We use Past Simple for finished actions in the past.
Signal words:
yesterday, last week, last month, last year, last summer, two days ago, in 2020, when I was a child
Positive Sentences
Regular verbs: verb + -ed
visit → visited
stay → stayed
walk → walked
play → played
Examples:
I visited Moscow last year.
We stayed in a small hotel.
They walked around the city.
Irregular verbs: special form
go → went
see → saw
eat → ate
buy → bought
take → took
have → had
Examples:
I went to Kazan.
We saw a beautiful church.
She bought souvenirs.
They had a great time.
Negative Sentences
Use:
didn’t + verb
Examples:
I didn’t visit the museum.
He didn’t buy a ticket.
We didn’t stay in a hotel.
They didn’t go to the beach.
Important:
I didn’t went — wrong
I didn’t go — correct
Questions
Use:
Did + person + verb?
Examples:
Did you travel last summer?
Did he stay in a hotel?
Did they visit the museum?
Did she buy souvenirs?
Short answers:
Yes, I did. / No, I didn’t.
Yes, he did. / No, he didn’t.
Yes, they did. / No, they didn’t.
Important:
Did you went? — wrong
Did you go? — correct
Past Simple with “be”
am / is → was
are → were
Examples:
The hotel was clean.
The tickets were expensive.
I was tired.
We were happy.
Negative:
The hotel wasn’t clean.
The tickets weren’t cheap.
Questions:
Was the hotel good?
Were the people friendly?