Common Past Tense Verbs (Regular & Irregular)

Past tense verbs tell us about actions that already happened. In English, we have two past tense verbs – regular and irregular. Regular past tense verbs are easy to form. Just add ‘-ed‘ to the base verb. For example, ‘walk‘ becomes ‘walked‘, and ‘talk‘ becomes ‘talked‘. But irregular verbs are different. They follow their own special patterns.

Common irregular past tense verbs like ‘go’ (went), ‘eat’ (ate), and ‘see’ (saw) must be memorized. Most English sentences use these past tense verbs to tell stories or describe past events. Students often use past tense when writing about history, sharing personal experiences, or explaining what happened in a book or movie. Learning the most common past tense verbs helps you speak and write better English.

Regular Past Tense Verbs

Common regular past tense verbs in English follow a simple -ed pattern, as shown in everyday examples like ‘played’, ‘walked’, and ‘talked’. Here are the past tense regular verbs in English examples:

Present	Past Tense	Example Sentence
Accept	Accepted	She accepted the award last night.
Answer	Answered	He answered all the questions correctly.
Ask	Asked	They asked for directions.
Bake	Baked	Mom baked cookies yesterday.
Call	Called	I called my friend last week.
Clean	Cleaned	We cleaned the house yesterday.
Close	Closed	The store closed early.
Cook	Cooked	He cooked dinner for everyone.
Dance	Danced	They danced at the party.
End	Ended	The movie ended at 10 PM.
Fill	Filled	She filled the car with gas.
Help	Helped	Tom helped his sister move.
Jump	Jumped	The cat jumped over the fence.
Kiss	Kissed	The couple kissed goodbye.
Learn	Learned	We learned a new song.
Like	Liked	Everyone liked the performance.
Listen	Listened	I listened to music all day.
Live	Lived	They lived in Paris for a year.
Look	Looked	She looked at the stars.
Love	Loved	He loved the birthday surprise.
Move	Moved	We moved to a new house.
Need	Needed	The car needed repairs.
Open	Opened	The new shop opened last week.
Pack	Packed	I packed my bags for the trip.
Paint	Painted	The artist painted a portrait.
Play	Played	The children played in the park.
Rain	Rained	It rained all weekend.
Save	Saved	He saved money for college.
Show	Showed	They showed us their photos.
Start	Started	The race started at noon.
Stop	Stopped	The train stopped suddenly.
Talk	Talked	We talked for hours.
Try	Tried	She tried her best.
Turn	Turned	He turned left at the corner.
Use	Used	They used the new equipment.
Visit	Visited	We visited our grandparents.
Wait	Waited	I waited for an hour.
Walk	Walked	The dog walked beside me.
Want	Wanted	She wanted ice cream.
Watch	Watched	They watched the sunset.
Work	Worked	He worked late last night.

Irregular Past Tense Verbs

Most common irregular past tense verbs in English have unique forms that differ from regular patterns, as seen in frequently used examples like ‘went’ (from go), ‘ate’ (from eat), and ‘saw’ (from see), which are essential for proper English verb conjugation. Here are some examples of past tense irregular verbs in English:

Present	Past Tense	Example Sentence
Be	Was/Were	I was tired yesterday.
Begin	Began	The concert began late.
Break	Broke	He broke his arm skiing.
Bring	Brought	She brought lunch for everyone.
Build	Built	They built a new house.
Buy	Bought	We bought new furniture.
Come	Came	They came to visit us.
Do	Did	He did his homework.
Drink	Drank	We drank coffee this morning.
Drive	Drove	I drove to the beach.
Eat	Ate	They ate at the new restaurant.
Fall	Fell	The leaves fell from the trees.
Feel	Felt	She felt sick yesterday.
Find	Found	He found his lost keys.
Get	Got	We got home late.
Give	Gave	They gave us directions.
Go	Went	She went to the store.
Have	Had	I had a great time.
Hear	Heard	We heard the news.
Keep	Kept	He kept the secret.
Know	Knew	They knew the answer.
Leave	Left	The train left on time.
Make	Made	Mom made dinner.
Meet	Met	I met my friend downtown.
Pay	Paid	She paid for lunch.
Put	Put	He put the books away.
Read	Read	They read the entire book.
Run	Ran	The dog ran after the ball.
Say	Said	He said goodbye.
See	Saw	We saw a movie.
Sell	Sold	They sold their car.
Send	Sent	I sent the package.
Sing	Sang	The choir sang beautifully.
Sit	Sat	We sat in the front row.
Sleep	Slept	The baby slept all night.
Speak	Spoke	She spoke to the manager.
Stand	Stood	He stood in line.
Take	Took	They took the bus.
Tell	Told	I told you the truth.
Think	Thought	We thought about it.
Understand	Understood	She understood the lesson.
Wake	Woke	He woke up early.
Wear	Wore	I wore my new shoes.
Win	Won	Our team won the game.
Write	Wrote	She wrote a letter.

Past Tense Verbs Worksheets