Hook

“I work” becomes “I worked” for yesterday. Most English verbs follow this simple pattern for the past.

Notice

Look at these sentences:

  • I worked late yesterday.
  • She watched a movie last night.
  • They played football on Saturday.
  • He didn’t study for the test.
  • Did you cook dinner? — Yes, I did.

Rule

For regular verbs, add -ed to make the past simple: work → worked, play → played.

Spelling rules: live → lived (just add -d), study → studied (y→i after consonant), stop → stopped (double the last letter).

Negative: didn’t + base verb (same for all subjects) — He didn’t watch TV.

Question: Did + subject + base verb? — Did she call you?

Practice

  1. Complete: I ___ (walk) to school yesterday. (Answer: walked)
  2. Complete: She ___ (study) all night. (Answer: studied)
  3. Complete: They ___ (stop) at the shop. (Answer: stopped)
  4. Make negative: He watched TV. (Answer: He didn’t watch TV.)
  5. Make a question: you / call / your friend (Answer: Did you call your friend?)
  6. Correct the error: She studyed hard. (Answer: She studied hard.)

Connect

Practice -ed spelling patterns with our Word Ladder game.

Try the Word Ladder Game →

CEFR A1: Writing — can write simple sentences about past actions using regular verbs.

Azizul Hakim