Written by Administrator

Troublesome Irregular Verbs

drink, vb. Drink–drank–drunk (he had not drunk any beer that day)

 

drown, vb. Drown–drowned–drowned.

 

dive, vb. Dive–dived–dived. The form dove in not considered good form.

 

drag. Drag–dragged–dragged.

 

fit. This verb is changing. Traditionally, fit–fitted–fitted was the norm. Today fit–fit–fit is prevalent. (the dress fits) In the passive voice, fitted is still normal (the mother-in-law was fitted for her dress).

 

get. Get–got–gotten

 

go. This verb is conjugated go–went–gone.

 

lay; lie. Lay is a transitive verb—meaning, it demands a direct object (she laid the plate on the counter). Use lay–laid–laid. Lie is an intransitive verb—meaning, it never takes a direct object (lie down). It is inflected lie–lay–lain (he lay down and slept) (she hasn’t lain down yet).

 

shine. When this verb is intransitive, it means “to give or make light”; the past tense is shone (the stars shone). When it is transitive, it means “to cause to shine”; the past tense is shined (the boy shined the shoes).

sneak. Sneak–sneaked–sneaked.

 

spit. If the intended meaning is “to expectorate" the tenses are spit–spat–spat (he spat in disgust). If the intended meaning is “to skewer,” it’s spit–spitted–spitted (the kebabs have been spitted).

 

Present -- Past -- Past Participle

be ---- was, were ---- been

become ---- became ---- become

begin ---- began ---- begun

blow ---- blew ---- blown

break ---- broke ---- broken

bring ---- brought ---- brought

build ---- built ---- built

burst ---- burst ---- burst

buy ---- bought ---- bought

burst ---- burst ---- burst

catch ---- caught ---- caught

choose ---- chose ---- chosen

come ---- came ---- come

cut ---- cut ---- cut

deal ---- dealt ---- dealt

do ---- did ---- done

drink ---- drank ---- drunk

drive ---- drove ---- driven

eat ---- ate ---- eaten

fall ---- fell ---- fallen

feed ---- fed ---- fed

feel ---- felt ---- felt

fight ---- fought ---- fought

find ---- found ---- found

fly ---- flew ---- flown

forbid ---- forbade ---- forbidden

forget ---- forgot ---- forgotten

forgive ---- forgave ---- forgiven

freeze ---- froze ---- frozen

get ---- got ---- gotten

give ---- gave ---- given

go ---- went ---- gone

grow ---- grew ---- grown

have ---- had ---- had

hear ---- heard ---- heard

hide ---- hid ---- hidden

hold ---- held ---- held

hurt ---- hurt ---- hurt

keep ---- kept ---- kept

know ---- knew ---- known

lay ---- laid ---- laid

lead ---- led ---- led

leave ---- left ---- left

let ---- let ---- let

lie ---- lay ---- lain

lose ---- lost ---- lost

make ---- made ---- made

meet ---- met ---- met

pay ---- paid ---- paid

quit ---- quit ---- quit

read ---- read ---- read

ride ---- rode ---- ridden

run ---- ran ---- run

say ---- said ---- said

see ---- saw ---- seen

seek ---- sought ---- sought

sell ---- sold ---- sold

send ---- sent ---- sent

shake ---- shook ---- shaken

shine ---- shone ---- shone

sing ---- sang ---- sung

sit ---- sat ---- sat

sleep ---- slept ---- slept

speak ---- spoke ---- spoken

spend ---- spent ---- spent

spring ---- sprang ---- sprung

stand ---- stood ---- stood

steal ---- stole ---- stolen

swim ---- swam ---- swum

swing ---- swung ---- swung

take ---- took ---- taken

teach ---- taught ---- taught

tear ---- tore ---- torn

tell ---- told ---- told

think ---- thought ---- thought

throw ---- threw ---- thrown

understand ---- understood ---- understood

wake ---- woke (waked) ---- woken (waked)

wear ---- wore ---- worn

win ---- won ---- won

write ---- wrote ---- written