Simple Past - Regular Verbs

The verbs in the past can be divided into two types: regular and irregular. Today we'll take a look at the regular, since in the previous lesson we talked about the irregular.

Basic rule: regular verbs in the past ending with-ED.

Simple as that! Let's take a look at some examples:

Verbo no presente	Verbo no passado
work (trabalhar)	worked
stay (permanecer/ficar)	stayed
watch (assistir)	watched
clean (limpar)	cleaned
arrive (chegar)	arrived
start (iniciar/começar)	started
dance (dançar)	danced

One important thing is knowing that the verbs in the past are always the same, independent of the pronoun (I, you, he, she, we, etc). Note the chart below to see how the verb work (work) is always the same in the past.

In this in the past:

No presente	No passado
I work (Eu trabalho)	I worked (Eu trabalhei)
You work (Você trabalha)	You worked (Você trabalhou)
He works (Ele trabalha)	He worked (Ele trabalhou)
She works (Ela trabalha)	She worked (Ela trabalhou)
It works (“Isto” trabalha)	It worked (“Isto” trabalhou)
We work (Nós trabalhamos)	We worked (Nós trabalhamos)
They work (Eles trabalham)	They worked (Eles trabalharam)

Note that at present the verb changes when we use the pronouns he, she and it, but in the past he is always the same (worked). You can see that the past tense of verbs in English is much easier than in Portuguese, where we have "worked, worked, worked, etc" (imagine for a guy who speaks English learn all this for all verbs!).

Let's now take a look at some sample sentences (which are the best way to learn):

I worked in Japan for five years.
Eu trabalhei no Japão por cinco anos.

He stayed there until midnight.
Ele ficou/permaneceu lá até meia-noite.

We watched the game together.
Nós assistimos ao jogo juntos.

I cleaned my car.
Eu limpei meu carro.

She arrived later at the airport.
Ela chegou atrasada no aeroporto.

It started raining.
Começou a chover.

They danced in the party.
Eles dançaram na festa.

Some minor exceptions

There are some minor exceptions in which the spelling (as we wrote) of the words changes a bit in the past. Have a look at the following examples:

I try (Eu tento) > I tried (Eu tentei)
I study (Eu estudo) > I studied (Eu estudei)
I stop (Eu paro) > I stopped (Eu parei)
I plan (E planejo) > I planned (Eu planejei)

Note that in these cases not only add the ending-ED, but also the Y moved to I (in the first two examples) and the last consonant is doubled (in the last two examples). This happens with a few words (but not all), and although there are a few rules to know when and how it happens, the best way is to simply get used to it gradually. You better understand the meaning and use of the past tense in English than knowing a rule of an exception, but not knowing very well the general functioning of the thing. And that goes for the vast majority of exceptions: learn the basics and let the exceptions come with usage and custom.

The following video explains in a simple way using the simple past: