Past Tense Verbs

1
Past Tense Verbs

• Irregular
• Negative
• Yes/No Questions

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Irregular Verbs
Irregular verbs are difficult. You just have to
memorize them. Practice writing and saying them.
Here are some examples.
Present Past Break ... Broke Come
... Came Eat ... Ate Drive
... Drove Say ... Said Write ... Wrote
Can you guess the rest?
Did
Do ______ Go ______ See ______ Tea
ch ______ Understand ______
Went
Saw
Taught
Understood
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Negative Verbs
Past tense negative verbs are difficult because
students often confuse the negative part (didnt)
with the infinitive part of the verb. The
infinitive part doesnt change! Here are some
examples.
Incorrect Correct Yesterday I didnt went to
school. ... Yesterday I didnt go to
school. Last week she didnt drove to work.
Last week she didnt drive to . The child didnt
ate lunch. The child didnt eat
lunch. The student didnt saw a movie.
The student didnt see a movie.
Your turn to practice. I didnt broke the
window. He didnt drank the beer last
night. We didnt studied English last
weekend. They didnt grew up in San Luis Obispo.
The police didnt caught the criminals. ... You
didnt did your homework. ...
Your answers. I didnt break the window.
He didnt drink the beer last night.
We didnt study English last weekend.
They didnt grow up in San Luis Obispo.
The police didnt catch the criminals.
You didnt do your homework.
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Yes/No Questions
Yes/No questions mean the answers are either
yes or no. Therefore, the first word for
these past tense questions is Did. But similar
to negative sentences, the infinitive doesnt
change. The answer, however, must have the past
tense verb. Here are some examples.
Question Incorrect Answer Did you go to
school? Did you went to school? ...
Yes I did. I went ... Did they take the test?
Did they took the test? No, they didnt
take it yet. Did we begin yet? Did we
began yet? Yes, we did. Did I make a
mistake? Did I made a mistake? No, you
didnt make a mistake.
Answers Yes, I did. I grew... or No, I
didnt Yes, I did. I left... or No, I
didnt Yes, they did. They sang ... or No, they
didnt Yes, he did. He broke. or No, he
didnt Yes, they made... or No, they
didnt Yes, she did. She heard... or No, she
didnt Yes, we did. We wrote. or No, we
didnt
Your turn to practice. 1) Did you grow tomatoes
last summer? 2) Did you leave the movie early? 3)
Did the Beatles sing a song? 4) Did he break his
leg playing soccer? 5) Did they make dinner
already? 6) Did she hear the good news? 7) Did
we write essays in class?
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Exercises
drank
Yesterday she ________ a soda.
(drink) Last week she ____________ a soda.
(not drink) Did she _________ a soda
yesterday? (drink)
didnt drink
drink Yes, she did
drove
This morning he ________ to work.
(drive) Yesterday he ____________ to work.
(not drive) Did he _________ to work
yesterday? (drive)
didnt drive
drive No, he didnt
wrote
Last month he ________ a letter.
(write) Last night he ___________ a letter.
(not write) Did he _________ a letter
last month? (write)
didnt write
write Yes, he did.
6
Exercises
taught
Last night the mother ________ her son music.
(teach) Last week she
____________ music. (not
teach) Did she _________ music last week?
(teach)
didnt teach
teach No, she didnt.
ate
This morning he ________ breakfast.
(eat) Last week he ____________ breakfast.
(not eat) Did he _________ breakfast
this morning? (eat)
didnt eat
eat Yes, he did.
swam
Yesterday she ________.
(swim) Last summer she ____________.
(not swim) Did she _________ last summer?
(swim)
didnt swim
swim No, she didnt
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Exercises
thought
This morning he ________ about his girlfriend.
(think) Last week he ____________
about his girlfriend. (not think) Did he
_________ about his girlfriend this morning?
(think)
didnt think
think Yes, he did.
sang
Last night he _________ and played the piano.
(sing) Last weekend he ____________.
(not sing) Did he _________ last
night? (sing)
didnt sing
sing Yes, he did.
fought
Last Saturday he ________ Mike Tyson.
(fight) Last month he ____________ anyone.
(not fight) Did he _________ last
month? (fight)
didnt fight
fight No, he didnt.
8
Exercises
won
Last Sunday she _______ a race.
(win) Last week she __________. She lost her
race. (not win) Did she ________
last week? (win)
didnt win
win No, she didnt.
sat
This morning they ________ in the park.
(sit) Last weekend they
____________ in the park. (not
sit) Did they _________ in the park last
weekend? (sit)
didnt sit
sit No, they didnt.
ran
Yesterday he ________ to work.
(run) On Monday he __________ to work.
(not run) Did he _________ to work yesterday?
(run)
didnt run
run Yes, he did.
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Exercises
grew
Last spring she _______ plants.
(grow) This spring she __________ plants.
(not grow) Did she ________ plants last
spring? (grow)
didnt grow
grow Yes, she did.
broke
Last weekend the girl _______ her leg.
(break) Last year she ____________
her leg. (not break) Did she
________ her leg last year? (break)
didnt break
break No, she didnt.
bought
Yesterday the girls _______ clothes.
(buy) Last week they __________
clothes. (not buy) Did they
________ clothes yesterday? (buy)
didnt buy
buy Yes, they did.
10
Exercises
brought
Last Monday he _________ dinner.
(bring) Last night he __________ dinner.
(not bring) Did he ________ dinner last
Monday? (bring)
didnt bring
bring Yes, he did.
flew
This winter the birds ________ south.
(fly) Last summer they
____________ south. (not fly) Did
they _________ south this winter? (fly)
didnt fly
fly Yes, they did.
fell
Yesterday she ________ in the office.
(fall) Today she __________. (not
fall) Did she _________ today? (fall)
didnt fall
fall No, she didnt.
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Exercises
spoke
Yesterday he _______ to his wife.
(speak) Today he __________ to his boss. (not
speak) Did he ________ to his boss today? (speak)
didnt speak
speak No, he didnt.
saw
Last weekend they _______ a movie.
(see) Last night they __________ a
movie. (not see) Did they ________ a
movie last night? (see)
didnt see
see No, they didnt.
rode
Last Saturday he _______ a bicycle.
(ride) Last week he __________ a bicycle.
(not ride) Did he ________ last
Saturday? (ride)
didnt ride
ride Yes, he did.
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Exercises
built
Last year he _______ his house.
(build) This year he ____________ his house.
(not build) Did he ________ his house
this year? (build)
didnt build
build No, he didnt.
caught
In the first game he _________ the ball.
(catch) In the last game he
__________ the ball. (not
catch) Did he ________ the ball in the first
game? (catch)
didnt catch
catch Yes, he did.
gave
Last Saturday she _______ a present to her
father. (give) Last week
she __________ a present to her father.
(not give) Did she ________ a present last
Saturday? (give)
didnt give
give Yes, she did.
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Exercises
Last Monday they _______ the car race.
(begin) Today they ___________ the race.
(not begin) Did they _________ the race
today? (begin)
began
didnt begin
begin No, they didnt.
came
Last weekend my friend _______ to my house.
(come) Last night he
__________ over. (not come) Did he
________ over last night? (come)
didnt come
come No, he didnt.
heard
This morning I ________ my clock radio.
(hear) Last week I ____________ my clock
radio. (not hear) Did I ________ my
radio this morning? (hear)
didnt hear
hear Yes, I did.
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Exercises
knew
Last week they _______ the answer to their
homework. (know) This week they
____________ the answer. (not
know) Did they ________ the answer this week?
(know)
didnt know
know No, they didnt.
made
Last birthday she _________ a cake.
(make) This Christmas she __________ a
cake. (not make) Did she
________ a cake last birthday? (make)
didnt make
make Yes, she did.
paid
Last Saturday he _______ his bills.
(pay) Last month he __________ his
bills. (not pay) Did he ________ his
bills last Saturday? (pay)
didnt pay
pay Yes, he did.
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Exercises
said
Last Monday the boss _______, Dont be late!
(say) Today he ___________ anything.
(not say) Did he _________ something today?
(say)
didnt say
say No, he didnt.
sold
Last weekend my friend _______ his house.
(sell) Last year he __________ his
house. (not sell) Did he ________ his
house last year? (sell)
didnt sell
sell No, he didnt.
slept
This morning I ________ on the couch.
(sleep) Last week I ____________ on the
couch. (not sleep) Did I ________ on
the couch this morning? (sleep)
didnt sleep
sleep Yes, I did.
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Exercises
stood
Last week they _______ and read in the library.
(stand) This week they ____________ in
the library. (not stand) Did they
________ in the library this week? (stand)
didnt stand
stand No, they didnt.
threw
Last Saturday he _________ a touchdown pass.
(throw) This weekend he ____________
a touchdown. (not make) Did he
________ a touchdown last Saturday? (throw)
didnt throw
throw Yes, he did.
woke up
Last Saturday she _______ at 8am.
(wake up) Today she ______________ at 8am.
(not wake up) Did she ________ at 8am last
Saturday? (wake up)
didnt wake up
wake up Yes, she did.
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Exercises
wore
Last Monday the man _______ a hard hat.
(wear) Today he ___________ one.
(not wear) Did he _________ a hard hat today?
(wear)
didnt wear
wear No, he didnt.
took
Last weekend the baby _______ a bath.
(take) Last night she ___________
take one. (not take) Did she
________ a bath last night? (take)
didnt take
take No, she didnt.
met
This morning the men ________ for their first
time. (meet) Last week they
____________. (not meet) Did they
________ this morning? (meet)
didnt meet
meet Yes, they did.
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Exercises
didnt buy
1) Last week I _______ a new car. (not
buy) 2) Yesterday she _______ for work at
745am. (leave) 3) This morning
my boss _______ I can have a long lunch.
(say) 4) Did you _______
coffee this morning? Yes, I ________.
(drink) 5) Did President Bush _______ a speech
last night? No, he ________.
(make) 6) Last month we __________ a
vacation. (not take) 7) On
Wednesday they _______ their soccer game.
(win) 8) I cant find my
keys. I think I _______ them.
(lose) 9) Did you _______ at your sisters
wedding? Yes, I ____. I _____ a lot.
(sing) (sing) 10) My mom _______ a
movie last weekend. (not see) 11) Juan
_______ carefully about the answer.
(think) 12) Maria _______ lunch with
Stella. (eat)
left
said
drink
did
make
didnt
didnt take
won
lost
sing
did sang
didnt see
thought
ate
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Activity
1) Who did you see yesterday? 2) What did you eat
on your last birthday? 3) When did you drink beer
last? 4) Where did you go last weekend? 5) Who
taught you the best lesson about life? 6) What
did you say to your family yesterday? 7) Who gave
you your best present? 8) What did you bring to
the United States? 9) Who did you speak to this
morning? 10) What did you think about
yesterday? 11) What time did you wake up
today? 12) When did you win a prize/present/money?
Now write your own questions. Who ..? What
.? Where..? When ..? Why ..? How ..?