• Shop
    • Speech Therapy
    • Clipart
    • Reviews
    • My Account
  • Free
  • Blog
  • Topics
    • Early Intervention & Preschool
    • Language
    • Social Language
    • Articulation & Phonology
    • Sensory Differences
    • Cleft Lip and Palate
  • Contact
    • Terms & Conditions
    • Facebook
    • Instagram
    • Pinterest
  • 0 items

Allison Fors, Inc.

Speech Therapy Tools for SLPs and Educators

A Better Way to Teach Past Tense Verbs

A Better Way to Teach Past Tense Verbs

English grammar rules are hard! Past tense verbs are definitely not my favorite speech therapy goal to work on. There is not much logic and reasoning in past tense verb forms, making them difficult to both teach and learn.

I have found the best way is to teach by verb pattern, as opposed to teaching them randomly. In other words, separating them into groups where the ending of the past tense form is the same. This method makes past tense verbs much more manageable and enjoyable. Teaching in this organized manner allows students to better remember and feel confident learning a group of verbs before moving onto the next verb pattern. I also keep in mind the verbs that are most commonly used in the English language and focus on these verbs. Learning past tense verbs is lots and lots of repetition and memorization, but teaching by pattern makes the memorization easier!

REGULAR PAST TENSE VERBS

There are 3 regular past tense verb patterns. Have the student master a verb group before moving onto the next. The graphic below explains when the past tense verb ends in /d/, /t/, or /ɪd, əd/.

Download this handout for free!

Regular Past Tense Verb Examples:

/d/: closed, opened, moved, stayed, traveled, arrived, sneezed, pulled, turned, warned, cried, glued, carried, hugged, robbed, borrowed, entered, remembered, listened

/t/: walked, worked, dropped, finished, stopped, laughed, coughed, watched, kicked, asked, licked, looked, talked, worked, fixed, danced, passed

/ɪd/ or /əd/: waited, pretended, guarded, tested, acted, edited, ended, started, invited, expected, tasted, decided, needed, wanted, floated, painted, landed, decided

IRREGULAR PAST TENSE VERBS

Irregular past tense verbs are much more difficult and don’t have a clear explanation for their verb patterns. Below are the most common irregular verb forms. I teach them roughly in the order presented.

unchanged: cut, put, quit, burst, hit, shut, bet, hurt, let, cost, burst

-ought/-aught: taught, brought, caught, bought, fought, thought

-ang/-ung: rang, sang, hang, swung

-ew: blew, grew, knew, flew, drew, threw

-t: slept, felt, left, spent, met, spent, kept,  swept

long /o/: spoke, drove, woke, broke, awoke, wrote, rode, froze

In addition to teaching in verb patterns, focus on common verbs.
Some of the most common irregular verbs are:

  • Said
  • Made
  • Went
  • Took
  • Came
  • Saw
  • Knew
  • Got
  • Gave
  • Found
  • Thought
  • Told
  • Left
  • Felt
  • Put
  • Brought
  • Held
  • Wrote
  • Stood
  • Heard
  • Let
  • Met
  • Ran
  • Sat
  • Read
  • Lost
  • Fell
  • Built
  • Drew
  • Broke
  • Cut
  • Bought
  • Wore
  • Chose
  • Ate

If you’re looking to incorporate this, I have created resources that teach past tense verbs by verb pattern! All of these resources are broken down by the verb patterns listed above in leveled activities – from isolation drill to generalization activities.


You might also be interested in this free download: Past Tense Verbs Sentences

Thanks for reading!


If you enjoyed this post, please share it!
Follow my blog with Bloglovin

Share on PinterestShare on FacebookShare on TwitterShare on LinkedInShare on Email
Better Way to Teach Past Tense Verbs

Related Posts

  • grammar activities23 Grammar Activities for Speech Therapy
  • components of language developmentThe 5 Components and Development of Language
  • verb books speech therapy25 Books to Target Verbs in Speech Therapy
Better Way to Teach Past Tense Verbs

November 10, 2018 allisonfors 4 Comments Filed Under: Speech Resources, Speech Therapy Education

Why You Should Be Using a Train Set in Speech Therapy
How to Use Sensory Bottles in Speech Therapy

Comments

  1. Junay Salmon says

    June 20, 2019 at 4:57 pm

    Excellent information, thanks for sharing !!! I will apply it in my classroom.

    Reply
  2. Anonymous says

    December 10, 2020 at 6:01 pm

    I have been looking for tools to utilize since l became a Remote Teacher and a Zoom mom for my amazing 4th grader. Teaching children with Autism is a blessing and a challenge in itself. Thank you for sharing these wonderful tools.

    Reply
  3. Anonymous says

    January 21, 2021 at 3:03 pm

    Thank you for this information! Very helpful. I am wondering in what grade you usually target this skill in therapy?

    Reply
    • allisonfors says

      January 22, 2021 at 5:55 pm

      Children begin using regular and irregular past tense verbs correctly around 43-46 months of age. If kindergarteners or older children aren’t using past tense verbs correctly, we work on them!

      Reply

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Hi, I'm Allison! A speech & language resource author who loves the creative process of making therapy materials and clipart, as well as connecting with educators world wide. Learn more about me here! Read More…

Echolalia is actually a positive prognostic indica Echolalia is actually a positive prognostic indicator for autistic children! We don’t treat it this way most of the time even though it’s a communicative function for the individual. Instead of ignoring or trying to get a child to stop, we should try to shape the content into meaningful communication by teaching the meaning of the words or modeling appropriate language.
•
Echolalia is a repetition of another person’s spoken words. This often presents in a child quoting favorite movies or repeating a question directed towards them.
•
(Prizant 1987)
Resurfacing this for Better Hearing and Speech Mon Resurfacing this for Better Hearing and Speech Month 👄🗣🧠👂🏼 

What are you!? Tag a friend!👇
Common Diacritics for Cleft Affected Speech 👇👇👇

Nasal emission: The audible release of bursts of air through the nose during speech while producing a consonant that requires a buildup of air pressure.

Nasal turbulence: The escape of air through the nasal cavity, but it is perceived as turbulent, a snort or nasal rustle.

Dentalized: When the tip of the tongue is pushed against the back of the upper teeth.

Hypernasailty: A condition when air flows through the nasal passage during voiced consonants and vowels causing too much nasal resonance. It may or may not be audible.

Hyponasality: A condition when there is not enough nasal resonance on nasal sounds due to a blockage in the nasopharynx or nasal cavity.

Fronted: When a sound produced in the back of the mouth is replaced with a sound made in the front of the mouth.

Backed: When a sound produced in the front of the mouth is replaced with a sound made in the back of the mouth.

Save this post to reference later!
SPEECH VS LANGUAGE. BHSM seems like a good time to SPEECH VS LANGUAGE. BHSM seems like a good time to share this again. 

Oh how many times I’ve explained these two terms! Do you find yourself breaking down the difference between speech and language?

This graphic is in the Free SLP Handouts download. 🔗 allisonfors.com/speech-therapy-handouts/
May is Better Hearing and Speech Month! Now if onl May is Better Hearing and Speech Month! Now if only there was an easy way to explain alllll the aspects of speech-language pathology! 👄🦻🏻
Want to know what the most horrific/best thing I e Want to know what the most horrific/best thing I ever did in therapy was?
Video myself.
😳😳😳
I realized I wasn’t giving enough wait time for my students. Turns out what feels like eternity after you ask a question, is really half a second. 😂 It took a lot of retraining to be ok with the quiet and not try to fill every moment with a teaching opportunity. Try counting to 10 before you jump in!

Have you ever filmed yourself in therapy? What was your biggest takeaway? 
If you’ve never done it or it’s been awhile...do it!

Copyright © 2022 · Allison Fors, Inc. · Hello You Designs

My Account
Terms & Conditions
Privacy Policy