Past participles are words formed from verbs, that can be used as adjectives (i.e. broken glass, hired help) or as part of verb tenses (i.e. I have broken the glass, he has hired the woman). To form the past participle, a few rules apply:

Regular verbs

➡ If forming a past participle from a regular verb, the participle is the same as the simple past. Usually, it is formed by adding -ed to the verb.

E.g: kick  -  kicked             paint  -  painted

➡ Consonant-vowel-consonant

If the verb ends in a consonant-vowel-consonant, double the final consonant and add -ed.

E.g: chat  -  chatted             stop  -  stopped

*WXY: But if the verb ends in a w, x, or y, don’t double the final consonant.

E.g: sew  -  sewed             fix  -  fixed

➡ Last syllable stress 

If the last syllable of a longer verb is stressed and ends in a consonant-vowel-consonant, double the final consonant and add -ed.

e.g: incur  -  incurred             refer  -  referred

➡ First syllable stress

If the first syllable of a longer verb is stressed and ends in a consonant-vowel-consonant, just add -ed.

E.g: open  -  opened             enter  -  entered

➡ Ends in E

If the verb ends in -e, just add -d to the end.

E.g: thrive  -  thrived             change  -  changed

➡ Ends in Y

If the verb ends in consonant +y, change the -y to an -i and add -ed. 

E.g: cry  -  cried              fry  -  fried

With irregular verbs, there are no applicable rules and the past participles simply must be learned by memorization. Common irregular past participles are shown below:

Let’s practice!

Complete the following sentences with the past participle of the given verb.

1. Whenever Monica gets _______________________ (bore), she goes to the mall.

2. The people I work with are ______________________ (satisfy) with their jobs.

3. When she hit the balloon with a stick, the balloon ________________________ (pop).

4. After taking a nap, he felt __________________________ (renew).

5. Rachel is the __________________________ (prefer) candidate for the job.

6. Oh no! Did I ____________________________ (hurt) you?

7. Before you got here, Matthew had ____________________ (file) tons of papers.

8. After working out for an hour, Johnathan was ___________________ (wear out).

9. This lotion always works. It is _____________________ (try) and true.

10. You can’t sit here; the seat is already __________________________ (take).

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