Simple Past Tense

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Simple Past Tense

What is a verb tense?

A verb tense tells us when the action happened - an action or past state of being (i.e. a to be verb).

There are 3 simple verb tenses we are going to learn about:
#1 - Present tense means something that is happening NOW!
#2 - Past tense means that something already happened.
#3 - Future tense means something is going to happen in the future.

PAST PRESENT FUTURE
<______________________|______________________>

HINT! What’s a to be verb? Here’s a reminder:

What is Simple Past Tense?

Past tense means something that already happened or a past state of being.

PAST PRESENT FUTURE
<_____X________________I_______________________>

How do you make a verb past tense?

For most verbs, you add the ending -ED.

Present tensePast Tense
I walk to school.I walked to school.
You jump rope.You jumped rope yesterday.
He picks up the cat.He picked up the cat.

How do you form the Simple Past Tense?

In general, you just add -ED to the root word to form the simple past tense.

Note: If the root word already ends in -E, then just add -D.

The exception to that is when you’re in the 3rd person singular (he, she, it), which is when you add -s to the end of the root word.

Here is a chart that helps you see the different person formats for different root words:

WALK

Singular Plural
1st Person I walked we walked
2nd Person you walked you (all) walked
3rd Person he / she / it walked they walked

CLEAN

Singular Plural
1st Person I cleaned we cleaned
2nd Person you cleaned you (all) cleaned
3rd Person he / she / it cleaned they cleaned

HATE

Singular Plural
1st Person I hated we hated
2nd Person you hated you (all) hated
3rd Person he / she / it hated they hated

Are there exceptions to that rule?

Yes! Sometimes the simple past tense of an irregular verb looks exactly like the root form, so you just use that.

Here’s a list of the most common words where the root word is the same as the simple past tense:

bet burstcost cut fit
hitletputquitread
setshutsplitspread

Sometimes the word has an irregular past tense, and you just have to know it. Here’s an example of the most commonly used ones:

IRREGULAR SIMPLE PAST TENSE

SIMPLE PRESENTSIMPLE PASTSIMPLE PRESENTSIMPLE PAST
bewas/weremeanmeant
becomebecamemeetmet
beginbeganpaypaid
bitebitriderode
bleedbledringrang
blowblewriserose
bringbroughtrunran
buildbuiltsaysaid
catchcaughtseesaw
choosechosesellsold
comecamesendsent
dealdealtshakeshook
digdugshineshone
dodidshootshot
drawdrewsingsang
drivedrovesinksank
eatatesitsat
fallfellsleepslept
feedfedslideslid
feelfeltspeakspoke
fightfoughtspeedsped
findfoundspendspent
flyflewspinspun
forgetforgotstandstood
forgiveforgavestealstole
freezefrozestickstuck
getgotstingstung
givegavestrikestruck
gowentsweepswept
growgrewswimswam
hanghuntswingswung
hearheardtaketook
hidehidteachtaught
holdheldteartore
keepkepttelltold
knowknewthinkthought
leadledthrowthrew
leaveleftunderstandunderstood
lendlentwakewoke
lightlitwearwore
loselostwinwon
makemadewritewrote

How do you make the Simple Present Negative?

To make the simple past negative, you use:

     DID      +     NOT     +      root form of verb

Examples - You didn’t go to school when you were sick.
     It didn’t seem like we would win.

     DIDN’T      +      root form of verb

Examples - She didn’t like to sleep when she was a baby.
     I didn’t care for vanilla ice cream until I put sprinkles on it.

To make to be verb (see above) negative, it’s a bit more complicated - it depends on the subject of the sentence.

If the subject is SINGULAR use WAS NOT or WASN’T

Examples - I was not going to the museum.
     He wasn’t tired even after the long day.

If the subject is PLURAL use WERE NOT or WEREN’T

Examples - We were not doing our homework.
     We weren’t ready to leave the pool.

How do you ask a question in the simple perfect tense?

It’s easy! Just use:

     DID      +     subject (noun or pronoun)     +      root form of verb

Examples - Did you take the trash out to the curb?
     What did you say when you saw the bear?

When asking questions with a TO BE verb, however, the formula is:

      WAS/WERE      +      subject

Examples - When was I supposed to be there?
     I Were we going to visit the puppies at the pound?

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