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Put It Behind You: Using Verbs in Past Tense

13 August 2008 8 Comments

I know it’s supposed to be the easiest thing in the world to use the past tense of verbs, but I’ve seen a few examples that remind me it isn’t. A lot of people still tend to make mistakes when using the past tense form of some verbs, especially the irregular ones.

And I’m not even referring to the other, more complicated versions of the past tense form. I’ve actually come across people having difficulties with simple past tense.

Why is it important to learn the proper way of using verbs in past tense? First of all, no one can claim to write solely in present or future tense. It just makes no sense. As such, using verbs in past tense is pretty much unavoidable.

Tips on using verbs in past tense after the jump.

When do you use the past tense form of a verb?

- the action took place in the past

“I moved into our new apartment yesterday.”

- the action is already completed

“Gina finally quit her job.”

- speaking of a past status

“She was a showgirl.”

How do you form the simple past tense of verbs?

A. Regular Verbs

1. If the verb ends with a consonant, add “-ed”

ex. land = landed

2. If the verb is ending in “e”, add “-d”

ex. lie = lied

3. If the verb is ending in “y”, change “y” to “i” and add “-ed”

ex. dry = dried

4. If the verb is ending in a vowel+consonant (not “w” or “y”), double the consonant and add “-ed”

ex. cap = capped

*Take note that there are exceptions: for example, boil does not become boilled

B. Irregular Verbs

1. No change

ex. put = put

2. Change in vowel

ex. drink = drank

3. Complete change

ex. be = was

*Irregular verbs and their past tense forms will have to be memorized. For a list of irregular verbs, click this.

So no more “putted” for you okay? There’s really no reason to make mistakes like that ever again.

XOXO,

8 Comments »

Kat said:

I don’t know where this actually falls, but it’s an error that many of my former co-workers often commit. I know we’re fond of “Tagalizing” English words, or mixing them up, but everytime I hear them say, “Dapat i-brought up yan san next meeting natin,” I just want to get up start a lecture on proper usage.

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# 13 August 2008 at 10:13 am

Zriz said:

That is absolutely right! I am still put off when some people do not know how to use even the simplest form of verbs in the past tense. I remember we had exercises in grade school that polished the use of our present, past and future tenses!

Sometimes, it is unavoidable and we make mistakes but when you see the same mistakes over and over again, it gets pretty irritating.

@Kat: Hmmm…I guess I’m pretty lucky since I haven’t heard anyone within my hearing say “i-brought up” hehehe
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# 13 August 2008 at 2:31 pm

scatterhaiku said:

cool post, this.

i love the fact that it goes back to the basics, since unfortunately, it’s no longer safe to assume that people have those basics down pat. and for persons who want to be able to verify word usage without having to pick up an old elementary textbook (me, at times), this blog provides a much needed service.

and i can appreciate that writing a post on this type of subject really does take work.

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# 13 August 2008 at 7:34 pm

miss-write (author) said:

@kat - same thing with “na-bored ako”. My God.

@Zriz - yeah, everyone makes mistakes, but as my dad always says, you have to strive to at least avoid them

@scatterhaiku - thanks! it does take some time to write posts for this site. My brain cells malfunction sometimes

# 13 August 2008 at 10:42 pm

rimewire said:

–

But then again, who are we to criticize?

We are in the Philippines, it’s not that necessary to ALWAYS be correct. I mean come on, would you say “Manong, it’s fishball, not pisbol.” Same with grammar, you can’t always correct people. And besides, language is evolving. Ten years in the past, who would’ve thought that the word GOOGLE would become a verb? Who knows, TEACHED may be globally accepted by tomorrow.

hakhak

Pero siempre mas masya kung tama ang grammar.

hakhak

elyens poreber

XXXxx

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# 14 August 2008 at 4:34 am

miss-write (author) said:

@rimewire - I don’t think you see the point. I understand your sentiment, but seriously, this is a website about writing, so I can’t just say, “language evolves, go screw it”.

# 14 August 2008 at 6:11 am

Kat said:

And I think those who want to get into the business of writing (academic, blogging, or otherwise) should learn basic grammar and usage. Pag normal usapan sige pwede palampasin, pero minsan talaga, nakakarindi :p

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# 14 August 2008 at 7:12 am

Zriz said:

I agree with Kat and Miss Write. Sure, language is evolving but until the words “teached” are accepted as correct, then we should avoid using them. And please try to edit your work before posting! Hehehe tingnana nyo, hindi ko nga binasa yung post ko, hindi ko nakita yung error sa title ko na “where” instead of “were” hahahaha I corrected them now but still, it’s embarrassing!
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# 14 August 2008 at 2:09 pm