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English grammar

Past forms you have to learn

A2 · Elementary Verbs and time Questions 10

The rule

The commonest English verbs do not take -ed. Their past is a different word and there is no rule — you learn them one by one. These are the twenty a learner meets most: go → went, have → had, do → did, say → said, get → got, make → made, take → took, come → came, see → saw, know → knew, give → gave, find → found, think → thought, tell → told, buy → bought, put → put, leave → left, feel → felt, bring → brought, write → wrote.

Pattern

go → went · have → had · take → took · see → saw · put → put

Examples

  1. I went to the market on Saturday.

  2. She had a bad cold last week.

  3. We took the early train.

  4. He left his bag on the bus.

Common mistakes

  • Wrong: I goed to the shop.

    Right: I went to the shop.

    go is irregular: the past is went.

  • Wrong: She taked my number.

    Right: She took my number.

    take is irregular: the past is took.

Practice questions

Try each one yourself first, then open “Show answer” for the solution and the reason.

  1. 1Fill in the gap.

    I _____ to the doctor on Tuesday.

    1. go
    2. gone
    3. goed
    4. went
    Show answer

    Answer: D I went to the doctor on Tuesday.

    go → went.

  2. 2Fill in the gap.

    She _____ me the address.

    1. gave
    2. gived
    3. given
    4. give
    Show answer

    Answer: A She gave me the address.

    give → gave.

  3. 3Fill in the gap.

    We _____ a new washing machine last month.

    1. buy
    2. bought
    3. buyed
    4. boughted
    Show answer

    Answer: B We bought a new washing machine last month.

    buy → bought.

  4. 4Fill in the gap.

    He _____ the keys on the table.

    1. put
    2. putted
    3. putting
    4. puts
    Show answer

    Answer: A He put the keys on the table.

    put does not change in the past.

  5. 5Fill in the gap.

    They _____ us at the station.

    1. meeting
    2. met
    3. meeted
    4. meet
    Show answer

    Answer: B They met us at the station.

    meet → met.

  6. 6Fill in the gap.

    I _____ her at the market yesterday.

    1. see
    2. saw
    3. seen
    4. seed
    Show answer

    Answer: B I saw her at the market yesterday.

    see → saw.

  7. 7Choose the correct sentence.

    1. She write a long letter.
    2. She wrote a long letter.
    3. She written a long letter.
    4. She writed a long letter.
    Show answer

    Answer: B She wrote a long letter.

    write → wrote.

  8. 8Choose the correct sentence.

    1. We come home very late yesterday.
    2. We came home very late.
    3. We comed home very late.
    4. We coming home very late.
    Show answer

    Answer: B We came home very late.

    come → came.

  9. 9This sentence is wrong. Choose the fix.

    Which sentence is wrong?

    1. He told her about the job.
    2. He telled me about the job.
    3. He told me about the job.
    4. They told me about the job.
    Show answer

    Answer: B He telled me about the job.

    tell → told.

  10. 10This sentence is wrong. Choose the fix.

    Which sentence is wrong?

    1. I felt much better after a day.
    2. I feeled much better after a day.
    3. She felt much better after a day.
    4. We felt much better after a day.
    Show answer

    Answer: B I feeled much better after a day.

    feel → felt.

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