PAST SIMPLE. REGULAR VERBS
The past simple is the most common way of talking about past events or states which have finished. It is often used with past time references (e.g. yesterday, two years ago).
Please explain past events or states!
A past event could be one thing that happened in the past, or a repeated thing.
I stopped at a zebra crossing.
We carried on with the test.
We played tennis every day in August.
A state is a situation without an action happening.
We stayed at my grandparents' house last summer.
How do you form the past simple?
Regular past simple forms are formed by adding -ed to the infinitive of the verb.
start → started
kill → killed
jump → jumped
That seems easy!
Yes, but there are some spelling rules. If a verb ends in -e, you add -d.
agree → agreed
like → liked
escape → escaped
If a verb ends in a vowel and a consonant, the consonant is usually doubled before -ed.
stop → stopped
plan → planned
If a verb ends in consonant and -y, you take off the y and add -ied.
try → tried
carry → carried
But if the word ends in a vowel and -y, you add -ed.
play → played
enjoy → enjoyed
OK, not quite so easy! But the past simple form doesn't change at all for I, you, he, she, we and they, does it?
No, the form doesn't change. See, it is easy!
What about the pronunciation of the -ed ending?
There are three kinds of pronunciation: /d/, /t/ and /ɪd/. Look at the table below.
| /d/ | /t/ | /ɪd/ |
|---|---|---|
| arrived | asked | wanted |
| failed | crossed | decided |
| agreed | stopped | started |
REGULAR VERBS:
TO LIVE: LIVED
TO ARRIVE: ARRIVED
TO WANT: WANTED
TO OPEN: OPENED
TO VISIT: VISITED
TO WAIT: WAITED
TO WORK: WORKED
TO PLAY: PLAYED
TO HELP: HELPED
TO WATCH: WATCHED
TO LIKE: LIKED
TO KISS: KISSED
TO FINISH: FINISHED
TO STAR: STARTED
TO CLEAN: CLEANED
EXERCISES
