50 Common Irregular Verbs

Infinitive Past Simple Past Participle

be was / were been

become became become

begin began begun

bring brought brought

buy bought bought

choose chose chosen

come came come

do did done

drink drank drunk

drive drove driven

eat ate eaten

fall fell fallen

feel felt felt

find found found

fly flew flown

forget forgot forgotten

get got got (gotten in USA)

give gave given

go went gone

have had had

hear heard heard

keep kept kept

know knew known

leave left left

lend lent lent

let let let

lose lost lost

make made made

meet met met

pay paid paid

put put put

read read (pronounced /red/) read (pronounced /red/)

run ran run

say said said

see saw seen

sell sold sold

send sent sent

sing sang sung

sit sat sat

sleep slept slept

speak spoke spoken

stand stood stood

swim swam swum

take took taken

teach taught taught

tell told told

think thought thought

understand understood understood

wear wore worn

write wrote written

What did you do yesterday?

Verb Past Tense Verb Write Past Tense Verb

Verb + ed

play played

jump jumped

wash washed

clean cleaned

watch watched

cook cooked

help helped

walk walked

Verb + d

dance danced

live lived

Verb + ied

study studied

cry cried

carry carried

Special Verbs!

run ran

swim swam

sing sang

eat ate

have had

make made

go went

do did

come came

is/am was

are were

say said

All the words below are past tense verbs. Can you finish the crossword?

When was the last time you…?

Get up early

Take a picture

Read a newspaper

Eat at a restaurant

Go to the movies

Send an email

Cook for your

family

Travel by plane

Visit your relatives

Stay up late

Write a letter

Lose your wallet

Meet a friend

Buy something expensive

Ride your bike

Take a train

Have breakfast

Watch TV Sing a song

Play sports

....... did you .....

What did you have for

breakfast today?

What time did you get

up this morning?

How did you get to

school/work this

morning?

When did you arrive at school/work

this morning?

What did you eat for dinner last

night?

What TV shows did you watch last night?

What time did you go to

bed last night?

What did you do last weekend?

What time did you get

home yesterday?

What did you used to do for fun with your friends?

What time did you eat dinner last

night?

What did you do after dinner last

night?

How did you feel about English 5 years ago?

What did you think of your English teacher last

year?

Where did you go on your last vacation?

How did you enjoy the last

movie you saw?

What sports did you used

to play?

What was the last book

you read?

When did you last eat

pizza?

When did you last receive a present?

Across 1 The weather was great! The sun ***** all day! 3 I *** $10,000 in the Jumbo Lottery! 4 I *** breakfast very early today. 5 My new suit **** $300. 7 When I was a kid, I often ****** with my brother. 8 I **** British Airways to America last year. 11 Susie *** up very late last weekend. 12 I *********** the question. 16 Tom **** four books last month 17 Andrew **** in the sea yesterday. 18 I dropped my Walkman, and it *****.

Down 1 I ***** to an American for the first time. 2 Jill threw the ball, and I ******* it. 3 My mother **** shopping yesterday. 6 I ****** some fruit at the supermarket. 9 James **** up at 9:00. 10 I ***** ten Pounds in the street. 13 He ***** to work in his new car. 14 I *** a good movie last weekend. 15 My boss ***** too much at the office party.

Target Structure: Past Simple Irregular Verbs Vocabulary: None Level: Elementary / Pre-intermediate Time: 20 minutes Preparation: None Suggested Teaching Method: Give one crossword to each student. Students can work alone, or in pairs. This crossword is also ideal for homework. Answer:

Basics about Irregular Verbs

Most English verbs are regular. That is, they form their past tense and past participle by adding -ed or -d to the basic form, as shown here:

Basic Form Past Tense Past Participleask asked askedraise raised raised

Some English verbs are irregular. They do not form their past tense and past participle by adding -ed or -d to the basic form of the verb. Instead, their past tenses and past participles are formed in other ways. Here are some of the most common irregular verbs.

Basic Form Past Tense Past Participle

become became becomebegin began begunbreak broke brokenbring brought broughtcatch caught caughtchoose chose chosencome came comedo did donedrink drank drunkdrive drove driveneat ate eatenfeel felt feltfind found foundforget forgot forgottenget got got, gottengive gave given

A word about helping verbs Sometimes the verb of a sentence consists of more than one word. In these cases, the main verb will be joined by one or more helping verbs. Look at the following sentence:

I should have gone to bed earlier last night.

In this sentence, the main verb is gone. The helping verbs are should and have. Other common helping verbs include be, can, could, do, has, may, must, will, and would.

When you use the above chart, keep these two points in mind:

1 If your sentence does not have a helping verb, choose the past tense form. I ate a bacon, lettuce, and tomato sandwich.

2 If the sentence does have a helping verb, choose the past participle.I had eaten a bacon, lettuce, and tomato sandwich.

Basic Form Past Tense Past Participle

go went gonegrow grew grownhave had hadhide hid hiddenis was beenkeep kept kept know knew knownleave left leftread read readsee saw seenshake shook shakenspend spent spenttake took takentell told toldwrite wrote written

Note If you think a verb is irregular, and it is not in the above list, look it up in your dictionary. If it is irregular, the principal parts will be listed. See “Dictonary Use,” page 223.

Irregular Verbs

Irregular Verbs: PRACtICe

For each sentence below, fill in the correct form of the verb in the space provided.

broke, broken 1. When I ____________________ my leg, my friends scribbled cheerfulmessages on the cast.

spended, spent 2. Nathan ____________________ most of his teenage years dressed in blackand alone in his bedroom.

catched, caught 3. The kindergarten teacher _______________ chicken pox from one of herstudents.

went, gone 4. The sign on the barbershop door said, “Closed. I have ________________fishing.”

wrote, writed 5. Before he was famous, the horror author Stephen King taught high-school

English and _______________ short stories and novels at night.

done, did 6. When my little sister broke the living-room lamp, she told my parents that

I had ____________________ it.

bringed, brought 7. Seven people ____________________ potato salad to the church picnic,and only one person made a dessert.

chose, choosed 8. Although she was close to winning $100,000, the game-show contestant lost

it all when she _________________ the wrong answer to the final question.

drove, drived 9. In the Fourth of July parade, the mayor __________________ an antiqueModel T car that was owned by the city.

eaten, ate 10. My friend stuck to his diet for six days. Then he ___________________ anentire gallon of ice cream and a bag of Snickers in fifteen minutes.

A Note on three Problem VerbsThree common irregular verbs that confuse many writers are be, do, and have. Here are the correct present tense and past tense forms of these three verbs.

Present Tense Past TenseBe I am we are I was we were

you are you are you were you werehe, she, it is they are he, she, it was they were

Do I do we do I did we didyou do you do you did you didhe, she, it does they do he, she, it did they did

Have I have we have I had we had you have you have you had you hadhe, she, it has they have he, she it had they had

Name _____________________________________________________________ Section _____________________ Date ___________________

Score: (Number right) _________ x 10 = _______________ %

Irregular Verbs: test 1

Each of the items below contains two errors in irregular verbs. Find the errors and cross them out. Then, in the spaces provided, write the correct forms of the verbs.

Note To help you master irregular verbs, explanations are given for five of the sentences.

1. Once I seen a hawk dive from the top of a tall tree to capture a field mouse. The bird catched thetiny creature in its claws and flew back to its perch.

a. _____________

b. _____________

Use the past tense of the irregular verb see for the first correction needed.

2. Our neighbors have always gave their little children household chores. This month, their son setsthe table, and their daughter does some dusting. Last month, they both done some weeding in thebackyard.

a. _____________

b. _____________

Use the past participle of the irregular verb give for the first correction needed.

3. My aunt be a big fan of Elvis Presley. Every time she hears “Love Me Tender,” she becomes misty-eyed.Last year, she and my uncle gone on a trip to Graceland, Elvis’s home. While there, she bought “ElvisLives” bumper stickers for herself and all her friends.

a. _____________

b. _____________

Use the past tense of the irregular verb go for the second correction needed.

4. It is dangerous to shake a baby. Many babies who have been shook have suffered brain injuries. Theadults who done this seldom meant to cause such harm.

a. _____________

b. _____________

Use the past tense of the irregular verb do for the second correction needed.

5. I was determined not to forget anything I needed at the store. I sat down and writed a long shoppinglist. Feeling proud of myself, I went to the store. Then I realized I had forgotted the list.

a. _____________

b. _____________

Use the past participle of the irregular verb forget for the second correction needed.

Name _____________________________________________________________ Section _____________________ Date ___________________

Score: (Number right) _________ x 10 = _______________ %

Irregular Verbs: test 2

Each of the items below contains two errors in irregular verbs. Find the errors and cross them out. Then, in the spaces provided, write the correct forms of the verbs.

1. It really can be more fun to give than to receive. Yesterday I gived my sister a ring of mine that shehas always loved. When she saw what I had gave her, her face lit up.

a. _____________

b. _____________

2. In the winter, I drink about a quart of orange juice a week. But last week when it was so hot, Idrinked that much in a day. Once all the orange juice was drank, I started in on ice water and coldsoda.

a. _____________

b. _____________

3. I was angry that my friend taked the money that was lying on the dresser. She didn’t know itwas mine, but she knowed it wasn’t hers.

a. _____________

b. _____________

4. The teacher becomed impatient with the students who had forgotten their homework. “I thought you had growed up by now,” he complained.

a. _____________

b. _____________

5. Three people had saw the robbery take place, but no one be sure what the robber looked like.

a. _____________

b. _____________

Name _____________________________________________________________ Section _____________________ Date ___________________

Score: (Number right) _________ x 10 = _______________ %

Irregular Verbs: test 3

Read each sentence below. Then choose the correct verb, fill in the blank, and write the letter of your choice in the space provided in the margin.

_____ 1. Sandy has _____________ to a counselor every week since her parents’ divorce.a. went c. gob. wented d. gone

_____ 2. My grandmother has ______________ our family history. a. writed c. writtenb. wrote d. write

_____ 3. Our neighbors ______________ us crazy when they first moved in, but now we’re good friends. a. drived c. drivenb. drove d. droved

_____ 4. How long have you and Stephanie ______________ each other?a. knew c. knowedb. known d. knewed

_____ 5. The lucky woman who ___________ the home run ball got it autographed by the famous baseball player. a. catched c. caughtb. catch d. caughted

_____ 6. In the middle of dinner, Stacy gasped, “I ______________ I was supposed to baby-sit tonight!” a. forget c. forgottedb. forgotten d. forgot

_____ 7. Trying to avoid catching a cold, everyone in the family ______________ extra vitamin C every day last winter.a. take c. takedb. took d. tooked

_____ 8. The kindergarten teacher was not thrilled when Keith ______________ a live worm to class.a. bring c. broughtb. brang d. bringed

_____ 9. The boss______________ everyone to plan to work late Thursday night.a. tell c. toldb. telled d. tolded

_____ 10. Only the people who had ______________ the first movie understood the sequel. a. seen c. seedb. saw d. sawed

Name _____________________________________________________________ Section _____________________ Date ___________________

Score: (Number right) _________ x 10 = _______________ %

Irregular Verbs: test 4

Read each sentence below. Then choose the correct verb, fill in the blank and write the letter of your choice in the space provided in the margin.

_____ 1. Last July, Ivan ______________ an American citizen.a. become c. becameb. becomed d. becamed

_____ 2. The tiny, cute puppy has ______________ into a ninety-pound monster.a. grow c. growedb. grew d. grown

_____ 3. Last night, Natalie ______________ nearly four hours on homework.a. spent c. spendedb. spends d. spend

_____ 4. Most people who traveled to Alaska during the Gold Rush _____________ little or no gold.a. finded c. findb. founded d. found

_____ 5. My father has ______________ everything he can to keep our car in good shape. a. did c. dob. done d. doned

_____ 6. I had ______________ to do the assignment.a. forget c. forgotb. forgotten d. forgetted

_____ 7. My family had ______________ the whole pie before I got home. a. eat c. eatenb. ate d. eated

_____ 8. The millionaire businessman ______________ all his money to charity.a. left c. leftedb. leave d. leaved

_____ 9. Juanita has ______________ the color gray for her bridesmaids’ dresses.a. chose c. chooseb. choosed d. chosen

_____ 10. The story was about a man who foolishly __________ some money in an old trash barrel.a. hide c. hidedb. hid d. hides

learn / learnt / learnt leave / left / left lend / lent / lent

let / let / let lie / lay / lain light / lit / lit

lose / lost / lost make / made / made

mean / meant / meant meet / met / met pay / paid / paid

put / put / put read / read / read ride / rode / ridden ring / rang / rung rise / rose / risen

run / ran / run say / said / said see / saw / seen sell / sold / sold

send / sent / sent set / set / set

shake / shook / shaken shine / shone / shone

shoot / shot / shot show / showed / shown shrink / shrank / shrunk

shut / shut / shut sing / sang sung sink / sank / sunk

sit / sat / sat sleep / slept / slept

slide / slid / slid sling / slung / slung smell / smelt / smelt

speak / spoke / spoken spend / spent / spent

spit / spat / spat split / split / split

spread / spread / spread spring / sprang / sprung

stand / stood / stood steal / stole / stolen stick / stuck / stuck sting / stung / stung stink / stank / stunk

strike / struck / struck swear / swore / sworn sweep / swept / swept swim / swam / swum

swing / swung / swung take / took / taken

teach / taught / taught tear / tore / torn tell / told / told

think / thought / thought throw / threw / thrown

understand / understood / understood wake / woke / woken wear / wore / worn weep / wept / wept

win / won / won write / wrote / written

arise / arose / arisenbecome / became / become

begin / began / begun bend / bent / bent

bet / bet / bet bind/ bound / bound

bite / bit / bitten bleed / bled / bled blow / blew / blown

break / broke / broken breed / bred / bred

bring / brought / brought build / built / built burn / burn / burnt burst / burst / burst

buy / bought / bought catch / caught / caught

choose / chose / chosen cling / clung / clung come / came / come

cost / cost / cost creep / crept / crept

cut / cut / cut deal / dealt / dealt

dig / dug / dug do / did / done

draw / drew / drawn dream / dreamt / dreamt

drink / drank / drunk drive / drove / driven dwell / dwelt / dwelt

eat / ate / eaten fall / fell / fallen feed / fed / fed feel / felt / felt

fight / fought / fought find / found / found

flee / fled / fled fling / flung / flung fly / flew / flown

forbid / forbade / forbidden forget / forgot / forgotten

forgive / forgave / forgiven freeze / froze / frozen

get / got / got give / gave / given go / went / gone

grind / ground / ground grow / grew / grown hang / hung / hung

have / had / had hear / heard / heard hide / hid / hidden

hit / hit / hit hold / held / held

hurt / hurt / hurt keep / kept / kept

kneel / knelt / knelt know / knew / known

lay / laid / laid lead / led / led

lean / leant / leant leap / leapt / leapt

Name:_______________ Date:_____________ 

Irregular Verbs 

Quiz 

Infinitive   Simple Past   Past Participle 

be   ________________  __________________ 

__________________  bore   __________________ 

beat   _________________  __________________ 

__________________  _________________  become 

begin   _________________  __________________ 

__________________  bit   __________________ 

blow   _________________  blown 

__________________  _________________  broken 

__________________  brought   __________________ 

__________________  _________________  built 

burn   _________________  __________________ 

__________________  burst   __________________ 

buy   _________________  __________________ 

can   _________________  __________________ 

catch   _________________  __________________ 

__________________  _________________  chosen 

__________________   _________________  come 

__________________  cost   __________________ 

__________________  _________________  cut 

__________________  _________________  dealt 

__________________  dug   _________________ 

do   _________________  _________________ 

__________________  drew   _________________ 

dream   _________________   _________________ 

__________________  _________________  drunk 

drive   _________________  _________________ 

__________________  _________________  eaten 

__________________  fell     _________________ 

feed     _________________  _________________ 

__________________  felt     _________________ 

__________________  _________________  fought 

find     _________________  _________________ 

__________________  _________________  fled 

__________________  _________________  flown 

forbid     _________________   ________________ 

__________________  _________________  forgotten 

__________________  _________________  frozen 

get     _________________  ________________ 

__________________  _________________  given 

__________________  _________________  gone 

grow     _________________  ________________ 

__________________  _________________  hung 

__________________  had     ________________ 

__________________  _________________  heard 

hide     _________________  ________________ 

__________________  hit     ________________ 

__________________  held     ________________ 

hurt     _________________  ________________ 

__________________  _________________  kept 

__________________  knew     ________________ 

__________________  ________________   laid 

lead     ________________  ________________ 

learn     ________________   ________________ 

_________________  left     ________________ 

_________________  lent     ________________ 

_________________  let     ________________ 

_________________  lay     ________________ 

light     ________________  ________________ 

_________________  ________________  lost 

_________________  _______________  made 

mean     _______________  ________________ 

_________________  _______________   met 

_________________  paid     ________________ 

put     _______________   ________________ 

_________________   _______________   read 

_________________  rode     ________________ 

_________________  _______________  rung 

rise     _______________  ________________ 

run     _______________  ________________ 

________________  said     ________________ 

see     _______________  ________________ 

________________  _______________  sought 

sell     _______________  ________________ 

________________  _______________   sent 

________________  _______________  set 

sew     _______________  _______________ 

________________  _______________  shaken 

________________  shone     _______________ 

________________  shot     _______________ 

show     _______________  _______________ 

________________  shut     _______________ 

________________  _______________  sung 

________________  sat     _______________ 

________________  slept     _______________ 

smell     _______________   _______________ 

________________  spoke     _______________ 

spell     _______________  _______________ 

________________  _______________  spent 

________________  split     _______________ 

spoil     ________________  _______________ 

________________  spread     _______________ 

________________  ________________   sprung 

________________  ________________  stood 

________________  stole     _______________ 

stick     ________________  _______________ 

sting     ________________  _______________ 

________________  ________________  stunk 

________________  struck     _______________ 

swear     ________________  _______________ 

_________________  swept     _______________ 

_________________  ________________  swum 

take     ________________  _______________ 

_________________  ________________  taught 

_________________  ________________  torn 

tell     ________________  _______________ 

________________  thought     _______________ 

________________  threw     _______________ 

________________  ________________  understood 

wake     ________________  _______________ 

________________  ________________  worn 

________________  won     _______________ 

write     ________________  _______________ 

 

 

Total:_________________________                Mark:___________ 

Rules: Make a PAST sentence with the words in the square and use a time expression.

Expressions of time: This morning Last night Yesterday Last week Last month Last year

For example: I failed an exam last year.

Start  

Lose my cell phone

Be very tired

Watch TV

Miss the bus

Fail an exam

Have lunch

Get up very late

Listen to music

Go  back  2  

Forget my teacher’s birthday

Go  ahead  2  

Work out Bake a cake

Go to a museum Have to

walk home

Trade  places  

Take a bath

Go hiking

Be late

Go shopping

Go  back  4  

Use  Two  Coins:  

Heads,  Heads  =  Move  1  

Tails,  Tails  =  Move  2  

Heads,  Tails  =  Move  3  

Finish