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
- 145
- Sections
- 12
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Each one opens full screen, already set to this skill.
The rule, explainedShow ↓Hide ↑
When something already happened, the verb changes.
Most verbs just add "-ed": walk becomes walked, jump becomes jumped.
Some verbs change the whole word instead: go becomes went, eat becomes ate, run becomes ran.
- Today I walk. Yesterday I walked.
- Today I eat. Yesterday I ate.
Watch for: "I goed" and "I runned" - the child has the rule and is applying it to a word that breaks it. That is a good sign, not a bad one.
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
When to refer
Master list: irregular past tense verbs — 117 to look up as you need them
Master list: irregular past tense verbs
117 verbsAround a hundred of them, grouped by the pattern they follow. Irregular verbs are memorized rather than derived, so frequency beats coverage - work the Start Here set until it is automatic before touching the rest.
Start here
20 verbsThe 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 verbsThe 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
14 verbsThe 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
i becomes a
10 verbsA single vowel swap. Very teachable as a set.
- singsang
- ringrang
- drinkdrank
- swimswam
- sinksank
- beginbegan
- springsprang
- shrinkshrank
- sitsat
- givegave
i becomes u
12 verbsThe 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 verbsThe 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 verbsA small, tidy group and a satisfying one to teach.
- knowknew
- growgrew
- throwthrew
- blowblew
- flyflew
- drawdrew
Becomes -ought or -aught
7 verbsBoth endings sound identical, so this group is easier to say than to spell.
- buybought
- bringbrought
- thinkthought
- fightfought
- catchcaught
- teachtaught
- seeksought
Long vowel swap
36 verbsThe 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 verbsNo pattern to lean on. These are pure memorization, 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.
Put it into practice
Tap any item below to open it full screen, one at a time, so a child can answer without reading the answer first.
These activities are a starting point, not the practice itself. A structured task is a good way to introduce a form and to find out whether a child has it yet. What actually moves it into everyday speech is using it in the real world and in ordinary play — which means the four things below matter more than finishing the list.
Recast
Say their sentence back correctly, without asking them to repeat it. Child: “he goed.” You: “he went! Where did he go?”
Expand
Add one or two words to what they said and hand it back. Child: “big truck.” You: “a big red truck!”
Simplify what you ask
Cut a long instruction into single steps and say them in the order they happen, rather than repeating the long one louder.
Follow their lead
Use whatever they are already playing with. A form practiced on something they chose is the one that shows up again tomorrow.
Regular Past Tense (-ed)
15 itemsRead each sentence out loud. Fill in the blank with the past tense of the word in parentheses. Tap any item to open it full screen.
Regular Past Tense (-ed): Round 212 moreOpen ↓Close ↑
Read each sentence out loud. Fill in the blank with the past tense of the word in parentheses. Tap any item to open it full screen.
Regular Past Tense (-ed): Round 312 moreOpen ↓Close ↑
Read each sentence out loud. Fill in the blank with the past tense of the word in parentheses. Tap any item to open it full screen.
Regular Past Tense (-ed): Round 412 moreOpen ↓Close ↑
Read each sentence out loud. Fill in the blank with the past tense of the word in parentheses. Tap any item to open it full screen.
Irregular Past Tense
20 itemsThese verbs do not follow the -ed rule. Fill in the blank with the past tense form. Tap any item to open it full screen.
Irregular Past Tense: Round 212 moreOpen ↓Close ↑
These verbs do not follow the -ed rule. Fill in the blank with the past tense form. Tap any item to open it full screen.
Irregular Past Tense: Round 312 moreOpen ↓Close ↑
These verbs do not follow the -ed rule. Fill in the blank with the past tense form. Tap any item to open it full screen.
Irregular Past Tense: Round 412 moreOpen ↓Close ↑
These verbs do not follow the -ed rule. Fill in the blank with the past tense form. Tap any item to open it full screen.
Tell Me What Happened
8 itemsLook at each picture card and tell the whole story in past tense. Say at least one full sentence. Tap any item to open it full screen.
Tell Me What Happened: Round 210 moreOpen ↓Close ↑
Look at each picture and tell the whole story in past tense. Say at least one full sentence. Tap any item to open it full screen.
Tell Me What Happened: Round 310 moreOpen ↓Close ↑
Look at each picture and tell the whole story in past tense. Say at least one full sentence. Tap any item to open it full screen.
Tell Me What Happened: Round 410 moreOpen ↓Close ↑
Look at each picture and tell the whole story in past tense. Say at least one full sentence. Tap any item to open it full screen.
Describe the picture
103 questionsPick a picture. Each question asks about something that has already happened, so the answer is in past tense. Tap a picture to start.