Past Simple: regular verbs (-ed)

Rules

• Rule 1: verb + -ed

  Most verbs just add -ed. Good news: the verb is the same for every subject! I, you, he, she, it, we, they all say played; no -s.

  Pattern: subject + verb-ed

  Example: She walked to the library.

  Example: They painted the fence.

• Rule 2: verbs ending in -e add only -d

  If the verb already ends in -e, we add only -d: *like → liked, dance → danced, close → closed*.

  Pattern: verb-e + d

  Example: I closed the door.

  Example: We baked cookies.

• Rule 3: consonant + y → -ied

  If a verb ends in consonant + y, the y becomes -ied: *study → studied, cry → cried*. But after a vowel + y (a, e, o, u + y) we just add -ed: *play → played, stay → stayed, enjoy → enjoyed*.

  Example: The baby cried all night.

  Example: We stayed at home.

• Rule 4: double the last letter

  If a short (one-syllable) verb ends in one vowel + one consonant, we double the last letter: *stop → stopped, plan → planned, hop → hopped*. But w, x, y are never doubled: *fix → fixed*.

  Example: The train stopped at the station.

  Example: The rabbit hopped away.

Common mistakes

• Yesterday I play with my cat. → Yesterday I played with my cat.

  yesterday is past; don't forget -ed.

• She studyed English. → She studied English.

  consonant + y → -ied.

• He likeed the game. → He liked the game.

  A verb ending in -e just adds -d.