Past Simple — Common Irregular Verbs

Hook

Not every verb follows the -ed rule. “Go” doesn’t become “goed”: it becomes went. The most common verbs in English are irregular, so learning the top twenty gives you most of what you need to tell a story.

Notice

  • I went to the market. (go)
  • She ate breakfast at 8. (eat)
  • They saw a great film. (see)
  • We had a party. (have)
  • He bought a new phone. (buy)
  • I didn’t go out. Did you see it?

Look at the last line. Is the verb irregular after didn’t and did?

Rule

BasePastBasePast
gowentcomecame
havehadgetgot
dodidmakemade
seesawtaketook
eatatedrinkdrank
buyboughtsaysaid
writewrotereadread (said “red”)
givegaveknowknew
meetmetsleepslept
leaveleftfindfound

Negatives and questions use didn’t / did + base verb, so the irregular form disappears: Did you go? I didn’t eat.

Tip: learn them in sound groups: bought / brought / thought · drank / sang / swam · took / shook.

Watch Out

  • ✗ I goed to school. → ✓ I went to school.
  • ✗ Did you went home? → ✓ Did you go home?
  • ✗ I didn’t ate lunch. → ✓ I didn’t eat lunch.
  • ✗ He buyed a car. → ✓ He bought a car.

Practice

  1. Complete: I ___ (go) to the park yesterday.
  2. Complete: She ___ (eat) pizza last night.
  3. Complete: They ___ (see) a good film.
  4. Complete: He ___ (buy) a new phone.
  5. Complete: We ___ (have) a great time.
  6. Correct it: “Did you went home?”
  7. Correct it: “I didn’t ate lunch.”
  8. Past of write and meet?
Show the answers
  1. went
  2. ate
  3. saw
  4. bought
  5. had
  6. Did you go home?
  7. I didn’t eat lunch.
  8. wrote, met

Your Turn

Write eight sentences about last week using eight different irregular verbs from the table. Then cover the “Past” column and test yourself.

Connect

Our Word Chain Challenge is a quick word game: try chaining past forms (went → took → knew…).

Play Word Chain Challenge →

Our Grammar Quiz includes irregular past forms at A1.

Try our Grammar Quiz →

CEFR A1 — Reading / Writing: I can recognise and use common irregular past-tense verbs.

Azizul Hakim
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