Read, Listen & Watch: Simple Past Tense Verbs



OVERVIEW

 On this page you will read about simple past tense verbs.  

  1. First, read the text and study the chart. 
  2. Then, listen to audio of the text. 


READ & LISTEN

Read:

In the previous modules, you learned about present tense verbs.  Now you will learn about past tense verbs.  You use simple past tense to talk about things that happened and finished in the past at some time before now.

Add ed to a regular verb to make it past tense.  There are different ways to add ed.  The ed can be pronounced different ways.  It can sound like t, d, or ed.  Listen to the different pronunciations.  You will practice the pronunciation more in face-to-face class.

Verb Ending Add Example Sentence

consonant

or

vowel + y

ed

work + ed = worked

talk + ed = talked talked

emlpoy + ed = employed

I worked at a factory for 10 years. 
e d

hire + d = hired

complete + d = completed

move + d = moved

Luis moved to Seattle for a job. 

consonant + y ied

study + ied = studied

copy + ied = copied

try + ied = tried

Larissa studied to be a nurse. 

CLICK HERE FOR A PRINTABLE CHART REGULAR VERBS Links to an external site. 

Listen:

Play media comment.

 

Read:

Some verbs are irregular.  That means that you do not add ed at the end to make them past tense.  Instead, they become different words.  Study the chart to learn more about irregular verbs:

Basic Form of Verb Example Past Tense Verb Example
 
be

I am a mechanic.  

They are nurses. 

was / were

I was a mechanic. 

They were nurses.

go We go to work.  went We went to work yesterday.  
have The store has positions open.  had The store had positions open.
do We do our work.  did We did our work last night. 
come He comes to work every day.  came He came to work on Thursday.  

CLICK HERE FOR A PRINTABLE CHART OF IRREGULAR VERBS Links to an external site.

Listen:

Play media comment.

WATCH

Watch:

Watch the "Verbs in Past Tense: Regular and Irregular Verbs" video.

CLICK HERE TO WATCH THE VIDEO Links to an external site.