What is the past tense?
How is the past tense formed?
The past tense is the tense we use to talk about things that have happened in the past.
The most common way to form the past tense, like in this story, is by adding -ed to the end of a word.
Examples from the story: knock = present tense
knocked = past tense
answer = present tense
answered = past tense
What else do I need to know?
The -ed ending is pronounced differently, depending on the sound before it.
Examples: When you make 'walk' past tense you get 'walked'. The -ed in walked is pronounced like a /t/. So when you say it, it sounds like walkt. Make sure you hear that /t/ sound at the end.
When you make 'exclaim' past tense you get 'exclained'. The -ed in exclaimed is pronounced like a /d/. So when you say it, it sounds like exclaimd. Make
sure you hear that /t/ sound at the end.
How do I know which sound it makes? /t/ or /d/?
To determine which sound you need (either /t/ or /d/) put your hand on your adams apple.
Say the last sound in the word out loud. For example in "exclaim" say the 'm' sound,
and in "walk" sat the 'k' sound out loud.
If there is a vibration then the -ed sounds like /d/.
If there is not a vibration the -ed sounds like /t/.
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