The simple present and simple past are both used with normal verbs, but they talk about different times.
Compare:
I work at a bank.
I worked at a bank last year.
The first sentence describes the present or usual situation.
The second sentence describes something that happened in the past.
The easiest rule is:
Simple present → now, usually, or generally true
Simple past → happened and finished before now
We use the simple present for:
Examples:
I drink tea every morning.
She works at a hospital.
They visit their parents every weekend.
Water boils at 100°C.
We use the simple past for something that:
Examples:
I drank tea this morning.
She worked at a hospital last year.
They visited their parents yesterday.
He bought a new laptop two days ago.
The action is finished.
Think about when the action happens.
Simple present
I walk to work every day.
This is my usual routine.
Simple past
I walked to work yesterday.
This happened in the past and is finished.
A very useful memory rule:
Simple present → usually happens
Simple past → already happened
For example:
She cooks dinner every evening.
→ usual activity
She cooked dinner last night.
→ finished past activity
For normal verbs:
I / You / We / They
Use the basic verb:
I work.
You work.
We work.
They work.
He / She / It
Usually add -s/-es:
He works.
She works.
It works.
In the simple past, the verb usually has one past form for all subjects.
For example:
I worked.
You worked.
He worked.
She worked.
We worked.
They worked.
There is no:
or:
if you are talking about a finished past action.
Using play:
| Subject | Simple Present | Simple Past |
|---|---|---|
| I | I play. | I played. |
| You | You play. | You played. |
| He | He plays. | He played. |
| She | She plays. | She played. |
| It | It plays. | It played. |
| We | We play. | We played. |
| They | They play. | They played. |
Notice:
Present
He/She/It → plays
I/You/We/They → play
Past
Everyone → played
Many verbs form the past with -ed.
| Present | Past |
|---|---|
| work | worked |
| play | played |
| watch | watched |
| clean | cleaned |
| open | opened |
| visit | visited |
| help | helped |
| cook | cooked |
Examples:
I work here now.
I worked there last year.
Some verbs do not use -ed.
You need to learn their past forms.
| Present | Past |
|---|---|
| go | went |
| come | came |
| eat | ate |
| drink | drank |
| see | saw |
| buy | bought |
| take | took |
| make | made |
| have | had |
| get | got |
| give | gave |
| write | wrote |
Examples:
I go to the office every day.
I went to the office yesterday.
In a positive simple past sentence, use the past form of the verb.
She visited her friend.
He bought a book.
They went home.
But when we use did or didn't, the main verb goes back to its basic form.
She didn't visit her friend.
Did he buy a book?
They didn't go home.
This rule is extremely important.
Use:
don't / doesn't + basic verb
I / You / We / They
I don't work here.
You don't work here.
We don't work here.
They don't work here.
He / She / It
He doesn't work here.
She doesn't work here.
It doesn't work.
Remember:
doesn't + basic verb
Not:
Correct:
She doesn't work.
Use:
didn't + basic verb
This works with every subject.
I didn't work.
You didn't work.
He didn't work.
She didn't work.
We didn't work.
They didn't work.
Remember:
didn't + basic verb
Not:
Correct:
She didn't work.
Simple present
She doesn't work on Sundays.
This describes her usual schedule.
Simple past
She didn't work last Sunday.
This describes one finished past situation.
Notice:
doesn't + work
didn't + work
The main verb is basic in both structures.
Use:
Do/Does + subject + basic verb?
Examples:
Do you work here?
Does she work here?
Do they live nearby?
Does he play tennis?
Use:
Did + subject + basic verb?
Examples:
Did you work yesterday?
Did she visit her friend?
Did they live here before?
Did he play tennis yesterday?
Notice:
Did + basic verb
Not:
Correct:
Did she visit?
This is an important way to remember the difference.
Simple present
Use:
do with I/you/we/they
does with he/she/it
Examples:
Do you work?
Does she work?
Simple past
Use:
did with everyone
Examples:
Did I work?
Did you work?
Did she work?
Did they work?
Using the verb work:
| Subject | Present Positive | Present Negative | Present Question | Past Positive | Past Negative | Past Question |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| I | I work. | I don't work. | Do I work? | I worked. | I didn't work. | Did I work? |
| You | You work. | You don't work. | Do you work? | You worked. | You didn't work. | Did you work? |
| He | He works. | He doesn't work. | Does he work? | He worked. | He didn't work. | Did he work? |
| She | She works. | She doesn't work. | Does she work? | She worked. | She didn't work. | Did she work? |
| It | It works. | It doesn't work. | Does it work? | It worked. | It didn't work. | Did it work? |
| We | We work. | We don't work. | Do we work? | We worked. | We didn't work. | Did we work? |
| They | They work. | They don't work. | Do they work? | They worked. | They didn't work. | Did they work? |
This is a useful table to remember.
Let's use watch.
Simple present
She watches TV every evening.
Simple present negative
She doesn't watch TV every evening.
Simple present question
Does she watch TV every evening?
Simple past
She watched TV last night.
Simple past negative
She didn't watch TV last night.
Simple past question
Did she watch TV last night?
Notice the main difference:
Present positive → watches
Past positive → watched
Present negative/question → does + watch
Past negative/question → did + watch
These words often indicate a simple present meaning:
Examples:
I exercise every morning.
She usually takes the bus.
They often eat at home.
These words often indicate a simple past meaning:
Examples:
I exercised yesterday.
She took the bus last week.
They ate at home last night.
This is one of the easiest comparisons.
I walk to school every day.
→ usual routine
I walked to school yesterday.
→ finished past event
He usually plays tennis on Saturday.
→ regular activity
He played tennis last Saturday.
→ one finished past event
She often cooks at home.
→ repeated habit
She cooked at home yesterday.
→ one past event
Ago means before now.
Use the simple past with ago.
Examples:
I moved here two years ago.
She called me ten minutes ago.
They bought the house five years ago.
Not:
Correct:
I moved here two years ago.
If you are talking about a finished past event, don't use the present form.
Incorrect:
Correct:
Incorrect:
Correct:
Incorrect:
Correct:
The opposite is also important.
If something happens regularly, use the simple present.
Incorrect:
If you mean this is your usual routine, say:
But:
I went to work every day last week.
This is possible because last week makes the routine a finished past period.
Look at:
I play football.
This can mean it is my usual activity.
I played football.
This means I did it in the past.
Add a time expression:
I play football every Sunday.
I played football last Sunday.
The time expression helps make the meaning clear.
Let's compare some common verbs.
| Present | Past |
|---|---|
| go | went |
| eat | ate |
| drink | drank |
| see | saw |
| buy | bought |
| take | took |
| come | came |
| make | made |
| get | got |
| write | wrote |
Examples:
We eat here every Friday.
We ate here last Friday.
She buys groceries every week.
She bought groceries yesterday.
They go there every month.
They went there last month.
The simple past can also use was/were, but that is for be, not normal action verbs.
Compare:
She was tired.
She worked yesterday.
The first sentence uses the past form of be.
The second uses a normal past verb.
For a normal action:
Correct:
And for a negative normal action:
Correct:
This is an important decision.
Use was/were
For:
He was tired.
They were happy.
She was a student.
We were at home.
Use did
For normal actions:
Did he work?
Did they play?
Did she go?
Did you eat?
She was tired yesterday.
This describes her condition.
She worked yesterday.
This tells us what she did.
Negative:
She wasn't tired yesterday.
She didn't work yesterday.
Question:
Was she tired yesterday?
Did she work yesterday?
When choosing between simple present and simple past, ask:
Question 1
Is this usual, repeated, or generally true?
→ Simple present
He runs every morning.
Question 2
Did it happen and finish before now?
→ Simple past
He ran this morning.
Then ask:
Is it a normal action verb?
Use:
present: do/does
past: did
Examples:
Does she work?
Did she work?
Is it the verb “be”?
Use:
present: am/is/are
past: was/were
Examples:
Is she tired?
Was she tired?
| Simple Present | Simple Past | |
|---|---|---|
| Main idea | usual / repeated / generally true | finished before now |
| Positive | She works. | She worked. |
| Negative | She doesn't work. | She didn't work. |
| Question | Does she work? | Did she work? |
| He/She/It positive | verb + s | past verb |
| I/You/We/They positive | basic verb | past verb |
| Negative helper | do/does | did |
| Question helper | do/does | did |
| Common time words | every day, usually, often | yesterday, last week, ago |
PRESENT
Positive: She works.
Negative: She doesn't work.
Question: Does she work?
PAST
Positive: She worked.
Negative: She didn't work.
Question: Did she work?
Notice:
Present positive: works
Past positive: worked
But after does/doesn't/did/didn't:
basic verb → work
For normal verbs, remember these six patterns:
Simple Present
Positive
Subject + verb
Negative
Subject + don't/doesn't + basic verb
Question
Do/Does + subject + basic verb?
Simple Past
Positive
Subject + past verb
Negative
Subject + didn't + basic verb
Question
Did + subject + basic verb?
Think about time first.
USUAL?
→ Simple present
I work every day.
FINISHED PAST?
→ Simple past
I worked yesterday.
Then remember:
Present
do / does
Past
did
And:
does/did + basic verb
So:
Does she work?
Did she work?
Not: