Help ESL Learners Learn Irregular Verbs

List of irregular verbs

shake
shine
shoot
show
shrink
shut
sing
sink
sit
sleep
smell
speak
spell
spend
spoil
spread
spring
stand
steal
stick
sweep
swing
take
teach
tear
tell
think
throw
understand
wake
wear
win
write

beat, beat, beaten

• The present and past tense of beat is beat. The past participle is beaten.

• Don't beat me!
  I beat her yesterday.
  Did you beat the eggs?
  They have been beaten.

:)

become became become

I want to become a teacher.
I became impatient.
What has become of me?

bet, bet, bet

Present tense:

• I bet I can run faster than you.

Past tense:

• I bet five dollars on number 5 in the fifth race.

Past participle:

• I have bet on football games many times.

:)

bite, bit, bitten

• Dogs sometimes bite people.
  That dog bit me.
  I have been bitten.
  Have you ever been bitten by a dog?

• Don't bite me!
  It's not nice to bite people.
  The cat bit the dog.
  I have been bitten by a dog.
  A person is most likely to be bitten by his own dog.

drink, drank, drunk, drinking

I drink.
I drank.
I have drunk.
I have been drinking.

He drinks.
He drank.
He has drunk.
He has been drinking.


They drink beer.
They drank beer.
They drank all the beer.
They have drunk the beer.
They have been drinking beer.

You drink.
You drank.
You have drunk.
You have been drinking.

What have you been drinking?
What did you drink?

I drink coffee in the morning.
I drank coffee this morning.
I have drunk coffee before.
I have never drunk whiskey.
I have been drinking coffee all morning.

Q: Where is the soda I was drinking?
A: Sheila drank it. She was thirsty.

I drank the orange juice last night.
I have drunk mugs of strawberry Kool-Aid.
I drank water from the tap.
I have drunk beer in the past.
Sheila has been drinking.
I drank a cup of tea.

find: find, found, found, finding

• I find things when I look for them.
  Sometimes I find things when I am not looking for them.
  I was looking for love, and I found it.
  I have found a gold mine.
  Have you found anything?
  No, I haven't found anything.
  I once found a $20 bill.
  I hope you find what you are looking for.
  I shall find it.
  I didn't find anything. Did you find anything?

keep: keep, kept, kept, keeping

Keep to the schedule. (Present tense.)
It is kept in a box. (Past participle, present progressive.)
It is being kept in a safe place. (Past participle, present progressive.)
It was kept in good condition for a long time. (past participle, past perfect.)
He is keeping time to the music. (Present participle, present progressive.)
Don't keep doing that. (Present tense.)
Please keep this in a safe place. (Present tense.)
She is keeping it with her. (Present participle, present progressive.)

write: write, wrote, written, writing

Will Will write a letter? (Present tense.)
She wrote the note illegibly. (Past tense.)
It was written in a hurry. (Past participle, past perfect.)
He has been writing that letter for an hour. (Present participle, present progressive.)

do: do, did, done, doing

It's best to do it right or not do it at all.
I did it.
I have done it.
I have been doing it for years.