Hi! I’m Max! Today we’ll explore the Simple Past Tense. It helps us talk about things that already happened. I’ll show you easy rules, lots of examples of simple past tense sentences, and fun ways to remember irregular verbs for kids.
📑 Table of Contents
- What is the Simple Past Tense?
- Grammar Rules
- Regular Verbs in the Past
- Irregular Verbs for Kids
- Examples of Simple Past Tense Sentences
- Daily Life with Max
- Common Mistakes
- Fun Practice Games
- Answer Key
- Final Thoughts
🌟 What is the Simple Past Tense?
The Simple Past Tense is used to describe actions that happened before now.
👉 Keywords: yesterday, last week, in 2020, two days ago
Examples:
- I played soccer yesterday.
- She watched a movie last night.
- We went to the park on Sunday.
📝 Grammar Rules
| Type | Structure | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Positive | Subject + past verb | I played soccer. |
| Negative | Subject + did not (didn’t) + base verb | I didn’t play soccer. |
| Question | Did + subject + base verb? | Did you play soccer? |
📘 Regular Verbs in the Past
Most verbs in English are regular. Add -ed to the base verb.
| Rule | Base Verb | Past Verb | Example |
|---|---|---|---|
| Add -ed | play | played | Max played the piano. |
| Drop -e + -ed | like | liked | She liked carrots. |
| Change -y to -ied | study | studied | They studied English. |
| Double consonant + -ed | stop | stopped | We stopped the game. |
📕 Irregular Verbs for Kids
Some verbs are irregular. They don’t follow the -ed rule. You just have to learn them!
| Base Verb | Past Verb | Example |
|---|---|---|
| go | went | Max went to the park. |
| eat | ate | He ate carrots yesterday. |
| have | had | I had a great day. |
| see | saw | We saw a rainbow. |
| make | made | She made a cake. |
| come | came | They came to my house. |
| take | took | He took a picture. |
| run | ran | Max ran fast. |
| give | gave | She gave me a gift. |
| write | wrote | I wrote a story. |
🌍 Examples of Simple Past Tense Sentences
| Type | Sentence |
|---|---|
| Positive | I played the piano yesterday. |
| Positive | She ate carrots for lunch. |
| Negative | He didn’t go to school last Friday. |
| Negative | We didn’t watch TV yesterday. |
| Question | Did you play soccer last weekend? |
| Question | Did she write a letter? |
🧸 Daily Life with Max
- Yesterday, I played the piano. 🎹
- I ate carrots for lunch. 🥕
- I went to the park with my friends. 🌳
- I saw a rainbow in the sky. 🌈
- I ran very fast in the race. 🏃
🚫 Common Mistakes
| ❌ Wrong | ✅ Correct | Why? |
|---|---|---|
| He go to school yesterday. | He went to school yesterday. | “go” is irregular → went |
| She didn’t went to the park. | She didn’t go to the park. | After “didn’t” use base verb |
| Did you played soccer? | Did you play soccer? | After “did” use base verb |
🎮 Fun Practice Games
Game 1: Fill in the Blank
- Max ___ (eat) carrots yesterday.
- We ___ (go) to the zoo last Sunday.
- She ___ (play) the piano in the evening.
- They ___ (not watch) TV last night.
- ___ you ___ (see) the rainbow?
Game 2: Match the Verb
Match the base verb with its past tense.
- go
- eat
- run
- have
- write
→ went, ate, ran, had, wrote
Game 3: True or False
- Simple Past Tense is used for things happening now.
- “He ate an apple yesterday” is correct.
- “She didn’t went home” is correct.
Game 4: Fix the Mistake
- They goes to the park yesterday.
- Did she played the piano?
- He didn’t ate carrots.
✅ Answer Key
Game 1
- ate
- went
- played
- didn’t watch
- Did you see
Game 2
- go → went
- eat → ate
- run → ran
- have → had
- write → wrote
Game 3
- False (That’s Present Continuous)
- True
- False (Correct: She didn’t go home)
Game 4
- They went to the park yesterday.
- Did she play the piano?
- He didn’t eat carrots.
🎯 Final Thoughts
The Simple Past Tense is easy once you learn the rules.
- Use -ed for regular verbs.
- Remember irregular verbs for kids like go → went, eat → ate.
- Don’t forget: after did/didn’t, always use the base verb.
Practice with these examples of simple past tense sentences and soon you’ll be a past tense pro like Max! 🐰