What does this pattern look like? Here are a few examples of common regular verbs:

Example 1: Base Verb: Believe
Present: I believe in magic.
Simple Past: I believed in magic.
Past Participle: I had believed in magic while growing up.

Example 2: Base Verb: Want
Present: I want a new bike.
Simple Past: I wanted a new bike.
Past Participle: I had wanted a new bike for years.

Example 3: Base Verb: Use
Present: I use a calculator to complete my math homework.
Simple Past: I used a calculator to complete my math homework.
Past Participle: I had used a calculator during my math test.

Example 4: Base Verb: Help
Present: I help my mom with dishes.
Simple Past: I helped my mom with dishes.
Past Participle: I had helped my mom with dishes for a week.

Example 5: Base Verb: Watch
Present: I watch cartoons on Saturday mornings.
Simple Past: I watched cartoons on Saturday mornings.
Past Participle: I had watched cartoons as a little kid.

Do you see the pattern? For each of these words, we simply added a “d” or “ed” to change the verb from present tense to past tense (for both simple past and past participle).

Notice that if a regular verb ends in “e,” you only need to add a “d” to make it past tense. If it does not end with an “e,” then you need to add “ed” to change it to past tense.

The most important information to remember about regular verbs is that they follow a consistent pattern. This is why we call them “regular.”