The simple past tense is a verb form that expresses discrete, completed, non-continuous actions or states that occurred in the past. Most English verbs take an -ed suffix in the simple past; for example, to like becomes liked, to watch becomes watched, and to doze becomes dozed. However, unlike regular English verbs, irregular English verbs undergo stem, consonant, and other phonological changes that do not follow any real pattern in the simple past tense. The following sections explain how to form the simple past of irregular verbs in English.
Forming Irregular Simple Past Tense Verbs
For some irregular English verbs, the simple past form is identical to the base form. For example:
- Infinitive – Base – Simple Past
- to bet – bet – bet
- to cost – cost – cost
- to rid – rid – rid
- to shut – shut – shut
- to wet – wet – wet
Other irregular English verbs experience a vowel change from the base form to the simple past form. For example:
- Infinitive – Base – Simple Past
- to bite – bite – bit
- to dive – dive – dove
- to hold – hold – held
- to ring – ring – rang
- to write – write – wrote
Other irregular English verbs experience a consonant change from the base form to the simple past form. For example:
- Infinitive – Base – Simple Past
- to bend – bend – bent
- to built – build – built
- to dwell – dwell – dwelt
- to have – have – had
- to make – make – made
Some irregular English verbs finally experience both a vowel and a consonant change from the base form to the simple past form. For example:
- Infinitive – Base – Simple Past
- to buy – buy – bought
- to catch – catch – caught
- to go – go – gone
- to hear – hear – heard
- to leave – leave – left
Other irregular English verbs are simply irregular. For example:
- Infinitive – Base – Simple Past
- to be – be – was/were
- to do – do – did
- to go – go – went
The simple past tense is a conjugated verb form in English that expresses discrete, completed, non-continuous actions or states occurring in the past. Most English verbs in the simple past tense are formed by affixing the –ed suffix to the base form of the verb. Unlike regular verbs, however, irregular verbs in English require vowel, consonant, or other changes in the simple past tense. Both native speakers and ESL students must learn to form irregular verbs in the simple past in order to correctly construct verb phrases in English and to fully understand and communicate in the English language.
Sources
Kilby, David. Descriptive Syntax and the English Verb. Dover, New Hampshire: Croom Helm, 1984.
Leech, Geoffrey N. Meaning and the English Verb. Harlow, English: Pearson Longman, 2004.
"Simple Past Forms." English Page. 28 Jan. 2010. Language Dynamics.
Heather Marie Kosur - About Me I earned a BA in English studies with a minor in creative writing from Illinois State University in May 2007 and an MS in ...
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