Grammar Lessons On the Web

For the exclusive use of employees of the U.S. Department of State--by Tillyer Associates

Talking about the Past

When we talk about a single event that happened in the past, we use the past tense. The past
tense of to be is was or were. The past tense of most other verbs is formed by adding -ed to the
base form of the verb.

The ambassador was happy when he saw the repairs at the embassy.
The workers were very proud of their handiwork.
They planned their work carefully.
They fixed the stairs in the chancellery and painted the main hall.
They installed a new front gate and removed a broken bench.
They tidied up the front entrance and equipped the lobby with a new intercom.
The ambassador thanked them for their work.

Use was for singular subjects and were for plural subjects and you.

I was hungry. We were surprised.

You were early. You were very good.
The ambassador was happy. The workers were proud.

The rules for spelling verbs with -ed are as follows:

Verbs with one syllable stop stopped

double the final consonant
with one vowel followed plan planned
before adding -ed.
by one consonant: pat patted
smile smiled
Verbs ending with -e: just add -d.
hope hoped
worry worried
Verbs ending with -y: change the -y to -i and add -ed.
study studied
Verbs that have two consonants
do not double the final consonant. help helped
just add -ed. rain rained
or two vowels:
Verbs that have two syllables: ...double the consonant if the stress prefér preferred
is on the last syllable. admít admitted
...do not double the consonant if the vísit visited
óffer offered
 stress is on the first syllable.

These rules may seem complicated, but just concentrate on remembering the first part: If the
verb has one syllable with one vowel followed by one consonant, double the consonant before
adding -ed.

The Past tense of Irregular Verbs

There is a large group of irregular verbs that do not form their past
tense by the addition of -ed. You will find a list of these irregular verbs in the
GLOW lesson in Level One. Only their form, spelling, is different. They behave the same as
regular verbs.

The visa clerk saw 12 applicants in the waiting room.

She told the officer that they had a lot of work to do.
The officer read the first application and met with the applicant.
The applicant left and the officer wrote some notes on the application.
She threw the application on the "approved" pile and got another one.
It went like that all afternoon.
The clerk and the officer spent four hours on the process.
They went home at 6:30. They felt very tired, but satisfied with their work.

Negative sentences in the Past Tense

For negative sentences in the past tense with was or were (to be), use was not (wasn't) or were
not (weren't).

 I wasn't hungry.  We weren't surprised.

 You weren't early.  You weren't very good.
 The ambassador wasn't happy.  The workers weren't proud.

For negative sentences in the past tense (with most verbs), use did not (didn't) + the base form
of the verb.

She didn't see the applicants in the waiting room.

She didn't tell the officer about the work.
They didn't go home late.

Questions in the Past Tense

Yes/no questions in the past tense

with to be

Verb Subject
Was the ambassador angry about the mistake?
Were the workers in the motorpool happy to get the day off?

with regular and irregular verbs

Base form
Did Subject  
of the verb
Did  you arrive  early today?
Did the supply clerk get  the order?
Did Syed fix the transmission?
Did I do the right thing?

Used to
We use used to to express a past habit or situation. It is formed as a regular verb (formed with
-ed) and it is followed by the base form of the verb.

 Subject used to base form  

five miles to school everyday! (I don't any

I walk
more)
Syed used to arrive
at the embassy at 7:30. (He doesn't any more)
The motorpool mechanic fix
city buses. (He doesn't any more)
Ambassador Stephenson be
a university president. (She isn't any more)

Used to is not the same thing as the past tense. In each case it refers to a situation that
definitely does not exist now.

Questions with Used to

Think of used to as a regular verb when forming questions. There is no -d on the verb when it
follows the auxiliary.

base form
Did subject use to  
of main verb
 you know Ambassador Carey when you lived in Philadelphia?
Did use to
Phuong be in the Army?

Negative with Used to

Also, think of used to as a regular verb when forming the negative. There is no -d on the verb
when it follows the auxiliary.

base form
 Subject did not use to  
of main verb
David be as fat as he is now.
didn't use to
Syed fix cars.