Skype English School

 The Past Tense

The English past tense is composed of regular verbs and irregular verbs. Forming the past tense of regular verbs is quite simple: drop the particle word to from an infinitive and then add the suffix -ed. Verbs that end in -y change to -i- and then add the ending -ed. All persons have the same past tense form.

I - looked married tried

you -  looked married tried

he / she / it -  looked married tried

we -  looked married tried

they - looked married

However, if the final -y of a verb is preceded by a vowel (a, e, i, o, u), the -y does not change to -i-. In most cases, the suffix -ed is simply added to the verb. Here are a few exceptions:

I - played paid said

you - played paid said

he / she / it - played paid said

we - played paid said

they -  played paid said

Irregular Verbs in the Past Teinse

The past tense of irregular verbs is more complex. Some verbs, for example, look identical in both the present and past tenses (with the exception of the third-person singular of the present tense). Some verbs of this type are to cut, to let, to rid, to bet, to beat, to burst, to fit, and to hit. Let’s compare the present and past tense of such verbs in the first- and third-person singular.

to cut -  I cut / he cuts - Present Tense
             I cut / he cut - Past Tense 

to hit - I hit / he hits
           I hit / he hit

to let - I let / he lets
            I let / he let

When just looking at the phrase 'you bet' , you cannot tell which tense the verb is in. The context and meaning of the sentence provide the information that tells the tense of the verb. For example:

Yesterday I bet that our team would win. (“yesterday”
past tense)

She sets the clock. (“sets”
conjugated for third-person singular of the present tense)

They pretend to lose and let me win. (“pretend”
present tense; therefore, “let”
present tense)

Irregular Verbs That Change the Base Form

The past tense of many other irregular verbs is created by making a change in the base form of the verb. This usually occurs with a vowel change—for example, to come → came, to see → saw, to know → knew. Let’s look at some high-frequency verbs and how they change from the present tense to the past tense.

Infinitive Present Tense Past Tense

to speak -  I speak / he speaks I spoke / he spoke

to drive - I drive / he drives I drove / he drove

to fall -  I fall / he falls I fell / he fell

Not all irregular verbs make only a vowel change in the past tense. Let’s look at some that form the past tense by some other irregularity, possibly in addition to a vowel change.

Infinitive Present Tense Past Tense

to sell -  I sell / he sells I sold / he sold

to send -  I send / he sends I sent / he sent

to fly -  I fly / he flies I flew / he flew