§ 1. The Formation of the Past Indefinite

1. We form the Past Indefinite by adding the ending -ED to the Bare Infinitive of regular verbs.

BARE INFINITIVE + ED (Ved/V2)

Infinitives of irregular verbs form the Past Indefinite by:

• changing the root vowel (to sing – sang)

• changing the final consonant (to build – built)

• using the same stem (to cut – cut)

• using a different stem (to be – was/were), etc.

E.g. I wrote the letter yesterday.

She translated the text an hour ago.

SPELLING RULES

Before the ending -ED:

(a) we drop a mute -E;

E.g. to live – lived

to die – died

(b) we change a final -Y preceded by a consonant into -I;

E.g. to study – studied

to carry – carried

BUT a final -Y preceded by a vowel remains unchanged.

E.g. to play – played

to enjoy – enjoyed

(c) we double a final consonant in a stressed syllable:

• in monosyllabic verbs after a short vowel;

  E.g. to nod – nodded	BUT to need – needed
  to hop – hopped	to hope – hoped

• in polysyllabic verbs if it has no diphthong.

E.g. to per´mit – permitted	BUT to ´visit – visited
to re´fer – referred	to ´offer – offered
to pre´fer – preferred	to a´ppear – appeared

In British English we double a final -L after a short (stressed or unstressed) vowel.

E.g. to ful´fil (BrE)/ful´fill (AmE) – fulfilled	BUT to a´ppeal – appealed
to ´travel – travelling (BrE)/traveled (AmE)	to con´ceal – concealed

(d) we change a final -C into -CK;

E.g. to panic – panicked

to picnic – picnicked

2. In negative sentences we place the negative particle NOT after the auxiliary verb TO DO (did) and before the Infinitive of the main verb. In informal English we use short negative forms.

E.g. I did not/didn’t write the letter yesterday.

She did not/didn’t translate the text an hour ago.

Full negative forms	Short negative forms
I (we, you, they, he, she, it) did not work.	I (we, you, they, he, she, it) didn’t work.

In sentences with the verb TO BE (was/were) used as a predicate or a link verb we place the negative particle NOT after it and do not use any auxiliary verbs. In informal English we use short negative forms.

E.g. He was not/wasn’t at school yesterday.

I was not/wasn’t a student.

They were not/weren’t ready.

Full negative forms	Short negative forms
I (he, she, it) was not late. We (you, they) were not late.	I (he, she, it) wasn’t late. We (you, they) weren’t late.

3. In interrogative sentences (questions) we place the auxiliary verb TO DO (did) before the subject and the Infinitive of the main verb after the subject.

E.g. Did I write the letter yesterday?

Did she translate the text an hour ago?

In sentences with the verb TO BE (was/were) used as a predicate or a link verb we place this verb before the subject and do not use any auxiliary verbs.

E.g. Was he at school yesterday?

Was I a student?

Were they ready?

4. In negative-interrogative sentences (negative questions) we place the auxiliary verb TO DO (did) before the subject and the negative particle NOT after the subject. In informal English we place short negative forms before the subject.

E.g. Did I not/Didn’t I write the letter yesterday?

Did she not/Didn’t she translate the text an hour ago?

Full negative-interrogative forms	Short negative-interrogative forms
Did I (we, you, they, he, she, it) not work?	Didn’t I (we, you, they, he, she, it) work?

In sentences with the verb TO BE (was/were) used as a predicate or a link verb we place this verb before the subject and the negative particle NOT after the subject. In informal English we place short negative forms before the subject.

E.g. Was he not/Wasn’t he at school?

Was I not/Wasn’t I a student?

Were they not/Weren’t they ready?

Full negative-interrogative forms	Short negative-interrogative forms
Was I (he, she, it) not late? Were we (you, they) not late?	Wasn’t I (he, she, it) late? Weren’t we (you, they) late?