Summary
Highlights
For most regular verbs, the simple past tense is formed by adding '-d' or '-ed' to the base form. Specific rules apply for verbs ending in 'e' (add '-d'), verbs ending in vowel + 'y' (add '-ed'), and verbs ending in consonant + 'y' (change 'y' to 'i' and add '-ed'). For one-syllable verbs ending in vowel + consonant (not 'y' or 'w'), double the consonant and add '-ed'.
Irregular verbs form their simple past tense by changing their spelling. Some irregular verbs like 'hurt' and 'set' have the same past tense form as their base form, while others like 'see' becomes 'saw', 'build' becomes 'built', 'go' becomes 'went', and 'do' becomes 'did'. The past tense forms of 'be' verbs (am, is, are) are 'was' and 'were'.
Common time expressions used with the simple past tense include 'yesterday', 'last week', 'last month', 'a while ago', and 'two years ago'.
The video provides an exercise to fill in the blanks with the correct past form of the verb, followed by solutions. Examples include 'eat' becoming 'ate', 'drive' becoming 'drove', 'buy' becoming 'bought', 'go' becoming 'went', 'recite' becoming 'recited', 'see' becoming 'saw', 'do' becoming 'did', 'drink' becoming 'drank', 'jump' becoming 'jumped', 'bite' becoming 'bit', and 'fly' becoming 'flew'.
A comprehensive list of common irregular verbs and their past tense forms is provided for further study and practice.
Examples like "Eliza played beach volleyball last week" and "My father bought vegetables yesterday" demonstrate how the simple past tense indicates actions that began and ended in the past.
The simple past tense is used to describe completed actions or states that happened in the past. It refers to events that are entirely finished and not ongoing.