Most verbs in English are regular:
Infinitive: walk I walk to work every day
Past Simple: walked I walked on the beach yesterday
Participle: walked I have walked 3 miles already today
We always say -ed in the shortest way possible. Walked is one syllable. Sometimes -ed sounds like -t:
Washed, missed.
Words that end in -d and -t cannot be shortened. Try it! They become two syllables:
Needed, wanted
The sound is -id, not -ed: needid, wantid.
Irregular verbs
Some verbs have the same past participle and past simple form. Examples:
Find found found
Did you find your keys? Yes, I found them under the sofa, but I haven’t found the remote control yet.
Hear heard heard
I’ve just heard there was a bomb in the building. I heard the alarm but I didn’t hear an explosion.
One group has -ght at the end. Do not pronounce the -gh.
Buy bought bought
Did you buy a magazine? I bought Hola but I haven’t bought anything for you yet.
Bring brought brought
I didn’t bring any food, but I brought something to drink. I think Mary has brought a cake.
Think thought thought
Teach taught taught
The most common irregular verbs
The most common irregular verbs are these: be, have, do, say, get, make, go, take, see, and come
Be was/were been
He was in the kitchen. He had been in the kitchen for hours.
See saw seen
Did you see what I saw?
I haven’t seen the film yet.
Have had had
I have breakfast at 7. I had lunch at 1. It is 2 so I have already had lunch.
Say said said
They say English is hard. John said it was easy. I’ve said many times how to study.
Get got got/gotten
It has got cold. It got colder after dinner. It always gets cold then.
Come came come
Do you come here often? I’ve come here five times this week. I came yesterday.
Take took taken
I usually take my phone to work. I’ve always taken my phone to work. I took it yesterday.
Make made made
Did she make a cake? No, she made cookies. I’ve made a mistake.
Do did done
What do you do when the computer doesn’t start. I have done many things this week. Tell me what you did on your holiday.
Go went gone
I rarely go to the cinema, but I went last week.
John has gone to the supermarket.
Many past participles end in -en
Taken, shaken, broken, spoken, written, forgotten, fallen, eaten, chosen, driven
Some past participles ended in -en in the past but have lost the -e
Flown, shown, known, worn
Some past participles end in -t.
They all have the same past simple and participle:
Felt, slept, sent, lent, met, left, kept, meant