Read, Listen & Watch: Simple Past Tense Verbs
OVERVIEW
On this page you will read about simple past tense verbs.
- First, read the text and study the chart.
- 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:
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:
WATCH
Watch:
Watch the "Verbs in Past Tense: Regular and Irregular Verbs" video.
CLICK HERE TO WATCH THE VIDEO Links to an external site.