Serendipity

Unit 4, Activity 5

Index Activity 6

Grammar: The -ED Ending

There are some things that you need to know about the –ed ending in English:

1 Most commonly, -ED signifies the past tense

He walked home last night.

2 However, not all verbs take the –ED ending in the past:

Give => gave
Take => took

These are called irregular verbs

3 The –ED ending is NOT ONLY used for the past tense. It is also used for:

i) certain adjectives that describe feelings:

I feel annoyed.
I felt annoyed.
I am shocked.

(The first and third examples are present tense)

ii) Perfect tenses where the past participle is spelled with –ed

She had asked about it. (past perfect)
She has called her boss. (present perfect)
She will have finished by Monday. (future perfect form)

iii) Passive voice where the past participle is spelled with –ed. Remember, sentences in passive voice can be in any tense.

I was attacked by a dog.
It is being used right now.
She will be summoned to court.
He may be charged with murder.
Everybody likes to be pampered.


Full notes and practice on this topic can be found here.