In the English language, verb tenses play a crucial role in expressing actions or states of being that occurred in the past. One essential tense for discussing past events is the past simple, also known as the simple past. While regular verbs follow a consistent pattern when conjugated in this tense by adding -ed at the end, irregular verbs present a unique challenge. In this article, we will delve into the realm of irregular verbs and explore their forms and usage in the past simple tense. Understanding these irregularities will not only enhance your overall grammar skills but also equip you with the necessary tools to communicate effectively and accurately describe events from the past. So let’s embark on this journey to unravel the intricacies of irregular verbs in the past simple tense!
Past Simple Irregular Verbs
| Simple | Past | Sentence |
| Eat | ate | She ate delicious pasta. |
| Run | ran | They ran a marathon. |
| See | saw | I saw a shooting star. |
| Do | did | He did his best. |
| Have | had | We had a party. |
| Write | wrote | She wrote a letter. |
| Break | broke | They broke the vase. |
| Take | took | He took a photo. |
| Give | gave | She gave a gift. |
| Come | came | They came late. |
| Become | became | He became a doctor. |
| Make | made | She made a cake. |
| Find | found | They found the treasure. |
| Say | said | He said hello. |
| Get | got | We got tickets. |
| Know | knew | She knew the answer. |
| Think | thought | He thought deeply. |
| See | saw | We saw a rainbow. |
| Tell | told | She told a story. |
| Leave | left | They left early. |
| Swim | swam | They swam competitively. |
| Sing | sang | She sang beautifully onstage. |
| Win | won | They won the championship. |
| Choose | chose | He chose the blue shirt. |
| Wear | wore | She wore a stunning dress. |
| Drive | drove | He drove carefully home. |
| Ride | rode | They rode bicycles together. |
| Ring | rang | The bell rang loudly. |
| Fall | fell | He fell off the ladder. |
| Break | broke | She broke the window. |
| Speak | spoke | He spoke eloquently. |
| Fly | flew | The birds flew gracefully. |
| Know | knew | They knew the truth. |
| Throw | threw | He threw the ball. |
| Feed | fed | She fed the hungry. |
| Hold | held | He held her hand. |
| Forget | forgot | They forgot their keys. |
| Bite | bit | The dog bit him. |
| Think | thought | She thought deeply. |
| Shake | shook | They shook hands. |
| Meet | met | They met for coffee. |
| Sleep | slept | He slept peacefully. |
| Teach | taught | He taught math. |
| Sell | sold | She sold her car. |
| Buy | bought | They bought groceries. |
| Sit | sat | He sat on the bench. |
| Stand | stood | She stood tall. |
| Hear | heard | They heard music playing. |
| Lose | lost | He lost the game. |
| Send | sent | She sent an email. |
| Spend | spent | They spent the weekend. |
| Sweep | swept | He swept the floor. |
| Build | built | They built a house. |
| Eat | ate | They ate dinner. |
| Find | found | She found the keys. |
| Sing | sang | They sang together. |
| Blow | blew | The wind blew strongly. |
| Draw | drew | He drew a picture. |
| Fight | fought | They fought bravely. |
| Ride | rode | He rode a bicycle. |
| Cling | clung | He clung to the edge. |
| Dig | dug | They dug a hole. |
| Freeze | froze | The lake froze over. |
| Give | gave | She gave a gift. |
| Hide | hid | He hid behind the tree. |
| Keep | kept | They kept the secret. |
| Lead | led | She led the way. |
| Make | made | He made a cake. |
| Pay | paid | They paid the bill. |
| Quit | quit | She quit her job. |
| Rise | rose | The sun rose. |
| Set | set | He set the table. |
| Sell | sold | They sold their house. |
| Tell | told | She told a story. |
| Find | found | He found his keys. |
| Bind | bound | They bound the books. |
| Stand | stood | He stood still. |
| Choose | chose | She chose her path. |
| Shine | shone | The stars shone brightly. |
| Wind | wound | He wound the clock. |
| Shake | shook | They shook hands. |
| Sit | sat | She sat on the chair. |
| Swim | swam | He swam in the pool. |
| Strike | struck | They struck a deal. |
| Tear | tore | She tore the paper. |
| Fly | flew | The bird flew away. |
| Bite | bit | He bit into the apple. |
| Ring | rang | The phone rang loudly. |
| Shoot | shot | He shot the target. |
| Write | wrote | She wrote a letter. |
Must Read: Verbs that start with A in English
Past Simple Irregular Verbs with Sentences
- Arose – The Sun Arose
- Began – Adventure Began With Excitement.
- Blew – Wind Blew Fiercely Outside.
- Broke – He Broke His Leg.
- Chose – She Chose The Red Dress.
- Came – Friends Came For Dinner.
- Did – They Did Their Best.
- Drew – She Drew A Beautiful Picture.
- Drank – They Drank Hot Chocolate.
- Drove – He Drove To Work.
- Ate – She Ate Delicious Pasta.
- Fell – Leaves Fell Gracefully Down.
- Found – He Found The Solution.
- Flew – Birds Flew Across Skies.
- Forgot – I Forgot My Keys.
- Got – They Got A Promotion.
- Gave – She Gave Him Flowers.
- Went – They Went On Vacation.
- Grew – The Plant Grew
- Held – He Held Her Hand.
- Kept – They Kept Their Promise.
- Knew – She Knew The Answer.
- Left – They Left The Party.
- Lent – She Lent Him Money.
- Lost – He Lost His Wallet.
- Met – They Met At Noon.
- Paid – She Paid The Bill.
- Put – He Put The Book On The Shelf.
- Read – She Read A Novel.
- Rode – They Rode Bicycles Together.
- Rang – The Bell Rang
- Ran – He Ran A Marathon.
- Said – She Said Goodbye Sadly.
- Saw – They Saw A Shooting Star.
- Sold – He Sold His Car.
- Sang – They Sang In Harmony.
- Sat – She Sat On The Bench.
- Slept – They Slept
- Swam – He Swam Across The Lake.
- Wrote – She Wrote A Poem
Also Read: 100 Business Phrasal Verbs in English
Past Simple Regular Verbs
- Accepted
- Acted
- Added
- Admired
- Advised
- Agreed
- Allowed
- Answered
- Appeared
- Arrived
- Asked
- Attacked
- Baked
- Banned
- Believed
- Borrowed
- Brushed
- Called
- Carried
- Changed
- Cleaned
- Climbed
- Closed
- Collected
- Cooked
- Counted
- Created
- Crossed
- Danced
- Decided
- Described
- Dressed
- Earned
- Enjoyed
- Entered
- Escaped
- Excused
- Explained
- Faced
- Failed
- Fixed
- Followed
- Gathered
- Greeted
- Guessed
- Helped
- Hugged
- Hurried
- Imagined
- Improved
- Invented
- Invited
- Jumped
- Kicked
- Kissed
- Knocked
- Laughed
- Learned
- Liked
- Listened
- Lived
- Looked
- Loved
- Mailed
- Managed
- Marked
- Married
- Measured
- Missed
- Moved
- Needed
- Noticed
- Opened
- Painted
- Passed
- Picked
- Played
- Pleased
- Pointed
- Posted
- Praised
- Prepared
- Printed
- Pulled
- Pushed
- Reached
- Realized
- Received
- Recognized
- Rented
- Repaired
- Replied
- Reported
- Rested
- Returned
- Rolled
- Saved
- Searched
- Served
- Showed
Verbs In Simple Past
- Accepted
- Achieved
- Acted
- Addressed
- Advanced
- Advised
- Altered
- Analyzed
- Appeared
- Applauded
- Approached
- Approved
- Argued
- Arranged
- Assessed
- Attacked
- Attended
- Avoided
- Baked
- Balanced
- Banned
- Bargained
- Bathed
- Beat
- Beamed
- Believed
- Blended
- Boarded
- Bragged
- Breathed
- Calculated
- Called
- Camped
- Captured
- Cared
- Carried
- Celebrated
- Challenged
- Charged
- Checked
- Cheered
- Clarified
- Climbed
- Closed
- Collected
- Combined
- Compared
- Completed
- Composed
- Conceded
Simple Past Tense Irregular Verbs
- Arose
- Began
- Blew
- Broke
- Brought
- Built
- Chose
- Came
- Did
- Drew
- Drank
- Drove
- Ate
- Fell
- Felt
- Found
- Flew
- Forgot
- Got
- Gave
- Went
- Grew
- Had
- Heard
- Hid
- Hit
- Held
- Kept
- Knew
- Left
- Lent
- Lost
- Made
- Met
- Paid
- Put
- Read
- Rode
- Rang
- Ran
- Said
- Saw
- Sold
- Sang
- Sat
- Slept
- Spoke
- Swam
- Took
- Wrote
Verbs Past Simple And Participle
| simple | Past | Participle |
| eat | ate | eaten |
| run | ran | run |
| see | saw | seen |
| do | did | done |
| have | had | had |
| write | wrote | written |
| break | broke | broken |
| take | took | taken |
| give | gave | given |
| come | came | come |
| bring | brought | brought |
| speak | spoke | spoken |
| swim | swam | swum |
| think | thought | thought |
| sleep | slept | slept |
| meet | met | met |
| drive | drove | driven |
| read | read | read |
| drink | drank | drunk |
| begin | began | begun |
| blow | blew | blown |
| choose | chose | chosen |
| draw | drew | drawn |
| fall | fell | fallen |
| forget | forgot | forgotten |
| freeze | froze | frozen |
| get | got | gotten |
| hide | hid | hidden |
| know | knew | known |
| leave | left | left |
| make | made | made |
| pay | paid | paid |
| put | put | put |
| ring | rang | rung |
| rise | rose | risen |
| say | said | said |
| sing | sang | sung |
| sit | sat | sat |
| stand | stood | stood |
| swear | swore | sworn |
| tear | tore | torn |
| throw | threw | thrown |
| understand | understood | understood |
| wear | wore | worn |
| win | won | won |
| write | wrote | written |
| beat | beat | beaten |
| build | built | built |
| catch | caught | caught |
| choose | chose | chosen |
| deal | dealt | dealt |
| dream | dreamt | dreamt |
| feed | fed | fed |
| fight | fought | fought |
| forget | forgot | forgotten |
| forgive | forgave | forgiven |
| freeze | froze | frozen |
| hang | hung | hung |
| hear | heard | heard |
| hold | held | held |
| lead | led | led |
| lose | lost | lost |
| mean | meant | meant |
| read | read | read |
| ride | rode | ridden |
| say | said | said |
| seek | sought | sought |
| sell | sold | sold |
| shoot | shot | shot |
| sit | sat | sat |
| sleep | slept | slept |
| speak | spoke | spoken |
| spend | spent | spent |
| stand | stood | stood |
| steal | stole | stolen |
| sweep | swept | swept |
| teach | taught | taught |
| tell | told | told |
| think | thought | thought |
| understand | understood | understood |
| wake | woke | woken |
| wear | wore | worn |
| win | won | won |
| write | wrote | written |
| begin | began | begun |
| blow | blew | blown |
| choose | chose | chosen |
| draw | drew | drawn |
| fall | fell | fallen |
| forget | forgot | forgotten |
| freeze | froze | frozen |
| get | got | gotten |
| hide | hid | hidden |
| know | knew | known |
| leave | left | left |
| make | made | made |
| pay | paid | paid |
| put | put | put |