Lesson 5: Yesterday

What did you do yesterday? We use the past simple for something that started and ended in the past. Think of a page of a calendar that is already gone. That time is over.

Some time words go with it: “yesterday”, “last week”, “two days ago” and “in 2020”.

Regular verbs

Most verbs are regular. Add -ed: “work, worked” and “play, played”.

If a verb ends in e, add only -d: “live, lived”. If it ends in a consonant and y, change y to -ied: “study, studied”.

Every person uses the same form: “I worked”, “she worked”, “they worked”. There is no -s tail this time.

Irregular verbs

Some verbs are irregular. They do not follow the rule, so you must learn them. Start with these five:

• be: was or were
• go: went
• have: had
• see: saw
• do: did

“I was at home.” “We went to the beach.” “She saw a film.”

Questions and negatives

Use “did” and the base verb.

For a question, say “Did you go to school?” To say no, say “I didn’t go.”

Do not put the past form after “did”. Say “Did you go?”, not “Did you went?”. The word “did” already shows the past.

Try it

Write the past simple:

1. Yesterday I ___ (watch) a film.
2. We ___ (go) to the sea last summer.
3. She didn’t ___ (see) him.

The answers are: watched, went, see.

Next time, we will look at tomorrow, with will and going to.