Form and use the irregular past tense: set 2

  • Irregular verbs are special verbs that do not follow the regular rule of adding -ed or -d to form the past tense.
  • Example: Base verb: write → Past tense: wrote

  • These verbs change in unique ways when talking about things that happened in the past.
Base VerbPast Tense
writewrote
flyflew
swimswam
breakbroke
beginbegan
drinkdrank
choosechose
speakspoke

  • Use the past tense form of the verb when talking about actions that have already happened.
  • Example:
    • Base verb: write → She wrote a letter last night.
    • Base verb: swim → He swam in the pool yesterday.

  • write → I wrote a story for school.
  • fly → The bird flew over the trees.
  • swim → We swam at the beach last summer.
  • break → He broke his toy by accident.
  • begin → The movie began at 7 o’clock.
  • drink → She drank a glass of milk this morning.
  • choose → They chose new books to read.
  • speak → My teacher spoke to me about my homework.

  • Irregular verbs do not follow the -ed rule.
  • Each verb has its own unique past tense form, and you need to memorize them.
  • Example: flyflew, not “flyed”

  • Look for verbs that change completely from their base form.
  • Example:
    • Base verb: begin → Past tense: began
    • Base verb: drink → Past tense: drank

  • Irregular past tense verbs have special forms that you must learn.
  • Practice using verbs like wrote, flew, and broke in sentences to get familiar with them.
  • There is no simple rule for irregular verbs, so memorization and practice are key!