10 Irregular Past Verbs to Learn First: went, had, did

Why start with irregular verbs?

We use the past simple to talk about finished actions: what you did yesterday, last week or on holiday. With regular verbs we add ed, such as work and worked. But some of the most common verbs do not follow this rule. They have their own past form, and you need to remember it. These are irregular verbs.

The good news is that ten verbs give you a lot of power to talk about your day. Learn each verb and its past form as one pair, and practise it inside a sentence, not on its own.

Quick table of the ten verbs

The ten verbs with examples

1. go – went

Meaning: to move to a place.

• I went to work by bus.
• They went to Cairo last week.

Note: we say went to the market, but went home with no to.

2. have – had

Meaning: to own, or to eat or drink a meal.

• She had a big breakfast.
• We had a lesson yesterday.

Note: had is the same for every subject: I had, he had, they had.

3. do – did

Meaning: to perform an action.

• I did my homework last night.
• He did the dishes after dinner.

Note: did is also a helper verb in questions and negatives. See the section below.

4. see – saw

Meaning: to look at or notice.

• I saw your brother yesterday.
• We saw a good film on Friday.

Note: the past simple is saw, not seen. Seen has a different use that you do not need yet.

5. eat – ate

Meaning: to take food.

• He ate rice and chicken for lunch.
• We ate at home last night.

Note: ate usually sounds like the word eight.

6. come – came

Meaning: to move towards a place.

• He came home late.
• They came to my house on Friday.

Note: came is the opposite direction of went.

7. get – got

Meaning: to receive, arrive or become.

• I got a message this morning.
• She got home at six.

Note: get has many meanings, so read the whole sentence. American English also has gotten in other grammar patterns, but in the past simple both British and American English use got.

8. make – made

Meaning: to create or prepare.

• My mother made tea.
• We made a mistake.

Note: we say make a mistake, not do a mistake. Learn make and do with their usual partners.

9. take – took

Meaning: to pick up, carry or use.

• I took a taxi to the station.
• She took a photo of the sea.

Note: we say took a taxi and took a photo. The verb often goes with fixed words.

10. say – said

Meaning: to speak words.

• He said hello to everyone.
• She said she was tired.

Note: said is spelled with ai but sounds close to sed.

Negatives and questions: go back to the base form

This is a very important point. In negatives and questions we use did, and then the verb goes back to its base form.

• I went to school. → I did not go to school.
• She saw him. → Did she see him?
• They ate lunch. → Did they eat lunch?

We do not use the past form twice. We do not say Did she saw him.

Common mistakes for Arabic speakers

In Arabic, the past verb changes with the person. In English the past form stays the same for every subject: I went, you went, they went. That makes it easier once you know the form.

How to remember the verbs

1. Say each pair aloud: go, went.
2. Write one sentence about your real day for each verb.
3. Cover the past column in the table and try to remember it.
4. Add a time word such as yesterday or last week.
5. Review after one day, then after three days.

Short practice task

Write the correct form of the verb in brackets.

1. Yesterday I ____ (go) to the market.
2. She ____ (eat) an apple at lunch.
3. We ____ (have) a nice evening.
4. He ____ (take) a bus to work.
5. They ____ (say) goodbye and left.
6. Did you ____ (see) the match? (use the base form)
7. My sister ____ (make) a cake.
8. I did not ____ (come) on Monday. (use the base form)

Answer key

1. went
2. ate
3. had
4. took
5. said
6. see
7. made
8. come

If you missed numbers 6 and 8, remember the rule: after did or did not, the verb goes back to its base form.