Welcome to the past tense—where verbs transform to tell stories of what happened before now. But not all verbs play by the same rules. Some are super predictable and follow a nice, tidy pattern, while others like to break the mold and do their own thing. In other words, we have two groups of verbs: the regular ones (the rule-followers) and the irregular ones (the rebels).
In this guide, we’ll walk you through the difference between regular and irregular verbs in the past tense, show you how to use them, and offer a few practical tips to make everything easier to remember. By the end, you’ll be ready to conquer the past tense like a pro!
1. Regular Verbs: The Rule-Followers
Regular verbs are like the organized students in class—they do exactly what they’re supposed to do. In the past tense, all you need to do is add -ed to the end of the verb, and you’re good to go. No surprises!
Forming the Past Tense:
- Base verb + -ed
Examples:
- Walk → Walked
- Play → Played
- Talk → Talked
Practical Tip:
For most regular verbs, you simply add -ed. Easy, right? But there are a few spelling rules to remember:
- If the verb ends in -e, just add -d.
- Love → Loved
- If the verb ends in a consonant + y, change the y to i and add -ed.
- Cry → Cried
- For short verbs with a single vowel between two consonants, double the final consonant before adding -ed.
- Plan → Planned
2. Irregular Verbs: The Rule-Breakers
Irregular verbs are a bit trickier. They don’t follow the -ed rule, so their past tense forms can change completely, sometimes in ways you wouldn’t expect. These are the verbs that like to keep us on our toes!
Forming the Past Tense:
- Irregular verbs have their own unique forms for the past tense, and you’ll need to memorize them.
Examples:
- Go → Went
- Buy → Bought
- See → Saw
Practical Tip:
There’s no magic formula for irregular verbs. You just have to learn them! But here’s some good news—many irregular verbs are commonly used, so you’ll see them a lot and get used to them faster than you think.
3. Regular vs. Irregular: How to Spot the Difference
Now you might be wondering, “How do I know if a verb is regular or irregular?” Good question! The best way to know is to practice and memorize the irregular verbs. But here are a couple of handy hints:
- Regular verbs follow the predictable -ed pattern in the past tense.
- Play → Played
- Irregular verbs don’t follow this rule. Their past forms are different, sometimes drastically.
- Run → Ran
Practical Tip:
If you’re unsure whether a verb is regular or irregular, it’s okay to check a list or dictionary. Over time, you’ll get a feel for which verbs break the rules.
4. Common Mistakes with Regular and Irregular Verbs
Even though regular verbs are predictable, and irregular verbs are quirky, there are some common pitfalls that ESL learners often fall into. Let’s look at a few of them and how to avoid making these mistakes.
Mistake #1: Using “ed” for Irregular Verbs
It’s easy to think you can just add -ed to every verb in the past tense, but that won’t work with irregular verbs.
- Incorrect: Yesterday, I goed to the store.
- Correct: Yesterday, I went to the store.
Mistake #2: Forgetting to Double the Final Consonant for Some Regular Verbs
With certain regular verbs, you need to double the final consonant before adding -ed, especially if it’s a short verb with a single vowel between two consonants.
- Incorrect: He planed the trip.
- Correct: He planned the trip.
Mistake #3: Using the Present Form in the Past
It’s easy to forget that the past tense form of irregular verbs is often completely different from the present tense.
- Incorrect: She buy a new car last week.
- Correct: She bought a new car last week.
5. Quick Recap Table: Regular vs. Irregular Verbs
| Verb Type | Past Tense Forming Rule | Examples |
|---|---|---|
| Regular Verbs | Add -ed to the base verb | Play → Played |
| Irregular Verbs | Unique past tense forms | Go → Went, See → Saw, Buy → Bought |
| Special Spelling Rules | Change -y to -ied, double consonants | Cry → Cried, Plan → Planned |
6. Practical Tips for Mastering the Past Tense
Here are a few tips to help you navigate regular and irregular verbs in the past tense:
- Tip #1: When in doubt, check! If you’re unsure whether a verb is regular or irregular, look it up. You’ll start to recognize patterns as you practice more.
- Tip #2: Practice common irregular verbs. The more you use irregular verbs in conversations, the easier it will be to remember their past forms. Start with everyday verbs like go, eat, see, buy, and get.
- Tip #3: Don’t forget the spelling rules for regular verbs! Remember to change -y to -ied and double consonants when needed.
Conclusion: You’ve Got This!
And there you have it—your guide to conquering regular and irregular verbs in the past tense! Now you can confidently tell stories about what happened yesterday, last week, or years ago.
To recap:
- Regular verbs are straightforward: just add -ed.
- Irregular verbs are a little more rebellious—you’ll need to memorize their past forms, but with practice, they’ll become second nature.
- Watch out for common mistakes like adding -ed to irregular verbs or forgetting spelling rules for regular verbs.
Keep practicing, and soon you’ll be turning verbs into their past forms without a second thought. Happy verbing!
Top 200 Common Regular Verbs
Here’s a table of 200 common regular verbs with their base form, past tense, and past participle. These verbs follow the simple rule of adding -ed (or sometimes -d or -ied) to form both the past tense and past participle.
| Base Form | Past Tense | Past Participle |
|---|---|---|
| accept | accepted | accepted |
| achieve | achieved | achieved |
| add | added | added |
| admire | admired | admired |
| agree | agreed | agreed |
| allow | allowed | allowed |
| answer | answered | answered |
| appear | appeared | appeared |
| arrive | arrived | arrived |
| ask | asked | asked |
| avoid | avoided | avoided |
| bake | baked | baked |
| behave | behaved | behaved |
| believe | believed | believed |
| belong | belonged | belonged |
| borrow | borrowed | borrowed |
| brush | brushed | brushed |
| call | called | called |
| cancel | canceled | canceled |
| carry | carried | carried |
| change | changed | changed |
| clean | cleaned | cleaned |
| close | closed | closed |
| collect | collected | collected |
| compare | compared | compared |
| complain | complained | complained |
| complete | completed | completed |
| consider | considered | considered |
| cook | cooked | cooked |
| copy | copied | copied |
| correct | corrected | corrected |
| count | counted | counted |
| create | created | created |
| dance | danced | danced |
| decide | decided | decided |
| deliver | delivered | delivered |
| demand | demanded | demanded |
| depend | depended | depended |
| describe | described | described |
| destroy | destroyed | destroyed |
| develop | developed | developed |
| disagree | disagreed | disagreed |
| discover | discovered | discovered |
| divide | divided | divided |
| dress | dressed | dressed |
| drop | dropped | dropped |
| earn | earned | earned |
| educate | educated | educated |
| end | ended | ended |
| enjoy | enjoyed | enjoyed |
| enter | entered | entered |
| erase | erased | erased |
| escape | escaped | escaped |
| examine | examined | examined |
| exist | existed | existed |
| explain | explained | explained |
| express | expressed | expressed |
| fail | failed | failed |
| fear | feared | feared |
| fill | filled | filled |
| finish | finished | finished |
| fix | fixed | fixed |
| follow | followed | followed |
| form | formed | formed |
| guess | guessed | guessed |
| happen | happened | happened |
| hate | hated | hated |
| help | helped | helped |
| hope | hoped | hoped |
| hunt | hunted | hunted |
| imagine | imagined | imagined |
| improve | improved | improved |
| include | included | included |
| increase | increased | increased |
| inform | informed | informed |
| insist | insisted | insisted |
| invite | invited | invited |
| join | joined | joined |
| jump | jumped | jumped |
| kill | killed | killed |
| knock | knocked | knocked |
| learn | learned | learned |
| like | liked | liked |
| listen | listened | listened |
| live | lived | lived |
| look | looked | looked |
| love | loved | loved |
| manage | managed | managed |
| mark | marked | marked |
| marry | married | married |
| measure | measured | measured |
| miss | missed | missed |
| move | moved | moved |
| need | needed | needed |
| notice | noticed | noticed |
| obey | obeyed | obeyed |
| offer | offered | offered |
| open | opened | opened |
| order | ordered | ordered |
| organize | organized | organized |
| paint | painted | painted |
| pass | passed | passed |
| plan | planned | planned |
| play | played | played |
| prefer | preferred | preferred |
| prepare | prepared | prepared |
| present | presented | presented |
| press | pressed | pressed |
| promise | promised | promised |
| protect | protected | protected |
| pull | pulled | pulled |
| push | pushed | pushed |
| raise | raised | raised |
| reach | reached | reached |
| realize | realized | realized |
| receive | received | received |
| recommend | recommended | recommended |
| reduce | reduced | reduced |
| reflect | reflected | reflected |
| refuse | refused | refused |
| relax | relaxed | relaxed |
| remember | remembered | remembered |
| remove | removed | removed |
| repeat | repeated | repeated |
| reply | replied | replied |
| report | reported | reported |
| rescue | rescued | rescued |
| return | returned | returned |
| risk | risked | risked |
| save | saved | saved |
| seem | seemed | seemed |
| share | shared | shared |
| shout | shouted | shouted |
| show | showed | showed |
| smile | smiled | smiled |
| start | started | started |
| stay | stayed | stayed |
| stop | stopped | stopped |
| study | studied | studied |
| suggest | suggested | suggested |
| talk | talked | talked |
| test | tested | tested |
| thank | thanked | thanked |
| touch | touched | touched |
| travel | traveled | traveled |
| try | tried | tried |
| turn | turned | turned |
| use | used | used |
| visit | visited | visited |
| wait | waited | waited |
| walk | walked | walked |
| want | wanted | wanted |
| wash | washed | washed |
| watch | watched | watched |
| wish | wished | wished |
| work | worked | worked |
| worry | worried | worried |
Top 200 Common Irregular Verbs
Here’s a table of 200 common irregular verbs with their base form, past tense, and past participle. This will help you practice and memorize the irregular verbs that don’t follow the typical “-ed” pattern.
| Base Form | Past Tense | Past Participle |
|---|---|---|
| arise | arose | arisen |
| be | was/were | been |
| bear | bore | borne |
| beat | beat | beaten |
| become | became | become |
| begin | began | begun |
| bend | bent | bent |
| bet | bet | bet |
| bind | bound | bound |
| bite | bit | bitten |
| blow | blew | blown |
| break | broke | broken |
| breed | bred | bred |
| bring | brought | brought |
| build | built | built |
| burn | burnt/burned | burnt/burned |
| buy | bought | bought |
| catch | caught | caught |
| choose | chose | chosen |
| come | came | come |
| cost | cost | cost |
| cut | cut | cut |
| dig | dug | dug |
| do | did | done |
| draw | drew | drawn |
| dream | dreamt/dreamed | dreamt/dreamed |
| drink | drank | drunk |
| drive | drove | driven |
| eat | ate | eaten |
| fall | fell | fallen |
| feed | fed | fed |
| feel | felt | felt |
| fight | fought | fought |
| find | found | found |
| fly | flew | flown |
| forget | forgot | forgotten |
| forgive | forgave | forgiven |
| freeze | froze | frozen |
| get | got | gotten/got |
| give | gave | given |
| go | went | gone |
| grow | grew | grown |
| hang | hung | hung |
| have | had | had |
| hear | heard | heard |
| hide | hid | hidden |
| hit | hit | hit |
| hold | held | held |
| hurt | hurt | hurt |
| keep | kept | kept |
| know | knew | known |
| lay | laid | laid |
| lead | led | led |
| leave | left | left |
| lend | lent | lent |
| let | let | let |
| lie (recline) | lay | lain |
| light | lit/lighted | lit/lighted |
| lose | lost | lost |
| make | made | made |
| mean | meant | meant |
| meet | met | met |
| pay | paid | paid |
| put | put | put |
| read | read | read |
| ride | rode | ridden |
| ring | rang | rung |
| rise | rose | risen |
| run | ran | run |
| say | said | said |
| see | saw | seen |
| sell | sold | sold |
| send | sent | sent |
| set | set | set |
| shake | shook | shaken |
| shine | shone | shone |
| shoot | shot | shot |
| show | showed | shown |
| shut | shut | shut |
| sing | sang | sung |
| sink | sank | sunk |
| sit | sat | sat |
| sleep | slept | slept |
| speak | spoke | spoken |
| spend | spent | spent |
| stand | stood | stood |
| steal | stole | stolen |
| stick | stuck | stuck |
| strike | struck | struck |
| swear | swore | sworn |
| sweep | swept | swept |
| swim | swam | swum |
| take | took | taken |
| teach | taught | taught |
| tear | tore | torn |
| tell | told | told |
| think | thought | thought |
| throw | threw | thrown |
| understand | understood | understood |
| wake | woke | woken |
| wear | wore | worn |
| win | won | won |
| write | wrote | written |
| arise | arose | arisen |
| bet | bet | bet |
| bind | bound | bound |
| broadcast | broadcast | broadcast |
| burst | burst | burst |
| cling | clung | clung |
| creep | crept | crept |
| deal | dealt | dealt |
| dig | dug | dug |
| dive | dove/dived | dived |
| flee | fled | fled |
| fling | flung | flung |
| forbid | forbade | forbidden |
| kneel | knelt | knelt |
| knit | knit/knitted | knit/knitted |
| lay | laid | laid |
| leap | leapt/leaped | leapt/leaped |
| lend | lent | lent |
| let | let | let |
| quit | quit | quit |
| rid | rid | rid |
| seek | sought | sought |
| shoot | shot | shot |
| shrink | shrank | shrunk |
| slide | slid | slid |
| smell | smelt/smelled | smelt/smelled |
| spell | spelt/spelled | spelt/spelled |
| spill | spilt/spilled | spilt/spilled |
| split | split | split |
| spoil | spoilt/spoiled | spoilt/spoiled |
| spring | sprang | sprung |
| sting | stung | stung |
| stink | stank | stunk |
| strike | struck | struck |
| strive | strove | striven |
| sweep | swept | swept |
| swing | swung | swung |
| undertake | undertook | undertaken |
| upset | upset | upset |
| withdraw | withdrew | withdrawn |
| withhold | withheld | withheld |
| withstand | withstood | withstood |