Episode 13: She Walked, She Stayed

Past Simple: regular — Rosa Parks, 1955 (A1-A2)

Grammar Box

Meaning: We use Past Simple for actions that happened and finished in the past. Regular verbs add -ed to show this.

Form: verb + -ed (walked, stayed, helped, organized)

Example 1: She walked to work yesterday. (finished action)

Example 2: They waited for hours. (finished action)

Common mistake: Wrong: Yesterday I walk to school. Better: Yesterday I walked to school.

The Question

Luna wrote: “Yesterday I walk to school.” She paused. That didn’t look right. Her watch glowed. Professor Wisdom smiled. “When we talk about finished actions in the past, we add -ed to the verb. Let’s see this in action. Let’s watch a woman who walked into history.”

The Journey

The world shifted. Luna stood outside the Montgomery courthouse. December 5, 1955. Morning. Rosa Parks walked up the steps. Police had arrested her four days ago. She had refused to give up her seat. Now she faced the judge.

Rosa was a quiet woman. She worked as a seamstress. She sewed clothes for people. She lived a simple life. But she had watched injustice for too long. She had waited for change. She had hoped for fairness. Nothing had changed.

On that bus, something shifted inside her. The driver had shouted at her. She had stayed calm. She had looked at him. She had decided. Not today. Not anymore.

People had suffered under these laws for decades. They had accepted humiliation. They had followed unjust rules. They had walked away from confrontations. But Rosa had stopped walking away.

The news had traveled fast. Black leaders had organized quickly. They had planned a boycott. They had printed thousands of flyers. They had asked everyone to stay off the buses.

That morning, the buses had rolled through Montgomery nearly empty. People had walked to work. They had walked miles. They had walked in the rain. They had walked together.

Luna watched the crowd outside the courthouse. Hundreds had gathered. They had arrived early. They had supported Rosa. They had showed their unity.

The trial had lasted thirty minutes. The judge had convicted Rosa. She had paid a fine. But she had sparked a movement. That movement had lasted 381 days. It had changed America forever.

Luna could hear the footsteps. She could see the determined faces. She could feel the power of people who had decided to act.

The Insight

“Look at all those verbs,” the Professor said. “‘She walked.’ ‘They organized.’ ‘She refused.’ ‘They supported.’ These are regular past verbs. We add -ed to show the action happened and finished.”

He continued, “Most verbs follow this pattern. Walk becomes walked. Stay becomes stayed. Want becomes wanted. We use these verbs to tell stories about the past.”

“Sometimes we double the last letter. Stop becomes stopped. Sometimes we change y to i. Carry becomes carried. But the pattern is simple. Past actions need -ed.”

Practice Zone

More Examples:

1. “She worked hard every day at the factory.” — Regular job in past.
2. “They walked five miles to school yesterday.” — Past action with distance.
3. “I watched that movie last weekend.” — Past entertainment.
4. “We listened to his speech carefully.” — Past attention.
5. “The movement started with one person.” — Past beginning.
6. “She helped many people during her life.” — Past assistance.

Exercises:

1. Fill in the blank: Yesterday, I _____ (walk) to the store.

2. Choose the correct:
   a) Last week, she talk to her teacher.
   b) Last week, she talked to her teacher.

3. Write the past form:
   – play → _
   – stop →
   – study → __

4. Complete the sentence: They _____ (wait) for two hours yesterday.

5. Your turn: Write a sentence about something you did yesterday. Use a regular past verb.

Answer Key:

1. walked
2. b) Last week, she talked to her teacher
3. play → played / stop → stopped / study → studied
4. waited
5. Check: Did you add -ed? Does your sentence talk about a finished action? Examples: “I studied English yesterday.” “They played soccer last week.” “She cooked dinner last night.”

The Lesson

They returned to Luna’s room. Luna smiled. “I walked to school yesterday. Walk becomes walked. The action is finished.” The Professor nodded. “Yes. And like those who walked for justice, each step matters. What we did yesterday shapes what we can do tomorrow.”