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simple past

American  
[sim-puhl past] / ˈsɪm pəl ˈpæst /

noun

  1. a verb formation used to indicate that an action or state happened in the past, such as seemed, had, started, took: in regular verbs in English, formed by adding -ed to the stem.

adjective

  1. designating a verb formation used to express an action or state that happened in the past.

Etymology

Origin of simple past

First recorded in 1770–80

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.

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