developing_writing

they must be learned separately. Rewrite the paragraph below, changing
all the be verbs to the past tense.
I was we were
you were
he
they were
sheit
was
{
“I Remember Ernie”
I remember Ernie. He is a friend of mine. He’s a truck driver from the
United States. I met him at a square dance. He and his wife are good
dancers, and they are a lot of fun. He is generous and warm­hearted.
All his friends are friendly, too. I remember the dance music. It is fast
and loud. Square dancing is a good hobby.
III. Grammar The past tense with regular verbs
Regular verbs take an ­ed ending to form the past tense. The spelling
rules depend on the spelling and the syllable stress of the verb.
1. Verbs that end with e simply add ­d. Write the forms below with
the correct spelling.
We danced. (dance, live, hope, move)
They smiled. (smile, save, shave, love)
2. Verbs that end in a double consonant (VCC) or in a double vowel
followed by a consonant (VCC) simply add ­ed. Write the forms below
with the correct spelling.
She worked. (work, wait, count, wash, call)
He helped. (help, cook, watch, rush, turn)
3. Verbs that end in a single stressed vowel followed by a single
consonant (VC) must add another consonant before taking ­ed. Write
the forms below with the correct spelling.
I planned. (plan, whip, brag, sob, chop)
(Notice that verbs with the stress before the last syllable do not follow
this pattern. They do not take a double consonant.
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