2. Is that story real? Would you like to have a super powers? Past tense vs the future (Grammar and reading practice about the past tenses mixed with present)
  • How to formulate the simple past

Click on the buttons to see the examples.

1. For regular verbs, add -ed to the root form of the verb (or just -d if the root form already ends in an e):

Play→Played

Type→Typed

Listen→Listened

Push→Pushed

Love→Loved

3. For other irregular verbs, including the verb to be, the simple past forms are more erratic:

See→Saw

Build→Built

Go→Went

Do→Did

Rise→Rose Am/Is/Are→Was/Were

2. For irregular verbs, things get more complicated. The simple past tense of some irregular verbs looks exactly like the root form:

Put→Put

Cut→Cut

Set→Set

Cost→Cost

Hit→Hit

4. The good news is that verbs in the simple past tense (except for the verb to be) don’t need to agree in number with their subjects.

Wolfgang polished his medal. The other winners polished their medals too.