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The past simple, part 1 of 4

Regular Verbs in English: The Past Simple with -ed

To talk about the past, most English verbs just add -ed: work becomes worked, and play becomes played.

A1 · 14 minBefore:Was and were

The idea

What the past simple is

It is the form for something that started and finished before now. It does not matter if it was a minute ago or ten years ago: if it is over and you tell it as a closed event, it goes in the past simple.

  1. It is over. If it is still true, it does not go here: I live in Lima (I still do), I lived in Lima (not anymore).
  2. It usually says when, or it is understood: I worked yesterday. That is why the expressions below are the best clue.
  3. One form for everyone: I, you, he, she, we and they all take the same worked. In Spanish it changes (trabajé, trabajó, trabajamos); in English it does not.

When to use it

To talk about something that is finished: what you did yesterday, last week, or years ago. These expressions go with it:

With last

  • last Friday
  • last week
  • last month
  • last year
  • last summer

With ago

  • two days ago
  • a week ago
  • an hour ago
  • years ago

With yesterday

  • yesterday
  • yesterday morning
  • the day before yesterday

With a date or a moment

  • in 2020
  • on Monday
  • when I was a child

Examples

  • What you did

    I worked a lot yesterday.

  • Activities

    She played tennis last weekend.

  • Free time

    We watched a movie last night.

  • Chores

    He cleaned the whole house.

  • Trips

    They traveled to Spain.

  • School

    I studied English for two hours.

How to build it

3 steps

  1. Choose the verb in its base formThe dictionary form, with nothing added:clean
  2. Add -edFirst check how it ends (in the cards below):cleaned
  3. Use it the same way with everyoneIt does not change with he or she, and it takes no -s:I cleaned, she cleaned, they cleaned

Affirmative

  1. SubjectThey
  2. verb + -edplayed
  3. complementsoccer.

How to spell -ed

Look at how the verb ends

Most verbsworkworkedadd -ed
  • walkwalked
  • callcalled
  • looklooked
Ends in -elivelivedadd only -d
  • likeliked
  • closeclosed
  • smilesmiled
Consonant + ystudystudiedy becomes -ied
  • carrycarried
  • worryworried
  • hurryhurried
Vowel + yplayplayedthe y stays
  • staystayed
  • prayprayed
  • obeyobeyed
One syllable: consonant, vowel, consonantstopstoppeddouble the last letter (except w, x, y)
  • chatchatted
  • shopshopped
  • fixfixed

How to pronounce it

The three sounds of -ed

t

/t/

After the sounds k, p, s, sh, ch, and f

  • worked

    /wɝkt/

  • helped

    /hɛlpt/

  • watched

    /wɑtʃt/
d

/d/

After vowels and most other sounds

  • played

    /pleɪd/

  • cleaned

    /klind/

  • lived

    /lɪvd/
id

/ɪd/

After t or d: it adds a syllable

  • wanted

    /ˈwɑntɪd/

  • needed

    /ˈnidɪd/

  • visited

    /ˈvɪzɪtɪd/

Only the /ɪd/ group adds a syllable: want has one and wanted has two. Worked is still one syllable.

Check

We (blank) for the bus for an hour. Which word goes in the blank?

Don't confuse them with irregular verbs

work, worked

Regular: add -ed

go, went

Irregular: a whole new form

If a verb doesn't follow the rule, it's irregular and you learn it separately. There are fewer of them, but they're the most common.

Part 2: irregular verbs

In real life

In fast speech, -ed blends into the next word: walked to sounds like /ˈwɔktə/. If you can't hear it, the context (yesterday, last week) tells you it's the past.

Frequently asked questions

How do I know if an English verb is regular or irregular?

Nothing in the verb tells you: irregular verbs are learned by heart. There are about 200, but only a few are used every day, and almost every new verb you learn will be regular.

Does the -ed of regular verbs change with he, she, or it?

No. In the present you say he works, with an s, but in the past there is only one form: I worked, she worked, they worked.

Is it traveled or travelled?

Both are correct. American English writes traveled, with one l, because the stress is on the first syllable (TRA-vel). British English doubles it: travelled. SpeakUP uses the American spelling.

Which regular verbs don't double the last letter even if they end in consonant, vowel, consonant?

Verbs ending in w, x, or y (snow, snowed; fix, fixed) and two-syllable verbs stressed at the start (visit, visited; open, opened). Prefer does double it because the stress is at the end: preferred.

In short

  • Something that is over goes in the past simple: I worked yesterday.
  • Regular verb: base + -ed (worked), the same for everyone.
  • Check the ending: lived, studied, stopped.
  • The -ed sounds like t, d or id; it adds a syllable only after t or d: wanted.
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By Bryan López ·
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