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An tràth caithte de ghnìomhairean riaghailteach

The past tense of regular verbs

We will use question and answer format to show you how to form the past tense of regular verbs.

How do you form the past tense of regular verbs?

First, you need to find out the imperative (also known as the root or basic form) of the verb.  

Imperative means the verb used to give instructions and it is listed in most dictionaries. In the LearnGaelic dictionary, we show this with an exclamation point. 

Does the imperative start with one of the following consonants b,  c,  d,  g,  m,  p,  s,  t? 

If the imperative starts with one of the consonants:  b,  c,  d,  g,  m,  p,  s,  t, then the word lenites when it is in the past tense.

Coisich -> choisich 

Walk -> walked 

Does the imperative start with one of the vowels a, e, i, o, u? 

If the imperative starts with one of the vowels a, e, i, o, u then the word begins with dh’ in the past tense. 

ith

eat

dh’ith

ate

òl

drink

dh’ol

drank

Does the imperative start with one of the following consonants l, n, r, sg,  sm,  sp and st

If the imperative starts with one of the consonants:  l, n, r,  sg,  sm,  sp and st then the word stays the same when it is in the past tense. 

leugh

read

sgrìobh

write

sgrìobh

wrote

Does the imperative start with f + a vowel? 

If the imperative starts with f + a vowel, then the word begins with dh’ and it lenites when it is in the past tense. 

fuirich

stay

dh’fhuirich

stayed

Imperative / Òrdugh  Do this / Dèan seo Example / Eisempleir 
b, c, d, g, m, p, s, t + h  Cadail -> chadail  
a,e,i,o,u + dh’ Ith -> dh’ith 
l,n,r, sg, sm, sp and st – Leugh -> leugh 
F+ a,e,i,o,u Dh’ + h  Fuirich -> Dh’fhuirich