Unit 5. Past Simple (I did)
(простое прошедшее время)

Study this example situation:

Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart was an Austrian musician and composer.
He lived from 1756 to 1791. He started composing at the age of five
and wrote more than 600 pieces of music. He was only 35 years old
when he died.

Lived/ started/ wrote/ was/ died are all Past Simple.

Very often the Past Simple ends in -ed (regular verbs);

I work in a travel agency now. Before that I worked in a shop.
We invited them to our party but they decided not to come.
The police stopped me on my way home last night.
She passed her examination because she studied very hard.

For spelling (stopped, studied etc.), see Appendix 6. Spelling.
But many verbs are irregular. The Past Simple does not end in -ed. For example:

write → wrote	Mozart wrote more than 600 pieces of music.
see → saw	We saw Rose in town a few days ago.
go → went	I went to the cinema three times last week.
shut → shut	It was cold, so I shut the window.

For a list of irregular verbs, see Appendix 1. Reglar and irregular verbs.
In questions and negatives we use did/ didn't + infinitive (enjoy/ see/ go etc.):

I
she
they

enjoyed
saw
went

did

you
she
they

enjoy?
see?
go

I
she
they

didn't

enjoy
see
go

"Did you go out last night?" "Yes, I went to the cinema but I didn't enjoy the film much."
"When did Mr Thomas die?" "About ten years ago."
They didn't invite her to the party, so she didn't go.
"Did you have time to write the letter?" "No, I didn't."

Be careful when do is the main verb in the sentence:

What did you do at the weekend? (not what did you at the weekend)
I didn't do anything. (not I didn't anything)

The past of be (am/ is/ are) is was/ were:

I/ he/ she/ it
we/ you/ they

was/ wasn't
were/ weren't

was
were

I/ he/ she/ it?
we/ you/ they?

Note that we do not use did in negatives and questions with was/were:

I was angry because they were late.
Was the weather good when you were on holiday?
They weren't able to come because they were so busy.
Did you go out last night or were you too tired?

See Unit 6. Past continuous (I was doing)
See Unit 12. When…? and How long…? For and since
See Unit 13. Present Perfect and Past (1) (I have done and I did)
See Unit 14. Present Perfect and Past (2) (I have done and I did)

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Unit 5. Past Simple (I did) (простое прошедшее время)

Unit 5. Past Simple (I did)
(простое прошедшее время)