Simple Past: Regular Verbs
Introduction
The simple past tense is one of the most common tenses in English. Its
form is the same with all subjects. It is usually formed by adding -ED to the
verb. This page will explain the rules for forming the tense with regular
verbs.
1. Forming the simple past tense
With most
verbs, the simple past is created simply by adding -ED. However, with some
verbs, you need to add -D or change the ending a little. Here are the rules:
Verb
ending in...
|
How to make the simple
past
|
Examples
|
e
|
Add -D
|
live lived
date dated |
Consonant
+y
|
Change y to i, then add -ED
|
try tried
cry cried |
One vowel + one consonant
(but NOT w or y) |
Double the consonant, then add -ED
|
tap tapped
commit committed |
anything
else including w
|
Add -ED
|
boil boiled
fill filled hand handed show showed |
When you are
sure that you understand the lesson, you can continue with the exercises.
Simple Past: Irregular
Verbs
Introduction
Although many verbs in English form their past tense with -ED, some do
not. These are called irregular verbs, and they include some of the most basic verbs in English. This page
will explain some of the most important patterns in forming the past tense.
However, the only way to know how an irregular verb will change in the past
tense is to learn all of the important verbs.
1. The three most important irregular verbs
The three most important irregular verbs are BE, HAVE, and DO. The simple past forms for BE are different depending on the subject.
Pronoun
|
BE
|
HAVE
|
DO
|
I
|
was
|
had
|
did
|
You
|
were
|
had
|
did
|
He /
she / it
|
was
|
had
|
did
|
We
|
were
|
had
|
did
|
They
|
were
|
had
|
did
|
2. Other irregular verbs
Other irregular verbs fall into three main categories:
Category
|
Examples
|
Verbs
which don't change
|
cut - cut
hit - hit fit - fit |
Verbs which change their vowel
|
get - got
sit - sat drink - drank |
Verbs
which change completely
|
catch - caught
bring - brought teach - taught |
When you are sure that you understand the lesson, you can continue with
the exercises.
Simple
Past: Negatives and Questions
Introduction
In the simple past tense, negative and question forms are made using the
auxiliary verb "do" (in its past form, "did") followed by
the simple form of the main verb. This page explains the rules.
1. Forming a negative
Negatives in the simple past are formed by adding didn't (informal) or did not (formal) before the
simple form of the verb. The verb BE is an exception to this; in the case of
BE, we just add n't (informal)
or not (formal) after
"was" or "were":
Simple past statement
|
Informal negative
|
Formal negative
|
I had a
car.
|
I didn't have a car.
|
I did not have a car.
|
You ate
my toast.
|
You didn't eat my toast.
|
You did not eat my toast.
|
He was
here yesterday.
|
He
wasn't here yesterday.
|
He was not here yesterday.
|
They were in the park.
|
They weren't in the park.
|
They were not in the park.
|
2. Forming a yes/no
question
Yes/no questions are also created using the auxiliary did. This time, the auxiliary is
placed before the subject. The verb BE is an exception; in this case, we move
BE before the subject. Here are the rules:
Simple past statement
|
Yes/no question
|
He
brought his friend.
|
Did he bring his friend?
|
They
had a party.
|
Did they have a party?
|
You
were here.
|
Were
you here?
|
She was
sick.
|
Was she
sick?
|
3. Forming a WH- question
WH- questions (using words such as "what", "when",
and "where") are also created by putting the auxiliary did before the subject (or
moving BE, as explained above). Then, you add the WH- word at the beginning.
Here are some examples:
Statement
|
Yes/no question
|
WH- question
|
The
building fell down.
|
Did the building fall down?
|
Why did the building fall down?
|
They
lived in Vancouver.
|
Did they live in Vancouver?
|
Where
did they live?
|
The
store was closed.
|
Was the
store closed?
|
Why was the store closed?
|
They
were wolves.
|
Were they
wolves?
|
What
were they?
|
When you are sure that you understand the lesson, you can continue with
the exercises.
Past Continuous
Introduction
The past continuous tense (also called the past
progressive tense) is commonly used in English for actions which were going
on (had not finished) at a particular time in the past. This page will explain
the rules for forming the tense, and how it is used.
1. Forming the past continuous tense
This tense was formed using two components: the verb BE (in the past
tense), and the -ING form of a verb. Here are the rules, using the example
verb "sing":
Subject
|
BE
|
-ING
Form
|
I
|
was
|
singing
|
You
|
were
|
singing
|
He
|
was
|
singing
|
She
|
was
|
singing
|
It
|
was
|
singing
|
We
|
were
|
singing
|
They
|
were
|
singing
|
2. When to use the past continuous
The past continuous is usually used when one action began before
another, and finished after it. Consider this sentence:
I was reading when he arrived.
In other words I started reading (maybe at 8 o'clock), then he arrived
(maybe at 9 o'clock), then I finished reading (maybe at 10 o'clock). Here is a diagram:
We can also use the tense when we talk about an action that had already
started and was still continuing at a particular time:
At five o'clock, it was raining.
In other words it started raining (maybe at 4 o'clock), and finished
raining later (maybe at 6 o'clock). Here is a diagram:
Finally, we can use this tense to describe TWO actions that were BOTH
continuing at the same time in the past. In this case, we use the past
continuous for both actions:
While I was sleeping, she was working.
In other words I started sleeping and she started working (maybe at 10
o'clock), and we both finished our actions later (maybe at 12 o'clock). Here is a diagram:
When you are sure that you understand the lesson, you can continue with
the exercises.