Irregular verbs do not follow a consistent pattern like regular verbs do, so you need to memorise their past tense and past participle forms individually.

The Past Indefinite of Regular Verbs:

The past indefinite (or simple past) tense is often formed by adding -ed to the base form of a regular verb.

For example, I walked to the store (base form: walk).

She watched TV last night (base form: watch).

They played basketball after school (base form: play).

However, when the base form of a regular verb ends in an -e, only an -d is added to form the past indefinite tense.

For example, He danced at the party (base form: dance).

She loved her new book (base form: love).

They hoped for a good outcome (base form: hope).

When the base form of a regular verb ends in a consonant and a stressed vowel (such as stop), the final consonant is doubled before adding –ed.

For example, I stopped at the red light (base form: stop).

She preferred coffee over tea (base form: prefer).

They shopped for new clothes (base form: shop).

However, when the final consonant is preceded by an unstressed vowel (such as visit), the consonant is not doubled before adding -ed.

For example, I visited my grandparents last weekend (base form: visit).

She decided to stay home (base form: decide).

They ended their friendship (base form: end).

Past participles of regular verbs:

The past participle form of regular verbs is often formed by adding -ed to the base form.

For example, I have walked for 30 minutes (base form: walk).

She has watched that movie before (base form: watch).

They have played soccer all day (base form: play).

As with the past indefinite tense, when the base form of a regular verb ends in an -e, only an –d is added to form the past participle.

For example, He has danced for years (base form: dance).

She has loved that song for a long time (base form: love).

They have hoped for the best (base form: hope).

Some examples of regular verbs in the present tense, past tense, and past participle:

Present Tense	Past Tense	Past Participle
Walk	walked	walked
Talk	talked	talked
Play	played	played
Watch	watched	watched
Love	loved	loved
Laugh	laughed	laughed
Jump	jumped	jumped
Clean	cleaned	cleaned
Learn	learned	learned
Climb	climbed	climbed

The past tense and past participle forms of these verbs are formed by adding -ed to the base form of the verb.

The Rules of Orthography for Ed Ending:

The pronunciation of the -ed ending depends on the final sound of the base form of the verb.

If the base form ends in a voiceless sound, such as p, t, k, s, sh, ch, or f, the -ed ending is pronounced as t.

(e.g., walked, talked, liked, missed, washed, watched, laughed, and huffed).

If the base form ends in a voiced sound or a vowel sound, the -ed ending is pronounced as d.

(e.g., played, allowed, showed, loaded, cried, replied).

If the base form ends in a d or t sound, the -ed ending is pronounced as id.

(e.g., needed, wanted, created, divided).

It’s important to note that while the spelling of the -ed ending remains the same, the pronunciation can vary based on the final sound of the base form of the verb.

The regular past tense and past participle forms of some common verbs, along with their transcriptions:

Base Form	Past Tense	Past Participle	Transcription
walk	walked	Walked	/wɔkt/
talk	talked	Talked	/tɔkt/
play	played	Played	/pleɪd/
watch	watched	Watched	/wɑtʃt/
love	loved	Loved	/lʌvd/
laugh	laughed	Laughed	/læft/
jump	jumped	Jumped	/dʒʌmpt/
clean	cleaned	Cleaned	/kliːnd/
learn	learned	Learned	/lɜrnd/
climb	climbed	Climbed	/klaɪmd/

The transcription uses the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA) to represent the sounds of the words.

The symbols used may vary depending on the dialect of English being spoken.

Spelling and pronunciation changes:

When forming the past tense and past participle of regular verbs with the -ed ending, there are some spelling and pronunciation changes that occur depending on the base form of the verb.

Doubling the -d sound:

If the base form of the verb ends in a single vowel followed by a single consonant (except for x or w), you double the final consonant before adding -ed.

For example, stop becomes stopped

plan becomes planned

rob becomes robbed

admit becomes admitted

Changing y to i:

If the base form of the verb ends in a consonant followed by y, you change the y to i before adding -ed.

For example, cry becomes cried

study becomes studied

try becomes tried

These spelling changes do not affect the pronunciation of the -ed ending.

The pronunciation rules for the -ed ending are based on the final sound of the base form of the verb.

Three different ways to pronounce the -ed ending:

/t/ sound: When the base form of the verb ends in an unvoiced consonant sound (such as /p/, /k/, /f/, /s/, /tʃ/, /ʃ/), the -ed ending is pronounced as a /t/ sound.

Examples: worked /wɜːrkt/ (base form: work)

laughed /læft/ (base form: laugh)

missed /mɪst/ (base form: miss)

watched /wɒtʃt/ (base form: watch)

reached /riːtʃt/ (base form: reach)

washed /wɒʃt/ (base form: wash)

/d/ sound: When the base form of the verb ends in a voiced consonant sound (such as /b/, /g/, /v/, /z/, /dʒ/, /ʒ/, /m/, /n/, /l/, /r/), the -ed ending is pronounced as a /d/ sound.

Examples: lived /lɪvd/ (base form: live)

begged /beɡd/ (base form: beg)

loved /lʌvd/ (base form: love)

buzzed /bʌzd/ (base form: buzz)

changed /tʃeɪndʒd/ (base form: change)

measured /meʒərd/ (base form: measure)

climbed /klaɪmd/ (base form: climb)

learned /lɜːrnd/ (base form: learn)

/ɪd/ sound: When the base form of the verb ends in a /t/ or /d/ sound, the -ed ending is pronounced as an /ɪd/ sound.

Examples: wanted /ˈwɒntɪd/ (base form: want)

needed /ˈniːdɪd/ (base form: need)

added /ˈædɪd/ (base form: add)

waited /ˈweɪtɪd/ (base form: wait)

visited /ˈvɪzɪtɪd/ (base form: visit)

faded /ˈfeɪdɪd/ (base form: fade)

ended /ˈendɪd/ (base form: end)

These pronunciation rules only apply to regular verbs in the past tense or past participle form.

Past tense and past participles of irregular verbs:

Irregular verbs have their own unique past tense and past participle forms that do not follow these rules.

Many irregular verbs have a unique past tense form that does not follow a specific pattern.

These verbs simply need to be memorised.

Some examples: be, was (singular) / were (plural).

have –> had

do –> did

go –> went

see –> saw

eat –> ate

speak –> spoke

Some irregular verbs have the same base form as the past tense.

Some examples: put –> put

cut –> cut

hit –> hit

Some irregular verbs form their past tense by changing a vowel sound.

Some examples: sing –> sang

swim –> swam

run –> ran

drink –> drank

begin –> began

Some irregular verbs form their past tense by adding -t or -d to the base form.

Some examples: build –> built

send –> sent

spend –> spent

bend –> bent

Some irregular verbs have both a regular form and an irregular form in the past tense.

Some examples: learn -> learned / learned

dream —> dreamed / dreamt

burn –> burned / burnt

Irregular verbs do not follow a specific pattern, so they must be memorised individually.

Unique Past Participle Form of Irregular Verbs:

Many irregular verbs have a unique past participle form that does not follow a specific pattern.

These verbs simply need to be memorised.

Some examples: be –> been

have –> had

do –> done

go –> gone

see –> seen

eat –> eaten

speak –> spoken

Some irregular verbs form their past participle by changing a vowel sound.

Some examples: sing –> sung

swim —> swum

run –> run

drink —> drunk

begin –> begun

Some irregular verbs have the same base form, past tense form, and past participle form.

Some examples: put –> put

cut –> cut

hit –> hit

Some irregular verbs form their past participle by adding –en to the base form.

Some examples: drive –> driven

give –> given

break –> broken

Some irregular verbs have both a regular form and an irregular form in the past participle.

Some examples: learn -> learned / learned

dream —> dreamed / dreamt

burn –> burned / burnt

Irregular verbs do not follow a specific pattern, so they must be memorised individually.

Some examples of irregular verbs in the present tense, past tense, and past participle:

Present Tense	Past Tense	Past Participle
Go	went	gone
Eat	ate	eaten
Come	came	come
See	saw	seen
Take	took	taken
Drive	drove	driven
Write	wrote	written
Sing	sang	sung
Speak	spoke	spoken
Give	gave	given