Past Tense Verbs
Basics on the topic Past Tense Verbs
Past Tense Verbs – Introduction
Verbs are words in a sentence which tell you what someone or something is doing. Let’s review the definitions for verbs and their past forms:
Verbs are action words in the English language. They describe what something or someone is doing. Some examples of verbs are: open, want, run, forget, climb.
When we describe an action in the past, we need to use the past tense form of the verbs. Here are some examples of past tense verbs: opened, wanted, ran, forgot, put, climbed.
Past Tense Verbs – Regular Verbs
When we form regular past tense verbs, we usually add the letters -ed at the end of a base verb. For example:
| Base Verb | Past Tense Verb |
|---|---|
| jump collect paint look |
jumped collected painted looked |
You can turn a sentence about the present action into a sentence about action in the past, by following three steps:
- First, identify the verb in the sentence.
- Then, identify the base verb.
- Finally, add the letters -ed at the end of the verb.
Let’s practice and turn the sentence He opens a window. into a sentence about the action in the past. First, we find a verb - opens. Then, we need to identify the base verb, which means the verb with no changes. The base verb is open. Now we can add the letters -ed. The sentence in the past is: He opened a window.
Past Tense Verbs – Irregular Verbs
But not all past tense verbs follow the rule of adding the letters -ed at the end. Some of them change in a different way. They are called irregular verbs. Some examples of irregular verbs are: make, be, do, stand, forget, buy.
When we want to use irregular verbs in the past tense, we sometimes have to change the whole word. For example, to use the verb make in the past, we need to change the consonant k to d. It means that make becomes made in the past tense.
Some past tense action verbs don’t change at all! For example, verbs like cut, hit, put, quit stay exactly the same in the past.
To learn common English irregular verbs and spell them correctly, check out our past tense verbs list for irregular verbs:
| Base Form | Past Form | Base Form | Past Form | Base Form | Past Form |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| be | was / were | fall | fell | see | saw |
| become | became | feel | felt | sleep | slept |
| begin | began | get | got | speak | spoke |
| break | broke | go | went | stand | stood |
| bring | brought | have | had | swim | swam |
| buy | bought | know | knew | take | took |
| come | came | leave | left | teach | taught |
| cost | cost | make | made | tell | told |
| cut | cut | meet | met | think | thought |
| do | did | put | put | understand | understood |
| drink | drank | read | read | win | won |
| eat | ate | run | ran | write | wrote |
If you would like to learn more about irregular verbs, check out the video on irregular verbs in their past form.
Past Tense Verbs – Summary
Let’s review what we have learned about past tense verbs.
- Verbs are action words that describe what something or someone is doing.
- We add the letters ed to regular verbs, when we use them in the past.
- Some verbs break this rule and change completely. They are called irregular verbs.
Now you know how to use verbs in the past correctly. For more practice, watch the video, download the past tense verbs worksheet, and check out the activities!
Frequently Asked Questions about Past Tense Verbs
Transcript Past Tense Verbs
: "Alright, Kala, everything is ready for this years hot air balloon ride!" : "Wait a second, Dee, the ropes aren't tied to the basket!" : "But why are there words written on the ropes?" Dee and Kala need to match the words on the rope with the letters written on the basket. Let's help our friends figure out this puzzle by learning about past tense verbs. Have you ever needed to describe an action in the past? You can describe that action using a verb in PAST TENSE. You might already know about verbs, or action words that tell what something or someone does. How do verbs change in past tense? Let's take a look at the first verb on Dee and Kala's rope to start. First identify the verb that you want to put in past tense, here it's walk. To put verbs in past tense, we usually put the letters
Past Tense Verbs exercise
-
What is a verb?
HintsIn the sentence Jack will jump high, jump is the verb.
A verb is not a word used to describe how someone feels.
SolutionA verb is an action word used to describe what someone or something does.
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When do we use the past tense?
HintsWe would use a past tense verb to describe what we did yesterday.
In the sentence Kylie played hide and seek last week, played is the past tense verb.
SolutionWe use the past tense to describe an action that happened in the past.
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What 3 things can happen to a verb when it changes to the past tense?
HintsIn the sentence Rob talked to Adam, we added ed to the verb.
The past form of the verb ride is rode. In this verb, the vowel changes.
Solution3 things can happen when a verb changes to the past tense:
- ed can be added to the end of the verb
- the vowel in the verb can change
- the verb can stay exactly the same
-
Which rule does each verb follow in the past tense?
HintsSolutionHere are the correct answers.
-
Do you know the past forms of these verbs?
HintsThe past tense of teach is taught.
The past tense of cost is cost.
SolutionWalk follows the common rule of adding ed at the end.
Eat, take and teach change their form in the past tense.
Cost and cut keep their same form in the past tense. -
What are the missing past tense forms of the verbs?
HintsThe turtle swam in the sea.
This sentence has swim in the past tense.
Tom hurt his leg.
The verb hurt stays the same in the past tense.
SolutionYou can describe an action in the past by using a verb in the past tense.
