With most verbs the past tense is formed by adding -ed:
call >> called; like >> liked; want >> wanted; work >> worked
But there are a lot of irregular past tenses in English.(Look at next post)
Use
We use the past tense to talk about:
-
something that happened once in the past:
I met my wife in 1983.
We went to Spain for our holidays.
They got home very late last night.
-
something that happened again and again in the past:
When I was a boy I walked a mile to school every day.
We swam a lot while we were on holiday.
They always enjoyed visiting their friends.
-
something that was true for some time in the past:
I lived abroad for ten years.
He enjoyed being a student.
She played a lot of tennis when she was younger.
-
we often use phrases with ago with the past tense:
I met my wife a long time ago.
Questions and negatives
We use did to make questions with the past tense:
When did you meet your wife?
Where did you go for your holidays?
Did she play tennis when she was younger?
Did you live abroad?
But look at these questions:
Who discovered penicillin?
Who wrote Don Quixote?
For more on these questions see question forms
We use didn’t (did not) to make negatives with the past tense:
They didn’t go to Spain this year.
We didn’t get home until very late last night.
I didn’t see you yesterday.