Past Simple en inglés

Estructura básica

¿Qué es el Past Simple y para qué sirve?

El Past Simple es el tiempo verbal que usamos para hablar de cosas que ya pasaron y que ya terminaron completamente. Es uno de los tiempos más importantes del inglés porque lo necesitas para contar historias, hablar de tu día, o describir eventos históricos.

Imagínate que alguien te pregunta: "What did you do yesterday?" (¿Qué hiciste ayer?) — para responder necesitas el Past Simple. Sin él, no puedes hablar del pasado en inglés.

Verbos REGULARES — Solo agrega -ED

Los verbos regulares son los más simples: para convertirlos al pasado, solo les agregas -ED al final.

work → worked | play → played | watch → watched | clean → cleaned | talk → talked | help → helped

Si termina en -E: solo -D → love → loved | dance → danced | close → closed

Si termina en consonante + Y: cambia Y→I y agrega -ED → study → studied | try → tried | cry → cried

Regla CVC (1 sílaba): dobla la consonante → stop → stopped | plan → planned

Verbos IRREGULARES — Los más importantes del inglés

Los irregulares cambian de forma completamente. Son los más usados, así que hay que aprenderlos:

be → was/were | have → had | do → did | go → went | come → came | see → saw

get → got | say → said | know → knew | think → thought | take → took | make → made

give → gave | find → found | tell → told | leave → left | feel → felt | buy → bought

eat → ate | write → wrote | run → ran | drink → drank | drive → drove | swim → swam

bring → brought | read → read (se pronuncia /rɛd/) | put → put (igual) | let → let (igual)

Forma AFIRMATIVA

El verbo en pasado es igual para todas las personas — no hay que conjugar:

I worked. You worked. He/She worked. We worked. They worked.

Ejemplos reales: "Yesterday I went to school." | "She ate tacos for lunch." | "We watched a movie last night."

Forma NEGATIVA — Didn't + verbo base

Sujeto + didn't + verbo BASE (sin cambiar):

• I didn't go to school. (❌ "didn't went" — INCORRECTO)

• She didn't eat breakfast. | They didn't know the answer.

Regla de oro: después de didn't, el verbo vuelve a su forma base original.

Forma INTERROGATIVA — Did + sujeto + verbo base

Did + sujeto + verbo BASE?

• Did you go to the party? — Yes, I did. / No, I didn't.

• Did she call you? — Yes, she did. / No, she didn't.

• What did you do yesterday? | Where did they go? | Why did he leave?

Palabras clave del Past Simple

Cuando ves estas palabras en una oración, seguramente necesitas Past Simple:

yesterday — ayer | last night/week/month/year — la noche/semana/mes/año pasado

... ago — hace ...: "two days ago" | in + año: "in 1492" | when I was young

30 ejercicios resueltos

1. She ___ (go) to the cinema yesterday. → went

2. I ___ (not/eat) breakfast. → didn't eat

3. ___ you ___ (study) last night? → Did you study?

4. He ___ (buy) a new phone. → bought

5. They ___ (play) football. → played

6. She ___ (not/come) to the party. → didn't come

7. What ___ you ___ (do) yesterday? → did you do?

8. We ___ (see) a great movie. → saw

9. I ___ (wake up) at 7am. → woke up

10. Columbus ___ (arrive) in America in 1492. → arrived

11. My cat ___ (run) away. → ran

12. Who ___ (write) Don Quijote? → wrote — Cervantes.

13. She ___ (study) all night but ___ (not/pass). → studied / didn't pass

14. How ___ you ___ (feel) after the exam? → did you feel?

15. It ___ (rain) a lot last week. → rained

Ruta de aprendizaje recomendada

1. Verbo To Be — El primero que debes dominar
2. Present Simple — El tiempo verbal mas usado
3. Verbos irregulares — Los 50 mas importantes
4. Past Simple — Hablar del pasado
5. Future Will — Hablar del futuro

Consejos para estudiar ingles en casa