Irregular Verbs (in Past, Present & Future)

The past and past participle for most verbs in English are formed by the simple addition of -ed (walked, pretended, unveiled). However, a number of verbs have irregular forms, most of which are different for past and past participle. In particular, be careful to use the correct past participle form of irregular verbs.

Listed here are the principal parts for some commonly troublesome irregular verbs. Check your dictionary for a more complete listing.

Present Tense                           Past Tense                           Past Participle

am, is, are                                 was, were                             been

begin                                        began                                    begun

break                                        broke                                     broken

choose                                      chose                                    chosen

come                                        came                                      come

deal                                          dealt                                       dealt

fall                                            fell                                          fallen

get                                            got                                          gotten

give                                           gave                                        given

go                                             went                                        gone

grow                                         grew                                         grown

know                                         knew                                       known

rise                                           rose                                         risen

speak                                       spoke                                       spoken

take                                          took                                         taken

write                                         wrote                                        written

__________

The following exercise will help familiarize you with these common irregular verbs.  When revising your writing in the future, pay particular attention to irregular forms and be sure to use the correct form.

Exercise:  Fill in each blank with the appropriate tense form for each irregular verb.

1.  When I woke up at 5:30, the sun had already __________ (rise).

2.  Two years ago, I __________ (know) a man who worked for Microsoft.

3.  I __________ (be) happy to see my uncle at the family reunion.

4.  When I entered the theater, the movie had already __________ (begin).

5.  I liked both cars, but I __________ (choose) the red one.

6.  The boss told me to __________ (get) out of the office.

7.  Last summer, I __________ (go) to Japan.

8.  A friend in Tokyo __________ (give) me a tour of the city.

9.  Some plants __________ (grow) better in direct sunlight.

10. The president __________ (speak) after the secretary had __________ (give) his speech.

11. When I arrived, most of the guests had __________ (come).

12. My camera __________ (break) yesterday.

13. I will go out tonight after I have __________ (write) my essay.

14. John __________ (take) his test last Monday.

15. My friend told me that she had __________ (get) an ‘A’ in English.

16. When the president died, the employees __________ (deal) with the news very well.

17. Yesterday the temperature __________ (fall) to 10 degrees.

18. The meeting __________ (begin) ten minutes ago.

19. Mary will __________ (take) two classes next semester.

20. When I returned from vacation, I noticed that my plants had __________ (grow).