In this article, we are going to help you understand the different irregular conjugations in the simple past tense. To do this, we have simplified a list of all irregular verbs and cut it down to the most important and widely used verbs in English. Each entry will have the verb’s proper conjugation and an example sentence. This way, you will get lots of experience with simple past tense examples.
If you want to learn more about simple past tense grammar, you can click here.
If you have more questions or don’t see a verb here that you would like to know more about, then please comment or click on the image below.
Simple Past Tense Examples and Conjugations (Irregular Verbs)
If you have a specific verb you want to know, please use the find function on your keyboard (Ctrl + F) or (Command + F). Otherwise, all of our entries are alphabetical.
Each entry below will tell you what the simple past conjugation for that verb is in the simple past tense, and it will give you an example sentence to see how it is used.
What is the simple past tense of be?
The simple past of be is was or were. Was goes with I, he, she, and it. Were goes with you, we, and they.
They were happy yesterday.
I was at the park last Christmas.
What is the simple past tense of beat?
The simple past of beat is still beat.
She beat him at chess yesterday.
What is the simple past tense of become?
The simple past of become is became.
They became university students last year.
What is the simple past tense of begin?
The simple past of begin is began.
The game began this morning.
What is the simple past tense of bet?
The simple past of bet is still bet.
I bet that the New York Yankees would lose last season.
What is the simple past tense of bend?
The simple past of bend is bent.
We bent the rulers into a “c” shape.
What is the simple past tense of bind?
The simple past of bind is bound.
Their arms were bound behind their backs after they were caught.
What is the simple past tense of bite?
The simple past of bite is bit.
A dog bit her arm when she was three years old.
What is the simple past tense of bleed?
The simple past of bleed is bled.
I bled on my shirt after I got a nosebleed.
What is the simple past tense of blow?
The simple past of blow is blew.
The wind blew through her hair.
What is the simple past tense of break?
The simple past of break is broke.
My computer broke last month.
What is the simple past tense of bring?
The simple past of bring is brought.
He brought his friends with him last summer when he went to Greece.
What is the simple past tense of build?
The simple past of build is built.
The Coliseum was built in Ancient Rome.
What is the simple past tense of burn?
The simple past of burn is burned (sometimes burnt).
Their house burned down last year during Easter.
What is the simple past tense of buy?
The simple past of buy is bought.
They bought a new dog last week.
What is the simple past tense of cast?
The simple past of cast is still cast.
They cast their lines into the pond.
What is the simple past tense of catch?
The simple past of catch is caught.
We caught bugs when we were young.
What is the simple past tense of choose?
The simple past of choose is chose.
He chose a black cat over an orange cat.
What is the simple past tense of come?
The simple past of come is came.
I came to Vancouver when I was only three years old.
What is the simple past tense of cost?
The simple past of cost is still cost.
A new phone cost her almost $1000 last year.
What is the simple past tense of cut?
The simple past of cut is still cut.
I cut my hand yesterday.
What is the simple past tense of deal?
The simple past of deal is dealt.
They dealt each player five cards.
What is the simple past tense of dig?
The simple past of dig is dug.
The dog dug a lot of holes in our backyard.
What is the simple past tense of dive?
The simple past of dive is dove.
The diver dove into the pool several times last Saturday.
What is the simple past tense of do?
The simple past of do is did.
He didn’t want to go home yesterday.
What is the simple past tense of draw?
The simple past of draw is drew.
She drew a picture of her family over the weekend.
What is the simple past tense of dream?
The simple past of dream is dreamed (sometimes dreamt).
I dreamed a lot last night.
What is the simple past tense of drink?
The simple past of drink is drank.
My grandfather often drank cola.
What is the simple past tense of drive?
The simple past of drive is drove.
They drove to Scotland last spring.
What is the simple past tense of eat?
The simple past of eat is ate.
I ate a lot of pie when I was a child.
What is the simple past tense of fall?
The simple past of fall is fell.
The bird fell from the sky.
What is the simple past tense of feed?
The simple past of feed is fed.
You fed the dog a can of beans.
What is the simple past tense of feel?
The simple past of feel is felt.
My old car felt better than this one.
What is the simple past tense of fight?
The simple past of fight is fought.
She fought with her friend all of last year.
What is the simple past tense of find?
The simple past of find is found.
They found the treasure in an old boat.
What is the simple past tense of fly?
The simple past of fly is flew.
It flew quickly through the air like a bird.
What is the simple past tense of forget?
The simple past of forget is forgot.
You forgot about her birthday last year.
What is the simple past tense of forgive?
The simple past of forgive is forgave.
Grandpa forgave you many years ago.
What is the simple past tense of freeze?
The simple past of freeze is froze.
The pond froze last week.
What is the simple past tense of get?
The simple past of get is got.
He got his check in the mail yesterday.
What is the simple past tense of give?
The simple past of give is gave.
The birthday party gave me a happy feeling.
What is the simple past tense of go?
The simple past of go is went.
I went to the park yesterday with my dog.
What is the simple past tense of grow?
The simple past of grow is grew.
My pumpkin grew way faster this year.
What is the simple past tense of hang?
The simple past of hang is hung.
She hung her coat on the hook.
What is the simple past tense of have?
The simple past of have is had.
Her old house had a pool and a trampoline.
What is the simple past tense of hear?
The simple past of hear is heard.
He heard her yell from the other end of the street.
What is the simple past tense of hide?
The simple past of hide is hid.
The bird hid in the foliage of the trees.
What is the simple past tense of hit?
The simple past of hit is still hit.
She hit her car when it stopped working.
What is the simple past tense of hold?
The simple past of hold is held.
Joe and James held their heads high after they lost.
What is the simple past tense of hurt?
The simple past of hurt is hurt.
You hurt your wrist last month, right?
What is the simple past tense of keep?
The simple past of keep is kept.
Kelsey kept her secret for six months.
What is the simple past tense of know?
The simple past of know is knew.
I knew that they were sick last week.
What is the simple past tense of lay?
The simple past of lay is laid.
They laid their bags against the wall.
What is the simple past tense of lead?
The simple past of lead is led.
The dog led his family back to the trail.
What is the simple past tense of learn?
The simple past of learn is learned (sometimes learnt).
You learned English in England.
What is the simple past tense of leave?
The simple past of leave is left.
We left our house unlocked when we left on vacation.
What is the simple past tense of let?
The simple past of let is still let.
They let their garden grow out last year,
What is the simple past tense of lie?
The simple past of lie is lied or lay. Lied refers to not telling the truth. Lay has to do with placement. Lie and Lay are tricky verbs, and most English speakers do not use them correctly. Here is an explanation of lie vs lay.
She lied to her mother when she told her that she passed her class.
He lay down in bed last night at 9 o’clock.
What is the simple past tense of lose?
The simple past of lose is lost.
I lost my phone in the forest a couple of days ago.
What is the simple past tense of make?
The simple past of make is made.
Julie made me a pie for my birthday.
What is the simple past tense of meet?
The simple past of meet is met.
We first met at a train station in France.
What is the simple past tense of pay?
The simple past of pay is paid.
They paid me over a hundred dollars for my work today.
What is the simple past tense of put?
The simple past of put is put.
She put her signature on the document late last night.
What is the simple past tense of quit?
The simple past of quit is quit.
You quit your job last month before the holidays.
What is the simple past tense of read?
The simple past of read is read. (pronunciation differs)
Last semester, I read over twenty books.
What is the simple past tense of ride?
The simple past of ride is rode.
She rode her bike yesterday for over four hours.
What is the simple past tense of rise?
The simple past of rise is rose.
The wind rose sharply only a couple of minutes ago.
What is the simple past tense of run?
The simple past of run is ran.
They ran in several races over the course of the month.
What is the simple past tense of say?
The simple past of say is said.
Jack said that he wished he had stayed home yesterday.
What is the simple past tense of see?
The simple past of see is saw.
Jill and I saw him in his car last weekend.
What is the simple past tense of sell?
The simple past of sell is sold.
The house sold for more than a million dollars.
What is the simple past tense of send?
The simple past of send is sent.
Stephen sent a letter to his family when he was in Europe.
What is the simple past tense of set?
The simple past of set is still set.
A house was set on fire last night.
What is the simple past tense of shake?
The simple past of shake is shook.
The kids shook up their sodas on the lawn yesterday.
What is the simple past tense of shave?
The simple past of shave is shaved.
I shaved just an hour or so ago.
What is the simple past tense of shoot?
The simple past of shoot is shot.
You shot yourself in the foot when you did that.
What is the simple past tense of show?
The simple past of show is showed.
They showed a Disney movie last night at the theater.
What is the simple past tense of shut?
The simple past of shut is shut.
Carol and I shut the door last night because it was too noisy.
What is the simple past tense of sing?
The simple past of sing is sang.
When I was a kid I sang as loud as I could.
What is the simple past tense of sit?
The simple past of sit is sat.
We sat by her side the whole time she was in the hospital.
What is the simple past tense of sleep?
The simple past of sleep is slept.
I slept for seven hours yesterday.
What is the simple past tense of slide?
The simple past of slide is slid.
She slid down the slide like a rocket.
What is the simple past tense of smell?
The simple past of smell is smelled (sometimes smelt).
I smelled the dog before I saw it.
What is the simple past tense of speak?
The simple past of speak is spoke.
My dad spoke highly of him.
What is the simple past tense of spell?
The simple past of spell is spelled (sometimes spelt).
On her test, she did perfectly, but she spelled a lot of words wrong.
What is the simple past tense of spend?
The simple past of spend is spent.
They spent over an hour prepping for dinner.
What is the simple past tense of spill?
The simple past of spill is spilled (sometimes spilt).
His phone died after he spilled a glass of milk on it.
What is the simple past tense of spin?
The simple past of spin is spun.
The ball spun around and around the hoop.
What is the simple past tense of spit?
The simple past of spit is spit or spat.
She spat out her drink because it tasted so bad.
What is the simple past tense of spread?
The simple past of spread is spread.
You and I spread the blankets all over the room.
What is the simple past tense of stand?
The simple past of stand is stood.
He stood for over ten hours at work yesterday.
What is the simple past tense of steal?
The simple past of steal is stole.
You stole the car when your brother wasn’t looking.
What is the simple past tense of swim?
The simple past of swim is swam.
They swam in three different lakes last weekend.
What is the simple past tense of take?
The simple past of take is took.
I took my pills with lunch.
What is the simple past tense of teach?
The simple past of teach is taught.
French was taught at my elementary school.
What is the simple past tense of tell?
The simple past of tell is told.
He told his mom all about her last night.
What is the simple past tense of think?
The simple past of think is thought.
I thought you weren’t coming.
What is the simple past tense of throw?
The simple past of throw is threw.
They threw a ball back and forth while waiting for the train.
What is the simple past tense of understand?
The simple past of understand is understood.
During the war, it was understood that you had to ration food.
What is the simple past tense of wake?
The simple past of wake is woke.
He woke up last night feeling sick.
What is the simple past tense of wear?
The simple past of wear is wore.
Terry wore a ghost costume on Halloween.
What is the simple past tense of win?
The simple past of win is won.
She won three out of four games against her dad.
What is the simple past tense of write?
The simple past of write is wrote.
Dean wrote more than thirty novels over his career.