help me with these yr 3 spellings

[incywincyspideragain]

I'm in a 'discussion' with my 7 yr old - he has to do his spellings in the past tense, the list is in the present tense, I assume they are after one word for each of the past tenses. The list includes

draw
write
take

which we can make
drawn or drew
wrote or written
took or taken

but I'm not sure if this is some weird thing with the english language I don't get (I can do numbers - not so good with words)

which is the past tense? ds is adamant its both and bit peeved he has double spellings for some words, I'm checking he's not being a smart arse but maybe she intended them to write 2 words?

sorry for daft question but after trying it today I'm doubting any of our logic!

Drew
Wrote
Took

I draw a picture can be changed into I drew a picture but can't become I drawn a picture . Same for others.

I agree with Isa

Drew, wrote and took are the past tense.
Drawn, written and taken are the passive tense.

Yep Isa is right.

I would assume the teacher wants drew, took and wrote. After all, it's meant to be spellings and not grammar.

I had drawn the curtains early.
I had taken the first bite.
I had written a sonnet.

They are still first person, but it's a different tense. My brain is mush at the moment so I can't remember the tenses' names (past perfect and past imperfect, perhaps?!)

Well, both versions are past tense but I believe you should be spelling drew, wrote and took as the alternatives you mention require an auxiliary verb to make sense i.e. I have drawn. Hope that makes sense.

Xpost with clarins. At exactly the same time, to the second!

Drawn, written and taken are the past participles used with the verb have to form the past perfect tense.
I have drawn...
He has written...

Etc

Juniper
I had taken... is the pluperfect.

?? juniper

Yeah drawn, written and taken are all past participles.

You want the simple past which is drew, wrote, took, they are irregular because they should be drawed, writed, taked, which I assume is why teacher has asked for them.

The other form of the past is indeed the perfect, I have drawn, I have taken, I have gone, I have eaten. Blimey who said English was easy?? (answer: a number of my pupils trying to master the intricacies of French! They're wrong tho )

Having grandchildren has reminded me again just how long children take to learn the past tenses:
simple past - drew, did, went ...
past perfect - have drawn, done, gone ...
pluperfect - had drawn, done, gone ...

They get the logical way of forming the past tense (asked, sorted, dusted) very easily and try to be logical all the time (drawed, goed, buyed).

Some really stupid spellings make learning the irregular past harder:
dream - dreamt, read - read, say - said....

Around 150 English verbs have irregular past tenses. Most children know most of the common ones by about age 8.

BTW, the 6 other European languages which I have also learned have some too, especially German and French.

Masha Bell

Drew
Wrote
Took

Thank you - why did I never learn this properly? Never heard of passive or pluperfect and turns out I can't do phonics either - wish help with my dyslexia continued at work and with children's school work...

AHH but you have the power of mumsnet behind you! so fear not :)

The power of mumsnet could transform the lives of many children and all dyslexics if it got behind modernising English spelling.

It's encumbered by masses of totally useless dross which does nothing but make learning to read and write much harder than need be, such as
surplus -e endings (e.g. have, are, gone, imagine) which obscure the vowel-lengthening function of -e (save, care, bone, define),

missing and surplus doubled consonants (e.g. atom, attempt) which undermine the sensible use of them (attic, attitude)

umpteen unpredictable, pointlessly different spellings for the long ee sound in 456 (speak, speech, shriek, seize, ....)

pointless spelling differences in endings like
absence/suspense/guidance.... client/defiant... actor/printer...

to name but a few.

Masha Bell

ok final one from the list

sing - is it sang or sung?

I sang, I have sung