Home› Course› Level 1› Module 3: Past Simple› Completed Actions & Narration
1 Concept
A Whole Action, Now Finished
📘 Module 3 — Past Simple — Lesson 1 of 3

Imagine time as a line. Everything to the left already happened — that's the past. Everything to the right hasn't happened yet — that's the future. Right in the middle is now, the present.

A completed action happened and finished somewhere on the left side of that line. It isn't connected to now. It's done. It's over. It is fixed in time — like a photograph. Think of the Past Simple as a closed door: the action happened, the door opened, and then it closed again.

The idea:

If something happened and finished before now, use the Past Simple — the Past Form of the verb, with no helping verb needed in a positive sentence.
Quick recap of the form: regular verbs add -ed to the base form: visit → visited. Irregular verbs change in their own way and must be learned one at a time: go → went, buy → bought. Both types work exactly the same way in a sentence — only the Past Form itself looks different.
Important: once you are talking about the past — because of a time word, or because it's already clear from the conversation — stay in the past. This is true even for something that happened only a second ago: "What was that noise?" not "What is that noise?"
2 Completed Actions
Examples of Completed Actions

Each of these describes one whole action, done and finished before now.

Completed Actions
  • She visited her sister last weekend.
  • He finished the report before lunch.
  • They bought a new car last month.
  • The train arrived early this morning.
  • He left his keys at the office yesterday.

These are typical time words for this use:

yesterday last week last month this morning ago
3 Narration
One Action After Another

Telling a story is really just the same idea, repeated: one whole, completed action, then the next one, then the next. Think of it like a line of dominoes falling — the first one falls, then the second, then the third. Each action is complete before the next one begins.

  • She opened the door, walked in, and sat down.
  • He stood up, picked up his bag, and left the room.
  • I woke up, got dressed, and went to work.
Quick test: is this one whole action, or several whole actions told one after another? Either way, if each one is complete and finished, the Past Simple is correct.
4 Common Mistake
Past Form, Not the Base Form

Two mistakes are especially common with this use: guessing at an irregular verb instead of learning its real Past Form, and switching back to the present partway through a story.

✗ He buyed a new car last month.
✓ He bought a new car last month. Why: "buy" is irregular — its Past Form is "bought," not "buyed."
✗ She opened the door and walks in.
✓ She opened the door and walked in. Why: once the story is in the past, every action in it stays in the past.
✗ Sorry, I don't catch what you said.
✓ Sorry, I didn't catch what you said. Why: what was said is already in the past, even if it was only a second ago.
5 Practice
Try It Yourself
Exercise A — Regular or Irregular?

Click "Regular" or "Irregular" for each Past Form.

  • 1
    She worked late on Friday.
    ✓ Correct — "work" simply adds -ed.
  • 2
    They studied for the exam all weekend.
    ✓ Correct — "study" follows the y → i spelling rule, but it's still a regular -ed form.
  • 3
    He went to the doctor yesterday.
    ✓ Correct — "go" changes completely: went, not "goed."
  • 4
    We watched the game together.
    ✓ Correct — "watch" simply adds -ed.
  • 5
    She bought a new phone last week.
    ✓ Correct — "buy" changes completely: bought, not "buyed."
  • 6
    He saw an old friend downtown.
    ✓ Correct — "see" changes completely: saw, not "seed."
  • 7
    They played cards after dinner.
    ✓ Correct — "play" simply adds -ed.
  • 8
    She wrote a long letter to her cousin.
    ✓ Correct — "write" changes completely: wrote, not "writed."
Exercise B — Type the Correct Past Form

Type the correct Past Form of the verb given.

  • 1
    She her room this morning. (clean)
  • 2
    He his arm last winter. (break)
  • 3
    They French in high school. (study)
  • 4
    She her first book at twenty. (write)
  • 5
    The car suddenly at the light. (stop)
  • 6
    He to the manager about the problem. (speak)
  • 7
    She the soup before serving it. (try)
  • 8
    We at a small café downtown. (meet)
Exercise C — Correct or Incorrect?

Click your answer for each sentence.

  • 1
    He buyed a new car last month.
    ✓ Correct — this is wrong. It should be "He bought a new car last month."
  • 2
    They goed to the beach yesterday.
    ✓ Correct — this is wrong. It should be "They went to the beach yesterday."
  • 3
    She visited her grandmother last weekend.
    ✓ Correct — a whole, completed action.
  • 4
    She opened the window and walks outside.
    ✓ Correct — this is wrong. It should be "She opened the window and walked outside."
  • 5
    He finished his homework before dinner.
    ✓ Correct — the whole task is done and finished.
  • 6
    We watched a movie last night.
    ✓ Correct — a single, finished event from last night.
  • 7
    Sorry, I don't catch what you said.
    ✓ Correct — this is wrong. It should be "Sorry, I didn't catch what you said."
  • 8
    He left his phone at home this morning.
    ✓ Correct — one finished action, already in the past.
Exercise D — Negatives

Type the whole negative verb phrase — for example, "didn't call," not just "didn't." The Past Simple uses "did" for negatives, and the main verb goes back to its base form.

  • 1
    She me last night. (call)
  • 2
    The package yesterday. (arrive)
  • 3
    He his homework before dinner. (finish)
  • 4
    They the kitchen this morning. (clean)
  • 5
    She the exam last week. (pass)
  • 6
    He dinner last night. (cook)
  • 7
    The store early yesterday. (close)
  • 8
    They on a restaurant last night. (decide)
Exercise E — Questions

Type the whole opening question phrase — for example, "Did she choose," not just "Did." The main verb goes back to its base form.

  • 1
    the blue dress? (she / choose)
  • 2
    the game last night? (he / watch)
  • 3
    for the test? (they / study)
  • 4
    tennis yesterday? (she / play)
  • 5
    the letter this morning? (he / write)
  • 6
    her at the party? (you / meet)
  • 7
    early? (they / leave)
  • 8
    her parents last weekend? (she / visit)
6 Choose the Right Sentence
Apply What You Know

Read each question carefully. Select the sentence that matches the description.

Question 1 of 8
Select the correctly formed sentence.
Question 2 of 8
Select the correctly formed irregular past sentence.
Question 3 of 8
Select the best description of this use.
Question 4 of 8
Select the correctly formed negative sentence.
Question 5 of 8
Select the correctly formed question.
Question 6 of 8
Select the sentence that would sound wrong to a native speaker in this context.
Question 7 of 8
Select the time expression most typical of this use.
Question 8 of 8
Select the best test for whether this use applies.
7 Summary
Completed Actions & Narration A whole action, now finished, takes the Past Simple — one action, or several told in sequence, work the same way.
  • The idea: if something happened and finished before now, use the Past Form of the verb.
  • Narration: telling a story is the same idea repeated — one whole action after another.
  • Important: once you're in the past, stay in the past, even for something that happened only a second ago.
  • Common mistake: irregular verbs don't take -ed — "buyed" is wrong; "bought" is right.
  • Typical time words: yesterday, last week, last month, this morning, ago.
  • Next, you'll meet the smaller, secondary use of Past Simple: habits and states that were true at some point in the past.
← Previous lesson Pronunciation: -ed Endings Next Past Habits & States →