The Simple Past Tense

By:
Marichel Robinson
Patricia Salom

How do we form the simple past

tense?
There are two types of verbs in the past tense:
REGULAR VERBS AND IRREGULAR VERBS
Look at the following list of past tense verbs
Which verbs are REGULAR and which are
IRREGULAR?
needed
regular
came
irregular
played
regular
bought
irregular
studied
regular
became
irregular
jumped
regular
caught
irregular

Regular verbs are verbs that

end with ed.
Simple Form
play
jump
bury
study

Past Form
played
jumped
buried
studied

Irregular verbs are verbs that

dont end with ed.

Some Irregular verbs have

change in the past tense:
Simple Form
Tense
become
give
drive
forget

a vowel
Past
became
gave
drove
forgot

Other irregular verbs have a

different kind of change.

Example:
Simple Form
teach
sell
take
drive
build

Past Form
taught
sold
took
drove
built

And some Irregular Verbs dont

change at all
Example:
Simple Form
hit
put
set

Past
hit
put
set

Elizabeth sets the table everyday.

Elizabeth set the table yesterday.

For Regular Verbs, simply use the ed

form of the verb in a positive sentence.
Example:
Yesterday, mom worked at the office
until eight oclock.
Melissa lived and studied in Piura when
she was a child.
Be careful with spelling changes!

For Irregular Verbs use the correct

past tense form in positive
sentences.
Unfortunately, these forms must be memorized!

Last week, I sent you a present for your

birthday.

The girl gave a speech in English.

She did a great job!

For negative sentences

use
Did not

or

didnt

+ verb
simple

form
I went to the party yesterday.
Andrea didnt go to the party
yesterday because she was sick.

Exception = Verb to be !

The verb to be is special.

Never use did not or didnt with the
verb to be.
Instead, just use:
Was or were + not

Meaning and Use

Examples:
I met Jimena yesterday.
Last Friday, we went to the party
together.
My parents were married ten years ago.
These actions are over, finished!

Pronunciation of Regular
Verbs
The ed ending has:
Three different sounds
t d - id
Some regular verbs end with a t
sound.
Example:
walked, laughed, washed, jumped,
and
talked.

Some regular verbs end

with d sound.
Example:
planned, played,
learned, loved, and
answered.

Other regular verbs end with

an id sound.

Example:
Simple form
invite
wait
decide
need

Past form
invited
waited
decided
needed

Practice
Now make a list of which ed verbs
have a t sound, which have a d
sound and which have an id sound.
With practice you can start to learn
and memorize correct pronunciation.