple used with time expressions such as these:

• Yesterday
• three weeks ago
• last year
• in 2002
• from March to June
• for a long time
• for 6 weeks
• in the 1980s
• in the last century
• in the past

SIMPLE PAST TENSE Pasado Simple
AFFIRMATIVE Afirmativo	INTERROGATIVE Interrogativo	NEGATIVE Negativo
I played Yo jugué	Did I play? ¿Jugué yo?	I did not play Yo no jugué
You played Tú jugaste	Did You play? ¿Jugaste tú?	You did not play Tú no jugaste
He played El jugó	Did He play? ¿Jugó él?	He did not play El no jugó
She played Ella jugó	Did She play? ¿Jugó ella?	She did not play Ella jugó
It played Ello jugó	Did It play? ¿Jugó ello?	It did not play Ello no jugo
We played Nosotros jugamos	Did We play? ¿Jugamos nosotros?	We did not play Nosotros no jugamos
You played Ustedes jugaron	Did You play? ¿Jugaron ustedes?	You did not play Ustedes no jugaron
They played Ellos/Ellas jugaron	Did They play? ¿Jugaron ellos/ellas?	They did not play Ellos/Ellas no jugaron