Spelling Rules in Past Simple

We normally add -ed to the verb in all personal pronouns. When we can’t use -ed, there are a few spelling rules according to the ending of the verbs.

SPELLING RULE 1SPELLING RULE 2SPELLING RULE 3SPELLING RULE 4

Most verbs take -ed ending

work  worked

kiss  kissed 

Verbs that end with -e,take -d ending

dance  danced

close  closed 

Verbs that end with a consonant and -y-y drops and take -ied ending

carry  carried

study ⇒ studied 

Verbs that have a CVC (consonant-vowel-consonant) pattern, we double the last letter and put -ed ending

stop  stopped

cancel  cancelled

 We double the last letters of the verbs with a CVC (consonant-vowel-consonant) pattern. However, we do not double the last letter of the verbs in two cases:

 

  1. The stress is on the first syllable. For example: open ⇒ opened, offer ⇒ offered
  2. Verbs that end with –w, –x, –y letters. For example, show>showed, mix > mixed, pray>prayed.

Spelling Rules in Past Simple 

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