Mastering English Irregular Verbs and Simple Past Tense

Posted on Feb 7, 2026 in Aerospace Vehicle Engineering

Essential English Irregular Verbs

Infinitive – Past Simple (Spanish Translation)

  • Be – was (Ser, estar)
  • Beat – beat (Golpear, derrotar)
  • Become – became (Llegar a ser, convertirse)
  • Begin – began (Empezar)
  • Bend – bent (Doblarse)
  • Bet – bet (Apostar)
  • Bite – bit (Morder)
  • Bleed – bled (Sangrar)
  • Blow – blew (Soplar, explotar)
  • Break – broke (Romper)
  • Bring – brought (Traer)
  • Build – built (Construir)
  • Burn – burnt/burned (Quemar)
  • Buy – bought (Comprar)
  • Catch – caught (Coger, atrapar)
  • Choose – chose (Elegir)
  • Come – came (Venir)
  • Cost – cost (Costar)
  • Cut – cut (Cortar)
  • Dig – dug (Cavar)
  • Do – did (Hacer)
  • Draw – drew (Dibujar)
  • Dream – dreamt/dreamed (Soñar)
  • Drink – drank (Beber)
  • Drive – drove (Conducir)
  • Eat – ate (Comer)
  • Fall – fell (Caerse)
  • Feed – fed (Alimentar)
  • Feel – felt (Sentirse)
  • Fight – fought (Luchar)
  • Find – found (Encontrar)
  • Fly – flew (Volar)
  • Forget – forgot (Olvidar)
  • Forgive – forgave (Perdonar)
  • Freeze – froze (Congelar)
  • Get – got (Conseguir, coger)
  • Give – gave (Dar)
  • Go – went (Ir)
  • Grow – grew (Crecer)
  • Hang – hung/hanged (Colgar, ahorcar)
  • Have – had (Tener, haber)
  • Hear – heard (Oír)
  • Hide – hid (Esconderse)
  • Hit – hit (Golpear)
  • Hold – held (Sostener, abrazar)
  • Hurt – hurt (Hacer daño)
  • Keep – kept (Guardar)
  • Know – knew (Saber)
  • Lay – laid (Poner)
  • Lead – led (Dirigir)
  • Learn – learnt/learned (Aprender)
  • Leave – left (Marcharse)
  • Lend – lent (Prestar)
  • Let – let (Permitir, alquilar)
  • Lie – lied (Mentir)
  • Light – lit (Iluminar)
  • Lose – lost (Perder)
  • Make – made (Hacer)
  • Mean – meant (Significar)
  • Meet – met (Conocer)
  • Pay – paid (Pagar)
  • Put – put (Poner)
  • Read – read (Leer)
  • Ride – rode (Montar)
  • Ring – rang (Llamar, sonar)
  • Rise – rose (Levantarse)
  • Run – ran (Correr)
  • Say – said (Decir)
  • See – saw (Ver)
  • Sell – sold (Vender)
  • Send – sent (Enviar)
  • Set – set (Marcar, establecer)
  • Shake – shook (Agitar)
  • Shine – shone (Brillar)
  • Shoot – shot (Disparar)
  • Show – showed (Mostrar)
  • Shut – shut (Cerrar)
  • Sing – sang (Cantar)
  • Sink – sank (Hundirse)
  • Sit – sat (Sentarse)
  • Sleep – slept (Dormir)
  • Smell – smelt/smelled (Oler)
  • Speak – spoke (Hablar)
  • Spell – spelt/spelled (Deletrear)
  • Spend – spent (Gastar)
  • Stand – stood (Estar de pie)
  • Steal – stole (Robar)
  • Stick – stuck (Pegar con pegamento)
  • Sweep – swept (Barrer)
  • Swim – swam (Nadar)
  • Take – took (Tomar)
  • Teach – taught (Enseñar)
  • Tear – tore (Rasgar)
  • Tell – told (Contar)
  • Think – thought (Pensar)
  • Throw – threw (Lanzar)
  • Understand – understood (Entender)
  • Wake up – woke up (Despertarse)
  • Wear – wore (Llevar puesto)
  • Win – won (Ganar)
  • Write – wrote (Escribir)

English Vocabulary

Animals and Adjectives

  • Bear (oso)
  • Cow (vaca)
  • Elephant
  • Fox
  • Funny (divertido)
  • Giraffe
  • Horse
  • Lion
  • Monkey
  • Pig
  • Snake
  • Tiger
  • Zebra

Activities and Phrases

  • Go camping
  • Go to the beach
  • Go to the park
  • Go to the theatre
  • Look around (mirar alrededor)
  • Tour the city
  • Visit art galleries
  • Visit markets
  • Visit the zoo
  • Welcome back

Simple Past Tense (Pasado Simple)

The Simple Past is used to describe actions completed in the past.

1. Affirmative Form

The verb form depends on whether it is regular (add -ed) or irregular (use the specific Past Simple form).

Structure: Subject (I, You, He, She, It, We, They) + Verb (Past Simple form: Regular or Irregular)

2. Negative Form

We use the auxiliary verb did not (didn’t) followed by the base form of the main verb.

Structure: Subject + did not (didn’t) + Verb (Base Form)

3. Interrogative Form and Short Answers

We use the auxiliary verb Did at the beginning of the sentence, followed by the base form of the main verb.

Structure: Did + Subject + Verb (Base Form)?

Short Answers: Yes, [Subject] did. / No, [Subject] didn’t.

Practice Examples

  • Carmen went to a museum yesterday.
  • Carmen didn’t go to a museum yesterday. She went to an art gallery.
  • Angela studied Chinese last week.
  • She didn’t study Chinese last week. She studied Japanese.
  • I worked in a shop many years ago.
  • I didn’t work in a shop many years ago. I worked in an office.
  • Carmen gave Angela a pen.
  • Carmen didn’t give Angela a pen. She gave Angela a dictionary.
  • I took photos at the zoo.
  • Did I take photos at the zoo?
  • Mark went to the beach yesterday.
  • Did Mark go to the beach yesterday?