The three forms you need
| Form | Used for | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Base | present, commands, after to and can | I go to work. I want to go. |
| Past | the simple past | I went home at six. |
| Past participle | perfect tenses and the passive | I have gone there twice. It was written in 1990. |
For regular verbs, the past and past participle are the same: work → worked → worked. Irregular verbs have their own forms, and you have to learn them.
The three sounds of -ed
Regular verbs add -ed, but it is pronounced three ways, depending on the last sound of the verb:
| Sound | After | Examples |
|---|---|---|
| /t/ | voiceless sounds: p, k, s, sh, ch, f | stopped /stɑpt/, looked, washed |
| /d/ | voiced sounds and vowels | played /pleɪd/, called, lived |
| /ɪd/ | t and d | wanted /ˈwɑntɪd/, needed, started |
The extra syllable is only added after t and d. "Looked" is one syllable, not "look-ed".
Spelling rules for -ed
- Ends in e: add only -d: like → liked, live → lived.
- Consonant + y: change y to i: try → tried, study → studied. But vowel + y keeps the y: play → played.
- One short stressed vowel + one consonant: double the consonant: stop → stopped, plan → planned, prefer → preferred.
- Stress not on the last syllable: no doubling in American English: travel → traveled, visit → visited. (British English writes travelled.)
Patterns in irregular verbs
Irregular verbs are easier to learn in groups:
| Pattern | Examples |
|---|---|
| All three the same | cut – cut – cut, put, set, let, hit, cost, shut |
| Past and participle the same | bring – brought – brought, buy, think, teach, catch, sleep, keep, feel |
| Vowel change i – a – u | sing – sang – sung, drink, swim, begin, ring |
| Participle in -en or -n | take – took – taken, write – wrote – written, speak, break, choose, eat, give |
| All three different | go – went – gone, be – was/were – been, do – did – done, see – saw – seen |
The ten irregular verbs to learn first
These ten are among the most used verbs in English. Learn them first, and you will recognize them everywhere:
- be – was/were – been
- have – had – had
- do – did – done
- say – said – said
- go – went – gone
- get – got – gotten
- make – made – made
- know – knew – known
- think – thought – thought
- take – took – taken
Gotten: American and British English
In American English the past participle of get is usually gotten: "She has gotten better." British English uses got: "She has got better." Americans use "have got" too, but mostly to mean "have": "I’ve got two brothers."
A few verbs also have regular forms that are more common in American English: learned, dreamed, burned (British English often uses learnt, dreamt, burnt).
Common mistakes
- Adding -ed to irregular verbs: "goed", "buyed", "thinked". Use went, bought, thought.
- Past instead of participle: "I have went". Use "I have gone".
- Saying -ed as an extra syllable after sounds other than t and d: "walk-ed". It is one syllable: /wɔkt/.
- Using the past after did: "Did you saw it?" After did, use the base form: "Did you see it?"