Past Tense Verbs

Regular verbs add d or ed in the past tense:

  • We planned a rock climbing vacation.

  • The boy jumped over the chair.

  • We canoed for three hours.

Irregular verb in the past tense change in irregular ways:

  • We took the dogs to the vet.

  • Jamie felt uncomfortable around the strangers.

  • Mom bought me a new necklace.

Reference Chart: Irregular Verbs

Simple Form Past Simple Form Past Simple Form Past Simple Form Past
be was, were find found make made speak spoke
become became fly flew mean meant spend spent
begin began forget forgot meet met spring sprung
blow blew forgive forgave pay paid stand stood
break broke freeze froze put put steal stole
bring brought get got quit quit strike struck
build built give gave read read swim swam
buy bought go went ride rode take took
catch caught grow grew ring rang teach taught
choose chose have had rise rose tear tore
come came hear heard run ran tell told
cut cut hide hid say said think thought
dive dove (dived) hold held see saw throw threw
do did hurt hurt seek sought understand understood
draw drew keep kept sell sold wake woke
drink drank know knew send sent wear wore
drive drove lay laid set set win won
eat ate lead led shake shook wind wound
fall fell leave left shine shone (shined) write wrote
feed fed let let sing sung    
feel felt lie lay sit sat    
fight fought lose lost sleep slept    

Learn the unfamiliar past tense forms by grouping together verbs that change from present tense to past tense in the same way. For example, some irregular verbs change from ow in the present to ew in the past.

  • blow  - blew

  • grow - grew

  • know - knew

  • throw - threw

Another group changes from i in the present to a in the past.

  • begin - began

  • drink - drank

  • ring - rang

  • sing - sang

  • spring - sprang

  • swim - swam

If you are unsure of the past tense form of a verb that is not in the chart, check a dictionary. For example, if you look up the word go in the dictionary, you will find an entry like this:

go\went\gone\going

The first word listed is used to form the present tense of the verb. The second word is the past tense.   

 
Regular verbs add-d or -ed in the past tense:
We walked to the store.
The girl jumped over the stone.
Susan lunged at the frog.

 
Irregular verbs in the past tense change in irregular ways:
We left mom at the mall.
The phone rang six times.
He rode his bike in the race.

 

To be is the only verb that changes form in the past tense:
I was we were
you were you were
he was she was it was they were

Resources:

Fawcett, Susan and Alvin Sandberg. Grassroots: The Writer's Workbook Fourth Edition.

     Boston: Houghton Mifflin, 1991.