How to form the Past Tense in English
The main rule is that for every verb in English, there is only one form of it in the past tense.
This is totally different from other languages such as Spanish, French, Italian etc. where you change the verb ending for every subject.
For example: The past tense of the verb want is wanted.
Wanted is used as the past tense for all subjects/pronouns.
- I wanted
- You wanted
- He wanted
- She wanted
- It wanted
- We wanted
- You wanted
- They wanted
So you just have to learn one word to be able to use it in the past tense. In this case we just needed to learn the one word wanted which can be used for all subjects (or people).
Past Tense Regular Verbs
Affirmative Negative Interrogative
I washed I didn’t wash Did I wash?
You washed You didn’t wash Did you wash?
He washed He didn’t wash Did he wash?
She washed She didn’t wash Did she wash?
It washed It didn’t wash Did it wash?
We washed We didn’t wash Did we wash?
You washed You didn’t wash Did you wash?
They washed They didn’t wash Did they wash?
Past Tense Irregular verbs
Affirmative Negative Interrogative
I went I didn’t go Did I go?
You went You didn’t go Did you go?
He went He didn’t go Did he go?
She went She didn’t go Did she go?
It went It didn’t go Did it go?
We went We didn’t go Did we go?
You went You didn’t go Did you go?
They went They didn’t go Did they go?