Past Simple Irregular Verbs: Practice Activities and Full List

11/14/2025 Learning & Grammer created by Sprachcaffe Team

Explanation and examples of irregular verbs in the past simple.

The past simple is one of the most used verb tenses in the English language and also one of the first topics to address when approaching the study of this language.

But, after having also analyzed the verbs essere (to be) and avere (to have), we now know: pitfalls are always lurking when studying the British language!

Indeed, there are so many irregular verbs in the past simple, and it would be best to be able to remember and memorize them so you can identify, recognize, and use them in conversation.

Don't worry, though: in most cases these are very common verbs, which you've undoubtedly already heard and encountered during your time learning this language. In other cases, however, these are irregular English verbs in the past simple that are less recognizable, and therefore these are the ones you'll need to focus on.

Continue reading this Sprachcaffe lesson to learn everything about the past simple: irregular verbs to recognize, how to use them, and examples to help you understand better.

At the end of the lesson, you'll find a couple of exercises to test the skills you've just acquired and make sure everything's clear. Let's begin!

Past Simple Irregular Verbs: What are they?

Before identifying which verbs are irregular in the past simple, let's quickly review this verb tense.

In its regular form, the past simple is formed using the ending -ed , to be added to the end of the verb in the infinitive form without the "to".

Some examples:

to walk → walked
to live → lived
to collect → collected
to work → worked

Every rule, as we know, has its exceptions to confirm it: as far as the past simple is concerned, there are so many irregular verbs in the English language that they can be divided into patterns so that they can be learned together, as if they followed their own rules.

Many, in fact, have characteristics that slightly modify the rule, while other irregular verbs form the past simple in ways that are completely different from what the rule dictates, and also different from their infinitive form.

A prime example of this is the verb "to go ." While we might expect something like "goed" in the past simple, the word for this verb in the past tense is actually "went."

I go to the supermarket. → I went to the supermarket.

A curiosity that makes this lesson so important is that verbs with irregularities are, in most cases, verbs used a lot in everyday life, indicating daily actions and having widely used meanings.

The previous example is a clear demonstration of this, as is the verb essere - to be -, which is also irregular in the past simple:

I am an architect. → I was an architect, now I am a musician.

For this reason, learning irregularities by heart can be a good choice when you want to learn English as best as possible.

When to Use Irregular Verbs in the Simple Past Tense

The simple past, or passato semplice, is one of the most used verb tenses in the English language, and this is all too clear at this point.

But in what cases is it right to use it ?

Here are the situations in which we apply the past simple, irregular and non-irregular verbs:

Finished actions in the past: Used to describe actions that began and were completed at a specific time in the past. The time of the action, in this case, is explicitly indicated in the sentence through phrases or adverbs of time.

Example:
- I went to the store yesterday. = I went to the store yesterday.
Sequence of past events: Used to describe a series of actions that occurred one after the other in the past, usually related in some way.

Example:
-She arrived at the party, greeted her friends, and then danced all night.
Habitual actions in the past : The simple past can be used to describe habitual or regular actions that occurred in the past.

Example :
-He always watched cartoons on Saturday mornings. = He always watched cartoons on Saturday mornings.

Note: a particular form of the past simple is the phrase "used to," which is used to talk about something that was habitual in the past but, for one reason or another, is no longer so today. For example, in the previous sentence, we could have replaced "he used to watch," since it's an action related to childhood that no longer occurs as frequently today.
Stories and Narrations : The simple past is often used in narrating stories, tales, or past events.

Example:
Once upon a time, there lived a brave knight. = Once upon a time, there lived a brave knight. (or "there was")

In short, the simple past is used to talk about finished actions, sequences of past events, habitual actions in the past, and in narrations of past stories or events.

Irregular Verbs in the Simple Past: Complete List

Now that we know all the main characteristics, all that's left is to discover in more detail which verbs are irregular in the past simple.

Learning them all at once would be impossible, since it is estimated that there are around two hundred verbs that have at least one irregularity.

But as we mentioned before, many of the irregular verbs in the past simple are the most commonly used, so you probably already know them. While some will be a refresher course, others will allow you to gain new knowledge and expand your vocabulary, including the irregular ones.

Here, then, is a list of irregular verbs in the past simple that may be particularly useful for your learning path:

To be: I/he/she/it was, you/we/they were
To have (avere) had
To do (fare): did
To ho (to go): went
To see (to see): saw
To eat (to eat): ate
To drink (bere): drank
To take (prendere): took
To come (to come): came
To give (dare): gave
To make (fare): made
To read (read): read (In this case, the written form remains the same, but the pronunciation changes. It is pronounced "red")
To write (to write): wrote
To say (dire): said
To think (pensare): thought
To drive (to drive): drove
To find (trovare): found
To hear (sentire): heard
To lose (perdere): lost
To know (sapere): knew
To begin (initiate): began
To blow (turn off): blew
To break (spezzare): broke
To bring (portare): brought
To build (to construct): built
To buy (comprare): bought
To throw (launch): threw
To understand: understood
To win (to win): won
To choose (choose): chose
To sing (sing): sang
To swim (swim): swam
To wake up (svegliarsi): woke up
To catch (to take): caught
To cut (tagliare): cut
To forget: forgot
To put (to put): put
To bind (legare): bound
To fight (combattere): fought
To rise (sorgere): rose
To meet (to know, to encounter): met
To teach (insegnare): taught

As you can see, some forms remain the same as the infinitive verb without the "to", others are completely transformed, and still others remain the same but the pronunciation changes.

In several cases, however, we can notice a certain "rule" in the irregularity: the verb fight, the verb teach, the verb catch and the verb buy, for example, all seem to follow the same direction (f ought, taught, caught, bought. ) For this reason, studying irregular verbs in the past simple can turn out to be easier than you thought!

To make the concept clearer, let's look at some examples of sentences in which the past simple is used for verbs that involve conjugation irregularities:

Of course, here are 10 more sentences with irregular verbs in the simple past:

1. I drove to work yesterday.

2. She fell asleep while reading a book.

3. They hid the treasure in the backyard.

4. He held the door open for her.

5. We kept our promise to visit them.

6. She lent me her umbrella when it rained.

7. They lost the keys to their house.

8. He met his old friend for lunch.

9. We paid the bill at the restaurant.

10. She rode her bike to school every day.

Exercises on Past Simple Irregular Verbs with Solutions

At this point, you know everything you need to know about the past simple and its irregular verbs: the rules of use are the same as for the regular past simple, of course, so if you have any doubts, we recommend reviewing the relevant lesson.

After that, you're ready to put your newly acquired skills to the test with a couple of exercises on irregular verbs in the past simple!

Exercise 1: Complete the sentences with the past simple of the verb in brackets.

I _____ to the store yesterday. → I went to the supermarket yesterday. (go)
She _____ sushi for dinner last night. → She ate sushi for dinner last night. (eat)
They _____ to the beach on Saturday. → They drove to the beach on Saturday. (drive)
He _____ a letter to his friend. → He wrote a letter to his friend.
We _____ coffee at the café this morning. → We drank coffee at the bar this morning. (drink)
She _____ beautifully at the concert. → She sang divinely at the concert.
They _____ a marathon last month. → They ran a marathon last month. (run)
He _____ his leg while skiing. → He broke his leg while skiing.
We _____ in the ocean during our vacation. → We swam in the ocean during our vacation. (swim)
She _____ fluent French during the presentation. → She spoke fluent French during the presentation. (speak)

Exercise 2: Translate the following sentences using the past simple

I slept late this morning.
She bought a new car last week.
They forgot to bring their passports to the airport.
He chose the blue shirt for the party.
We saw a movie at the cinema on Friday.
She taught English abroad for a year.
They caught a big fish while fishing in the lake.
He fought bravely during the battle.
We thought the concert was wonderful.
She took her dog to the park yesterday.

Below you'll find the solutions to the two exercises we gave you about irregular English verbs in the past simple: don't take a peek until you're done, and let us know how it went!

If you feel ready, move on to the next lesson with Sprachcaffe: we'll talk about personal pronouns in English: what they are, their uses, and examples!
Solutions
Exercise 1	Exercise 2
went	I slept late this morning.
you	She bought a new car last week.
drove	They forgot to bring their passports to the airport.
wrote	He chose the blue shirt for the party.
drank	We saw a movie at the cinema on Friday.
blood	She taught English abroad for a year.
ran	They caught a big fish while fishing in the lake.
broke	He fought bravely in the battle.
swam	We thought the concert was amazing.
spoke	She brought her dog to the park yesterday.