Present Simple vs Past Simple: Rules, Examples and Exercises

The present simple and the past simple are the first two tenses every English learner meets — and the two that keep causing trouble years later. The rules are not difficult. What makes them slippery is that your own language probably splits time differently from English.

This guide covers when to use each tense, how to build them, the time expressions that signal which one you need, the seven mistakes we correct most often in class, and twelve exercises with answers.

The short answer

Use the present simple for things that are generally true, and the past simple for things that are finished.

	Present simple	Past simple
Use it for	Habits, routines, facts, permanent situations	Completed actions at a finished time
Example	I work in Ouagadougou.	I worked in Bobo-Dioulasso in 2019.
Time words	every day, usually, often, never	yesterday, last week, in 2019, ago
Helper verb	do / does	did

The present simple

When to use it

• Habits and routines: She takes the bus every morning.
• Facts that stay true: Water boils at 100 degrees.
• Permanent situations: They live in Accra.
• Timetables and schedules: The plane leaves at six.

How to build it

The verb keeps its base form, except after he, she and it, where you add -s.

• I / you / we / they work
• He / she / it works

Three spelling rules for that -s:

• After -ch, -sh, -ss, -x, -o, add -es: watch → watches, go → goes
• Consonant + y becomes -ies: study → studies
• Vowel + y keeps the y: play → plays

Negatives and questions

Use do and does. The main verb goes back to its base form — this is where the -s disappears.

• She does not work here. (not doesn’t works)
• Does she work here?
• They do not live in Ouagadougou.

The past simple

When to use it

• Finished actions at a known time: I called him yesterday.
• A sequence of past events: She opened the door, looked around and left.
• Past habits that have stopped: We played football every Saturday when we were children.

How to build it

Regular verbs add -ed, and the form is the same for every person — no exceptions, no -s.

• Most verbs: work → worked
• Verbs ending in -e: like → liked
• Consonant + y: study → studied
• One short vowel + one consonant: stop → stopped

Irregular verbs have to be memorised. These are the ones you will use most:

Base	Past simple	Base	Past simple
be	was / were	go	went
have	had	make	made
do	did	take	took
say	said	come	came
get	got	see	saw
know	knew	give	gave
think	thought	write	wrote
find	found	tell	told

Negatives and questions

Use did, and the main verb returns to its base form. The past tense is already carried by did, so the main verb must not repeat it.

• I did not go to the meeting. (not didn’t went)
• Did you see her? (not Did you saw)

Time expressions that tell you which tense to use

Present simple	Past simple
every day / week / year	yesterday
usually, normally, generally	last night / week / month
always, often, sometimes, never	two days ago, in 2019
on Mondays, at weekends	when I was a child

If the sentence contains a finished time expression, the past simple is almost always the correct choice.

Seven mistakes learners repeat most

1. Dropping the -s. He work here. → He works here. The most frequent error of all, and the most noticeable.
2. Keeping the -s after does. Does he works? → Does he work?
3. Double past. Did you went? → Did you go?
4. Using the present for a finished time. I go to Accra last year. → I went to Accra last year.
5. Forgetting irregular forms in the negative. I didn’t saw him. → I didn’t see him.
6. Confusing was and were. I / he / she / it was — you / we / they were.
7. Using the past simple with « since ». I worked here since 2019. → I have worked here since 2019. A finished tense cannot describe a situation that is still going on.

Exercises

Put the verb in brackets into the present simple or the past simple. Answers are below — try all twelve first.

1. My brother ______ (work) at the hospital every weekend.
2. We ______ (visit) our grandmother last Sunday.
3. She ______ (not / like) coffee.
4. ______ you ______ (see) the match yesterday?
5. The office ______ (open) at eight every morning.
6. They ______ (go) to Bobo-Dioulasso in 2022.
7. He ______ (study) English three times a week.
8. I ______ (not / understand) the question she asked me.
9. Water ______ (freeze) at zero degrees.
10. ______ your father ______ (speak) English?
11. The children ______ (be) very tired last night.
12. She usually ______ (take) the bus, but yesterday she ______ (walk).

Answers

1. works — 2. visited — 3. does not like / doesn’t like — 4. Did you see — 5. opens — 6. went — 7. studies — 8. did not understand / didn’t understand — 9. freezes — 10. Does your father speak — 11. were — 12. takes / walked

10 to 12 correct: both tenses are solid. Move on to the present perfect, which is where most learners lose ground next.
6 to 9 correct: the rules are there but not automatic yet. Practice is what fixes this, not more theory.
Fewer than 6: go back through the two tables above and redo the exercises tomorrow. This is very normal at the beginning.

Keep practising

Reading a rule and applying it under pressure are two different skills. Take our interactive test on this exact point: Present Simple / Past Simple quiz.

If you would like to know your overall level across grammar, reading, listening, writing and speaking, you can take our placement test.

At English Institute, in Ouagadougou and online, we teach general and professional English and prepare candidates for the TOEFL iBT, TOEIC and IELTS. Level assessment is free — WhatsApp +226 61 80 34 34.