Past Simple — I Did
Regular & Irregular Verbs · Questions · Negatives · Was/Were
Passé Simple — I Did
Verbes réguliers & irréguliers · Questions · Négatifs · Was/Were
Master the most important past tense in English — how to form it, how to ask questions, how to make negatives, and the special forms of be
Maîtrisez le temps du passé le plus important en anglais — comment le former, poser des questions, faire des négatifs, et les formes spéciales de be
The past simple is used for completed actions or situations in the past — things that happened at a specific time and are now finished. This unit covers how to form it with regular verbs (add -ed), how to use irregular verbs (special forms to learn), how to form questions and negatives with did/didn't, and the special past forms of be: was/were.
Le passé simple s'utilise pour les actions ou situations passées et terminées — des choses qui se sont passées à un moment précis. Cette unité couvre comment le former avec les verbes réguliers (ajouter -ed), comment utiliser les verbes irréguliers (formes spéciales), comment former des questions et des négatifs avec did/didn't, et les formes spéciales de be au passé : was/were.
Regular Verbs — Add -ed
Verbes réguliers — Ajouter -ed
For most regular verbs, the past simple is formed by adding -ed to the base form. This form is the same for all persons (I, you, he, she, we, they).
Pour la plupart des verbes réguliers, le passé simple se forme en ajoutant -ed à la base verbale. Cette forme est la même pour toutes les personnes.
invite → invited They invited us to their party, but we decided not to go.
stop → stopped The police stopped me on my way home last night.
study → studied Laura passed her exam because she studied very hard.
Irregular Verbs — Special Past Forms
Verbes irréguliers — Formes passées spéciales
Many common verbs are irregular — their past simple does not end in -ed. These forms must be learned individually.
De nombreux verbes courants sont irréguliers — leur passé simple ne se termine pas en -ed. Ces formes doivent être apprises individuellement.
Questions and Negatives — Did / Didn't + Infinitive
Questions et Négatifs — Did / Didn't + Infinitif
In questions and negative sentences, use did / didn't + the base form (infinitive) of the verb — not the past form.
Dans les questions et les phrases négatives, utilisez did / didn't + la base verbale (infinitif) — pas la forme passée.
| Positive | Question | Negative | Positif | Question | Négatif |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| I enjoyed | Did you enjoy? | I didn't enjoy | I enjoyed | Did you enjoy ? | I didn't enjoy |
| she saw | Did she see? | she didn't see | she saw | Did she see ? | she didn't see |
| they went | Did they go? | they didn't go | they went | Did they go ? | they didn't go |
Past of Be — Was / Were
Passé de Be — Was / Were
The past of be (am/is/are) is was/were. Unlike other verbs, it does not use did/didn't for questions and negatives.
Le passé de be (am/is/are) est was/were. Contrairement aux autres verbes, il n'utilise pas did/didn't pour les questions et les négatifs.
we / you / they → were / weren't · Were we/you/they?
Exercise 1 — Laura's typical working day (past simple)
Exercice 1 — La journée type de Laura (passé simple)
Read what Laura says, then write what she did or didn't do yesterday.
Lisez ce que dit Laura, puis écrivez ce qu'elle a fait ou n'a pas fait hier.
Exercise 2 — Irregular verbs in context
Exercice 2 — Verbes irréguliers en contexte
Complete each sentence using the correct past simple form of the verb in brackets.
Complétez chaque phrase avec la forme correcte du verbe entre parenthèses.
Exercise 3 — Holiday questions (did + base form)
Exercice 3 — Questions sur les vacances (did + base)
Write the question you would ask James, based on his answers.
Écrivez la question que vous poseriez à James, d'après ses réponses.
Exercise 4 — Positive or negative? Context decides
Exercice 4 — Positif ou négatif ? Le contexte décide
Use the verb in brackets in the correct past simple form — positive or negative.
Utilisez le verbe entre parenthèses à la bonne forme du passé simple — positif ou négatif.
Frequently Asked Questions — Past Simple
Questions fréquentes — Passé Simple
The past simple is used for actions or situations that were completed in the past — they started and finished at a specific time. It is often used with time expressions like yesterday, last week, ago, in 1990, this morning. It answers the question: "When did it happen?" If there's a specific past time, use the past simple.
Le passé simple s'utilise pour les actions ou situations terminées dans le passé — elles ont commencé et se sont terminées à un moment précis. On l'utilise souvent avec des expressions de temps comme yesterday, last week, ago, in 1990, this morning.
In questions and negatives, did/didn't already carries the past meaning, so the main verb returns to its base form (infinitive): Did you enjoy it? not Did you enjoyed it? Think of it this way: only one element in the sentence can be in the past — either the auxiliary (did) or the main verb, never both.
Dans les questions et les négatifs, did/didn't porte déjà le sens passé, donc le verbe principal revient à sa base verbale (infinitif) : Did you enjoy it? pas Did you enjoyed it?
Was is used with I, he, she, it (singular). Were is used with we, you, they (plural). Unlike regular verbs, be does not use did/didn't for questions and negatives — instead: Was it good? / It wasn't good. / Were they ready? / They weren't ready.
Was s'utilise avec I, he, she, it (singulier). Were s'utilise avec we, you, they (pluriel). Contrairement aux verbes réguliers, be n'utilise pas did/didn't pour les questions et les négatifs.
The most common irregular verbs follow patterns. Some have vowel changes: write→wrote, drive→drove, ride→rode; fall→fell, sell→sold, tell→told; begin→began, swim→swam, ring→rang. Some don't change at all: cost→cost, cut→cut, hit→hit, hurt→hurt, put→put, shut→shut. Learning them in groups by sound pattern is the most effective method.
Les verbes irréguliers les plus courants suivent des schémas. Certains ont des changements de voyelle. D'autres ne changent pas du tout : cost→cost, cut→cut, hurt→hurt. Les apprendre en groupes par schéma sonore est la méthode la plus efficace.
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