Verbs in the simple past of English. How to Express Past Tense in English

Here you can find a table of irregular English verbs with translation into Russian and transcription, videos on learning and memorizing irregular verbs, links.

There is a special category of verbs in the English language that does not follow generally accepted rules when forming the past participle. They are usually called “wrong”. Unlike “regular” verbs, which are appended with the ending –ed to form the past participle, these verbs either remain unchanged or take unusual forms that are not always easy to remember. For example:

put – put – put;
drive – drove – driven.

If the first verb is easy to learn and use in sentences, then the second one has to be learned directly by memorization.

Where did such difficulties with some verbs come from? Scientists have concluded that these are some kind of “fossils” left in the language from ancient times. During its development, the English language has taken a large number of words from other European languages, but some words remained unchanged. It is this category that they belong to. Irregular Verbs.

Table of irregular English verbs:

Video on learning and memorizing irregular English verbs:

Top 100 irregular verbs in English.

In this video, the author analyzes the most popular irregular verbs in the English language (top 100, compiled by himself). Examples are given for all irregular verbs, voiceovers, etc. The most commonly used irregular verbs come first, then the least used.

Pronunciation of irregular English verbs.

British version of English irregular verbs. The author gives you the opportunity to repeat after him and thus hone the correct pronunciation of irregular verbs.

Learning irregular English verbs using rap.

Interesting video for learning irregular English verbs superimposed on rap.

Examples of using irregular verbs:

Indicating the time of a certain action in the past.

Collectively, past tense forms in English are usually united by the concept of Past Tenses. This article will look at three main times, which differ in duration and quality. So, there are the indefinite past or Simple), continuous (Past Continuous) and perfect (Past Perfect) tenses.

Past formSimple

The Past Simple form is the most common and frequently used past tense in the English language. This is the primary tense for expressing any action that happened some time ago. Very often it competes with the present perfect tense (Present Perfect), which, despite belonging to the present verbs, is in the past tense. We must not forget that the perfect present tense is only suitable when a past action affects the present. If the events are not related to the present, you should use the Past Simple.

This time is formed very simply. If the verb is correct, you should simply add the ending -ed to it; if it is incorrect, the required form is in the standard table:

We played the piano three days ago; I forgot my hat at home.

To form a question, use the auxiliary verb did:

Did you play the piano yesterday?

For negation, this auxiliary verb is also used, but with the negation particle not:

She didn't watch TV.

Thus, the Past Simple should be used if the action happened in the past and has no relation to the present. Words that foreshadow the use of this tense form of the verb are yesterday (yesterday), 8 years ago (8 years ago), in 1989 (in 1989) and so on.

Past Continuous Form

Past Continuous is a tense that denotes a long action in the past. In other words, it is used when we're talking about about a specific moment, about an action in the process. For example, She was playing the guitar yesterday at 10 p.m. The example shows that the Past Continuous is formed using an additional verb to be in the past tense and a verb ending in -ing. If the sentence is interrogative, it should be moved to the beginning; if it is negative, not should be added to it:

Were you playing the piano yesterday at 10 p.m.? No, I wasn’t doing this at that time.

In addition, this past tense in English is used to denote an action that once occurred at a specific moment and was interrupted by another simultaneous action. For example, We were looking through the magazine when he called.

Past Perfect tenses andPast Perfect Continuous

These tenses are called the perfect and perfect continuous past tenses, respectively. To form them, you need to have a good knowledge of verb forms. The past tense in English is based entirely on this knowledge. So, for the Past Perfect you need an additional one in the form had and the second participle of the main verb. The latter can be found in the table of irregular verbs or formed by adding the familiar ending -ed.

It should be remembered that the simple perfect tense is used to express an action that has already completed before a specific moment. In turn, Past Perfect Continuous is used in situations where a certain action began before a certain moment in the past and lasted for some time. The Past Perfect Continuous is formed using the form had been, to which the main verb ending in -ing is added.

In general, the past tense in English is not as difficult as it might seem at first glance. It is very important to understand everything and practice various exercises that will best demonstrate the above rules in practice.

Past Simple or Past Indefinite Tense is the second simple tense form after Present Simple. It is a type of tense form of a verb, the task of which is to express in speech single actions that took place in the past. Important! It must be remembered that the time for performing these actions has already expired, that is, the action is no longer relevant. Past tense verbs in English, the table of which will be given below, will allow you to navigate the world more easily English words and expand your knowledge of the past tense. You need to learn it well, because there are fun times in the language - there are a lot of them.

Reference: To make it easier to determine the past tense in English, you can be guided by the presence in the sentence of certain tense identifier words, which are kind of markers, for example =>

• Three days ago (three days ago)
• Last year/month/week (last year/month/on last week)
• Yesterday (yesterday)
• In 1923 (in 1923).

Examples

• It happened three days ago, but I still can’t realize that it really was => It happened three days ago, but I still can’t understand that it really happened.
• This grand fest took place in 1543 => This grand festival was held in 1543.
• I played football yesterday but wanted to go to the forest to pick mushrooms => I played football yesterday, but wanted to go to the forest to pick mushrooms.
• Last month we rent a car to visit our grandparents => Last month we rented a car to visit our grandparents.

On a note! Marker words do not have a specific location in the sentence. They can be placed either at the beginning or at the end.

Examples

• Yesterday we visited our friends or We visited our friends yeasterday. - Yesterday we visited our friends or We visited our friends yesterday.

Regardless of the arrangement of words (their order in a sentence), the meaning remains the same. You can only focus on a specific word. For example, in the sentence Yesterday we visited our friends, the main emphasis (emphasis) comes on the word yesterday, that is, the emphasis is on the fact that we visited yesterday. Not 2 days ago, not a week ago, namely yesterday. In the sentence “We visited our friends yeasterday” the emphasis is on the word we, which means ‘’we visited our friends’’. Not he, not she, not me, namely We.

Another example:

• The decision was taken in 1947 ó In 1947 the decision was taken. — The decision was made in 1947 ó In 1947 the decision was made.

Every student of English knows that all verbs are divided into regular and irregular. Regular verbs include those formed with the suffix –ed. The endings of such verbs may have different intonation. The suffix –ed, depending on the letters next to it, can sound like d or t, or even like id.

For example:

1. In the word stop, when adding – ed, the letter d sounds like t => stopped is formed.

Note! The original verb has one p, but the modified verb has two (stopped).

1. In the word open, the suffix –ed sounds like opened [ʹoupǝnd]

Reference: after voiced consonants –ed sounds like d, and after voiceless consonants (as in the word stop) – like t.

1. In the word want, when adding –ed, the letter t takes on the sound id => wanted [ʹwɔntid].

There is nothing complicated in this rule, as it may seem the first time. Practice, constant exercises and language improvement will help you quickly learn regular and irregular verbs, as well as learn how to use them correctly in speech.

Verb formation irregular shape no need to explain, all examples must be learned. You need to know such verbs by heart and remember them constantly in order to use them correctly in speech. There is a special table with irregular verbs. It contains verbs in three forms.

Past tense verbs in English: table of some irregular verbs

But! Cut – cut – cut => cut, shorten.

Find – found – found => find.

This is a very striking example from the table, since found has another meaning - to found. We decided to found this corporation to help those who had no money => We decided to found this corporation to help people who have no money.

Build-built-built

In this case, the only change is last letter, the rest of the word remains unchanged.

As you can see, English grammar is rich in examples with irregular verbs, the form of which is difficult to explain logically. The patterns must be learned by heart.

Here are examples of sentences with irregular verbs to better explain the features of their use in practice:

• Yesterday he won that competition => Yesterday he won this competition.
• I built the house in 1995 but still it is nice and modern => I built the house in 1995, but it is still nice and modern.
• My wife drew a car last week and I had some problems with police => A week ago, my wife drove a car and I had problems with the police.
• I saw a bird in the sky. I was happy to be here again => I saw a bird in the sky. I was happy to be here again.
• I felt bad last night. I didn’t want to go anywhere but my friends left me no choice but to agree => I felt bad last night. I didn't want to go anywhere, but my friends left me no choice but to agree.
• He brought a bunch of flowers but his gift remained without attention => He brought a bouquet of flowers, but his gift remained unattended.
• I did everything right the way you told me but there were no results => I did everything exactly as you told me, but there were no results.
• I began this deal late at night but it happened to be too hard to cope with it at once => I began this deal late at night, but it turned out to be too difficult to cope with it at once.
• I come at this store and asked to cut some cloth for my new dress => I came to this store and asked to cut some fabric for my new dress.

Negative form of past tense verbs

When dealing with the past tense, you need to be aware of objections. If we are talking about negative form(refers to the past tense), then you need to use did (auxiliary verb) and not (negation). But! In this case we use English verbs not from the second, but from the first column:

• I didn’t eat this cake => I didn’t eat this cake. I didn't eat this cake.
• I didn’t see him last week => I didn’t see him last week. I didn't see him last week.
• I didn’t go there because I thought it was dangerous => I didn’t go there because I thought it was dangerous. I didn’t go there because I thought it was dangerous.

But! In the second part of the sentence, after because comes the second form of the verb (thought, not think). This happens when the main part of a sentence has several subjects.

Let's sum it up

The tense form of English past verbs can be different. Here you need to know English rule formation of regular and irregular verbs. Incorrect examples are given in the table. In the article we have given the most commonly used examples, there are many more of them, and for proper communication you need to learn them all. All ages are submissive to the English language!

Look through the table every day and learn new words, then success will come quickly! Stock up on tables and go for it! Good luck in learning English!

In order not to miss new useful materials,

This article is the second in the series “Times of the English Language”. The first was devoted to ways of expressing it in this language, and this material will present past tense in English. As we know, the past tense is a form of a verb that indicates the time of an action, which in this case happened in the past. In English we call all past tenses Past Tenses, the difference of which lies only in their duration or quality: will it be simple past -, long past - or past perfect – . Let us dwell on each of the indicated past tenses in English.

Past Simple - simple past tense in English

This tense can be called practically the main one when expressing the past tense in English, since it, in principle, expresses any action that took place in the past. Of course, it competes with this time , which, being the present perfect tense, is nevertheless translated by a verb in the past tense. In this case, you should remember only one point - Present Perfect comes into force only in cases where the action occurred in the past and in some way affects or is connected with the present. If past events have no such connection, take Past Simple and use it without doubt.

Time is formed Past Simple simple: if , take its second form (from the table); if the verb is correct, add an ending to it - ed. Need a question? We use did. The predicate is expressed by a verb to be in the required form? We put it at the beginning of the sentence and we're done. Is denial necessary? The same auxiliary verb will come to the rescue did, only in company with a particle not. The same particle is easily attached to the verb to be in the past tense form in English.

To sum it up: time Past Simple we use in the following cases:

• our action happened in the past and has nothing to do with the present. Pay attention to the marker words: yesterday(yesterday), last month(last month), 5 years ago(5 years ago), in 1999(in 1999)
  

  My brother was born in 1987. - My brother was born in 1987.

  She moved to the capital 7 years ago. - She moved to the capital seven years ago.

  We saw him last month. - We saw him last month.

• we strive to retell a series of actions in the past
  

  He wrote the letter, put it in the envelope, left it on the table and went out. - He wrote a letter, put it in an envelope, left it on the table and left.

• we want to show that the action referred to was common and occurred repeatedly in the past over a period of time
  

  From 1995 to 2000 he worked as a manager. - He worked as a manager from 1995 to 2000.

• if our goal is to present a well-known fact of the past
  

  The Second World War began in 1939. - The Second World War began in 1939.

Past Continuous - long past tense in English

The only difference between this time and the previous one is that in this case the action of the past is shown in process. For example:

Mary was doing chores at 10 a.m. - Mary was cleaning at 10 o’clock in the morning.

As a cheat sheet, you can remember that the verb will be of the imperfect form. From the sentence it is clear that the formation of time Past Continuous requires only knowledge of the verb form to be - was / were. To one of them we add the main verb and assign an ending to it - ing. In the case of an interrogative sentence, we place the auxiliary verb at the beginning, and in a negative sentence we attach it to the same auxiliary verb not.

You also need to use this past tense in English:

• if you are talking about an action that happened at a certain point in the past
  

  She was drinking coffee when I came in. - She was drinking coffee when I arrived.

• if you want to characterize a person, thus making your speech emotionally charged
  

  My mother was always hiding sweets from me when I was a kid. - When I was a child, my mother constantly hid sweets from me.

Past Perfect and Past Perfect Continuous - perfect and perfect continuous past tenses in English

To form these tenses you will need a good knowledge of verb forms, both regular and irregular. For Past Perfect need an auxiliary verb have in the past tense form in English, that is had and participle II of the main verb (for regular ones - form in - ed, for incorrect ones – the third form in ). For time use an auxiliary verb to be in the form of time Past Perfect, that is had been, to which we add the main verb as participle I, that is, the form in - ing. In question had goes to the beginning of the sentence, and when negated, calls to itself not.

The simple perfect tense is used only in a few cases:

• if we want to express an action that ended before a certain point in the past
  

  Malfoy had done the work by the time his friend returned. - Malfoy had finished all the work by the time his friend returned.

• if we want to show two actions, one of which was in progress, and the second was completed by the time it started.
  

  The rain had stopped and the stars were twinkling on the dark sky. - The rain stopped, and the stars sparkled in the dark sky.

Not a single language on Earth can do without the past tense. English is no exception. The past tense in English is used to express an action that happened an hour ago, yesterday, last year, that is, in the past. Types of past tense in English and patterns of their formation

The English language differs from Russian in that it has several types of past tense - Past Simple, Past Continuous, Past Perfect, Past Perfect Continuous, whereas in Russian there is only one past tense. The English language is different in that each of these past tenses has its own nuances, and we will talk about each of them today.

The first type of past tense in English is the Past Simple or simple past. The simple past tense in English is formed by adding the ending -ed to the stem of the verb. And to form the negative and interrogative forms of verbs in the Past Simple, an auxiliary verb is used do, namely its past form did. Past Simple corresponds to the perfect form of the past tense in Russian.

• I/you/he/she/we/they work ed
• I/you/he/she/we/they didn’t work
• Did I/you/he/she/we/they work?

The English language reminds you that if you use irregular verbs in the Past Simple, then the second form of the table of irregular verbs is needed here:

• I/you/he/she/we/they spoke
• I/you/he/she/we/they didn’t speak
• Did I/you/he/she/we/they speak?

Please note that the ending -ed we use only the affirmative form of verbs; in the negative and interrogative form there are no endings, everything is taken over by the auxiliary verb.
We bring to your attention the adverbs that are used in the Past Simple:

• Yesterday - yesterday
• The day before yesterday - the day before yesterday
• That day - on that day
• Last night - last night

An adverb can appear at the beginning or end of a sentence. For example:

• Last night I slept very well. — I slept very well last night.
• We spoke with John last week. — He talked to John last week.

Speaking of verbs to be And to have, then you remember that these are irregular verbs and they are conjugated in the Past Simple in their own way:

I/he/she was
You/we/they were
I/you/he/she/we/they had

Pay attention to the examples of sentences in which we use the simple past tense:

• I was busy when you called me. — I was busy when you called me.
• She hadn't any appointment yesterday. — She didn’t have any meeting yesterday.

What is the continuous past tense?

The past tense in English can be continuous or continuous - this is the Past Continuous, and it corresponds to imperfect form past tense in Russian. If we use verbs in the Past Continuous, this indicates that the action is not finished, it is still ongoing.

The scheme for constructing the Past Continuous tense (long past tense) is as follows: to be V Past Simple + verb + -ing ending.

I/he/she was working
We/you/they were working

Was I/he/she working?
Were we/you/they working?

I/he/she wasn’t working
We/you/they weren't working

Adverbs used in the Past Continuous must express the duration of the action:

• At that moment - at that moment
• That time - at that time
• All the day/night/week - all day/all night/week
• One day ago/two days ago - a day ago/two days ago, etc.

Examples of sentences in English using the Past Continuous:

• Yesterday I was playing computer games all the day. — Yesterday I played computer games all day.
• When you came to us, Sue was talking on the phone. — When you came to us, Sue was talking on the phone.
• We were working all the week without weekend. — We worked all week without a day off.

It is worth noting that Past Simple and Past Continuous are used in speech more often than other past tenses.
How to easily learn past tense in English?

Why is Past Perfect needed?

Past Perfect is the past perfect tense in English, which has the meaning of a long past tense.

The Past Perfect formation scheme is simple: had + verb + ending -ed or the third form of an irregular verb.

• I/you/he/she/we/they had worked
• Had I/you/he/she/we/they worked?
• I/you/he/she/we/they hadn’t worked

The Past Perfect is needed to express an action that happened a long time ago. The past perfect tense is also often used to talk about a past action that happened before another past action. At first glance it turns out to be a mess, but now you’ll see with an example. This phenomenon is present especially in indirect speech.

Pay attention to the following examples where the past perfect tense of verbs is used:

• Ann said that she had met John on the street. - Anna said that she met John on the street (at first she met, and then she said - past action before the past).
• Bill announced that he had won the competition. — Bill announced that he had won the competition.
• Andy observed that he had forgotten his documents. — Andy noticed that he forgot his documents.

Past Perfect is also used in the third case conditional mood, in subordinate clauses:

• If you had listened your parents, you wouldn’t have made such a lot of mistakes. “If you had listened to your parents, you wouldn’t have made so many mistakes.”

How to make friends with the Past Perfect Continuous?

The English past tense has another variation. This is Past Perfect Continuous.

Past Perfect Continuous - past perfect continuous tense. Past Perfect Continuous indicates an action that began in the past, continued for some time and ended before some specific moment in the past.

Most often, the Past Perfect Continuous is used in written texts, in oral speech it is rarely seen because it is easier to replace it with the Past Continuous.

To quickly and easily make friends with the Past Perfect Continuous, you need to remember its formation scheme: had + been + verb + -ing ending.

• I/you/he/she/we/they had been working
• I/you/he/she/we/they hadn’t been working
• Had I/you/he/she/we/they been working?

Example sentence with Past Perfect Continuous:

• He had been working hard and managed to finish the documents in time. “He worked hard and was able to complete the paperwork on time.

As you noticed, the Past Perfect Continuous is a little capricious, but if you remember the formation scheme, you will not have problems with it.