Simple past 3

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
studied
gave
became
cried
lived
did
Look at the following list of past tense verbs…
which verbs are regular, and which are irregular?

Regular verbs
Irregular verbs
Regular verbs are verbs that ….


Simple Form Past Tense
Walk

Study

Cry

Live

…end with –ed
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.

Last Friday, the students took their spelling and vocabulary tests.

They got married two years 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” sound:
These verbs have an extra syllable:
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.
Student Practice: