Regular and Irregular Verbs
Past Tense and Past Participle
Verbs are divided into two main groups based on how they form their past tense and past participle:
Regular verbs:
These verbs form their past tense and past participle by adding -ed to the base form of the verb.
For example, walk becomes walked in the past tense and past participle.
Irregular verbs:
These verbs have a unique form for the past tense and past participle that does not follow the standard -ed ending rule.
For example, go becomes went in the past tense and gone in the past participle.
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 |
The past tense and past participle forms of irregular verbs do not follow a consistent pattern.
Each verb has its own unique form for these tenses that must be memorised.
Click here Regular and Irregular Verbs
Click here Finite and non- finite forms of the Verbs
Click here The Basic forms of The English verb
Click here What is a Verb?