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English grammar · lesson 13 of 30 · free

Simple past tense — English grammar for kids

The simple past is for actions that are finished: yesterday, last week, two days ago. Regular verbs add -ed (played, studied), but many common verbs are irregular — go → went, eat → ate — and must be learnt.

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The grammar rule

Past = V2 — “use the past form for every subject; did + base form in questions and “not””

  1. Time words: yesterday, last Sunday, two days ago, last week, in 2023.
  2. Regular verbs add -ed (cleaned, studied, jogged); irregular verbs change (went, ate, wrote, bought). The same form works for every subject.
  3. Questions and “not” use did + the base verb: Did you go? He did not go.

Use it for: Writing stories, diary entries and holiday news, and every “what did you do?” answer.

Worked example: Arjun ___ to school yesterday. → went

  1. “yesterday” is finished time, so we use the simple past.
  2. “go” is irregular: its past form is went (not “goed”).

Check: Make it a question: “Did Arjun go to school yesterday?” — did + go ✓

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✓ Written and checked by the TalentJR team · Updated 13 Oct 2026 · How we make our lessons

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🖨️ Past Tense Worksheet

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