Past Simple - regular verbs

Past Simple

Regular verbs

Index

1. Use

2. Spelling rules

3. Practice

4. Pronunciation

5. Listening practice

1. When do you use the Past Simple?

We use the Past Simple to talk about finished past events and states. It is often used with past time references (e.g. yesterday, last week, two years ago)

2. How do you form the Past Simple?

Regular past simple forms are formed by adding -ed to the infinitive of the verb, i.e. start- started, jump- jumped. However, there are some spelling rules. 1. If a verb ends in -e, you add -d: agree- agreed, escape-escaped 2. If a verb ends in a vowel and a consonant, the consonant is usually doubled before -ed: stop- stopped, plan-planned 3. If a verb ends in consonant and -y, you drop the 'y' and add -ied: try- tried, carry- carried But if the verb ends in a vowel and -y, you add -ed: play- played, enjoy- enjoyed

3. Practice

In your notebook, write the Past Simple forms of the following verbs: like help play decide visit wait change look walk arrive start wash travel try end

4. Pronunciation

Did you know that there are three different ways to pronounce the -ed ending in English? It can be pronounced as /t/, /d/ or /id/. Mispronouncing it is a common mistake that English learners make.

5. Listening practice

Listen and write the verbs in the correct column sound: /t/ /d/ /id/

5. Listening practice answers

/t/ - looked, walked, washed, helped,l iked /d/ - arrived, played,changed, travelled, tried /id/ - decided, started, ended, visited, waited