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.

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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

Example Sentences

This use of the simple past “was” implied that the pandemic is now over, which is clearly inaccurate.

From Washington Post • Mar. 25, 2022

I cannot be interred in the soft loam of the simple past, I refuse the easy certainties of a fictionalised life.

From The Guardian • Dec. 8, 2017

This file contains supplementary text S1.1 – S1.7 and Figure S1 - Temporal trends in the usage of 36 verbs, in the simple past tense and in all tenses.

From Nature • Oct. 31, 2017

None of the residents had a simple past, a stable present, or a solid idea of what the immediate or long-term future might bring.

From The New Yorker • Feb. 19, 2017

When the main action takes place in a past tense, the verb that follows after is in the simple past: I would have started dinner after the guests arrived.

From "Woe Is I" by Patricia T. O'Conner