Lesson 2: My Past Routine
Past Simple (Regular Verbs)
English A2 – Pre-Intermediate | Unit 1: Memories and The Past
- Learn how to form the Simple Past tense for regular verbs.
- Understand and practice the pronunciation of the -ed ending (/t/, /d/, /ɪd/).
- Use past time expressions (yesterday, last week, … ago) to describe daily routines and past events.
📖 Definition: Regular Verbs
Regular verbs are verbs that form their past tense in a predictable way:
by adding -ed to the base form
(or just -d if the verb already ends in -e).
✅ Examples:
walk → walked
play → played
live → lived
Key Point: The past form is the same for all subjects.
| Subject | Past Form |
|---|---|
| I | walked |
| You | walked |
| We | walked |
| They | walked |
| He | walked |
| She | walked |
| It | walked |
🕒 Part 1: Using the Simple Past
We use the Simple Past to talk about completed actions at a specific time in the past.
✨ Formula:
Subject + Base Verb + -ed + Rest of Sentence
✅ Examples:
| Subject | Sentence |
|---|---|
| I | I played soccer yesterday. |
| You | You watched a movie last night. |
| He | He cleaned his room two hours ago. |
| She | She visited her grandmother last weekend. |
| We | We studied English yesterday afternoon. |
| They | They worked late last night. |
📌 Tip: Always use a time expression (yesterday, last week, two hours ago) to show the action is finished.
🔊 Part 2: Pronouncing -ed (three endings)
The -ed ending is pronounced in three ways depending on the final sound of the base verb: /t/, /d/, or /ɪd/.
-ed pronounced as /t/ after voiceless sounds
| Final sound | Verb | Past | Pronunciation | Example + Audio |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| /p/ | help | helped | /helpt/ | She helped me carry the books. |
| /k/ | work | worked | /wɜːrkt/ | He worked late last night. |
| /f/ | laugh | laughed | /læft/ | They laughed at the joke. |
| /s/ | miss | missed | /mɪst/ | I missed the bus this morning. |
| /ʃ/ | wash | washed | /wɒʃt/ | She washed the dishes after lunch. |
| /tʃ/ | watch | watched | /wɒtʃt/ | We watched a movie last night. |
-ed pronounced as /d/ after voiced sounds and vowels
| Final sound | Verb | Past | Pronunciation | Example |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| /b/ | rob | robbed | /rɒbd/ | They robbed the bank at night. |
| /g/ | beg | begged | /bɛgd/ | He begged for another chance. |
| /v/ | love | loved | /lʌvd/ | She loved the movie. |
| /z/ | buzz | buzzed | /bʌzd/ | The bees buzzed around the hive. |
| /ʒ/ | massage | massaged | /məˈsɑːʒd/ | I massaged my sore shoulders. |
| /dʒ/ | judge | judged | /dʒʌdʒd/ | The jury judged fairly. |
| vowel | play | played | /pleɪd/ | We played soccer yesterday. |
-ed pronounced as /ɪd/ after /t/ or /d/
| Final sound | Verb | Past | Pronunciation | Example |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| /t/ | start | started | /ˈstɑːtɪd/ | I started work at 8:00 a.m. |
| /d/ | need | needed | /ˈniːdɪd/ | She needed help with her homework. |
-d pronounced as /t/ after voiceless sounds
| Final sound | Verb | Past | Pronunciation | Example |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| /k/ | like | liked | /laɪkt/ | She liked the movie a lot. |
| /s/ | promise | promised | /ˈprɒmɪst/ | He promised to help me. |
| /ʃ/ | rinse | rinsed | /rɪnst/ | I rinsed the vegetables. |
| /tʃ/ | dance | danced | /dɑːnst/ | They danced all night. |
-d pronounced as /d/ after voiced sounds and vowels
| Final sound | Verb | Past | Pronunciation | Example |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| /v/ | love | loved | /lʌvd/ | She loved the gift. |
| /z/ | amaze | amazed | /əˈmeɪzd/ | The magician amazed the crowd. |
| /ʒ/ | massage | massaged | /məˈsɑːʒd/ | I massaged my sore shoulders. |
| /dʒ/ | change | changed | /tʃeɪndʒd/ | He changed his clothes. |
| vowel | agree | agreed | /əˈɡriːd/ | They agreed to meet at noon. |
-d pronounced as /ɪd/ after /t/ or /d/
| Final sound | Verb | Past | Pronunciation | Example |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| /t/ | invite | invited | /ɪnˈvaɪtɪd/ | She invited us to dinner. |
| /d/ | decide | decided | /dɪˈsaɪdɪd/ | He decided to stay home. |
✍️ Spelling Notes – Regular Past
When forming the past tense of regular verbs, follow these spelling rules:
stop → stopped
plan → planned
Two syllables with stress on the second: prefer → preferred
study → studied
hurry → hurried
play → played
rest → rested
finish → finished
live → lived
bake → baked
⏳ Part 3: Time expressions for the past
| Expression | Meaning | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Yesterday | The day before today | Yesterday, I walked to the store. |
| Last + time word | Last night, last week, etc. | We watched TV last night. |
| Time word + ago | Five minutes ago, two hours ago | She called me ten minutes ago. |
🎧 Shadowing activity: Yesterday’s quiet evening
Listen and repeat. Focus on the final -ed sounds.
Yesterday, I walked home at five p.m. The house seemed quiet.
First, I unlocked the door. I quickly cleaned the room.
Next, I started dinner. I chopped the vegetables. I waited for the food to cook.
I finished eating dinner. I quickly washed the dishes.
Finally, I prepared my bag for today. I rested well last night.
📚 Listening and Reading: My Last Weekend
Notice how regular verbs describe a clear sequence of events.
Last Saturday, I stayed at home. I cleaned my apartment and washed my clothes.
In the afternoon, I studied English for two hours. Later, I called my mother and we talked for a long time.
In the evening, I cooked a delicious dinner and watched a movie. I liked my weekend because it was very relaxing!