Common irregular verbs: pre-intermediate learners
Here is a list of fifty of the most common irregular verbs. This is a good place to start if you are intermediate or beginner level.
| Infinitive | Past Simple | Past Participle |
| be | was / were | been |
| become | became | become |
| begin | began | begun |
| bring | brought | brought |
| buy | bought | bought |
| choose | chose | chosen |
| come | came | come |
| do | did | done |
| drink | drank | drunk |
| drive | drove | driven |
| eat | ate | eaten |
| fall | fell | fallen |
| feel | felt | felt |
| find | found | found |
| fly | flew | flown |
| forget | forgot | forgotten |
| get | got | got (gotten in USA) |
| give | gave | given |
| go | went | gone |
| have | had | had |
| hear | heard | heard |
| keep | kept | kept |
| know | knew | known |
| leave | left | left |
| lend | lent | lent |
| let | let | let |
| lose | lost | lost |
| make | made | made |
| meet | met | met |
| pay | paid | paid |
| put | put | put |
| read | read (pronounced /red/) | read (pronounced /red/) |
| run | ran | run |
| say | said | said |
| see | saw | seen |
| sell | sold | sold |
| send | sent | sent |
| sing | sang | sung |
| sit | sat | sat |
| sleep | slept | slept |
| speak | spoke | spoken |
| stand | stood | stood |
| swim | swam | swum |
| take | took | taken |
| teach | taught | taught |
| tell | told | told |
| think | thought | thought |
| understand | understood | understood |
| wear | wore | worn |
| write | wrote | written |
An Easy Way To Form (Almost) Any Question In English
Forming Questions In English Can Be Confusing.
Don’t worry – I’m going to teach you a simple formula that works for asking questions in almost ALL the verb tenses!
This formula is called QUASM:
QUestion word
A uxiliary verb
S ubject
M ain verb
Look how QUASM works for forming questions in the following verb tenses:
Simple Present Questions:
| QUESTION WORD | AUXILIARY VERB | SUBJECT | MAIN VERB | |
| Where | do | you | work? | |
| What | does | Martha | think | about the project? |
| How | do | you | like | your new apartment? |
| How many kids | does | Bob | have? |
Simple Past Questions:
| QUESTION WORD | AUXILIARY VERB | SUBJECT | MAIN VERB | |
| How | did | they | learn | English so fast? |
| When | did | you | get home | from work yesterday? |
| What | did | the manager | think | about your idea? |
| Where | did | you | buy | that T-shirt? |
Present Continuous Questions:
| QUESTION WORD | AUXILIARY VERB | SUBJECT | MAIN VERB | |
| What | are | you | doing | at the moment? |
| Why | is | he | ignoring | me? |
| What time | are | we | meeting up | for dinner? |
| Who | is | she | dating | now? |
Past Continuous Questions:
| QUESTION WORD | AUXILIARY VERB | SUBJECT | MAIN VERB | |
| Who | were | you | talking | to on the phone? |
| What | was | Jim | doing | when you called? |
| Why | were | the children | eating | candy before dinner? |
| How | was | he | feeling | after the surgery? |
Present Perfect Questions:
| QUESTION WORD | AUXILIARY VERB | SUBJECT | MAIN VERB | |
| How much money | have | you | spent | on clothes this month? |
| How long | has | your teacher | worked | at this school? |
| What | have | they | been doing | all day? |
| How long | has | the client | been waiting | for their order? |
Future Questions:
| QUESTION WORD | AUXILIARY VERB | SUBJECT | MAIN VERB | |
| Who | will | you | invite | to the party? |
| What | will | your parents | think | about your plan? |
| When | are | you | going | to clean your room? |
| Why | is | she | going | to quit her job? |
Modal Questions:
| QUESTION WORD | AUXILIARY VERB | SUBJECT | MAIN VERB | |
| What | would | you | do | if you had a million dollars? |
| How | could | we | improve | our English? |
| Where | should | I | go | on my next vacation? |
Exceptions:
Yes/No questions do not use a question word…
…but they still follow ASM (Auxiliary verb – Subject – Main verb)
- Do you like bananas?
- Did you enjoy the movie?
- Are you studying English?
- Were you sleeping when I called you last night?
- Have you finished your homework?
- Will you call me when you get home?
- Are you going to accept the job offer?
- Should we take the early morning flight?
Questions where the main verb is “be” also don’t follow the pattern:
- Are you thirsty?
- Is she a teacher?
- Were your parents angry when you failed the test?
- Was her ex-boyfriend a basketball player?
Reported questions, indirect questions, and subject questions also do not follow QUASM – I’ll teach you those in the next lesson!
Easy English 