Use the simple past for completed actions in the past — events that started and finished.
Finished action
I watched a film last night.
Specific time
She arrived at 8 o'clock.
Past habit
When I was a child, I played football every day.
Time signals
yesterday · last week · ago · in 2020 · when I was young
Add -ed (regular verbs)
Most verbs add -ed to form the past
Standard
work → worked · play → played · visit → visited
All subjects same
I worked · she worked · they worked (no -s!)
Pronunciation: -ed has three sounds: /t/ after p, k, f, s, sh, ch (worked, walked) /d/ after voiced sounds (played, lived) /ɪd/ after t or d (visited, wanted)
Spelling rules
Three rules for adding -ed
Verb ends in -e
just add -d: live → lived, love → loved, dance → danced
CVC short verbs
consonant + vowel + consonant → double the consonant: stop → stopped, plan → planned
Consonant + y
y → ied: study → studied, cry → cried, try → tried
Vowel + y
just add -ed: play → played, stay → stayed
Negative and questions
Use didn't / did + BASE verb (not past form)
Negative: subject + didn't + base verb → She didn't work. ✓
Question: Did + subject + base verb? →Did she work? ✓