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Formation and usage of regular and irregular verbs.
English verbs are classified as regular or irregular according to how they form their past tense and past participle.
Regular verbs follow predictable spelling rules, while irregular verbs have one or more irregular forms.
I worked late yesterday.
Я работал допоздна вчера.
"Worked" is a regular verb whose past tense is formed with "-ed".
She visited her parents last weekend.
Она навещала своих родителей в прошлые выходные.
"Visited" is the regular past form of "visit".
They played tennis on Sunday.
Они играли в теннис в воскресенье.
"Played" is formed regularly by adding "-ed" to "play".
He went to London last year.
Он ездил в Лондон в прошлом году.
"Went" is an irregular past form of "go".
We saw a beautiful sunset.
Мы увидели красивый закат.
"Saw" is an irregular past form of "see".
She opened the window.
Она открыла окно.
"Opened" is a regular past form.
He took the wrong bus.
Он сел не на тот автобус.
"Took" is the irregular past form of "take".
I have finished my work.
Я закончил свою работу.
"Finished" is the regular past participle of "finish".
Regular verbs form the past tense and past participle by adding -ed.
Spelling changes may occur with verbs ending in -e, -y or a consonant-vowel-consonant pattern.
I cleaned my room yesterday.
Я убрал свою комнату вчера.
"Cleaned" is formed by adding "-ed" to "clean".
She watched a movie last night.
Она смотрела фильм прошлой ночью.
"Watched" is the regular past form of "watch".
We lived there for five years.
Мы жили там пять лет.
"Lived" is formed by adding "-d" because "live" already ends in silent "-e".
He studied English at school.
Он изучал английский в школе.
"Studied" changes final "-y" to "-i" before "-ed".
They carried the boxes upstairs.
Они отнесли коробки наверх.
"Carried" is formed by changing final "-y" to "-i" before "-ed".
She planned the trip carefully.
Она тщательно спланировала поездку.
"Planned" doubles the final consonant before "-ed".
I wanted to ask you something.
Я хотел тебя кое о чем спросить.
"Wanted" is the regular past form of "want".
We have visited this museum before.
Мы уже посещали этот музей.
"Visited" is both the regular past tense and past participle form of "visit".
Regular verbs follow specific spelling rules when adding -ed and -ing.
Common changes include doubling the final consonant, dropping silent -e and changing final -y to -i.
She lived in Paris for two years.
Она жила в Париже два года.
A verb ending in silent "-e" takes "-d", giving "lived".
He studied all evening.
Он занимался весь вечер.
A consonant before final "-y" changes "-y" to "-i" before "-ed".
She stopped the car.
Она остановила машину.
"Stopped" doubles the final consonant before "-ed".
We planned everything in advance.
Мы все заранее спланировали.
"Planned" doubles the final consonant before "-ed".
They were carrying heavy bags.
Они несли тяжелые сумки.
"Carrying" changes final "-y" to "-i" only in the past form "carried"; before "-ing", the spelling remains "carrying".
She is making dinner.
Она готовит ужин.
"Making" drops the silent "-e" before "-ing".
He is running in the park.
Он бегает в парке.
"Running" doubles the final consonant before "-ing".
The baby cried loudly.
Ребенок громко плакал.
"Cried" changes final "-y" to "-i" before "-ed".
Irregular verbs do not follow the standard -ed pattern.
Their past tense and past participle forms must usually be learned individually.
I went home early.
Я рано пошел домой.
"Went" is the irregular past form of "go".
She has gone to work.
Она ушла на работу.
"Gone" is the irregular past participle of "go".
He ate breakfast at seven.
Он позавтракал в семь.
"Ate" is the irregular past form of "eat".
We have eaten already.
Мы уже поели.
"Eaten" is the irregular past participle of "eat".
She bought a new phone.
Она купила новый телефон.
"Bought" is the irregular past form of "buy".
I have seen that film twice.
Я дважды смотрел этот фильм.
"Seen" is the irregular past participle of "see".
They took a taxi home.
Они поехали домой на такси.
"Took" is the irregular past form of "take".
He has written three emails.
Он написал три электронных письма.
"Written" is the irregular past participle of "write".
Many irregular verbs follow recurring patterns.
Examples include verbs with identical forms, vowel changes and mixed patterns.
She put the keys on the table.
Она положила ключи на стол.
"Put" has the same form in the base, past and past participle.
He cut the paper with scissors.
Он разрезал бумагу ножницами.
"Cut" has identical base, past and past participle forms.
I sang at the party.
Я пел на вечеринке.
"Sang" is the past form of "sing", showing a vowel-change pattern.
She has sung this song many times.
Она много раз пела эту песню.
"Sung" is the past participle of "sing".
He drove to work yesterday.
Он вчера поехал на работу на машине.
"Drove" is the past form of "drive".
He has driven to work all week.
Он всю неделю ездил на работу на машине.
"Driven" is the past participle of "drive".
They bought a house last year.
Они купили дом в прошлом году.
"Bought" belongs to the vowel-change pattern of "buy → bought → bought".
She found her keys under the sofa.
Она нашла свои ключи под диваном.
"Found" is used for both the past tense and past participle of "find".
Every English verb has principal forms used to build grammatical structures.
Knowing the base form, past tense and past participle is essential for accurate communication.
Go – went – gone.
Идти – пошел – ушедший / ушел.
"Go", "went" and "gone" are the three principal forms of the verb "go".
Take – took – taken.
Брать – взял – взятый / взял.
"Take", "took" and "taken" are the principal forms of "take".
Write – wrote – written.
Писать – написал – написанный.
"Write", "wrote" and "written" form the principal parts of "write".
She wrote a letter yesterday.
Она написала письмо вчера.
"Wrote" is the past tense form of "write".
She has written three letters today.
Сегодня она написала три письма.
"Written" is the past participle used with "has".
Break – broke – broken.
Ломать – сломал – сломанный.
"Break", "broke" and "broken" illustrate three different principal forms.
The window was broken by the ball.
Окно было разбито мячом.
"Broken" is the past participle used in the passive construction.
See – saw – seen.
Видеть – увидел – увиденный.
"See", "saw" and "seen" are the principal forms of "see".
Some irregular verbs occur far more frequently than others.
Learners should master common verbs such as be, have, do, go, come, get, make, take, see and know before less frequent ones.
I was tired after work.
Я устал после работы.
"Was" is a common past form of "be".
She has had enough time.
У нее было достаточно времени.
"Had" is both the past tense and past participle of "have".
He did his homework before dinner.
Он сделал домашнее задание до ужина.
"Did" is the past form of "do".
We went to the beach last summer.
Мы ездили на пляж прошлым летом.
"Went" is the common irregular past form of "go".
She came home late.
Она поздно пришла домой.
"Came" is the past form of "come".
I got a message from him.
Я получил от него сообщение.
"Got" is the past form of the highly frequent verb "get".
He made a mistake.
Он совершил ошибку.
"Made" is the irregular past form of "make".
I knew the answer.
Я знал ответ.
"Knew" is the irregular past form of "know".
Irregular verbs are best learned through patterns, frequency and repeated exposure.
Grouping verbs with similar forms improves long-term retention.
I bought a book and read it that evening.
Я купил книгу и прочитал ее в тот вечер.
"Bought" and "read" are irregular past forms that can be learned together in context.
She came home, took off her coat and sat down.
Она пришла домой, сняла пальто и села.
"Came", "took" and "sat" are common irregular past forms used in one sequence.
He broke his phone and lost his keys on the same day.
Он сломал телефон и потерял ключи в тот же день.
"Broke" and "lost" are irregular past forms that are useful to learn in context.
I have written the report and sent it to my manager.
Я написал отчет и отправил его своему руководителю.
"Written" and "sent" are irregular past participles used with "have".
She has spoken to the client and made a decision.
Она поговорила с клиентом и приняла решение.
"Spoken" and "made" illustrate irregular participle forms in a meaningful context.
They have chosen a new supplier.
Они выбрали нового поставщика.
"Chosen" is easier to remember when learned together with "choose → chose → chosen".
He has driven this route many times.
Он много раз ездил по этому маршруту.
"Driven" is the past participle of "drive" and belongs to the "i–o–i" pattern.
We have seen several changes since then.
С тех пор мы увидели несколько изменений.
"Seen" is best learned as part of the complete paradigm "see → saw → seen".
Most irregular verbs are inherited from earlier stages of English.
Their forms reflect historical sound changes rather than modern spelling rules.
She sang beautifully at the concert.
Она прекрасно пела на концерте.
"Sang" reflects the historical vowel-change pattern inherited from earlier English.
He drove to the office this morning.
Он поехал в офис сегодня утром.
"Drove" belongs to an old Germanic vowel-change pattern rather than a modern "-ed" rule.
They have driven for several hours.
Они ехали несколько часов.
"Driven" preserves an older irregular verb pattern.
The child broke the glass.
Ребенок разбил стекло.
"Broke" is part of the historical "break → broke → broken" vowel-change pattern.
The glass has broken.
Стекло разбилось.
"Broken" preserves the older participial form of "break".
She gave him a letter.
Она дала ему письмо.
"Gave" is an inherited irregular form of "give".
He has given me useful advice.
Он дал мне полезный совет.
"Given" is the inherited irregular past participle of "give".
We went home after the meeting.
Мы пошли домой после собрания.
"Went" is an irregular historical form of "go" rather than a form derived from the modern base verb.
Some verbs have alternative accepted forms in different varieties of English.
Examples include dreamed/dreamt, learned/learnt and spoiled/spoilt.
I dreamed about the trip last night.
Мне приснилась поездка прошлой ночью.
"Dreamed" is a standard past form of "dream" and is especially common in American English.
I dreamt about the trip last night.
Мне приснилась поездка прошлой ночью.
"Dreamt" is an alternative past form of "dream", especially common in British English.
She learned English at school.
Она изучала английский в школе.
"Learned" is a widely used past form of "learn", particularly in American English.
She learnt English at school.
Она изучала английский в школе.
"Learnt" is an alternative past form, especially common in British English.
The children played with the spoiled food.
Дети играли с испорченной едой.
"Spoiled" is a common past participle in American English.
The food had spoilt before we arrived.
Еда испортилась до нашего приезда.
"Spoilt" is an alternative past participle, especially common in British English.
The company has burned the old documents.
Компания сожгла старые документы.
"Burned" is a common regular form in both varieties of English.
The toast was burnt.
Тост подгорел.
"Burnt" is an alternative past participle, particularly common in British English.
Irregular verb lists organize verbs according to their principal forms.
Understanding dictionary entries helps learners identify the correct forms.
The dictionary gives "go – went – gone" as the principal forms.
В словаре указаны основные формы "go – went – gone".
Irregular verb entries commonly show the base form, past tense and past participle.
The verb "write" has the forms "write – wrote – written".
У глагола "write" формы "write – wrote – written".
A dictionary entry can help learners identify the three principal forms of an irregular verb.
The past form of "take" is "took".
Форма прошедшего времени глагола "take" — "took".
Reference information distinguishes the past tense form from the past participle "taken".
The past participle of "see" is "seen".
Причастие прошедшего времени глагола "see" — "seen".
The dictionary form "seen" identifies the participle used in perfect and passive constructions.
The verb "choose" is listed as "choose – chose – chosen".
Глагол "choose" указан как "choose – chose – chosen".
A reference list makes the relationship between the three principal forms explicit.
The dictionary lists both "dreamed" and "dreamt".
В словаре указаны обе формы: "dreamed" и "dreamt".
Dictionaries may record alternative accepted past forms and indicate regional or stylistic preferences.
The entry for "learn" shows "learned" and "learnt" as possible past forms.
В статье для "learn" указаны "learned" и "learnt" как возможные формы прошедшего времени.
Reference works can show variation between alternative verb forms.
I checked the dictionary to find the past participle of "rise".
Я посмотрел в словаре форму причастия прошедшего времени глагола "rise".
Dictionary entries are useful when the correct irregular form is uncertain.
Use the correct past tense and past participle forms for each verb.
Common mistakes include using regular endings for irregular verbs, confusing the past tense with the past participle and applying spelling rules incorrectly.
She went to work yesterday.
Она ходила на работу вчера.
Use the irregular past form "went", not "goed".
I have gone to the store.
Я ушел в магазин.
Use the past participle "gone" after "have", not the past form "went".
He has eaten breakfast.
Он позавтракал.
Use "eaten" as the past participle, not "ate", after "has".
She wrote the report yesterday.
Она написала отчет вчера.
Use the past form "wrote", not the participle "written", for a simple past sentence.
She has written the report.
Она написала отчет.
Use the past participle "written" after "has", not the past form "wrote".
He studies English every day.
Он изучает английский каждый день.
The third-person singular present form is "studies", not "studys".
They have taken the train.
Они сели на поезд.
Use the past participle "taken" after "have", not the past form "took".
She stopped at the traffic lights.
Она остановилась на светофоре.
"Stopped" doubles the final consonant; "stoped" is incorrect.