“Yesterday, I eated my breakfast.” – Oops! Did you spot the mistake?
Learning past tense verbs is essential for strong communication skills. However, for young learners, it can feel confusing. This guide will help teachers and parents introduce past tense verbs in an easy, engaging, and fun way! With clear explanations, examples, and worksheets from Worksheetzone, kids will master past tense verbs in no time!
Related posts:
- Irregular Past Tense Verbs: Definition and Lists
- Regular Past Tense Verbs: Rules, Examples, and Teaching Tips
What Is a Past Tense Verb?
Past tense verbs are verbs that describe actions or states that occurred in the past. They indicate that something has already happened and is no longer happening in the present. These verbs help us talk about completed events, past routines, historical facts, and previous experiences.
Understanding past tense verbs is essential for effective communication in English, whether you’re writing a story, discussing history, or sharing past experiences.
For example:
- “She danced beautifully.” (The verb “danced” shows the action already took place.)
Download this worksheet now and help your child master past tense verbs with clear explanations and examples!
Types of Past Tense Verbs
English features four main types of past tense verbs: Simple Past, Past Progressive, Past Perfect, and Past Perfect Progressive. Each serves a unique purpose in indicating the timing and nature of past actions. Here’s a breakdown:
1. Simple Past Tense
The simple past tense is used to describe completed actions that happened at a specific time in the past. These actions may be short or long, but they are finished.
Structure:
- Positive: Subject + Verb (simple past form)
- Example: “She played the piano.”
- Negative: Subject + did not (didn’t) + base Verb
- Example: “She did not play the piano.”
- Question: Did + Subject + base Verb?
- Example: “Did she play the piano?”
Download this worksheet now and help your child practice the Simple Past Tense with clear sentence structures!
It’s commonly formed by adding “-ed” to regular verbs. However, irregular verbs have unique past tense forms.
Regular Verbs
Most English verbs are regular, which means they form the past tense by simply adding “-ed” or “-d” to the base form.
- Base verb + “-ed” (for most verbs)
- Base verb + “-d” (if the verb ends in “e”)
For example:
- dance → danced
- enjoy → enjoyed
- love → loved
Irregular Verbs
Unlike regular verbs, irregular verbs do not follow a predictable pattern. Instead of adding “-ed”, they often change completely in the past tense.
For example:
- Go → Went
- Eat → Ate
- See → Saw
- Take → Took
- Write → Wrote
- Speak → Spoke
- Run → Ran
Download this worksheet now and help your child master irregular verbs with engaging practice exercises!
2. Past Progressive
The past progressive tense (also called the past continuous tense) describes actions that were ongoing at a specific time in the past. This tense is used when an action was in progress before being interrupted or before another past action occurred.
Structure:
- Positive: Subject + was/were + Verb(-ing)
- Example: “They were watching a movie.”
- Negative: Subject + was/were + not + Verb(-ing)
- Example: “They were not (weren’t) watching a movie.”
- Question: Was/Were + Subject + Verb(-ing)?
- Example: “Were they watching a movie?”
Download this worksheet now and help your child practice forming sentences in the Past Progressive tense with clear and engaging examples!
3. Past Perfect Tense
The past perfect describes an action completed before another action in the past. This tense helps clarify the sequence of past events.
Structure:
- Positive: Subject + had + Verb (past participle)
- Example: “She had finished her homework before dinner.”
- Negative: Subject + had not (hadn’t) + Verb (past participle)
- Example: “She hadn’t finished her homework before dinner.”
- Question: Had + subject + Verb (past participle)?
- Example: “Had she finished her homework before dinner?”
Download this worksheet now and help your child practice the Past Perfect tense with clear examples and structured exercises!
4. Past Perfect Progressive Tense
The past perfect progressive (also called past perfect continuous) is used to show the duration of an action that was happening before another past action.
Structure:
- Positive: Subject + had been + Verb (-ing)
- Example: “They had been traveling for hours before they found a rest stop.”
- Negative: Subject + had not (hadn’t) + been + Verb (-ing)
- Example: “They hadn’t been traveling for hours before they found a rest stop.”
- Question: Had + Subject + been + Verb (-ing)?
- Example: “Had they been traveling for hours before they found a rest stop?”
Download the worksheet to help your child practice forming Past Perfect Progressive tense sentences with simple and clear examples!
Common Mistakes with Past Tense Verbs
Even experienced English learners make mistakes when using past tense verbs. Here are some of the most common errors and how to correct them:
Using the Wrong Verb Form
Many learners mistakenly use the present tense form of a verb instead of the past tense.
❌ “She go to the store yesterday.”
✅ “She went to the store yesterday.”
Tip: Remember that regular verbs add “-ed” to form the past tense, while irregular verbs do not follow a fixed pattern. (e.g., go → went, see → saw, buy → bought).
Confusing Past Simple and Past Perfect
The past perfect tense is used when describing an action that happened before another past event. Many learners mistakenly use the simple past instead.
❌ “By the time we got there, the concert started.”
✅ “By the time we got there, the concert had started.”
Tip: Use had + past participle to indicate that one action happened before another past action.
Forgetting Spelling Rules
Some verbs require spelling changes when forming the past tense. Many learners apply the “-ed” rule incorrectly.
❌ “He cryed when he lost the game.”
✅ “He cried when he lost the game.”
Spelling Rule:
- If a verb ends in “consonant + y,” change “y” to “i” before adding “-ed” (e.g., try → tried, carry → carried).
- If a verb ends in “e,” simply add “-d” (e.g., love → loved, move → moved).
Overusing “Was/Were” Instead of Simple Past
Learners sometimes mistakenly add “was” or “were” before the base form of a verb instead of conjugating it in the past tense.
❌ “He was go to school yesterday.”
✅ “He went to school yesterday.”
Tip: Use “was/were” + verb (-ing) only for the past continuous tense (e.g., “He was going to school when it started raining.”).
To avoid these mistakes, practice with past tense worksheets, read past-tense stories, and do grammar exercises regularly. The more you use past tense verbs correctly, the more natural they will become!
Practice Exercises
To reinforce the understanding of past tense verbs, try the following exercises.
Exercise 1: Fill in the Blanks
Complete the sentences using the correct past tense form of the verb in parentheses.
- She ___ (go) to the store yesterday.
- They ___ (play) soccer in the park last evening.
- While I ___ (study), my friend ___ (call).
- By the time we ___ (arrive), they ___ (leave).
- She ___ (write) a book for two years before publishing it.
- The cat ___ (jump) onto the table and ___ (knock) over a glass.
- We ___ (watch) a movie when the power ___ (go) out.
- He ___ (not finish) his project on time, so he ___ (stay) up late.
- My grandparents ___ (move) to this city in 1995.
- When I was younger, I ___ (love) reading adventure books.
Download this worksheet now and help your child practice their past tense verb skills with fun fill-in-the-blank exercises!
Exercise 2: Convert to Negative and Question
Rewrite the following sentences into their negative and question forms.
- He finished his homework.
- They were playing video games.
- She had traveled to Italy before.
- The dog barked loudly at night.
- She was reading a book when I arrived.
- They had been working on the project for hours.
- He spoke French fluently.
- The sun set at 6 PM yesterday.
- I was cooking dinner when they arrived.
- They wrote a letter to their friend.
Download this worksheet now and help your child practice rewriting sentences into negative and question forms!
Frequently Asked Questions
1. What are 10 examples of past tense verbs?
Here are ten examples of commonly used verbs in the past tense:
- Go → Went
- Eat → Ate
- See → Saw
- Run → Ran
- Write → Wrote
- Speak → Spoke
- Sing → Sang
- Read → Read (same spelling, different pronunciation)
- Think → Thought
- Begin → Began
2. What are regular past tense verbs?
Regular past tense verbs follow a predictable pattern where “-ed” is added to the base form. Examples:
- Talk → Talked
- Jump → Jumped
- Clean → Cleaned
3. How many tenses are in a verb?
English verbs have 12 tenses categorized into three main types:
- Present Tenses (Simple, Continuous, Perfect, Perfect Continuous)
- Past Tenses (Simple, Continuous, Perfect, Perfect Continuous)
- Future Tenses (Simple, Continuous, Perfect, Perfect Continuous)
4. What are some examples of irregular past tense verbs?
Irregular verbs do not follow the “-ed” pattern. Examples include:
- Go → Went
- Eat → Ate
- Run → Ran
- Write → Wrote
- Buy → Bought
The Bottom Line
Learning past tense verbs is essential for building strong grammar skills. Whether you’re teaching in a classroom or helping your child at home, understanding the different types, structures, and usage of past tense verbs will improve both writing and speaking skills.
For interactive exercises and printable worksheets, visit Worksheetzone to make learning past tense verbs fun and engaging!
