Simple Past Tense

Regular Verbs

Spelling Rules

1) General Rule: Add ED to the infinitive form of the verb.

Infinitive form:to walk (andar, caminhar)

Past tense form:walked

I walked to work yesterday.

(Eu caminhei até o trabalho ontem.)

(Eu fui a pé ao trabalho ontem.)

Infinitive form:to watch (assistir)

Past tense form:watched

She watched TV last night.

(Ela assistiu TV na noite passada.)

Infinitive form:to sign(assinar)

Past tense form:signed

They signed the contract this morning.

(Eles assinaram o contrato esta manhã.)

2) Add D to verbs that end in E.

Infinitive form:to love (amar, adorar)

Past tense form:loved

Elisabeth loved the flowers.

(Elisabeth adorou as flores.)

Infinitive form:to close (fechar)

Past tense form:closed

The manager closed the front door.

(O gerente fechou a porta da frente.)

3) Add IED to verbs that end in consonant + Y. The Y is dropped.

Infinitive form:to study (estudar)

Past tense form:studied

consonant

The students studied hard for the test.

(Os alunos estudaram bastante para o teste).

Infinitive form:to try (tentar)

Past tense form:tried

consonant

They tried not to fight.(Eles tentaram não brigar.)

4) Add ED to verbs ending in vowel + Y.The Y stays.

Infinitive form:to play (jogar, brincar, tocar)

Past tense form:played

vowel

The girls played volleyball during the P.E. class.

(As meninas jogaram vôlei durante a aula de educação física.)

P.E. = Physical Education

Infinitive form:to destroy (destruir)

Past tense form:destroyed

vowel

They destroyed the old house.(Eles destruíram a velha casa.)

5) Add ED to verbs with the last syllable stressed ending in C-V-C (consonant - vowel - consonant). Double the last consonant before adding ED.

Infinitive form:to stop (parar)

Past tense form:stopped

c v c

Johnny stopped the car to answer the phone.

(Johnny parou o carro para atender o telefone.)

Infinitive form:to omit (omitir)

Past tense form:omitted

c v c

The attorney omitted essential information.

(O advogado omitiu informações essenciais.)

6) If the verb ends in C-V-C but the stressed syllable is not the last, do not double the last consonant. Just add ED.

Infinitive form:to listen (escutar)

Past Tense Form:listened

STRESSEDSYLLABLE

She always listened to her mother’s advice.

(Ela sempre escutou os conselhos de sua mãe.)

Infinitive form:to happen (acontecer)

Past Tense Form:happened

STRESSEDSYLLABLE

What happened to you?(O que aconteceu com você?)

The End