When we talk about events in the past, present, or future we change the verbs in our sentences to reflect the tense. This can be difficult for kids sometimes so we break these skills down and practice different verb forms for past, present, and future. It can be confusing when someone is talking about events in the past but not using the correct grammar to reflect it.

Rules for Regular Past Tense Verbs

In English, the “usual” rule is to add “-ed” or “-d” to the base form of the verb to create the past forms.

• walk –> walked
• love –> loved

If a verb of one syllable ends [consonant-vowel-consonant], double the final consonant and add “ed”:

• chat –> chatted
• stop –> stopped

If the last syllable of a longer verb is stressed and ends [consonant-vowel-consonant], double the last consonant and add “ed”:

• incur –> incurred
• prefer –> preferred

If the verb ends [consonant + “y”], change the “y” to an “i” and add “ed”:

• cry –> cried
• fry –> fried

Try some practice:

• Say or write a sentence in present tense, then change it regular past tense. For example, Today I walk to the park. Yesterday I walked to the park.
• Find examples of regular past tense in a book, TV show, or movie.
• Tell someone in your family about something you did yesterday, last week, over the weekend, etc.

Verb List for Practice