Irregular verbs

Regular verbs make their past with ⟦-ed⟧: ⟦play → played⟧. Irregular verbs don't: ⟦go → went⟧, ⟦see → saw⟧. Every verb has three forms: the base form, the past simple and the past participle (used after ⟦have⟧ and ⟦has⟧). For irregular verbs you learn the three forms together.

Key facts

  • The three forms: base, past simple, past participle: ⟦go → went → gone⟧, ⟦see → saw → seen⟧, ⟦eat → ate → eaten⟧.
  • Use the past simple for a finished time in the past: ⟦Yesterday I went to the park.⟧
  • Use the past participle after ⟦have⟧ or ⟦has⟧: ⟦She has written a letter.⟧
  • Some verbs have the same past simple and participle: ⟦buy → bought → bought⟧, ⟦think → thought → thought⟧, ⟦make → made → made⟧.
  • Some never change: ⟦put → put → put⟧, ⟦cut → cut → cut⟧. Some follow a pattern: ⟦sing → sang → sung⟧, ⟦drink → drank → drunk⟧, ⟦swim → swam → swum⟧.

Worked examples

Example 1

Complete: ⟦Last week we ___ (fly) to Dubai.⟧

  1. ⟦Last week⟧ is a finished time, so we need the past simple.
  2. ⟦fly⟧ is irregular: ⟦fly → flew → flown⟧.
  3. ⟦Last week we flew to Dubai.⟧

Answer: ⟦flew⟧

Example 2

Complete: ⟦She has ___ (eat) her lunch.⟧

  1. After ⟦has⟧ we use the past participle.
  2. ⟦eat → ate → eaten⟧, so the third form is ⟦eaten⟧.
  3. ⟦She has eaten her lunch.⟧

Answer: ⟦eaten⟧

Example 3

Which is right: ⟦I buyed a jacket.⟧ or ⟦I bought a jacket.⟧?

  1. ⟦buy⟧ is irregular, so it doesn't add ⟦-ed⟧.
  2. ⟦buy → bought → bought⟧: ⟦I bought a jacket.⟧

Answer: ⟦I bought a jacket.⟧