To talk about a finished past action, take the basic verb and add -ede (arbejde → arbejdede) or -te (høre → hørte); which one a verb takes must be learned, but the ending is the same for every subject. A small group is irregular and simply changes its vowel (se → så, drikke → drak).
Examples
- Jeg arbejdede til klokken otte.
- I worked until eight o'clock.
- Vi hørte musik hele aftenen.
- We listened to music all evening.
- Jeg så en film i går aftes.
- I watched a film last night.
- Hun drak en kaffe i morges.
- She drank a coffee this morning.
The mistake to avoid
Adding a person ending to the past ("hun arbejdedede" / "hun arbejdeder") - datid is one fixed form.
Where this fits in
Talking about the past, Danish A2: Tell stories about yesterday, last weekend, and life experiences using datid (simple past).