The simple past tense
Form (structure)
Meaning & Use
Pronunciation
How do we form the simple past tense . . .?
English has two types of
verbs in the past tense: taught
walked
Regular verbs studied
Irregular verbs gave
became
Look at the
following list of cried
past tense verbs… lived
which verbs are did
regular, and
which are
Regular verbs are verbs that
….
…end with –
ed
Simple Form Past Tense
Walk
Study
Cry
Live
Irregular verbs are verbs
that . . . .
…DON’T end with –ed
some irregular verbs
Have a vowel change in the past
tense:
Simple Form Past
Tense
become became
give gave
drive drove
forget forgot
other irregular verbs
Have a different kind of change:
Simple Past
teach taught
bring brought
Leave left
Hear heard
Buy
bought
And some irregular verbs
don’t change at all . . .
Simple Past
hit hit
put put
set set
The children set the table every
Sunday.
The children set the table last night.
For regular verbs, simply use the –ed form of the
verb in a positive sentence.
When I was a child, I ___________ the piano.
Donna ______________ and _______________ in
Paris when she was younger.
For irregular verbs, use the correct
past tense form in positive
sentences.
Last week, I ___________ you a letter.
The students _____________ a speech
in English. They __________ a great
job!
For negative sentences,USE
I went to work yesterday.
Carl didn’t go to work
because he was sick.
Exception =
VERB BE!
The verb be is special.
Never use DID NOT or DIDN’T
with the verb BE. Instead, just
use:
Meaning & Use
In what situations do English speakers use
the simple past tense?
Completed actions in the past What are
some common time expressions used with
the past tense?
Examples:
I saw Maria yesterday.
yesterday
Last week,
week 8C took their listening
tests.
They got married two years ago.
ago
pronunciation
The –ed ending in English
has:
Some regular verbs end
with a “t” sound:
Walked
Laughed
Washed
Talked
jumped
Some regular verbs end
with a “d” sound:
planned
played
learned
answered
loved
Other regular verbs
end with an “id”
id sound:
These verbs have an extra
syllable/stavelse:
Simple Form Past Tense
There are rules that tell
us how to pronounce
the –ed.
However,
It’s a good idea for students to
make a list of which –ed verbs have
a t sound, which have a d sound,
and which have an id sound.
And with practice, you can start to learn
and memorize correct pronunciation.
