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3.6.1: Two Types of Past Tense Verbs- Regular and Irregular

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    122309
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    Two Types of Past Tense Verbs:  Regular and Irregular

    1.  Regular verbs are verbs that end in ed in the past tense affirmative.

    Examples:  open/opened, start/started, wait/waited, memorize/memorized

    2.  Irregular Verbs are verbs that change form in the past and past participle form.

    Examples:  go/went, strike/struck, fly/flew, write/wrote, put/put, forget/forgot

    The same rules for the negative and question form apply to both types of verbs.

    Sample Sentences:

    We stayed home last night and ate dinner together.
    My father drove a taxi and worked in a factory for many years.
    My brother broke the chair and then tried to fix it.
    I enjoyed living with my family, but I left home at 22 years old.
    We saw a man who needed to buy some medicine.

    Forming the Negative: Present and Past Tenses

    Present Tense Negative                             Past Tense Negative

    I                                                                 I
    You                     play.                                You                   play.
    We         don’t     go.                                   We        didn’t  go.
    They                    wash.                              They                 wash.

    He                       play.                                He                    play.
    She        doesn’t  go.                                   She       didn’t  go.
    It                         wash.                              It                     wash.

           After the helping verbs don’t, doesn’t, and didn’t ALWAYS use the base form of the verb in the present tense and in the past tense.

     

           Use the S Form of the Verb only in the present tense for he, she, and itNever use the S Form in the past tense.      

           Notice that in the present tense and in the past tense that the verb always goes back to the base form after don’t, doesn’t, and didn’t.

    Present Tense Negative Verb To Be         Past Tense Negative Verb To Be

    I                 am not                                     I              was not
    He                                                              He
    She             is not                                       She         was not
    It                                                                It

    We                                                              We
    You             are not                                     You         were not
    They                                                            They

           When you change the verb to be from the present tense to the past tense, you use the words was and were.  When you want to make the past continuous tense, then the main verb always uses ing.

     

           Remember that the words am, is, and are have the same meaning as was and were.  The only difference is the time (tense).

    I am in class today.           I was in class yesterday.

    We are living in Seattle.      We were living in different places when we were younger.

    My son is at work now.  He was in his apartment last night.

     

    Exercise 4:  Change the following sentences to the Past Tense Negative, please.

    1.   We planned to buy a new stove last week.

     

    2.   He ate a bowl of soup for lunch.

     

    3.   My sister allowed my sons to stay up past their bed time.

     

    4.   He remembered to take his wife downtown.

     

    5.   She lent $100 to her friend.

     

    6.   The police arrested the robber last night.

     

    7.   I forgot to get the bread on my way home.

     

    8.   Friday morning was the last day for class.

     

    9.   Tom brought his friend to the class.

     

    10. He helped his son fix the car.

     

    11. The girls prepared dinner for their family.

     

    12. I wished to see some old photographs.

     

    13. He invented the electric light bulb.

     

    14.  The teacher corrected the students’ homework assignment.

     

    15.  The soccer star flew to Chicago to join his new team.

     

    Exercise 5:  Change the following sentences to the past tense yes/no questions, please.

    1.   We intended to buy a new lawnmower last week.

     

    2.   He made a Vietnamese sandwich for lunch.

     

    3.   My friend let his sons sleep late yesterday.

     

    4.   He forgot to take his wife to the market.

     

    5.   She gave $100 to her boyfriend for his birthday.

     

    6.   The FBI arrested the bank robber last night.

     

    7.   I remembered to buy milk on my way home.

     

    8.   Last Thursday was the last day for class that quarter.

     

    9.   Tom brought his lunch to work.

     

    10. He told his friend to fix the broken window.

     

    11. The girls made a cake for their father’s birthday.

     

    12. I hoped to see my old friends.

     

    13. He invented many things in his life.

     

    14.  The teacher corrected the students’ compositions.

     

    15.  The president took a trip to Boston on business.


    This page titled 3.6.1: Two Types of Past Tense Verbs- Regular and Irregular is shared under a CC BY-NC 4.0 license and was authored, remixed, and/or curated by Don Bissonnette.

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