Regular & Irregular Verbs
Past-tense verbs help us explain what happened before now.
Learning goals
- Form the simple past of common regular verbs.
- Use frequent irregular past-tense forms.
- Ask and answer questions about completed actions.
1. Two ways verbs change
| Type | Present | Simple past | Example |
|---|---|---|---|
| Regular | work | worked | I worked yesterday. |
| Regular | study | studied | We studied last night. |
| Irregular | go | went | She went to the store. |
| Irregular | have | had | They had a meeting. |
Regular pattern: Most regular verbs add -ed. A verb ending in consonant + y changes y to i before -ed: study → studied.
Irregular pattern: Irregular verbs do not follow one spelling rule. Learn them through frequent use and review.
Activity A — Write the past form
- clean → __________
- call → __________
- study → __________
- go → __________
- eat → __________
- see → __________
Activity B — Complete the story
Use the correct past form: start · take · meet · work · eat · return
Yesterday, Elena __________ work at 8:00. She __________ the bus and __________ her supervisor at the entrance. She __________ until noon, __________ lunch with a coworker, and __________ home at 5:30.
Activity C — Make the sentence negative
Use did not + base verb.
- Marco worked on Sunday. → Marco ______________________________.
- We went to class. → We ______________________________________.
- I called the office. → I ____________________________________.
Speaking practice — Yesterday
Ask a partner three questions. Begin with Did you…?
- Did you work yesterday?
- Did you cook dinner?
- Did you study English?
Answer with a complete sentence and add one detail.
Quick check
- Choose the correct form: Last night, I watch / watched a movie.
- Choose the correct form: She buyed / bought groceries.
- Write one sentence about something you did yesterday.
Teacher index — online only (not included when printing)
Lesson guidance and answer key
Warm-up: Draw a timeline with “yesterday,” “today,” and “tomorrow.” Elicit one action for each point.
Activity A: cleaned; called; studied; went; ate; saw.
Activity B: started; took; met; worked; ate; returned.
Activity C: did not work; did not go; did not call.
Quick check: watched; bought; answers vary.
Differentiation: Give beginners a verb chart. Ask intermediate learners to add time, place, reason, and sequence words.