Spelling Rules for Adding ED to Verbs
1). The general rule when changing a word (or verb) into its -ED form is just to add -ED to the end of it.
|
Present
form |
Past or ED form |
|
Play |
played |
|
Wait |
waited |
|
Work |
worked |
|
Rain |
rained |
- They played football in the stadium.
- I waited for them to invite me.
- She worked until late last night.
- It rained all day.
2). If a word ends in an E we just add the D to the end.
|
Present
form |
ED form |
|
Live |
lived |
|
Love |
loved |
|
Smile |
smiled |
|
Dance |
danced |
- He lived in New York for two years and then moved to Thailand.
- I loved the surprise you gave me.
- He smiled when he saw his son.
- They danced until their feet hurt.
3). When the verb ends in a VOWEL + Y, we add ED to the verb.
|
Present
form |
ED form |
|
Play |
played |
|
Enjoy |
enjoyed |
|
Survey |
surveyed |
|
Deploy |
deployed |
- we played cricket for three hours.
- I went to my friend's marriage party, so I enjoyed it a lot.
- The board of Examination delayed the final exam.
- Govt deployed an army near the border.
4). When the verb ends in a CONSONANT + Y, we change Y to I and
add ED to the verb.
|
Present
form |
ED form |
|
Cry |
cried |
|
Certify |
certified |
|
Copy |
copied |
|
Verify |
verified |
- Some of the children cried in their class at first.
- I certified my documents from the university.
- They copied all of my documents.
- At first, she verified her ticket and then went to the airport.
5). If the word ends in a Consonant + Vowel + Consonant, we double
the final consonant and add ED.
|
Present
form |
ED form |
|
Stop |
stopped |
|
Admit |
admitted |
|
Plan |
planned |
|
Refer |
referred |
|
Commit |
committed |
- The policeman stopped the thief from escaping.
- He admitted that he was wrong.
- We planned a party for our friend.
- I referred the students to the website where they had online exercises for practice.
- They committed a serious crime and will go to jail.
6). If a two-syllable verb ends in a Consonant + Vowel +
Consonant, we don’t double the final consonant when the stress is on
the first syllable.
|
Present
form |
ED form |
|
Happen |
happened |
|
Enter |
entered |
|
Offer |
offered |
|
Suffer |
suffered |
- What happened?
- I entered through the back door.
- They offered me a new position with a higher salary.
- Coronavirus suffered many businesses all over the world.
7). We DO NOT double the final consonant when the word ends
in W, X, or Y or when the final syllable is not stressed.
|
Present
form |
ED form |
|
Fix |
fixed |
|
Enjoy |
enjoyed |
|
Snow |
snowed |
- He fixed his bike.
- We enjoyed our time in the mountains yesterday.
- It snowed yesterday.
8). When the verb ends in consonant + vowel + L, we double
the final L and add ED.
Note: In the United States, they don’t double the L when the
accent is on the first syllable.
|
Present
form |
ED form |
ED form |
|
Travel |
travelled |
traveled |
|
Marvel |
marvelled |
marveled |
- I traveled around South America in 2012.
- Her beauty marveled us because she was very beautiful.
Irregular verbs
There are some verbs that do not follow the above rules. You need
to memorize them. When ‘ED’ is added to a verb, it can be used as a past form of
the verb and a past participle form of the verb. Irregular verbs have their past form and past participle form. Here we have some of them in the list
below.
|
Present Form |
Past Form |
Past Participle Form |
|
Awake |
Awoke |
Awoken |
|
Bet |
Bet |
Bet |
|
Become |
Became |
Become |
|
Come |
Came |
Come |
|
Do |
Did |
Done |
|
Drink |
Drank |
Drunk |
|
Eat |
Ate |
Eaten |
|
Fall |
Fell |
Fallen |
|
Go |
Went |
Gone |
|
Hear |
Heard |
Heard |
|
Hide |
Hid |
Hidden |
|
Keep |
Kept |
Kept |
|
Know |
Knew |
Known |
|
Leave |
Left |
Left |
|
Make |
Made |
Made |
|
Meet |
Met |
Met |
|
Pay |
Paid |
Paid |
|
Run |
Ran |
Run |
|
Ring |
Rang |
Rung |
|
See |
Saw |
Seen |
|
Shine |
Shone |
Shone |
|
Take |
Took |
Taken |
|
Think |
Thought |
Thought |
|
Wear |
Wore |
Worn |
