Irregular Verbs

Introduction

In this chapter, we will learn about irregular verbs. Irregular verbs are important because they do not follow the standard pattern of forming past tense and past participles. Understanding irregular verbs helps us construct sentences accurately in different tenses.

What Are Irregular Verbs?

Irregular verbs are verbs that do not add “-ed” or “-d” to their base form to make the past tense or past participle. Instead, they change in different ways.

Example:

• Go becomes went in the past tense and gone in the past participle.

Key Points

• Do Not Follow a Pattern: Irregular verbs do not follow the regular pattern of adding “-ed” or “-d” to form past tense and past participles.
• Unpredictable Changes: Their forms change in different and sometimes unpredictable ways.
• Must Be Memorized: Since they do not follow a pattern, irregular verbs need to be memorized.

Examples

Go

• Base Form: go
• Past Tense: went
• Past Participle: gone
• Example: She went to the store. / She has gone to the store.

Eat

• Base Form: eat
• Past Tense: ate
• Past Participle: eaten
• Example: He ate an apple. / He has eaten an apple.

Speak

• Base Form: speak
• Past Tense: spoke
• Past Participle: spoken
• Example: They spoke about the project. / They have spoken about the project.

Take

• Base Form: take
• Past Tense: took
• Past Participle: taken
• Example: I took a picture. / I have taken a picture.

Write

• Base Form: write
• Past Tense: wrote
• Past Participle: written
• Example: She wrote a letter. / She has written a letter.

List of Common Irregular Verbs

Here are some common irregular verbs:

Examples of Irregular Verbs in a Sentence

Each of these sentences uses irregular verbs in different tenses. You’ll see that each verb changes its form in unpredictable ways.

Examples:

• They went to the park. (past tense)
• She ate an apple. (past tense)
• He has seen that movie. (past participle)
• She took the bus to school. (past tense)
• He has written a letter. (past participle)
• The vase broke when it fell. (past tense)
• She has chosen a new book. (past participle)
• He drank a glass of water. (past tense)
• She has driven the car before. (past participle)
• They have spoken about the plan. (past participle)

Practice

Let’s practice identifying irregular verbs and their forms! Find the irregular verbs and their past tense or past participle forms in each sentence below.

1. She went to the store.
2. He has eaten breakfast already.
3. They saw a shooting star.
4. She took the train to work.
5. He has written a poem.
6. The glass broke into pieces.
7. She chose a red dress.
8. He has drunk his tea.
9. They drove to the beach.
10. He has spoken to the manager.

Answers:

1. Went
2. Eaten
3. Saw
4. Took
5. Written
6. Broke
7. Chose
8. Drunk
9. Drove
10. Spoken

Conclusion

Irregular verbs do not follow a consistent pattern when forming their past tense and past participle. Each irregular verb has its own unique forms that must be memorized, as they do not conform to the standard “-ed” or “-d” ending rules that regular verbs do.