Common irregular past simple verbs

The idea

Some common verbs have irregular past simple forms: go → went, take → took, eat → ate and see → saw. Use the same past form with each subject: I went, they went. Learn each base form with its past form; not every irregular verb changes in the same way.

Examples

• I went to the market yesterday.
• She took the bus home.
• We ate lunch together.
• He saw a friend at the station.
• They came back late.
• The train left at eight.

Watch out

Do not add -ed to these irregular verbs: say went, not goed. In questions with did, the main verb returns to its base form.

Try it yourself

1. Yesterday I ___ to the market. (went / goed)

   Show answer or example answer

   went

   went is the past simple of go.

2. She ___ the bus home. (took / taked)

   Show answer or example answer

   took

   took is the past simple of take.

3. We ___ lunch together. (ate / eated)

   Show answer or example answer

   ate

   ate is the past simple of eat.

Use it today

Write three sentences about a past day using different irregular verbs. Check the past form of each in a dictionary.