Yesterday, last week, in 2019: once a time is finished, English uses the simple past. Regular verbs take -ed, a few dozen common verbs change shape, and did takes over for questions and negatives.
1. How Was Your Weekend?
Ines: How was your weekend?
Marek: It was long. We were at my aunt's house.
Ines: Was it far?
Marek: It was three hours each way.
Ines: Were the kids okay in the car?
Marek: They were fine going. Coming back was another story.
2. I Went to the Coast
Tia: I went to the coast on Saturday.
Owen: Did you swim?
Tia: I walked instead. The water looked freezing.
Owen: We took the kids there in June.
Tia: Did they like it?
Owen: They cried when we left.
3. Did You See It?
Hugo: Did you see the message?
Anja: I saw it late. My phone died at four.
Hugo: Did you charge it in the end?
Anja: I borrowed a cable from the man next to me.
Hugo: Did he mind?
Anja: He offered it before I asked.
4. I Didn't Sleep
Rafa: You look tired.
Kim: I didn't sleep. The dog barked all night.
Rafa: Didn't you close the window?
Kim: I closed it, but I still heard him.
Rafa: I didn't hear anything, and I live next door.
Kim: You didn't hear it because you sleep like a stone.
5. The Car Broke Down
Nils: Why were you late?
Delia: The car broke down on the bridge.
Nils: Did you call anyone?
Delia: I waited an hour and then a truck pushed me off.
Nils: Did it start again?
Delia: It started at the third try, and I drove straight home.
6. Nobody Turned Up
Ade: How was the meeting?
Sonia: Nobody turned up except me.
Ade: Did you send the invitation?
Sonia: I sent it ages ago.
Ade: Did you send it to the old list?
Sonia: I did. That explains everything.
7. I Spilled the Whole Cup
Gia: What happened to your shirt?
Luc: I spilled the whole cup on the train.
Gia: Did anyone say anything?
Luc: A woman gave me a tissue and apologized for the train.
Gia: She apologized to you?
Luc: She said the driver braked too hard.
8. When Did It Happen?
Rosa: When did you two meet?
Jonas: We bumped into each other in 2019.
Rosa: Where?
Jonas: At a bus stop. I overslept and missed my train.
Rosa: So the train changed your life.
Jonas: It did. I thanked it later.
Words to know
| coast | the land beside the sea I went to the coast on Saturday. |
| break down | to stop working, usually said about a vehicle or machine The car broke down on the bridge. |
| turn up | to arrive, often without arranging it first Nobody turned up except me. |
| ages ago | a very long time ago I sent it ages ago. |
| spill | to let liquid fall out of its container by accident I spilled the whole cup on the train. |
| apologize | to say sorry A woman gave me a tissue and apologized for the train. |
| bump into | to meet somebody by chance We bumped into each other in 2019. |
| oversleep | to sleep longer than you meant to I overslept and missed my train. |
Quick practice
Put each verb into the simple past, the way it was used in the conversations above.
1. I ____ to the coast on Saturday. (go)
_______________________________________
2. ____ you ____ the message? (see)
_______________________________________
3. I ____ sleep. The dog ____ all night. (not sleep / bark)
_______________________________________
4. The car ____ on the bridge. (break down)
_______________________________________
5. Nobody ____ except me. (turn up)
_______________________________________
6. I ____ and ____ my train. (oversleep / miss)
_______________________________________
Show the answers
1. I went to the coast on Saturday. 2. Did you see the message? 3. I didn't sleep. The dog barked all night. 4. The car broke down on the bridge. 5. Nobody turned up except me. 6. I overslept and missed my train.
Common mistakes
Not: I didn't went home early.
Say: I didn't go home early.
Didn't already puts the sentence in the past, so the main verb goes back to its plain form.
Not: Yesterday I go to the market.
Say: Yesterday I went to the market.
A finished time word such as yesterday, last week or in 2019 needs a past verb, not a present one.
Not: She buyed a ticket at the station.
Say: She bought a ticket at the station.
Common verbs change shape instead of taking -ed: buy became bought, take became took, see became saw.
Your turn
Tell these as real stories, out loud. Past tense sticks when it carries something that actually happened to you.
- Say five things you did yesterday, in the order you did them.
- Describe last weekend in six sentences, starting with It was.
- Say three things you didn't do last week, using didn't plus a plain verb.
- Ask a friend five questions about their week, all starting with Did you.
- Tell the story of a time something went wrong on a journey: what happened, who helped, how it ended.
Quick review
Regular verbs add -ed: walked, waited, closed. Many everyday verbs change instead: go became went, see became saw, buy became bought. Be has two past forms, was and were. For questions and negatives, did does the work and the main verb returns to its plain form: did you see, I didn't see.