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Simple past tense

The past tense signifies actions that were done in the past. Conjugating verbs to show the past tense is very easy in English, almost as easy as conjugating the present tense. Regular verbs take the ending '-d' or 'ed' in the affirmative. The negative and interrogative are formed using did (past of…

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Overview

The past tense signifies actions that were done in the past. Conjugating verbs to show the past tense is very easy in English, almost as easy as conjugating the present tense.

Past Tense

Regular verbs take the ending '-d' or 'ed' in the affirmative. The negative and interrogative are formed using did (past of the auxiliary verb do) together with the infinitive of the verb. The verb work is conjugated as follows: Affirmative I worked you worked he worked she worked it worked we worked you worked they worked Negative I did not work   or   I didn't work you did not work   or   you didn't work he did not work   or   he didn't work she did not work   or   she didn't work it did not work   or   it didn't work we did not work   or   we didn't work you did not work   or   you didn't work they did not work   or   they didn't work Interrogative did I work did you work did he work did she work did it work did we work did you work did they work Negative Interrogative did I not work   or   didn't I work did you not work   or   didn't you work did he not work   or   didn't he work did she not work   or   didn't she work did it not work   or   didn't it work did we not work   or   didn't we work did you not work   or   didn't you work did they not work   or   didn't they work Irregular verbs change their form in the past tense affirmative in a variety of ways. The past of go, for example, is went, of buy, bought, of keep, kept. As with the regular verbs, the negative and interrogative are formed using did together with the infinitive of the verb. The verb go is conjugated in the past tense as follows: Affirmative I went you went he went she went it went we went you went they went Negative I did not go   or   I didn't go you did not go   or   you didn't go he did not go   or   he didn't go she did not go   or   she didn't go it did not go   or   it didn't go we did not go   or   we didn't go you did not go   or   you didn't go they did not go   or   they didn't go Interrogative did I go did you go did he go did she go did it go did we go did you go did they go Negative Interrogative did I not go   or   didn't I go did you not go   or   didn't you go did he not go   or   didn't he go did she not go   or   didn't she go did it not go   or   didn't it go did we not go   or   didn't we go did you not go   or   didn't you go did they not go   or   didn't they go

External links

* Wiktionary Appendix:Irregular Verbs. * Verbbusters: Complete set of resources for the study of the irregular verbs.

English as an Additional Language

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