過去簡單式

型態
動詞 + ed 或不規則動詞
例句：

• You called Mary. (你打電話給瑪麗)
• Did you call Mary? (你有打電話給瑪麗嗎？)
• You did not call Mary. (你沒有打電話給瑪麗)
• Andy ate a lot of food. (安迪吃了許多食物)
• Did Andy eat a lot of food? (安迪吃了許多食物嗎？)
• Andy did not eat a lot of food. (安迪沒有吃許多食物)

用法之一：過去完成的動作
過去簡單式係用來表示開始於且結束於過去某一特定時間的動作。說話者有時可能不會確切提到這一特定時間，但他們心中卻有一個特定時間。
例句：

• We saw a movie yesterday. (我們昨天看了一部電影)
• They didn’t go to the concert yesterday. (他們昨天沒有去聽音樂會)
• Last year I traveled to Japan. (去年我去了日本)
• Last year I didn’t travel to Korea. (去年我沒有去韓國)
• Did Sandy have dinner last night? (珊蒂昨晚有吃晚餐嗎？)
• Mary washed her car. (瑪麗洗了她的車)
• John didn’t wash his car. (約翰沒有洗他的車)

用法之二：一系列已完成的動作
我們可以使用過去簡單式來臚列一系列在過去完成的動作。這些動作依照它們發生的先後順序列出。
例句：

• I finished work, walked to the beach, and found a nice place to swim. (我做完工作後走到海灘，發現一個游泳的好地方)
• Irving arrived here from the airport at 8:00, checked into the hotel at 9:00, and met the others at 10:00. (歐文 8 點從機場抵達這裡，9 點住進飯店，10 點與其餘的人會面)
• Did you add flour, pour in the milk, and then add the eggs? (你有先加入麵粉，再倒入牛奶，然後加入雞蛋嗎？)

用法之三：過去發生之動作所持續的時間
過去簡單式可與過去發生之動作所持續的時間連用；這一持續的時間開始於過去，亦結束於過去。for ten minutes, for two weeks, all day, all year 等等，都是可與過去簡單式連用的時間副詞片語。
例句：

• I lived in Indonesia for two years. (我在印尼住了兩年)
• Fiona studied Japanese for five years. (費歐娜學了五年的日語)
• They sat at the beach all day. (他們整天坐在海灘上)
• We did not stay at the party the entire time. (我們並未全程都待在派對上)
• They talked on the phone for thirty minutes. (他們講了三十分鐘的電話)
• A: How long did you wait for them? (你等了他們多久？)
  B: We waited for one hour. (我們等了一小時)

用法之四：過去的習慣
過去簡單式亦可用來表示過去的習慣 (現在已不存在)；它的意思與 “used to" 相當類似。為了清楚地表達這意思，我們在談論過去的習慣時，往往會加上 always, often, usually, never, when I was a child, when I was younger等字句。
例句：

• I studied Japanese when I was a child. (我小時候學日文)
• Mary played the violin. (瑪麗拉小提琴)
• Mary didn’t play the piano. (瑪麗不彈鋼琴)
• Did you play a musical instrument when you were a kid? (你小時候彈奏樂器嗎？)
• She worked at the movie theater after school. (她放學後在那家電影院工作)
• They never went to school; they always skipped class. (他們從不上學；他們總是蹺課)

用法之五：過去的事實或普遍性真理
過去簡單式亦可用來表示過去的事實或普遍性真理 (但現在已不存在)；與用法四一樣，它的意思與 “used to" 相當類似。
例句：

• Wendy was shy as a child, but now she is very outgoing. (溫蒂小時候很害羞，但現在非常外向)
• My brother didn’t like tomatoes before. (我弟弟以前不喜歡吃蕃茄)
• Did you live in Taipei when you were a kid? (你小時候住台北嗎？)
• People paid much more to make cell phone calls in the past. (過去手機電話費比現在貴很多)

重點提示：When 子句的動作較早發生
當 when 子句的動詞與主要子句的動詞都是過去簡單式時，when 子句的動作較早發生，此時 when 相當於 after。舉例來說，Mary stood under a tree when it began to rain. 這句是說瑪麗站在樹下這個動作是發生在下雨之後 (她一定淋到雨)；如果句子改成 When Mary stood under a tree, it began to rain.，那麼這是說瑪麗站在樹下之後，雨才開始下 (她沒有淋到雨 — 如果樹葉可以遮雨的話)。
例句：

• When I paid her one dollar, she answered my question. (我付她一塊錢後，她回答我的問題)
• She answered my question when I paid her one dollar. (我付她一塊錢後，她回答我的問題)

從上面的例句可知，當兩個子句的動詞都是過去簡單式時，when 子句無論置於主要子句之前或之後，其動作都比主要子句的動作還要早發生。所以，下句的意思與上句截然不同；它係表示她先回答我的問題，然後我再付她一塊錢。
例句：

• I paid her one dollar when she answered my question. (她回答我的問題後，我付她一塊錢)

副詞的位置
always, usually, only, never, ever, still, just 等副詞通常位在普通動詞之前。
例句：

• He just called Barbara. (他剛打電話給芭芭拉)
• Did he just call Barbara? (他剛打電話給芭芭拉嗎？)

主動態/被動態
例句：

• Tommy repaired the car. (湯米修理車子) － 主動態
• The car was repaired by Tommy. (車子被湯米修理) － 被動態