The simple past tense of a verb is used to describe an action that happened before the present time.
Read and study these sentences. Take note of the italicized verbs.
The events in the previous sentences happened before the time of speaking or writing. The events started and finished in the past.
The verbs - sold, carried, realized, drew, and honored - in the sentences are in the simple past tense.
Regular verbs form their past tense by adding -d or -ed to their base form.
When the base form of the verb ends in -y preceded by a consonant, y is changed to i before adding ed.
Examples:
The verbs - carried, realized, and honored - in previous sentences are regular verbs.
Irregular verbs form their past tense by either retaining or changing their spelling.
Examples:
The verbs - sold and drew - in previous sentences are irregular verbs.
There is a change in their spelling.
Here are some examples of irregular verbs and their past forms.
| Present | Past | Present | Past |
|---|---|---|---|
| bring | brought | sing | sang |
| catch | caught | go | went |
| drive | drove | seek | sought |
| drink | drank | put | put |
| fly | flew | read | read |
| come | came | cost | cost |
| run | ran | let | let |
Time expressions are used to indicate past actions.
Examples: