2015-08-12
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Formation
The Simple Past tense in regular verbs is formed by adding the suffix – ed or by using the simple past form of an irregular verb. The same form is used for all persons.
Infinitive: to work Simple past: worked
to go went
The negative of regular and irregular verbs is formed with did not (didn't) and the infinitive:
I did not/didn 't work
you did not/didn't work
The interrogative of regular and irregular verbs is formed with did + subject + infinitive:
did I work? did you work?
Spelling rules
1 Verbs ending in -e add -d: phone/phoned, smile/smiled. This rule applies equally to agree, die, lie, age, free, knee, referee, tiptoe
2 Verbs not ending in -e add -ed: ask/asked, clean/cleaned, follow/followed, video/videoed
3 Verbs spelt with a single vowel letter followed by a single consonant
letter double the consonant: beg/begged, rub/rubbed, stop/stopped
4 In two-syllable verbs the final consonant is doubled when the last
syllable contains a single vowel letter followed by a single consonant
letter and is stressed: pre'fer/preferred, re'fer/referred, occur/occurred
Compare: 'benefit/benefited, 'differ/differed and 'profit/profited
5 Verbs ending in - y following a consonant change the y into i before adding ed:
carry/ carried, try/ tried. But y following a vowel does not change: obey/ obeyed.
6 In British English when a two syllable verb ends in a single vowel letter followed by a single – l, the –l is doubled before –ed even if there is no stress on the last syllable: travel/travelled, quarrel/quarrelled. A few other verbs have their final consonant letter doubled: program/programmed, worship/worshipped, kidnap/kidnapped.
BUT! American English: travel/traveled, worship/worshiped
