Grammar
Regular verbs list: base form, past, and past participle
You know the verb, but its past spelling can slow you down.
Regular verbs use -ed for both past forms. Their jobs differ inside a sentence.
Try what you have learned
Listen to a recording, type what you hear, and check your answer.
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worked, played, wanted WORKT-PLAYD-WANT-id
Listen to the ending. Worked ends with t; played with d; wanted with id.
Find a regular verb
| Base form | Past simple and past participle | Example |
|---|---|---|
| ask | asked | Mia asked a question. |
| call | called | I called my sister. |
| clean | cleaned | We cleaned the kitchen. |
| cook | cooked | Dad cooked lunch today. |
| dance | danced | They danced at the party. |
| decide | decided | Mia decided to stay. |
| drop | dropped | He dropped his keys. |
| enjoy | enjoyed | We enjoyed the picnic. |
| finish | finished | I finished my homework. |
| fix | fixed | Sam fixed the chair. |
| help | helped | They helped their neighbor. |
| hope | hoped | I hoped for sunshine. |
| jump | jumped | The dog jumped high. |
| like | liked | She liked the jacket. |
| listen | listened | We listened to music. |
| live | lived | My aunt lived nearby. |
| look | looked | He looked under the bed. |
| love | loved | They loved the garden. |
| move | moved | We moved the table. |
| need | needed | I needed more time. |
| open | opened | She opened the shop. |
| plan | planned | They planned a picnic. |
| plant | planted | We planted red tomatoes. |
| play | played | The children played outside. |
| start | started | The movie started late. |
| stay | stayed | I stayed with friends. |
| stop | stopped | The bus stopped here. |
| study | studied | Leo studied after dinner. |
| travel | traveled | We traveled by train. |
| try | tried | She tried the soup. |
| walk | walked | I walked home slowly. |
| wash | washed | He washed his hands. |
| watch | watched | We watched a movie. |
| work | worked | My parents worked together. |
The short answer
Regular verbs use an -ed ending for both past forms. The past simple and past participle spellings are identical.
We cleaned the kitchen and washed the floor.
Why it works: The verb cleaned adds -ed for past simple.
4 more examples
-
Talking about a vacation
They stayed at a quiet hotel near the beach.
The verb stayed keeps the y and adds -ed.
Not this:They
staidat a quiet hotel near the beach. What changes: The adjective staid is not the past form of stay. -
Driving in town
She stopped the car when the light turned red.
The verb stopped doubles the final p before -ed.
Not this:She
stopedthe car when the light turned red. What changes: The spelling stoped is not the correct past form of stop. -
Talking about home
I've lived in this town for three years.
The past participle lived follows the helper have.
Not this:I've
livein this town for three years. What changes: Leaving out the -d makes the sentence ungrammatical. -
School results
He studied hard and passed his test yesterday.
The consonant before y changes to i in studied.
Not this:He
studyedhard and passed his test yesterday. What changes: Studyed does not follow the consonant-plus-y spelling pattern.
Quick check
Which pair shows both past forms of the regular verb clean?
Answer: cleaned and cleaned
Show the answer
Answer: cleaned and cleaned
Regular verbs use the same -ed spelling for both past jobs.
Read the full guide
Try the listening exerciseUse the table to check each verb, then compare the spelling patterns and practice the forms in sentences.
Regular verbs follow three forms
The problem: I know the rule but I still choose the wrong form when I speak.
A regular verb uses one past spelling for two jobs. You can find both forms in the table.
How to spell the ending
The problem: I write stoped and planed because I forget when to double the final consonant.
Many regular verbs take -ed. Some verbs need a small spelling change. Check the letters before the ending.
Change y to i before you add -ed.
study becomes studied
Keep the y and just add -ed.
play becomes played
-
Not this:
We stoped at the shop.Say: We stopped at the shop.
Stop has one beat and ends in one vowel plus p, so p doubles before -ed.
-
Not this:
She studyed English last year.Say: She studied English last year.
Change consonant plus y to -ied.
Your turn
Which past form is spelled correctly?
Answer: planned
Show the answer
Answer: planned
Plan has one beat and ends in one vowel plus one consonant, so the final n doubles.
Two past forms with different jobs
The problem: I mix up the two past forms because they look identical, so I do not know when I need have or has.
Both spellings look identical. A perfect form needs a helper verb. Put have, has, or had before the past participle.
Use the past simple for a completed action at a stated past time.
I cooked dinner yesterday.
A perfect form puts a form of have before the participle.
I've cooked dinner already.
-
Not this:
I've cook lunch already.Say: I've cooked lunch already.
The helper verb have needs the past participle -ed form.
-
She lived in Rome for ten years, then moved away.
Why it works: Past simple describes a completed period in the past.
-
She has lived in Rome since May.
Why it works: Has plus the past participle makes a present perfect form.
Your turn
Which sentence uses the past participle?
Answer: She's worked here since May.
Show the answer
Answer: She's worked here since May.
Has contracts to 's before the past participle worked.
When verbs take normal endings
The problem: I change regular verbs into weird shapes or add -ed to irregular words like buyed.
Some verbs do not use the regular -ed pattern. Learn their past forms separately. Go becomes went, and buy becomes bought.
-
Not this:
I buyed a new coat yesterday.Say: I bought a new coat yesterday.
Buy is irregular, so it becomes bought instead of adding -ed.
-
Not this:
We wented to the park.Say: We went to the park.
Go is irregular, so its past form is went.
Before you go
Question 1 of 3
Which sentence shows the correct spelling of the past simple verb?
Answer: They carried the heavy boxes up the stairs.
Show the answer
Answer: They carried the heavy boxes up the stairs.
Carry ends in consonant plus y, so y becomes i before -ed.
Question 2 of 3
Complete the sentence with the past participle of work.
Answer: She has worked at that hospital for five years.
Show the answer
Answer: worked
The helper has requires the regular past participle worked.
Question 3 of 3 · One new sentence
On Friday, we packed our bags and moved into our new apartment in town. Which forms did we use?
Answer: Two regular past simple verbs
Show the answer
Answer: Two regular past simple verbs
Packed and moved are regular past simple verbs that describe completed actions.
Remember this
Use the same -ed spelling for both past forms. Check the words before the verb, then practice.
Listen first
Listen and write
Listen, type what you hear, then choose Check my answer. Use a hint when you get stuck.
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Listening 1 of 4
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Read the transcript
I walked to the shop yesterday.
The recording says walked, the regular past form of walk.
Listening 2 of 4
Listen, then type what you hear. Replay as often as you need.
0:00
Read the transcript
She studied hard for her English exam.
The verb studied changes y to i before adding -ed.
Listening 3 of 4
Listen, then type what you hear. Replay as often as you need.
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Read the transcript
We stopped at the red traffic light.
Stopped doubles the letter p before adding -ed.
Try a longer clip. Listen once, then replay the part you missed.
Listening 4 of 4
Listen, then type what you hear. Replay as often as you need.
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Read the transcript
He washed the dirty dishes in the sink. Then he dried them with a clean cloth. After that, he cleaned the table.
Each action uses the regular past simple -ed form.
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Test yourself
Listen to a new clip and write what you hear. You can replay it, but hints stay off and the transcript opens after you check your answer.
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Listening 1 of 3
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Talking about where someone lives
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They've lived in that apartment for five years.
The participle lived follows the contraction they've.
Listening 2 of 3
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Working in the garden on Saturday
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We planted fresh seeds in the garden early this morning. Later, my brother watered all the vegetables and fixed the old fence. Then we rested inside.
All four verbs add -ed to show past actions in the garden.
Listening 3 of 3
Listen, then type the missing words. The rest of the text is already there.
Describing a busy Saturday afternoon
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I finished my office work around noon. Then I called my friend on the phone. We walked through the quiet park together. We talked about our busy week. Later, we visited a small art shop in town. We looked at the colorful paintings. Finally, we returned home before dark and watched a movie.
Each sentence in the story uses a regular past verb ending in -ed.
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Save my progressQuestions about "Regular verbs list: base form, past, and past participle"
Are the past simple and past participle the same for regular verbs?
Yes. A regular verb uses the same -ed spelling for both forms. The sentence structure shows the job: the past simple can stand as the main past verb, while a perfect form puts have, has, or had before the past participle.
We cleaned the kitchen yesterday.
We've cleaned the kitchen already.
What happens when a regular verb already ends in e?
Add only d. The final e is already part of the base form, so you do not add a second e before the ending.
live becomes lived
dance becomes danced
When does y change to i before ed?
Change y to i after a consonant, then add ed. Keep y after a vowel and add ed. This is why study becomes studied but play becomes played.
They studied after dinner.
We played in the yard.
When do you double the final consonant before ed?
For the pattern taught here, double the final consonant in a one-beat verb that ends in one vowel followed by one consonant. Do not double a final w, x, or y. The extra letter appears in writing; it does not create another beat in the past form.
stop becomes stopped
plan becomes planned
Does the ed ending always sound the same?
No. It can end with a t sound, a d sound, or an id sound. The id ending adds a beat after a base verb that ends in a t or d sound.
worked ends with a t sound
played ends with a d sound
wanted ends with an id sound
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