Regular verbs

If a verb is regular, the past si mple and past pa rticiple end in -ed . For example:

infinitive clean finish use paint stop carry

past simple.. } L
c eane
d
finished used painted stopped carry
past parttctp 1e
I Fo r spelling rules, see Appendix 6.
For the past simple (I cleaned I t hey finished I she carried etc.), see Unit 5.

We use the past participle t o make the perfect t enses and all the passive form s.
Perfect tenses (have/ has/ had cleaned) :
0 I have cleaned the wi ndows. (present perfect- see Units 7- 8)
0 They w ere still working. They hadn't finished . (past perfect - see Unit 15)
Passive (is cleaned I was cleaned et c.):
0 He was carried out of the room. (past simple passive)
:J This gate has just been painted. (present perfect passtve)
.
l U .
see n1ts 42- 44

Irregular verbs
When the past simple and past pa rt iciple do not end in -ed (for exa m ple, I saw I I have seen), the
verb is irregular.
W ith som e irregu lar ve rbs, all t hree f orms (infinitive, past simple and past participle) are the same.
For exa mple, hit:
0 Don't hit m e. (infinitive)
0 Som ebody hit me as I cam e into the room . (past simple)
0 I've never hit anybody in my life. (past participle- present perfect)
0 George was hit on t he head by a stone. (past participle - passive)
With ot her irregu lar verbs, th e past simple is the same as the past participle (but different from the
infinit ive) . For exa m ple, tell ~ told :
0 Ca n you tell m e w hat t o do? (infinitive)
8 She told me t o com e back t he next day. (past simple)
0 Have you told any bo dy about your new job? (past participle - present perfect)
C I was told t o come back t he next day. (past participle - passive)
With oth er irregular verbs, all three forms are different. For example, wake ~ woke/ woken :
0 I'll wake yo u up. (infinitive)
C I woke up in t he midd le of the night. (past simple)
0 The baby has woken up. (past participle - present perfect)
0 I was woken up by a loud noise. (past participle - passive)
The fo llowing verbs ca n be regular or irregular:
I burn ~
burn ed or burnt smell ~ smelled or smelt
dream ~ dreamed or dreamt (dremt] * spell ~ spelled or spelt
Lean ~ leaned or leant (lent] * spill ~ sp illed or spilt
Learn ~ learned or learnt spoil ~ spoiled or spoi lt
* pronunciation
So you can say:
~ I Leant out of t he w indow. or I Leaned out of the window.
0 The dinner has been spoiled . or The dinner has been spoilt.
In Brit ish English t he irregu lar form (burnt/ learnt etc.) is more usual. For America n English, see
Appendi x 7.

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 Appendix 1

Li st of irregular verbs

infinitive past simple past participle infinitive past simple past participle
be was/were been Light lit lit
beat beat beaten lose lost lost
become became become make made made
begin began begu n mean meant meant
bend bent bent meet m et met
bet bet bet pay paid paid
bite bit bitten put put put
blow blew blown read read [red]* read [red] *
break broke broken ride rode ridden
bring brought brought ring rang rung
broadcast broadcast broadcast rise rose risen
build bu ilt built run ran run
burst bu rst burst say said said
buy bo ught bought see saw seen
catch caught caught seek sought sought
choose chose chosen sell sold sold
come came come send sent sent
cost cost cost set set set
creep crept crept sew sewed sewn/sewed
cut cut cut shake shook shaken
deal dealt dealt shine shone shone
dig dug dug shoot shot shot
do did done show showed shown/showed
draw drew drawn shrink sh rank shrunk
drink drank drunk shut shut sh ut
drive drove driven sing sang sung
eat ate eaten sink sank sunk
fall fell fallen sit sat sat
feed fed fed sleep s lept slept
feel fe lt fe lt slide slid slid
fight fou ght fought speak spoke spoken
find fou nd found spend spent spent
flee fled fled spit spat spat
fly flew flown split split split
forbid forbade forbidden spread spread spread
forget forgot forgotten spring spra ng sprung
forgive fo rgave forgiven stand stood stood
freeze froze frozen steal stole stolen
get got got/gotten stick stuck stuck
give gave given sting stung stung
go went gone stink stank stunk
grow grew grown strike struck struck
hang hung hung swear swore sworn
have had had sweep swept swept
hear heard heard swim swam swum
hide hid hidden swing swung swung
hit hi t hit take took taken
hold held held teach ta ught taught
hurt hurt hurt tear tore torn
keep kept kept tell to ld to ld
kneel knelt knelt think thought thought
know knew known throw threw thrown
Lay la id la id understand understood understood
Lead led led wake woke woken
Leave left left wear wore worn
Lend le nt le nt weep wept wept
Let let let win won won
Lie la la in write wrote written
* pronunciation
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