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Unit 01
Past Simple: Regular Verbs
walked, played, watched
What is the Past Simple?
The Past Simple describes actions that are completely finished in the past. Regular verbs form the past tense by adding -ed to the base form.
The past form is the same for every person: I worked, you worked, she worked, they worked. There is no -s for he/she/it in the past.
We usually say when the action happened (yesterday, last week, in 2019), or the time is clear from the context.
Spelling Rules for -ed
| Rule | Base verb | Past form |
|---|---|---|
| Most verbs → add -ed | walk / watch / clean | walked / watched / cleaned |
| Ends in -e → add -d | like / dance / arrive | liked / danced / arrived |
| Ends in consonant + -y → y to i + -ed | study / try / carry | studied / tried / carried |
| Short CVC verb → double consonant + -ed | stop / plan / drop | stopped / planned / dropped |
Saying the -ed Ending: /t/, /d/ or /ɪd/
The -ed ending has three sounds. Only one of them adds an extra syllable:
| Sound | When | Examples |
|---|---|---|
| /t/ | after p, k, f, s, sh, ch, x (voiceless sounds) | walked, stopped, laughed, missed, washed, watched |
| /d/ | after vowels and other voiced sounds | played, lived, cleaned, called, enjoyed |
| /ɪd/ (extra syllable) | after t and d only | wanted, started, visited, needed, decided |
Spelling: Two More Rules
- Don't double w, x, y: fix → fixed, play → played, snow → snowed.
- Vowel + y → just add -ed: play → played, enjoy → enjoyed, stay → stayed.
- In two-syllable verbs, double only if the stress is at the end: preFER → preferred, but VISit → visited, Open → opened.
Form
| Type | Structure | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Affirmative | Subject + verb-ed | She worked late yesterday. |
| Negative | Subject + didn't + base verb | I didn't watch the film. |
| Question | Did + subject + base verb? | Did you call him? |
| Short answer | Yes, I did. / No, I didn't. | Did she arrive? → Yes, she did. |
Common Time Expressions
- yesterday — I called her yesterday.
- last night / week / year — He worked late last night.
- ago — They moved here three years ago.
- in 2018 — She started the course in 2018.
- when I was a child — I lived in Ankara when I was a child.
"Ago" — Counting Back from Now
Ago comes after the time period: two days ago, a week ago, ten years ago. It is only used with the Past Simple.
| ✅ Correct | ❌ Wrong |
|---|---|
| I started this job three years ago. | before three years / three years before |
| She called me an hour ago. | an hour before ago |
| How long ago did you move? | How much ago did you move? |
Annotated Examples
Subject
Verb
Auxiliary
Object
Adjective
Adverb
Preposition
Hover over any word to see its role.
subjectSheverbvisitedobjecther grandmotheradverblast weekend.
↳ Regular past: visit → visited.
subjectTheyauxiliarydidn'tverbwatchobjectTVadverbyesterday.
↳ Negative: didn't + base form.
auxiliaryDidsubjectyouverbstudyobjectEnglishadverblast night?
↳ Question: Did + subject + base form?
subjectHeverbstartedobjectthe courseadverbtwo months ago
↳ "ago" after the time period
subjectWeverbstayedprepositionat homeadverblast night
↳ Vowel + y → just add -ed
Common Mistakes
She didn't worked yesterday.
→
She didn't work yesterday.
After "didn't" always use the base form.
Did you watched the film?
→
Did you watch the film?
After "did" always use the base form.
I stoped the car.
→
I stopped the car.
Short CVC verb → double the consonant: stopped.
He studyed hard.
→
He studied hard.
Consonant + y → change y to i: studied.
I visitted my aunt.
→
I visited my aunt.
"VISit" is stressed on the first syllable → no doubling.
I moved here before two years.
→
I moved here two years ago.
"Ago" comes after the time period.