What are regular verbs?
Regular verbs are verbs that form their past tense by adding “-ed” to the base form.
Example:
- walk → walked
- play → played
- watch → watched
🛠 How to Form the Simple Past (Regular Verbs)
| Base Verb | Simple Past |
|---|---|
| work | worked |
| clean | cleaned |
| smile | smiled |
Most regular verbs just follow this pattern: verb + -ed.
Spelling Rules
There are a few spelling rules to remember:
- Verb ends in -e: Just add -d
→ like → liked | bake → baked - Verb ends in a consonant + y: Change “y” to “i” and add -ed
→ cry → cried | carry → carried - Short verb ending in consonant-vowel-consonant (CVC): Double the final consonant and add -ed (if the stress is on the last syllable)
→ plan → planned | stop → stopped
How do we use the Simple Past?
We use it for:
- Finished actions in the past:
“I visited my grandma yesterday.” - A sequence of past events:
“He opened the door, walked in, and sat down.” - Time expressions are often used:
yesterday, last week, in 2020, two days ago, etc.
❌ Negative Sentences (Simple Past)
To make negative sentences, use did not (didn’t) + base form of the verb.
- I did not watch the movie.
- She didn’t play tennis yesterday.
✅ Note: The main verb goes back to its base form after “did not”.
❓ Questions in the Simple Past
Use Did + subject + base form of the verb?
- Did you visit your friend?
- Did he like the cake?
Practice exercises: exercise 1
✅ Summary
- Regular verbs in the simple past end in -ed
- Use did/didn’t for questions and negatives
- Always use the base form of the verb after “did”
