Simple Past Tense

You already know how to form the past tense of regular verbs by adding -ed, and you have learnt some irregular verbs like "knew", "flew", and "lit". Now it is time to learn many more irregular verbs so you can write about the past with confidence.

What You'll Learn

A wider range of irregular past tense verbs grouped by patterns
How to tell the difference between similar-sounding irregular verbs
How to avoid common errors when using less familiar irregular verbs

When to Use

Telling someone what happened: "She taught us a new song during music class."
Writing about a past event: "The team won the relay race at Sports Day."
Describing a sequence of actions: "He caught the ball, threw it to his teammate, and ran to the next base."
Sharing a past experience: "We rode the MRT to the science centre last Saturday."

How to Form

Irregular Verb Patterns

Many irregular verbs follow patterns. Grouping them makes them easier to remember.

Pattern 1: Change the vowel sound

Base Verb	Past Tense	Example
sing	sang	The choir sang at the school concert.
ring	rang	The bell rang at half past seven.
drink	drank	She drank a cup of Milo after recess.
swim	swam	We swam at the swimming complex yesterday.
begin	began	The assembly began with the national anthem.
sit	sat	He sat beside his best friend at the hawker centre.

Pattern 2: Change to "-ought" or "-aught"

Base Verb	Past Tense	Example
think	thought	I thought the test was on Friday.
buy	bought	Mum bought new shoes for me at the mall.
bring	brought	She brought her favourite book to school.
catch	caught	The goalkeeper caught the ball just in time.
teach	taught	Mr Tan taught us about fractions last week.

Pattern 3: Past tense ends in "-ew"

Base Verb	Past Tense	Example
grow	grew	The plant grew very tall over the holidays.
throw	threw	He threw the paper into the recycling bin.
blow	blew	The wind blew the kite high into the sky.
draw	drew	She drew a picture of her pet hamster.

Pattern 4: Same word, different spelling or ending

Base Verb	Past Tense	Example
win	won	Our class won the cleanest classroom award.
ride	rode	They rode their bicycles around East Coast Park.
write	wrote	He wrote a letter to his grandmother.
drive	drove	Dad drove us to school because it was raining.
break	broke	She broke the school record for the 100-metre dash.
choose	chose	I chose the library book about dinosaurs.
speak	spoke	The principal spoke to us about being kind.
wake	woke	I woke up early to watch the sunrise.
hide	hid	The cat hid under the bed during the thunderstorm.

Pattern 5: No change at all

Base Verb	Past Tense	Example
cut	cut	She cut the paper into small shapes for art class.
put	put	He put his bag in the locker before PE.
shut	shut	Mum shut the windows before the rain started.
let	let	The teacher let us play a game after the test.

Key Rules

Do not add -ed to irregular verbs: "think" becomes "thought", not "thinked". If the word sounds strange with -ed, it is probably irregular.
Group verbs by pattern: Verbs that rhyme often follow the same pattern. "sing - sang", "ring - rang", "drink - drank" all change their vowel the same way. Learning them in groups makes it easier.
Some verbs do not change at all: "cut", "put", "shut", and "let" stay the same in the past tense. Do not try to add -ed to them.
Watch out for verbs that look alike but behave differently: "blow - blew" and "show - showed" look similar but one is irregular and the other is regular. Always check if you are unsure.
Use the past tense for all verbs in a past-tense sentence: When telling a story about the past, make sure every action verb is in the past tense. "He caught the ball and threw it back" -- not "caught the ball and throw it back".

Common Mistakes

Wrong	Right	Why
She thinked about it carefully.	She thought about it carefully.	"Think" is irregular. Its past tense is "thought".
He catched the butterfly.	He caught the butterfly.	"Catch" is irregular. Its past tense is "caught".
We swimmed in the pool.	We swam in the pool.	"Swim" is irregular. Its past tense is "swam".
The baby cutted the paper.	The baby cut the paper.	"Cut" does not change in the past tense.
I writed a story for English.	I wrote a story for English.	"Write" is irregular. Its past tense is "wrote".

Clue Words

These time markers tell you the action is in the past:

yesterday, last night, last week, last month, last year, ago, just now, the other day, this morning (if the morning is over), when I was younger, once upon a time, in the past

Tip: If you are not sure whether a verb is regular or irregular, try adding -ed. If it sounds wrong (like "bringed" or "thinked"), it is probably an irregular verb. Check your irregular verb list!

Practice Tips

Learn in pattern groups: Study verbs that follow the same pattern together. For example, practise "sing - sang", "ring - rang", "drink - drank" as a set. Patterns are easier to remember than single verbs.
Say it out loud: Read each sentence with the past tense verb out loud. If "thinked" sounds wrong to your ear, trust that instinct and check the correct form.
Spot-check your writing: After you finish writing, go back and circle every verb. Ask yourself: "Is this verb in the past tense? Did I use the correct form?" Fix any mistakes before handing in your work.
Use flashcards: Write the base verb on one side and the past tense on the other. Test yourself a few times each week until you can recall them quickly.

Quick Reference

Pattern	Base Verbs	Past Tense	Memory Hint
Vowel change (i to a)	sing, ring, drink, swim, begin, sit	sang, rang, drank, swam, began, sat	The "i" changes to "a"
-ought / -aught	think, buy, bring, catch, teach	thought, bought, brought, caught, taught	They all end in "-ought" or "-aught"
-ew	grow, throw, blow, draw	grew, threw, blew, drew	They all end in "-ew"
Vowel / spelling change	win, ride, write, drive, break, choose, speak, wake, hide	won, rode, wrote, drove, broke, chose, spoke, woke, hid	Each changes in its own way
No change	cut, put, shut, let	cut, put, shut, let	Same word for present and past

Simple Past Tense (P3) (Primary 3)