IRREGULAR VERBS EXERCISE 1 (ESL)

Grammar review Irregular verbs — why they exist and how to approach them

Most English verbs form their past tense and past participle by adding -ed. But a core group of very common verbs change their form in ways that must be memorised — these are irregular verbs.

The three forms every verb has:
base form → simple past → past participle
Regular: work → worked → worked (same pattern every time)
Irregular: each verb changes in its own way — there is no single rule to apply.

Common irregular patterns to be aware of (without giving away the answers):
Some verbs follow a vowel-change pattern across their three forms
Some verbs use the same form for simple past and past participle
Some verbs use a completely different word as the past form
Some verbs are the same in all three forms

How to approach this exercise:
Each question gives the base form and asks for either the simple past or the past participle. Check the sentence context first: if the sentence uses have/has/had, you need the past participle. If it’s a standalone past action, you need the simple past.