Weak Verbs: Past tense form of verbs formed by adding ‘d’ or ‘ed’ ot ‘t’ to their base verbs are weak verbs.Strong verbs: Past tense forms are formed without adding anything, but by changing their body (spelling) are strong verbs.This was discussed in the earlier chapters.Īccording to the manner in which they form past tense forms and past participle forms, verbs are categorized into Present participle form of the verb is the ‘Ing’ form of verb, formed by adding ‘ing’ after the base verb. When these action words show the time of happening of an event, they are called ‘tenses’ Base verbs or root verbs assume different forms in each of its parts. I’m afraid I can’t really recommend particular learning materials to learn more about this grammar point, but I suggest having a look for advanced-level grammar books since this is quite a specific point and it may not be covered in general textbooks.The base verb is any word which shows the action. (emphasises the completeness of the first action, before the second one happened) When the cat had gone away, the mouse came out.(one action follows soon after the other) When the cat went away, the mouse came out.Of course, how connected actions are is subjective, so sometimes both structures are possible, depending on the speaker’s intended meaning. I folded the clothes when they’d dried.As noted above, “once” and “after” are synonyms for “when” here.

Although the two actions may also be connected in the sense of having a cause-effect relationship, using the past perfect for action 1 makes it seem further back in time from action 2 (the past simple action), and like a preliminary stage to action 2, with action 2 (the past simple action) being the main focus of the sentence. “When” + past perfect action 1 + past simple action 2 emphasises the completeness of action 1 before action 2 happened. The focus of the sentence is on both actions. Action 2 follows very shortly after action 1. “When” + past simple action 1 + past simple action 2 shows actions that are connected in the sense that action 1 leads smoothly into action 2. We can also use the past simple to refer to the present or future in hypotheses (when we imagine something). Level: intermediate Past simple and hypotheses Past simple negatives 1 GapFillDragAndDrop_MTYzMjY= Past simple negatives 2 GapFillTyping_MTYzMjc= We didn't get home until very late last night. We use didn't ( did not) to make negativeswith the past simple: Who wrote Don Quixote? Past simple questions 1 ReorderingHorizontal_MTYzMjQ= Past simple questions 2 GapFillTyping_MTYzMjU= We use did to make questions with the past simple:ĭid she play tennis when she was younger?īut questions with who often don't use did: Past simple 1 GapFillTyping_MTYzMjI= Past simple 2 GapFillTyping_MTYzMjM= Past simple questions and negatives we often use expressions with agowith the past simple:.She played a lot of tennis when she was younger. something that was true for some time in the past:.They always enjoyed visiting their friends. When I was a boy, I walked a mile to school every day. something that happened several times in the past:.something that happened once in the past:.Here are the most common irregular verbs in English, with their past tense forms: Base form With most verbs, the past tense is formed by adding –ed: call edīut there are a lot of irregular past tense forms in English.

Teach past tense taught