Grammar Rules

Spelling Rules for Regular Past Tense Verbs
1.         Add –ed ­ to the base form of most verbs

            start                 started
            finish               finished
            wash                washed

2.         Add only –d when the base form ends in an e.

            live                  lived
            care                 cared
            die                   died

3.         If the verb ends in a consonant + y, change the y to and add –ed

            dry                  dried
            carry                carried
            spy                  spied

4.         If the verb ends in a vowel + y, do not change the y. Just add –ed

            pray                 prayed
            stay                 stayed
            destroy            destroyed

5.         If the verb has one syllable and ends in a consonant + vowel + consonant (CVC), double the final consonant and add –ed.

            stop                stopped
            rob                  robbed
            beg                  begged

6.         Do not double final or x.

            sew                 sewed
            mix                  mixed

7.         If the verb has two syllables, and the final syllable is stressed, double the final consonant.

            ad mit’            admitted
            oc cur’            occurred
            per mit’           permitted

8.         If the verb has two syllables, and the final syllable is not stressed, do not double the final consonant.

            hap’ pen          happened
            lis’ ten             listened
            o’ pen             opened

No comments:

Post a Comment