Simple Past Tense vs Past Participle: Rules, Examples, and Practice for Kids

Hi! I’m Max! Today we’ll learn the difference between the Simple Past Tense vs Past Participle. Many kids get confused between these two grammar points, but with clear rules, tables, and fun examples, you’ll master them in no time!

📑 Table of Contents

🌟 What is the Simple Past Tense?

The Simple Past Tense is used to talk about actions that happened in the past and are finished.

👉 Keywords: yesterday, last week, ago, in 2000

Examples:

I played football yesterday.
She watched a movie last night.
We went to the park last Sunday.

🌟 What is the Past Participle?

The Past Participle is a verb form used with have/has/had (perfect tenses) or be (passive voice).

👉 It is not the same as the Simple Past, especially for irregular verbs.

Examples:

I have played football. (Present Perfect)
She has gone to the park. (Present Perfect)
The cake was eaten. (Passive Voice)

📊 Simple Past Tense vs Past Participle: Key Differences

Feature	Simple Past Tense	Past Participle
Use	Finished actions in the past	Used with have/has/had or in passive sentences
Structure	Verb in past form	Verb in past participle form
Example	She saw a movie yesterday.	She has seen that movie.
Time Reference	Clear past time (yesterday, last year)	No clear time, often connected to present

🌍 Examples in Sentences

Verb	Simple Past	Past Participle	Example (Past)	Example (Participle)
eat	ate	eaten	I ate pizza yesterday.	I have eaten pizza already.
go	went	gone	He went to school.	He has gone to school.
see	saw	seen	We saw Max yesterday.	We have seen Max before.
write	wrote	written	She wrote a letter.	She has written many letters.
play	played	played	They played football.	They have played football.

📚 Irregular Verbs Table

Here are some common irregular verbs kids need to know:

Base Verb	Simple Past	Past Participle
be	was/were	been
do	did	done
have	had	had
go	went	gone
see	saw	seen
eat	ate	eaten
write	wrote	written
make	made	made
take	took	taken
give	gave	given

🚫 Common Mistakes

❌ Wrong	✅ Correct	Why?
I have went to school.	I have gone to school.	Past participle of go is gone, not went.
She has ate lunch.	She has eaten lunch.	Use participle eaten, not past ate.
Yesterday I have seen Max.	Yesterday I saw Max.	Clear past time → use Simple Past.

🎮 Fun Practice Games

Game 1: Fill in the Blank

Choose the correct form (Simple Past or Past Participle).

Max ___ (go) to the park yesterday.
Max has ___ (go) to the park.
I ___ (eat) pizza last night.
I have ___ (eat) pizza already.
She ___ (write) a letter yesterday.
She has ___ (write) many letters.

Game 2: True or False

Simple Past is used with yesterday.
Past Participle is used with have/has/had.
“I have went” is correct.

Game 3: Spot the Mistake

He has saw a movie.
I have went to school.
She wrote many letters yesterday. (Correct or Wrong?)

Game 4: Match the Pairs

Match the base verb with its past and participle:

go → went → ?
eat → ? → eaten
see → saw → ?
write → ? → written

✅ Answer Key

Game 1

went
gone
ate
eaten
wrote
written

Game 2

True
True
False (Correct: I have gone)

Game 3

Wrong → Correct: He has seen a movie.
Wrong → Correct: I have gone to school.
Correct

Game 4

go → went → gone
eat → ate → eaten
see → saw → seen
write → wrote → written

🎯 Final Thoughts

The difference between Simple Past Tense vs Past Participle is important:

Simple Past = finished action in the past (yesterday, last week).
Past Participle = used with have/has/had (perfect tense) or passive sentences.

👉 Remember: Don’t say “I have went” — say “I have gone”!

With these rules, examples, and practice games, you’ll master the difference between simple past tense vs past participle just like Max! 🐰