Simple past

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
regular
regular
regular
regular
irregular
irregular
irregular
irregular
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
walk
ed
studi
ed
cri
ed
liv
ed
…end with –ed
Irregular verbs are verbs that . . . .
…DON’T end with –ed
some irregular verbs
Have a vowel change in the past tense:
Examples
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
Examples:
Celia bought a new computer last weekend.
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.
examples:
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.
played
lived
studied
**Be careful with
spelling changes!
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!
Unfortunately, these forms must be memorized!
sent
gave
did
For negative sentences,USE




I went to work yesterday.
Carl didn’t go to work because he was sick.
DiD Not
or
didn`t
+
verb,
simple
form
Exception =
VERB BE!
The verb be is special.
Never use DID NOT or DIDN’T with the verb BE. Instead, just use:

Was
or
were
+
not
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?
yesterday
last month
last year
last week
ago
recently
Examples:
I saw Maria yesterday.

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

They got married two years ago.

These actions
are over, finished!
pronunciation
The –ed ending in English has:
of regular verbs
3 different sounds
t
d
id
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
invite
invited
Wait
waited
decide
decided
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:
Good Luck!!!