The preterit
As a general rule, the preterit is formed by adding the ending "–ed" to the infinitive (dropping any unpronounced "e" in final position, and changing any final "y" to "i"):
- to walk –> walked
- to answer –> answered
- to want –> wanted
- to smile –> smiled
- to cry –> cried
The preterit forms of many common verbs are irregular:
- to be –> was (singular), were (plural)
- to have –> had
- to do –> did
- to make –> made
- to eat –> ate
- to go –> went
- to drink –> drank
- to think –> thought
- to bring –> brought
- to drive –> drove
- to write –> wrote
- to sing –> sang
- to build –> built
(For a complete list of this irregular forms, see Irregular preterits and past participles).
Usage
The preterit expresses actions which were completed in the past. Unlike those described by the present perfect, these actions do not continue in the present. Unlike the past progressive, the preterit does not describe the process or duration of actions: it states them only as completed actions:
- She went to the store this afternoon.
- They called the police.
- He came, he saw, he conquered.
The duration of the action is of no importance: the preterit may describe an action lasting an instant or many years. Thus verbs indicating belief, emotion, possession, location, etc. will often be expressed in the preterit:
- I lived in London for three years.
- She owned three dogs throughout her childhood.
- I never trusted what they told me.
In the negative and interrogative, the auxiliary verb "to do", — conjugated in the preterit — will be used with the infinitive to express the past:
- Did you arrive in time?
- Didn't you eat yet?
- We didn't go to the movies after all.