Verb Tenses

Past Tense Verbs

Talking about things that already happened.

Mastered by: ASHA places -ed for past actions in the 2-to-3-year band
Practice items: 43
Sections: 3

What this skill is

Past tense is how English marks that something already happened. Most verbs take a regular -ed ending, which lands on the ear three different ways: /t/ in "walked," /d/ in "played," and a whole extra syllable in "wanted." A few dozen very common verbs ignore the rule entirely and change their whole shape instead - go becomes went, eat becomes ate.

What to expect

Children pick up the -ed rule around age 3 and then cheerfully apply it to everything, which is why you suddenly start hearing "I goed" and "he runned" from a child who said "went" correctly six months earlier. This is called overgeneralization, and it is a genuinely good sign: it means the child has extracted the rule rather than memorizing words one at a time. The irregular forms come back in over the next couple of years.

Try this at home

Narrate what just happened rather than quizzing. After the child jumps off the couch, say "You jumped! You jumped so high." Recasting - repeating what they said with the correct form quietly folded in - works better than asking them to say it again.

When to refer

Still leaving off -ed endings entirely after age 4;6, or still saying "goed" and "eated" after age 6.

Print it

Past Tense Verbs worksheet43 items across 3 sections, with answer key · PDF

Master list: irregular past tense verbs

118 verbs

Around a hundred of them, grouped by the pattern they follow. Irregular verbs are memorised rather than derived, so frequency beats coverage - work the Start Here set until it is automatic before touching the rest.

Start here

20 verbs

The twenty a child needs first, because they come up dozens of times a day.

gowent
bewas
havehad
dodid
saysaid
seesaw
getgot
makemade
taketook
comecame
eatate
givegave
findfound
telltold
thinkthought
knowknew
putput
sitsat
runran
feelfelt

No change at all

15 verbs

The past tense looks and sounds exactly like the present. Easiest group, and a good place to start.

cutcut
putput
letlet
setset
shutshut
hurthurt
costcost
quitquit
splitsplit
spreadspread
fitfit
betbet
burstburst
castcast
beatbeat

Ends in -t instead of -ed

15 verbs

The ending is a /t/ rather than the regular -ed, and the vowel usually shortens.

buildbuilt
sendsent
spendspent
lendlent
bendbent
meanmeant
dealdealt
feelfelt
keepkept
sleepslept
sweepswept
creepcrept
leaveleft
loselost
learnlearnt

i becomes a

10 verbs

A single vowel swap. Very teachable as a set.

singsang
ringrang
drinkdrank
swimswam
sinksank
beginbegan
springsprang
shrinkshrank
sitsat
givegave

i becomes u

12 verbs

The sister pattern to the one above. Contrast the two sets directly.

digdug
stickstuck
winwon
spinspun
stingstung
swingswung
hanghung
clingclung
flingflung
stringstrung
slingslung
wringwrung

ee or ea becomes e

8 verbs

The long vowel shortens. "Read" is the odd one: the spelling does not change, only the sound.

meetmet
feedfed
leadled
bleedbled
speedsped
fleefled
breedbred
readread

Becomes -ew

6 verbs

A small, tidy group and a satisfying one to teach.

knowknew
growgrew
throwthrew
blowblew
flyflew
drawdrew

Becomes -ought or -aught

7 verbs

Both endings sound identical, so this group is easier to say than to spell.

buybought
bringbrought
thinkthought
fightfought
catchcaught
teachtaught
seeksought

Long vowel swap

36 verbs

The biggest group. No single rule, but the vowel change is usually the only change.

breakbroke
speakspoke
choosechose
freezefroze
wakewoke
drivedrove
riderode
riserose
writewrote
bitebit
hidehid
slideslid
shineshone
wearwore
teartore
bearbore
forgetforgot
getgot
forgiveforgave
becomebecame
comecame
runran
eatate
fallfell
holdheld
sellsold
telltold
findfound
windwound
standstood
understandunderstood
taketook
shakeshook
mistakemistook
lightlit
hearheard

Completely different word

9 verbs

No pattern to lean on. These are pure memorisation, which is why they need the most repetition.

gowent
bewas
dodid
havehad
seesaw
makemade
saysaid
paypaid
laylaid

The forms below are the simple past ("I ate"), not the past participle ("I have eaten"). Those differ for many of these verbs, and mixing them up is a common source of confusion for older students.

Regular Past Tense (-ed)

15 items

Read each sentence out loud. Fill in the blank with the past tense of the word in parentheses.

1.Today I walk to school. Yesterday I ____ to school. (walk)walked
2.Today I jump on the bed. Yesterday I ____ on the bed. (jump)jumped
3.Today I play outside. Yesterday I ____ outside. (play)played
4.Today I help Mom. Yesterday I ____ Mom. (help)helped
5.Today I paint a picture. Yesterday I ____ a picture. (paint)painted
6.Today I wash my hands. Yesterday I ____ my hands. (wash)washed
7.Today I call Grandma. Yesterday I ____ Grandma. (call)called
8.Today I open the door. Yesterday I ____ the door. (open)opened
9.Today I climb the ladder. Yesterday I ____ the ladder. (climb)climbed
10.Today I laugh at the joke. Yesterday I ____ at the joke. (laugh)laughed
11.Today I want a snack. Yesterday I ____ a snack. (want)wanted
12.Today I brush my teeth. Yesterday I ____ my teeth. (brush)brushed
13.Today I kick the ball. Yesterday I ____ the ball. (kick)kicked
14.Today I count to ten. Yesterday I ____ to ten. (count)counted
15.Today I share my toys. Yesterday I ____ my toys. (share)shared

Irregular Past Tense

20 items

These verbs do not follow the -ed rule. Fill in the blank with the past tense form.

1.Today I go to the park. Yesterday I ____ to the park. (go)went
2.Today I eat an apple. Yesterday I ____ an apple. (eat)ate
3.Today I run fast. Yesterday I ____ fast. (run)ran
4.Today I see a bird. Yesterday I ____ a bird. (see)saw
5.Today I sit on the rug. Yesterday I ____ on the rug. (sit)sat
6.Today I drink my milk. Yesterday I ____ my milk. (drink)drank
7.Today I sleep in my bed. Yesterday I ____ in my bed. (sleep)slept
8.Today I write my name. Yesterday I ____ my name. (write)wrote
9.Today I take the bus. Yesterday I ____ the bus. (take)took
10.Today I give her a hug. Yesterday I ____ her a hug. (give)gave
11.Today I come home early. Yesterday I ____ home early. (come)came
12.Today I make my bed. Yesterday I ____ my bed. (make)made
13.Today I fall down. Yesterday I ____ down. (fall)fell
14.Today I catch the ball. Yesterday I ____ the ball. (catch)caught
15.Today I buy a snack. Yesterday I ____ a snack. (buy)bought
16.Today I swim in the pool. Yesterday I ____ in the pool. (swim)swam
17.Today I sing a song. Yesterday I ____ a song. (sing)sang
18.Today I ride my bike. Yesterday I ____ my bike. (ride)rode
19.Today I draw a picture. Yesterday I ____ a picture. (draw)drew
20.Today I break a crayon. Yesterday I ____ a crayon. (break)broke

Tell Me What Happened

8 items

Look at each picture card and tell the whole story in past tense. Say at least one full sentence.

1.The girl is baking cookies. What happened?The girl baked cookies.
2.The dog is digging a hole. What happened?The dog dug a hole.
3.The boy is riding his bike. What happened?The boy rode his bike.
4.The cat is sleeping on the chair. What happened?The cat slept on the chair.
5.The baby is eating a banana. What happened?The baby ate a banana.
6.The kids are building a sandcastle. What happened?The kids built a sandcastle.
7.The bird is flying to the nest. What happened?The bird flew to the nest.
8.The man is washing the car. What happened?The man washed the car.