THE PAST SIMPLE THE REGULAR VERBS

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

The Irregular Verbs

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

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

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

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

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

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