ESL Grammar: PAST TENSE (14) – Phrases with Two Verbs

This ESL grammar lesson teaches students how to correctly use two-verb combinations in the past tense. With these combinations, the first verb takes the past tense, and the second verb takes the infinitive form.

ESL Grammar: Understanding Past Tense Sentences with Two Verbs

In English, sentences that include two verbs often involve a past tense verb followed by an infinitive (the base form of the verb preceded by “to”). This structure is used to express actions that were intended, planned, or required in the past.

Structure:

• Past Tense Verb + Infinitive (to + base form of the verb)

Examples:

• I wanted to learn French when I was a child.
• She promised to finish the report by Friday.
• They hoped to visit Paris last summer.

The English grammar lesson below introduces how to form more complex past tense sentences in a clear and simple manner that is easy for beginner English learners to understand. Our series of ESL grammar lessons on subjects and verbs introduce these concepts and reinforce them through helpful and instructive exercises.

This lesson is available for free download, and you can download many more English grammar lessons focusing on basic English tenses (present tense, present continuous tense, past tense, future tense) in our comprehensive, beginner-level ESL grammar textbook Great, Great Grammar! (Book 2: Tenses).