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Polseguera

English Grammar Step by Step

 

     UNIT 8
     IRREGULAR VERBS

 

   For a more visual version, click here.


INFINITIVE
SIMPLE PAST
PAST PARTICIPLE

abide

abode, abided

abode, abided

 

arise

arose

arisen

 

awake

awoke

awoken

 

be

was, were

been

 

bear

bore

borne, born

 

beat

beat

beaten

 

become

became

become

 

befall

befell

befallen

 

beget

begot

begotten

 

begin

began

begun

 

behold

beheld

beheld

 

bend

bent

bent

 

beseech

besought, beseeched

besought, beseeched

 

beset

beset

beset

 

bespeak

bespoke

bespoke(n)

 

bestride

bestrode

bestridden

 

bet

bet, betted

bet, betted

 

bid

bid, bade

bid, bidden

 

bind

bound

bound

 

bite

bit

bitten

 

bleed

bled

bled

 

blow

blew

blown

 

break

broke

broken

 

breed

bred

bred

 

bring

brought

brought

 

broadcast

broadcast

broadcast

 

build

built

built

 

burn

burnt, burned

burnt, burned

 

burst

burst

burst

 

buy

bought

bought

 

cast

cast

cast

 

catch

caught

caught

 

choose

chose

chosen

 

cling

clung

clung

 

come

came

come

 

cost

cost, costed

cost, costed

 

countersink

countersank

countersunk

 

creep

crept

crept

 

crossbreed

crossbred

crossbred

 

cut

cut

cut

 

deal

dealt

dealt

 

dig

dug

dug

 

do

did

done

 

draw

drew

drawn

 

dream

dreamt, dreamed

dreamt, dreamed

 

drink

drank

drunk

 

drive

drove

driven

 

dwell

dwelt, dwelled

dwelt, dwelled

 

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

 

forbear

forbore

forborne

 

forbid

forbad(e)

forbidden

 

forecast

forecast, forecasted

forecast, forecasted

 

forego

forewent

forgone

 

foresee

foresaw

foreseen

 

foretell

foretold

foretold

 

forget

forgot

forgotten

 

forgive

forgave

forgiven

 

forgo

forwent

forgone

 

forsake

forsook

forsaken

 

forswear

forswore

forsworn

 

freeze

froze

frozen

 

get

got

got

 

give

gave

given

 

go

went

gone

 

grind

ground

ground

 

grow

grew

grown

 

hang

hung, hanged

hung, hanged

 

have

had

had

 

hear

heard

heard

 

heave

hove, heaved

hove, heaved

 

hide

hid

hidden

 

hit

hit

hit

 

hold

held

held

 

hurt

hurt

hurt

 

inlay

inlaid

inlaid

 

interweave

interwove

interwoven

 

keep

kept

kept

 

kneel

knelt, kneeled

knelt, kneeled

 

knit

knitted, knit

knitted, knit

 

know

knew

known

 

lade

laded

laden

 

lay

laid

laid

 

lead

led

led

 

lean

leant, leaned

leant, leaned

 

leap

leapt, leaped

leapt, leaped

 

learn

learnt, learned

learnt, learned

 

leave

left

left

 

lend

lent

lent

 

let

let

let

 

lie

lay

lain

 

light

lit, lighted1

lit, lighted

 

lip-read

lip-read

lip-read

 

lose

lost

lost

 

make

made

made

 

mean

meant

meant

 

meet

met

met

 

miscast

miscast

miscast

 

misdeal

misdealt

misdealt

 

mishear

misheard

misheard

 

mishit

mishit

mishit

 

mislay

mislaid

mislaid

 

mislead

misled

misled

 

misread

misread

misread

 

misspell

misspelt, misspelled

misspelt, misspelled

 

misspend

misspent

misspent

 

mistake

mistook

mistaken

 

misunderstand

misunderstood

misunderstood

 

outbid

outbid

outbid

 

outdo

outdid

outdone

 

outgrow

outgrew

outgrown

 

outrun

outran

outrun

 

outsell

outsold

outsold

 

outshine

outshone

outshone

 

overbid

overbid

overbid

 

overcome

overcame

overcome

 

overdo

overdid

overdone

 

overdraw

overdrew

overdrawn

 

overeat

overate

overeaten

 

overfeed

overfed

overfed

 

overfly

overflew

overflown

 

overhang

overhung

overhung

 

overhear

overheard

overheard

 

overlay

overlaid

overlaid

 

overpay

overpaid

overpaid

 

override

overrode

overridden

 

overrun

overran

overrun

 

oversee

oversaw

overseen

 

oversell

oversold

oversold

 

overshoot

overshot

overshot

 

oversleep

overslept

overslept

 

overspend

overspent

overspent

 

overtake

overtook

overtaken

 

overthrow

overthrew

overthrown

 

overwind

overwound

overwound

 

partake

partook

partaken

 

pay

paid

paid

 

prepay

prepaid

prepaid

 

proofread

proofread

proofread

 

put

put

put

 

quit

quit, quitted2

quit, quitted

 

read

read

read

 

rebind

rebound

rebound

 

rebuild

rebuilt

rebuilt

 

recast

recast

recast

 

redo

redid

redone

 

redraw

redrew

redrawn

 

remake

remade

remade

 

rend

rent

rent

 

repay

repaid

repaid

 

rerun

reran

rerun

 

resell

resold

resold

 

reset

reset

reset

 

resit

resat

resat

 

retake

retook

retaken

 

retell

retold

retold

 

rethink

rethought

rethought

 

rewind

rewound

rewound

 

rewrite

rewrote

rewritten

 

rid

rid

rid

 

ride

rode

ridden

 

ring

rang

rung

 

rise

rose

risen

 

run

ran

run

 

saw

sawed

sawn

 

say

said

said

 

see

saw

seen

 

seek

sought

sought

 

sell

sold

sold

 

send

sent

sent

 

set

set

set

 

sew

sewed

sewn

 

shake

shook

shaken

 

shed

shed

shed

 

shine

shone, shined

shone, shined

 

shoe

shod

shod

 

shoot

shot

shot

 

show

showed

shown

 

shrink

shrank

shrunk

 

shut

shut

shut

 

sing

sang

sung

 

sink

sank

sunk

 

sit

sat

sat

 

slay

slew

slain

 

sleep

slept

slept

 

slide

slid

slid

 

sling

slung

slung

 

slink

slunk

slunk

 

slit

slit

slit

 

smell

smelt, smelled

smelt, smelled

 

smite

smote

smitten

 

speak

spoke

spoken

 

speed

speeded, sped

speeded, sped

 

spell

spelt, spelled

spelt, spelled

 

spend

spent

spent

 

spill

spilt, spilled

spilt, spilled

 

spin

spun

spun

 

spit

spat

spat

 

split

split

split

 

spoil

spoilt, spoiled

spoilt, spoiled

 

spread

spread

spread

 

spring

sprang

sprung

 

stand

stood

stood

 

steal

stole

stolen

 

stick

stuck

stuck

 

sting

stung

stung

 

stink

stank, stunk (US)

stunk

 

strew

strewed

strewn, strewed

 

stride

strode

stridden

 

strike

struck

struck

 

string

strung

strung

 

strive

strove

striven

 

swear

swore

sworn

 

sweep

swept

swept

 

swell

swelled

swollen

 

swim

swam

swum

 

swing

swung

swung

 

take

took

taken

 

teach

taught

taught

 

tear

tore

torn

 

tell

told

told

 

think

thought

thought

 

throw

threw

thrown

 

thrust

thrust

thrust

 

tread

trod

trodden

 

unbend

unbent

unbent

 

unbind

unbound

unbound

 

underbid

underbid

underbid

 

undercut

undercut

undercut

 

underfeed

underfed

underfed

 

undergo

underwent

undergone

 

underlie

underlay

underlain

 

underpay

underpaid

underpaid

 

undersell

undersold

undersold

 

understand

understood

understood

 

undertake

undertook

undertaken

 

underwrite

underwrote

underwritten

 

undo

undid

undone

 

unfreeze

unfroze

unfrozen

 

unmake

unmade

unmade

 

unsay

unsaid

unsaid

 

unwind

unwound

unwound

 

uphold

upheld

upheld

 

upset

upset

upset

 

wake

woke

woken

 

waylay

waylaid

waylaid

 

wear

wore

worn

 

weave

wove

woven

 

wed

wed, wedded

wed, wedded

 

weep

wept

wept

 

win

won

won

 

wind

wound

wound

 

withdraw

withdrew

withdrawn

 

withhold

withheld

withheld

 

withstand

withstood

withstood

 

wring

wrung

wrung

 

write

wrote

written

 

   Remarks:

a  The verb be has two forms in the simple past tense: I, he, she, it→was; you, we, they→were. For further information, see unit unit 6, part 1, section 2.

b  The past participle of get is got in British English, but gotten in American English.

c  A verb such undergo has two elements under + go. In this case, we form the simple past and the past participle in the same way as the verb go without under:
go→went→gone
undergo→underwent→undergone

   An exception to this rule is get:

get→got→got
forget→forgot→forgotten
But in America, people say gotten, as we have already seen above.

d  Burn, dream, dwell, kneel, lean, leap, learn, smell, spell, spill and spoil can be regular or irregular. In British English, we usually prefer the irregular form (burnt, dreamt, and so forth). Americans use the regular ones, that is to say, the ones with -ed. As we have seen above, a verb such as misspell should be treated as spell, that is, Americans would say misspelled; but British people, misspelt.

   They are also pronounced differently:

   dreamt   /dremt/
   dreamed   /dri:md/
   (Also kneel, lean and leap. Since leap ends in a voiceless sound, -ed is pronounced /t/: leaped (/li:pt/), but leapt (/lept/).)
   spelt   /spelt/
   spelled   /speld/
   (Also burn, dwell, learn, smell, spill and spoil.)

e  Abide, cost, hang, heave, knit, shine, speed, and a few other verbs, can be regular or irregular, according to the sense we use them. Bid has two forms; each of them with different meanings. If you are in doubt about which form to use, look the verb up in a dictionary.

f  Lie is regular when it means "not to tell the truth", but it is irregular when its meaning is "to be in or put your body into a horizontal position":
     She lied to me. (= She didn't tell me the truth.)
     She lay down a bit, as she felt sick. (= She put her body into a horizontal position.)

g  The infinitive of the verb read is pronounced /ri:d/; the simple past and the past participle, /red/.

h  Note that the past participle of bear in be born: He was born in 1920, that is, He was brought into the world in 1920.

i  Modal verbs are not included in this list because they are defective, that is, they have not all the forms. For instance, we may say I can play football (present ability), or I could play football (past ability); but we may not say I have could play football since I was a child; we have to say I have been able to play football since I was a child. For further information about these verbs, see unit 22.

____________________

1  In British English, the simple past and the past participle is usually lit. Lighted is used before nouns: a lighted cigarette.

2  Especially in British English.

Author: Miquel Molina i Diez

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   Contents

   Introduction

   Notes

1  Negative and interrogative sentences (Page 2 and the key)

2  Short answers (Page 2 and the key)

3  Question tags (Page 2 and the key)

4  Questions and exclamations (Page 2 and the key)

5  So, neither, nor, either (the key)

6  Be, used to, would, be/get/become used to, dare, have, get, become, grow, go, turn, fall and feel (Page 2 and the key)

7  Verb tenses: forms (Page 2 and the key)

8  Irregular verbs

9  Verb tenses: uses (Page 2, Page 3, Page 4, Page 5 and the key)

10 Personal pronouns, possessives and reflexive pronouns (Page 2 and the key)

11 The genitive case (the key)

12 Singular and plural nouns (Page 2 and the key)

13 Gender (the key)

14 A, an, some, any, no, not, none, each, every and the; compounds of some, any, no and every (Page 2, Page 3 and the key)

15 Neither, not...either, none, not...any, both and all (the key)

16 A few, few, a lot, lots, a little, little, many, much, no and plenty (the key)

17 Enough, too, so and such (the key)

18 Comparative and superlative sentences (Page 2 and the key)

19 Adjective order (the key)

20 Relative clauses (Page 2 and the key)

21 Do and make (the key)

22 Modal verbs (Page 2, Page 3 and the key)

23 Infinitives, gerunds and present participles (Page 2 and the key)

24 Conditional sentences (Page 2 and the key)

25 Passive sentences (the key)

26 Reported speech (Page 2 and the key)

27 Purpose (the key)

28 Word order (the key)

29 Inversion (the key)

30 Connectors (Page 2 and the key)

31 Prepositions (Page 2, Page 3 and the key)

32 Phrasal verbs (the key)

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