Simple Past tense

I)

Regular Verbs

The Simple Past tense of regular verbs is formed by: verb

Adding -d or -ed to the

In the following sentences, the verbs in bold are in the past tense: Wallace moved into his new house last Saturday. Yesterday I visited him for tea. Both move and visit are called regular verbs because they have the same past-tense ending of -ed. If the present form of a regular verb ends in -e, we add -d to form the past tense: Wallace and Gromit move frequently. (present tense) Wallace and Gromit moved into their new house last Saturday. (past tense) If the present form of a regular verb ends in a letter other than -e, we usually add -ed to form the past tense: I visit Wallace and Gromit every Tuesday evening. (present tense) Yesterday I visited them for tea. (past tense) Note that a spelling rule comes into play with verbs ending in -y. If the present form of a regular verb ends in -y preceded by a consonant (for example, cry, fry, try, carry), change the y to i and add -ed to form the past tense (cried, fried, tried, carried): Wallace and Gromit carry the cheese and crackers into the kitchen. (present tense) Wallace and Gromit carried the cheese and crackers into the kitchen. (past tense) Because all regular verbs have the same -ed ending in the past tense no matter what the subject is, subject-verb agreement is not a problem. The Different Sounds of the -ed Ending Don't let the sound of an -ed ending ever trick you into making a spelling error when you form the past tense. While we do hear a d sound at the end of some verbs (for example,moved and visited), we hear a t sound at the end of others (promised, laughed). EXERCISE: Forming the Past Tense of Regular Verbs The first sentence in each set below contains a verb in the present tense. Complete the second sentence in each set by adding -d or -ed to the verb in parentheses to form the past tense. When you're done, compare your responses with the answers at the end of the exercise.

1. Carrot Top uses unusual props in his comedy act. Recently he

(use) a double-wide toilet seat. 2. Halley's Comet appears every 76 years. It last (appear) in 1986. 3. We rarely punish the children. However, we (punish) them yesterday for spray-painting the dog. 4. Wallace likes knitting and reading the newspaper. Even as a boy, he (like) to invent things. 5. Wallace enjoys Wensleydale cheese and a nice cup of tea. When he was younger, Wallace (enjoy) cheddar cheese. 6. I usually purchase a season ticket from the box office. Yesterday I (purchase) a ticket over the Internet. 7. Gromit graduates from college today. Last year he (graduate) from Dogwarts University. 8. Please carry this invention upstairs for me. I (carry) it into the house. 9. Mookie and Buddy cry when they are hungry. Last night they (cry) for over an hour. 10. Gromit tries very hard to be helpful. He (try) too hard last week.

Fill in the Gaps:

Dear Sam, Thanks for your letter. It is really great to hear from you now that the weather is rainy and I can't go out that much. Hope your life is a lot more exciting than mine. You (ask) me to write about my life. Well, there is really nothing special going on. Last Saturday, for example, my family and I (visit) my grandparents. My mother (help) my grandmother with the housework. My father (clean) the windows outside. My sister and I (watch) cartoons on television and later we (play) outside in the garden. We (climb) the old oak-tree in the garden to our tree-house. We (stay) there all afternoon. Then our mother (call) us because it (be) time to go home. Our grandparents (kiss) us goodbye and we (return) home. We (arrive) home at 9 o'clock. Father (look) for the key, (open) the front door, and we all (walk) inside. That's it about the way I spent last weekend. How about you? What did you do last Saturday? Write back and tell me how you're doing. Love, Julie

Read the following text and underline the verbs in the past tense:
OUR ENCHANTED ANNIVERSARY EVENING

It happened to be our anniversary when we traveled to Barcelona, so my wife Doris and I planned a special evening out. I purchased a beautiful bouquet of red roses that smelled wonderful and a black pearl necklace that sparkled in the moonlight. I beamed as I presented them to Doris. She pinned a rose to her sequinned lapel. Her auburn hair shimmered in the sunsets bronzed glow. I called a taxi and we passed many highlighted sights before we arrived in front of the restaurant. The waiter seated us as soon as we walked into the neonsigned restaurant. I noticed a secluded table. We positioned ourselves near an opened window and prepared to eat. My wife Doris looked at the selections listed on the menu and decided to have an appetizer. I picked the mushroom soup. A few minutes later the waiter returned. What would you like to have?, he asked. Doris ordered some steamed shrimp and broiled trout. I requested a tossed Cesar salad with a grilled steak and a baked potato. While we dined, we chatted and sipped a glass of white wine. Doris wolfed down her food but I savored the meal and chewed my steak slowly. When she finished, she munched on some pretzels. She soon gobbled up all the pretzels in the small bowl placed on the table. Later, we nibbled on a slice of decorated cheesecake as we talked. I wanted some coffee with my dessert. Doris preferred to drink iced tea. After the salted pretzels, Doris needed to drink some water. The waiter finally handed me the bill and I offered him a tip. We tipped him

15% of the totaled charges. He thanked us and smiled as we exited the restaurant.

New Vocabulary:

II)

Irregular Verbs

Although many verbs in English form their past tense with -ED, some do not. These are called irregular verbs, and they include some of the most basic verbs in English. This page will explain some of the most important patterns in forming the past tense. However, the only way to know how an irregular verb will change in the past tense is to learn all of the important verbs.

1. The three most important irregular verbs

The three most important irregular verbs are BE, HAVE, and DO. The simple past forms for BE are different depending on the subject.

Pronoun I You He / she / it We They

BE was were was were were

HAVE had had had had had

DO did did did did did

2. Other irregular verbs

Other irregular verbs fall into three main categories:

Category

Examples cut - cut hit - hit fit - fit get - got sit - sat drink - drank

Verbs which don't change

Verbs which change their vowel

Verbs which change completely

catch - caught bring - brought teach - taught

When you are sure that you understand the lesson, you can continue with the exercises 1. A. B. C. 2. A. B. C. 3. A. B. C. 4. A. B. C. 5. A. B. C. 6. A. B. C. 7. A. B. C. 8. A. get ? gought cut ? ? ? caught cut cutted catch ? ? ? catch catched caught bring ? ? ? brang brought bringed set ? ? ? sat sought set find ? ? ? found fand find drink ? ? ? drink drunk drank have ? ? ? had have hove

B. C. 9. A. B. C. 10. A. B. C. fit teach

? ?

get got

? ? ?

taught teach teached

? ? ?

fit fat fought

1.Who ... ten minutes ago?

A. B. C.

? ? ?

did call did called called

2.When ... you ... there?

A. B. C.

? ? ?

did, went -, went did, go

3.Why ... she ... ?

A. B. C.

? ? ?

-, cried did, cried did, cry

4.Who ... that car?

A. B.

? ?

did buy bought

C.

buyed

5.She ... all night.

A. B. C.

? ? ?

cryd cried cryed

6.I ... TV yesterday.

A. B. C.

? ? ?

watch watched watchd

7.Who ... there?

A. B. C.

? ? ?

did went did go went

8.He didn't ... last Monday.

A. B. C.

? ? ?

called call calld

9.What film ... you ... last night?

A. B. C.

? ? ?

did, saw -, saw did, see

10.

Where did you ... this book?

A.

buyed

B. C.

? ?

buy bought

Fill the gaps:

William Shakespeare (be) born in Stratford-on-Avon on April 23, 1564. He (go) to the local Stratford Grammar School, where he (be) (teach) by Master Walter Roche. Lessons began at six o'clock in the morning in the summer in order to make the most of daylight. His father (be) (call) John Shakespeare a Stratford upon Avon glove-maker. He (send) William to the local grammar school in 1571, but when William (be) only 14 years old his fortunes fell so low that William (have) to leave school. Some historians say he (work) in his father's shop. At the age of 19 William (to marry) Anne Hathaway the daughter of a rich farmer near Stratford. Three years later Shakespeare (go) to London. How he (live) there we do not know. In about 1587 he (become) a member of one of the few theatrical companies which (exist) in those days. Around 1590 he (begin) to try his hand at writing plays. There (be) no female actors in those days, all the female parts (be) (play) by boys. It is thought that he (write) his first major play, Henry VI., Part One, in 1592. His most famous play, Hamlet, (be) probably first seen in 1601 at the Globe Theatre. Shakespeare (continue) to write about 2 plays a year. He (return) to Stratford in 1612, where he (live) the life of a country gentleman. He (die) of a fever on his birthday in 1616.

Find the base form of the verbs:

1.

She saw your brother. She didn't your brother. 2. We heard a terrible noise. We didn't a terrible noise. 3. He slept well. He didn't well. 4. He looked at her. He didn't at her. 5. They drank water. They didn't water. 6. She thought about it. She didn't about it. 7. The police caught the thief. The police didn't the thief. 8. He hid the letter. He didn't the letter. 9. She found her watch.

She didn't her watch. 10. He broke his arm. He didn't his arm.

Put these sentences in negative form:

1.The police caught the thief.

CheckHintShow answer

2.He looked at her.

CheckHintShow answer

3.He broke his arm.

CheckHintShow answer

4.She thought about it.

CheckHintShow answer

5.She found her watch.

Complete the gaps with the correct form of the verb:

BUY 1. She didn't a car. She a bike. PLAY 2. They didn't tennis. They badminton. GO 3. Sue didn't to school yesterday. She to the cinema. PHONE 4. I didn't him. I her. WRITE 5. They a letter. They didn't a postacard. SELL 6. We our house. We didn't our flat. DRINK 7. Tom some juice. He didn't any beer. STUDY 8. She didn't French. She Japanese. LISTEN 9. He didn't to music. He to the news on the radio. FEEL 10. He hot. He didn't cold

BECOME 1. She didn't a teacher. She a doctor. PAINT 2. They didn't the kitchen. They the hall. GIVE 3. Sue didn't it to me. She it to you. PAY 4. I didn't him. I her. WORK 5. They inside. They didn't outside. SPEAK 6. We English. We didn't Spanish. DRIVE 7. Tom fast. He didn't slowly. KNOW 8. She didn't his surname. She his forename. SEE 9. He didn't anybody strange. He something strange. MARRY 10. He Sue. He didn't Chloe.

Forming questions in the past tense:

Task 1 Complete the chart below with the present simple tense, using the verb go:

PERSON I

POSITIVE I went

QUESTION Did I go?

NEGATIVE I did not go

you he/she/it we you they

Give the positive, question and negative forms for the following irregular verbs:

arise be bear begin bite blow break bring buy catch choose come creep dive do drag draw dream drink drive drown eat fall fight fly forget forgive freeze get give go grow hang hide know lay

lead lie light lose prove ride ring rise run see seek set shake sing sink sit speak spring steal sting strike swear swim swing take tear throw uses wake wear write

Fill the gaps:

. What kind of table ? She a new table. LEAVE 2. When the office? He the office at 6 o'clock. DRIVE 3. Where ? They to Scotland. PLAY 4. What yesterday? She tennis. FLY 5. Where ? He to Madrid.