Use the Simple Past to express the idea that an action started and finished at a specific time in the past. Sometimes, the speaker may not actually mention the specific time, but they do have one specific time in mind.
Examples:
I saw a movie yesterday.
I didn't see a play yesterday.
Last year, I traveled to Japan.
Last year, I didn't travel to Korea.
Did you have dinner last night?
She washed her car.
He didn't wash his car.
Most verbs conjugate by adding -ed like the verb "wait" below.PositiveNegativeQuestionI waited.I did not wait.Did I wait?You waited.You did not wait.Did you wait?We waited.We did not wait.Did we wait?They waited.They did not wait.Did they wait?He waited.He did not wait.Did he wait?She waited.She did not wait.Did she wait?It waited.It did not wait.Did it wait?
Irregular Verbs Many verbs, such as "have," take irregular forms in the Simple Past. Notice that you only use the irregular verbs in statements. In negative forms and questions, "did" indicates Simple Past. To learn more about irregular verbs, visit Englishpage.com's Irregular Verb Dictionary. You can also use Englishpage.com's Online Irregular Verb Flashcards to memorize irregular verb forms.PositiveNegativeQuestionI had.I did not have.Did I have?You had.You did not have.Did you have?We had.We did not have.Did we have?They had.They did not have.Did they have?He had.He did not have.Did he have?She had.She did not have.Did she have?It had.It did not have.Did it have?