-#em#ed#/em# verb endings

For regular verbs, the past tense and the past participle are formed by adding -ed to the base form of the verb: jumped, talked. Sometimes in casual speech the -ed endings on verbs like those in the following list are not fully pronounced. Be careful not to omit them in your writing.

advised

developed

prejudiced

supposed to

asked

fixed

pronounced

used to

concerned

frightened

stereotyped

Past tense

Use an -ed or -d ending for the past tense of regular verbs. The past tense is used for an action that occurred entirely in the past.

Example sentence with editing. Original sentence: Over the weekend, Ed fix his brother's skateboard and tuned up his mother's 1977 Cougar. Revised sentence: Over the weekend, Ed fixed his brother's skateboard and tuned up his mother's 1977 Cougar. Explanation: The word 'fix' has been replaced by 'fixed.'

Example sentence with editing. Original sentence: Last summer my counselor advise me to ask my family for help. Revised sentence: Last summer my counselor advised me to ask my family for help. Explanation: The word 'advise' has been replaced by 'advised.'

Past participles

Past participles are used in three ways:

  1. following have, has, or had to form one of the perfect tenses (have entered)
  2. following be, am, is, are, was, were, being, or been to form the passive voice (was submitted)
  3. as adjectives modifying nouns or pronouns (concerned parent)

Example sentence with editing. Original sentence: Robin has ask me to go to California with her. Revised sentence: Robin has asked me to go to California with her. Explanation: The word 'ask' has been replaced by 'asked.'

Has asked is present perfect tense (have or has followed by a past participle).

Example sentence with editing. Original sentence: Though it is not a new phenomenon, domestic violence is publicize more frequently than before. Revised sentence: Though it is not a new phenomenon, domestic violence is publicized more frequently than before. Explanation: The word 'publicize' has been replaced by 'publicized.'

Is publicized is in the passive voice (a form of be followed by a past participle).

Example sentence with editing. Original sentence: All aerobic classes end in a cool-down period to stretch tighten muscles. Revised sentence: All aerobic classes end in a cool-down period to stretch tightened muscles. Explanation: The word 'tighten' has been replaced by 'tightened.'

Tightened is a participle used as an adjective to modify the noun muscles.

Perfect tenses

Exercise: Verb tense and mood 1

Exercise: Verb tense and mood 2

Exercise: Verb tense and mood 3