Simple Past Tense Example:Everything You Need To Know

Simple past tense, a verb tense, is the one that indicates the action that is over, completed, or happened before this moment (now). It tells us that the action is already finished. It also indicates a past habit or a past state of being. With the following simple past tense examples, we will get to know more about the simple past tense.

Do go through the following simple past tense examples to get a basic overview and understanding of the simple past tense form.

• 1. We visited our grandparents last week.
• 2. The flight was delayed for three hours because of the storm.
• 3. Rahul called you yesterday to discuss about the project.
• 4. Sudhan missed the classes last week.
• 5. Pihoo hated spicy food when she was a kid.
• 6. The entire class participated in the school annual day function.
• 7. Rohan completed his homework and went to play with his friends.
• 8. Shylu worked part time in a café while attending college.
• 9. The shipment arrived late last night.
• 10. The kid drank a glass of milk an hour ago.
• 11. Sonali lost her wallet in the shopping mall.
• 12. We watched this movie in the theatre last week.
• 13. Shilpa helped the old lady to cross the road.
• 14. All the students except Harish submitted their projects yesterday.
• 15. My uncle lived in England three years ago.
• 16. Our teacher cancelled the test.
• 17. When I won the prize, my parents were extremely proud of me.
• 18. We painted our house blue in color.
• 19. Ramya and Kushi fought with each other for a toy.
• 20. The entire crowd was silent after hearing the announcement.
• 21. Vilaksh prepared very well for his exams.
• 22. Raj was the first to complete the test.
• 23. We ate Chinese food for dinner last night.
• 24. Rupali travelled to various places last year.
• 25. The kids seldom listened to their grandparents.
• 26. Vaidehi paused the video for all of us to pay attention.
• 27. We cleaned the entire house yesterday.
• 28. They were quite unhappy after hearing the news.
• 29. The children slept early as they had a long day.
• 30. Though Armaan left early, he missed the train.

Simple past tense examples with detailed explanations

Now let us analyze and understand how and why simple past tense is used in each sentence.

1. We visited our grandparents last week.

‘Visited’ is the simple past tense used in this sentence, which is the simple past form of the action word ‘visit’. ‘Visited’ indicates the completed action and is formed by adding ‘-ed’ to the base verb ‘visit’.

2. The flight got delayed for three hours because of the storm.

‘Got’ and ‘delayed’ are the simple past tenses used in this sentence, which is the simple past form of the action words ‘get’ and ‘delay’ respectively. ‘Got’ and ‘visited’ indicates the time in past.

3. Rahul called you yesterday to discuss about the project.

‘Called’ is the simple past tense used in this sentence, which is the simple past form of the action word ‘call’. ‘Called’ indicates the completed action and is formed by adding ‘-ed’ to the base verb ‘call’.

4. Sudhan missed the classes last week.

‘Missed’ is the simple past tense used in this sentence, which is the simple past form of the action word ‘miss’. ‘Missed’ indicates the completed action and is formed by adding ‘-ed’ to the base verb ‘miss’.

5. Pihoo hated spicy food when she was a kid.

‘Hated’ and ‘was’ are the simple past tenses used in this sentence, which is the simple past form of the action words ‘hate’ and ‘be’. ‘Hated’ indicates the habits of the past and is formed by adding ‘-ed’ to the base verb ‘hate’. ‘Was’ indicates a past state of being.

6. The entire class participated in the school annual day function.

‘Participated’ is the simple past tense used in this sentence, which is the simple past form of the action word ‘participate’. ‘Participated’ indicates the completed action and is formed by adding ‘-ed’ to the base verb ‘participate’.

7. Rohan completed his homework and went to play with his friends.

‘Competed’ is the simple past tense used in this sentence, which is the simple past form of the action word ‘complete’. ‘Completed’ indicates the completed action and is formed by adding ‘-ed’ to the base verb ‘complete’.

8. Shylu worked part time in a café while attending college.

‘Worked’ is the simple past tense used in this sentence, which is the simple past form of the action word ‘work’. ‘Worked’ indicates the completed action and is formed by adding ‘-ed’ to the base verb ‘work’.

9. The shipment arrived late last night.

‘Arrived’ is the simple past tense used in this sentence, which is the simple past form of the action word ‘arrive’. ‘Arrived’ indicates an action that is over and is formed by adding ‘-d’ to the base verb ‘arrive’.

10. The kid drank a glass of milk an hour ago.

‘Drank’ is the simple past tense used in this sentence, which is the simple past form of the action word ‘drink’. ‘Drank’ indicates an action that is over at a time in the past.

11. Sonali lost her wallet in the shopping mall.

‘Lost’ is the simple past tense used in this sentence, which is the simple past form of the action word ‘lose’. ‘Lost’ indicates an action that is over.

12. We watched this movie in the theatre last week.

‘Watched’ is the simple past tense used in this sentence, which is the simple past form of the action word ‘watch’. ‘Watched’ indicates a completed action and is formed by adding ‘-ed’ to the base verb ‘watch’.

13. Shilpa helped the old lady to cross the road.

‘Helped’ is the simple past tense used in this sentence, which is the simple past form of the action word ‘help’. ‘Helped’ indicates an action that is over and is created by adding ‘-ed’ to the base verb ‘help’.

14. All the students except Harish submitted their projects yesterday.

‘Submitted’ is the simple past tense used in this sentence, which is the simple past form of the action word ‘submit’. ‘Submitted’ indicates an action completed in the past time and is formed by adding ‘-ed’ to the base verb ‘submit’.

15. My uncle lived in England three years ago.

‘Lived’ is the simple past tense used in this sentence, which is the simple past form of the action word ‘live’. ‘Lived’ indicates an action that is over and is created by adding ‘-d’ to the base verb ‘live’.

16. Our teacher cancelled the test.

‘Cancelled’ is the simple past tense used in this sentence, which is the simple past form of the action word ‘cancel’. ‘Cancelled’ indicates a completed action and is shaped by adding ‘-ed’ to the base verb ‘cancel’.

17. When I won the prize, my parents were extremely proud of me.

‘Won’ and ‘were’ are the simple past tenses used in this sentence, which is the simple past form of the action words ‘win’ and ‘be’. ‘Won’ indicates an action that is over and ‘were’ indicates a past state of being.

18. We painted our house blue in color.

‘Painted’ is the simple past tense used in this sentence, which is the simple past form of the action word ‘paint’. ‘Painted’ indicates a completed action and is created by adding ‘-ed’ to the base verb ‘paint’.

19. Ramya and Kushi fought with each other for a toy.

‘Fought’ is the simple past tense used in this sentence, which is the simple past form of the action word ‘fight’. ‘Fought’ indicates an action which is over.

20. The entire crowd was silent after hearing the announcement.

‘Was’ is the simple past tense used in this sentence, which is the simple past form of the action word ‘be’. ‘Was’ indicates a past state of being.

21. Vilaksh prepared very well for his exams.

‘Prepared’ is the simple past tense used in this sentence, which is the simple past form of the action word ‘prepare’. ‘Prepared’ indicates a finished activity and is created by adding ‘-d’ to the base verb ‘prepare’.

22. Raj was the first to complete the test.

‘Was’ is the simple past tense utilized in this sentence, which is the simple past form of the action word ‘be’. ‘Was’ demonstrates a state of being of the past.

23. We ate Chinese food for dinner last night.

‘Ate’ is the simple past tense used in this sentence, which is the simple past form of the action word ‘eat’. ‘Ate’ denotes an activity that has been completed or finished.

24. Rupali travelled to various places last year.

‘Travelled’ is the simple past tense used in this sentence, which is the simple past form of the action word ‘travel’. ‘Travelled’ indicates a finished activity and is created by adding ‘-ed’ to the base verb ‘travel’.

25. The kids seldom listened to their grandparents.

‘Listened’ is the simple past tense used in this sentence, which is the simple past form of the action word ‘listen’. ‘Listened’ indicates an action which is over and is created by adding ‘-ed’ to the base verb ‘listen’.

26. Vaidehi paused the video for all of us to pay attention.

‘Paused’ is the simple past tense used in this sentence, which is the simple past form of the action word ‘pause’. ‘Paused’ indicates an activity which is over and is created by adding ‘-d’ to the base verb ‘pause’.

27. We cleaned the entire house yesterday.

‘Cleaned’ is the simple past tense used in this sentence, which is the simple past form of the action word ‘clean’. ‘Cleaned’ indicates an activity which is finished and is created by adding ‘-ed’ to the base verb ‘clean’.

28. They were quite unhappy after hearing the news.

‘Were’ is the simple past tense used in this sentence, which is the simple past form of the action word ‘be’. ‘Were’ indicates a past state of being.

29. The children slept early as they had a long day.

‘Slept’ and ‘had’ are the simple past tenses used in this sentence, which are the simple past forms of the action words ‘sleep’ and ‘have’ respectively. ‘Slept’ and ‘had’ indicate activities which are over.

30. Though Armaan left early, he missed the train.

‘Left’ and ‘missed’ are the simple past tenses used in this sentence, which are the simple past forms of the action words ‘leave’ and ‘miss’ respectively. ‘Left’ and ‘had’ indicate activities which are over and completed in the past.

Is simple past tense verb?

Well, to be more specific, simple past tense is one of the verb tenses. Yes, simple past tense is a verb tense form which is applied to a verb to denote an activity or action that is over.

Example: Riya danced beautifully in yesterday’s function.

In the above sentence, ‘danced’ is the simple past tense used. It is used and applied on the action word (verb) ‘dance’ to indicate that the activity of dancing has already taken place and is over now.

When is simple past tense verb?

Simple past tense is used when one has to talk about an activity or an action that is finished or completed anytime in the past, that is, happened before this particular moment (now).

Example: Pritam, my friend came to my home last Sunday.

‘Came’ is the simple past tense used in the above sentence. It is the simple past tense of the action word ‘come’. Here, ‘came’ is utilized to indicate that the action has taken place ‘last Sunday’ which is obviously the past and not now.

How is simple past tense verb?

Simple past tense is verb tense as it is used to tell us about the actions that are completed, events that have taken place in the past times, past habits and past state of beings.

Example: My mother baked my favorite cake yesterday afternoon.

‘Baked’ is the simple past tense utilized here. It is used on the verb ‘bake’ by adding the suffix ‘-d’ to it to demonstrate an action that is over.

Example: My family lived in Bangalore for five years.

The simple past tense utilized here is ‘lived’. It is the simple past form of the action word ‘live’. Here, it is used to indicate a finished activity and the time period or the duration of the action for which it existed.

Example: Shukla was very sensitive when he was a child.

‘Was’ is the simple past tense utilized in the above sentence. ‘Was’ is the simple past tense form of the action word ‘be’. Here, ‘was’ is used to show the past nature and the past state of being of Shukla.

Is simple past tense noun?

The answer is no, as simple past tense is a verb tense which is applied on action words that are completed while noun tells the name of a place, animal, person or thing.

Example: The child asked innumerable questions all throughout the day.

‘Asked’ is the simple past tense in this sentence and it is an action word and not a noun, as it does not tell us the name of a person, animal, thing or place. The nouns in this sentence include ‘child’, ‘questions’ and ‘day’.

Is simple past tense adverb?

No, simple past tense can never be an adverb because adverbs are words that are used to describe a verb or an adjective while simple past tense is a verb tense form used on action words.

Example: Our teacher taught the lessons very well.

The simple past tense used here is ‘taught’ and it is the past verb form of the action word ‘teach’. ‘Very well’ is the adverb in the above sentence and it has no connection with the simple past tense.

Is simple past tense pronoun?

A pronoun is a word that is used in the place of a noun to replace it while simple past tense is tense form which is applied on verbs (action words) to show completed activities. So, simple past tense is never a pronoun.

Example: He wished me luck for my examinations.

‘Wished’ is the simple past tense utilized in the above sentence on the action word ‘wish’ to indicate that the action is over and ‘he’ is the pronoun.

Is simple past tense adjective?

No, an adjective is a word which is utilized to describe and qualify a noun or a pronoun while simple past tense is a verb form.

Example: The red gown suited you the best.

‘Red’ is the adjective used in the above sentence to qualify the noun ‘gown’ while ‘suited’ is the simple past tense of the action word ‘suit’ and it indicates that the action is completed.

Conclusion

Thus, from the above simple past tense examples we got to know that simple past tense is one of the verb tenses which is utilized on the action words (verbs) in order to demonstrate an action or an activity which is finished and over.