1. THE PAST SIMPLE THE REGULAR VERBS

2. IN ENGLISH THERE ARE TWO GROUPS OF VERBS: The Regular Verbs

3. The Irregular Verbs

4. THE REGULAR VERBS Forming Regular Simple Past Tense Verbs To form the simple past of most regular verbs in English, simply add the suffix -ed to the base form of the verb. The base form of a verb is defined as the infinitive without the preposition to infinitive marker. For example: Infinitive – Base – Simple Past to accept – accept – accepted to count – count – counted to follow – follow – followed to listen – listen – listened to wash – wash – washed

5. Some English verbs require some spelling changes between the base form and the simple past. For verbs that are spelled with a “silent” e on the end of the word, remove the “silent” e and then add the ­-ed suffix. For example: Infinitive – Base – Simple Past to care – care – cared to decide – decide – decided to introduce – introduce – introduced to realize – realize – realized to use – use – used Sally arrived at the vet’s early because her cat was very ill

6. For verbs that are spelled with a y on the end of the word, change the y to an i and then add the ­-ed suffix. For example: Infinitive – Base – Simple Past to copy – copy – copied to deny – deny – denied to party – party – partied to study – study – studied to worry – worry – worried Little Mike studied his first book when he was three

7. For one-syllable verbs spelled with a single vowel followed by a consonant other than w, x, and y, double the last consonant and then add the ­-edsuffix. For example: Infinitive – Base – Simple Past to bag – bag – bagged to nap – nap – napped to pet – pet – petted to rob – rob – robbed to shop – shop – shopped Robert stopped the car in front of the school

8. For two-syllable verbs spelled with a single vowel followed by a consonant in which the second syllable is stressed, double the last consonant and then add the ­-ed suffix. For example: Infinitive – Base – Simple Past to admit – admit – admitted to concur – concur – concurred to format – format – formatted to prefer – prefer – preferred to regret – regret – regretted Most Londoners preferred the Tube as urban means of transport in 2015

9. For the few verbs spelled with a letter c at the end of the word, add a k after the c and then add the ­-ed suffix. For example: Infinitive – Base – Simple Past to frolic – frolic – frolicked to mimic – mimic – mimicked to panic – panic – panicked to picnic – picnic – picnicked to traffic – traffic – trafficked My mother panicked when she saw my school report