Irregular Verbs

Cut, Cut, Cut
 
 

Regular Verbs

Verbs in English have three forms: the base form (or infinitive without “to”), the past simple, and the past participle.

With regular verbs, the past simple and past participles are formed by adding -d or -ed, or -ied (in place of most y endings) to the end.

Most English verbs are regular.

Irregular verbs do not follow this rule.

Irregular Verbs

1. One kind of irregular verb changes in the past tense and then keeps that same form in the past participle. Examples include feed, fed, fed; and win, won, won.

2. Another kind adds an -n or -en to the base form or to the past tense form to make the past participle. Examples include know, knew, known; and speak, spoke, spoken.

3. Other verbs have irregular changes in spelling for each principal part, as in slay, slew, slain.

Cut, Cut, Cut

4. Still others use the same form for all principal parts. They include cost, cut, set, and shut. These verbs are called invariables.

5. A large group of irregular verbs shows a change of vowel in both the past tense and past participle: begin, began, begun; ring, rang, rung; swim, swam, swum.

Through usage, many verbs of this type are gradually changing into regular verbs with -ed endings.

For example, the verb strive has the irregular forms strive, strove, striven and also has the regular forms strive, strived, strived.

See REGULAR AND IRREGULAR VERBS.

In this lesson, we look at the forth set of irregular verbs.

Vocabulary

bet	bid	burst
cut	cast	shed
let	cost	hurt
red	quit	spread
put	shut	split
set

 
 

Bet, Bet, Bet

1. bet, bet, bet
Last night, many people lost money, while other won money. Why did some people win and lose money?

People bet on many different things. Is this correct or incorrect? Give examples.

Is betting good or bad?

2. bid, bid, bid

3. burst, burst, burst
Quick! Call a plumber! . . . . .
Do water pipe burst during the winter?
Do plumbers make good money?

It was a bubble economy. What happened?
4. cast, cast, cast
The director cast Natalie and Dan in the starring role of the movie. Why did the director cast Natalie and Dan in the starring role?

Who would you cast in your own movie or TV program?
5. cost, cost, cost
How much does gasoline (petrol), bread, rice, apples, shoes, and a cup of coffee cost?

My grandparents say everything cost the same when they were young. Is this right or wrong? How much did gasoline (petrol), bread, rice, apples, shoes, and a cup of coffee cost in your grandparents’ time?

6. cut, cut, cut
What should you do if you cut yourself? If you cut yourself, you should . . .

Many pensioners feel squeezed. Why?

Hit, Hit, Hit

7. hit, hit, hit
The judge fined Max $300. Max was fined $300 by the judge. Why did the judge fine Max $300?

8. hurt, hurt, hurt
“Don’t worry, this won’t hurt.” Who said this? What happened next?

Carol hurt Wendell’s feelings last week. How did she hurt his feelings?

9. let, let, let
The government of Iran lets people do anything they want. True or false?

Paul and Nancy, two teenagers, are very happy. How come?

10. put, put, put
Mrs. Karimi bought a new vase. What did she do with it?

Dr. Franklin earns $120,000 a year. What does he do with his money?

11. quit, quit, quit
Roger was fed up with his boss and job. What did he do? What does Roger want to do?

What do all successful people have in common?

12. read /ri:d/, read /red/, read /red/
Mrs. Branco is a successful business woman. Christina has a successful career. What is their secret?

Set, Set, Set

13. set, set, set
Herostratus set the Temple of Artemis (Diana) on fire. Why did he set the temple on fire?

14. shed, shed, shed
What did the snake do?

Roy has shed his old ways. Describe what happened.

15. shut, shut, shut
Bill’s mother was angry with him. Why was she angry?

Tom is a hermit; he has shut himself out from the rest of the world. How has he shut himself out? Why did he shut himself out?

16. split, split, split
Terry and Laura have split up. Why did they split up? They broke up because….

17. spread, spread, spread
What do people spread on bread?

Give examples of things that have spread over the internet.