Form: Verb + -ed  –  Irregular Verbs

Examples:

• I walk – I walked
• He walks – He walked
• I am – I was
• You are – You were

– Use it to express the idea that an action began and ended at a specific time in the past.

– The speaker may not specify the exact time, although they have a specific time in mind.

Examples:

• She watched a film last night.
• She didn’t watch a film last night.
• Last year, I went to France.
• Last year, I didn’t go to France.
• You had breakst this morning.
• Did you have breakfast this morning?
• They woke up.
• They didn’t wake up.

– Use it to list a series of completed actions in the past.

– These actions happaned in the order they are mentioned, i.e. 1st, 2nd, 3rd, 4th, etc.

Examples:

• I finished work, went to the beach, came home, and then made dinner.
• He caught the bus at 6am, arrived to work at 10am, finished at 5pm, and then got home at 7pm.
• Did you beat the eggs, add the flour, pour the milk into the mix, and then stir it?

– Use it to talk about a duration that starts and stops in the past.

– A duration is a longer action, which is often indicated by expressions like: for two years, for five months, for a few days, all day, all year, etc.

Examples:

• I lived in Japan for three years.
• She studied at university for a few hours.
• They didn’t stay at the party all night.
• We talked on the phone for 30 minutes.
• How long did you wait outside?
• We watched him for a long time.

– Use it to describe a habit, which stopped in the past.

– It can mean the same as “used to”.

– To make it clear that you’re talking about a habit, you can add expressions like: always, often, usually, never, when I was younger, when I was a child, etc.

Examples:

• I studied French in high school.
• She played piano when she was younger.
• They didn’t play violin as kids.
• Did you play a musical instrument as a teenager?
• He worked in a café each day after uni.
• They never liked going to school, and always skipped class.

– Use it to describe past facts or generlisations that are no longer true.

– It can mean the same as “used to”.

Examples:

• She was introverted as a kid, but now she’s really extroverted.
• We didn’t like beer until more recently.
• Did you live in Queensland when you were young?
• People paid much more to use phones in the past.