Simple Past: Regular Verbs

Introduction

The simple past tense is one of the most common tenses in English. Its form is the same with all subjects. It is usually formed by adding -ED to the verb. This page will explain the rules for forming the tense with regular verbs.

1. Forming the simple past tense

With most verbs, the simple past is created simply by adding -ED. However, with some verbs, you need to add -D or change the ending a little. Here are the rules:

Verb ending in...	How to make the simple past	Examples
e	Add -D	live lived date dated
Consonant +y	Change y to i, then add -ED	try tried cry cried
One vowel + one consonant (but NOT w or y)	Double the consonant, then add -ED	tap tapped commit committed
anything else including w	Add -ED	boil boiled fill filled hand handed show showed