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Irregular Verbs

Learn the past forms of common verbs that don’t end in -ed.

Beginner 2 min read

What Is It?

Irregular verbs don’t form the past simple and past participle with -ed. Instead they change in different ways: go – went – gone, eat – ate – eaten.

Why Do English Speakers Use It?

Most of the verbs we use every day are irregular. Knowing the top 50 makes your past tenses accurate.

When to Use It

Past simple (column 2): Yesterday I went to the gym.
Present perfect (column 3): I have gone there many times.
Passive voice (column 3): The report was written by Joe.

When NOT to Use It

Don’t add -ed to irregular verbs (“goed”, “buyed”), and don’t use column 2 after have/has (“have went”).

Sentence Structure

Base	Past simple	Past participle
go / see / take	went / saw / took	gone / seen / taken
buy / think / bring	bought / thought / brought	bought / thought / brought
cut / put / let	cut / put / let	cut / put / let

Grammar Rules

Group them by pattern: A-A-A (cut-cut-cut), A-B-B (buy-bought-bought), A-B-C (write-wrote-written).
Past simple uses column 2; perfect tenses and passives use column 3.
In questions and negatives with did, use the base form: Did you see?
“Be” is the most irregular: was / were – been.

Real-Life Examples

I bought a new phone last week.
Have you seen my keys?
She took the bus to work.
We have known each other for years.

Common Learner Mistakes

I have saw that film.I have seen that film.
He teached us English.He taught us English.
They have went home.They have gone home.

Quick Memory Tip

Learn five irregular verbs a day by saying all three forms out loud in a sentence: “Today I write, yesterday I wrote, I have written.”

Real Conversation

Monica: Have you eaten lunch yet?

Joe: Yes, I ate at the canteen. I had chicken curry.

Monica: Lucky you! I forgot to bring mine.

Interactive Practice

Pick an answer to check your understanding.

She has ___ three books this year.

Final Mini Quiz

One last check before you mark the lesson complete.