Using Irregular Verbs
There are hundreds of irregular verbs, and knowing when a verb is irregular can be tricky. A lot of practice and memorization is the key to learning how to use them correctly. Also, if the verb sounds awkward the way that it's being used, it is probably an irregular verb and should be written differently. For example, if you write or say:
I gived her all of my food.
You can tell from the way it sounds that something isn't quite right. Try instead:
I gave her all of my food.
For another example, instead of:
The funny clown falled down.
You should try:
The funny clown fell down.
Further Practice
Read the following paragraph, and see if you can figure out which verbs are being used incorrectly.
I was driving to work yesterday, and crazy things started to happen. First, a bird flied into my windshield. It was ok, but I was shocked. Next, a dog runned into the middle of the street and started juggling- and it was standing on one leg! I was so distracted that I nearly drived off the road! After that, a firetruck speeded by with its sirens blaring, and an elephant spraying water all over the place with its trunk was standing on top. Finally, the sirens turned into my alarm clock going off, and I realized that I had sleeped in too late. It was all a dream!
Did that sound pretty awkward to you? Here is the paragraph again, written the correct way:
I was driving to work yesterday, and crazy things started to happen. First, a bird flew into my windshield. It was ok, but I was shocked. Next, a dog ran into the middle of the street and started juggling- and it was standing on one leg! I was so distracted that I nearly drove off the road! After that, a firetruck sped by with its sirens blaring, and an elephant spraying water all over the place with its trunk was standing on top. Finally, the sirens turned into my alarm clock going off, and I realized that I had slept in too late. It was all a dream!
These are the changed that needed to be made:
- flied→flew
- runned→ran
- drived→drove
- speeded→sped
- sleeped→slept
Now try to fill in the blanks on your own! Choose the correct word for each sentence.
The wind was so strong yesterday that it _____ my picnic table over! blew, blowed
We have _____ all over the country in our trusty, old minivan drived, driven
Did you see how much money we _____ at the laundromat this morning? finded, found
Answers:
The wind was so strong yesterday that it blew my picnic table over!
We have driven all over the country in our trusty, old minivan.
Did you see how much money we found at the laundromat this morning?