simple past

[ sim-puhl past ]

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.

Word History and Origins

Origin of simple past¹

First recorded in 1770–80

Example Sentences

Driss Chraibi’s classic “The Simple Past” — published in 1954, when Morocco was on the cusp of regaining its independence — is set in Casablanca and Fez.

From New York Times

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

From Washington Post

“In the midst of a pandemic that levels all, the chosen and the downtrodden, many of us fantasize about a return to a golden, simple past,” he wrote.

From Washington Times

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

From The Guardian

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