This document discusses the simple past tense in English. It explains that there are regular and irregular past tense verbs. Regular verbs are formed by adding "-ed" to the base verb, with some exceptions for verbs ending in consonant-vowel-consonant or "e". Irregular verbs have complex changes in spelling and pronunciation to form the past tense. The purpose of using past tense verbs is to indicate that an action occurred and was completed in the past. It also notes the three main pronunciations of the "-ed" ending on regular past tense verbs.

1. Simple Past Tense
-Form
-Meaning and Use
-Pronunciation

2. How do we form the simple past tense?
English has two types of
verbs in the past:
-regular
-irregular

3. Let’s read the following list of past tense
verbs….. Which are regular and which
are irregular?
walked regular
studied regular
taught irregular
gave irregular
became irregular
cried regular
lived regular
did irregular

4. Regular verbs are verbs that end with -ed
Simple form verbs:
walk
study
cry
live
Past tense verbs:
walked
studied
cried
lived

5. Rules for adding –ed:
 Add –ed to most verbs
 Drop the “e” and add “ed” to verbs that end with
“e” (smile= smiled).
 Change the “y” to “i” and add –ed to verbs that
end with a consonant and “y” (carry=
carried, study= studied).
 Double the consonant and add –ed to verbs that
end with one vowel and one consonant ( drag=
dragged, stop= stopped).

6. Irregular verbs are verbs that don’t end in
–ed……..
Sometimes with irregular
past tense verbs you
have to change the vowel
to make the verb past
tense:
become became
give gave
drive drove
forget forgot

7. Other irregular verbs have a different kind
of change…..you need to memorize
these!
teach
bring
leave
hear
buy
taught
brought
left
heard
bought

8. Why do we use past tense verbs?
TO TELL THAT AN ACTION IS
COMPLETED!!!!!! FINISHED!!! OVER!!!

9. PRONOUNCIATION OF REGULAR
VERBS……
The –ed ending in English has three
different sounds:
t: walked, talked, jumped
d: played, loved, answered
id: invited, waited
decided....
*With –id sounding words,
there is another syllable!