The document discusses irregular verbs, which do not follow the regular rule of adding "-ed" to form the past tense and instead have different past tense spellings that must be memorized. It provides examples of irregular verb conjugations in the present and past tense, as well as with helping verbs. Worksheets and activities are suggested for practicing identifying and using irregular verbs in speaking and writing.

1. Jillian Whetstone
ESL 501

2.  Verb – a word that shows action
 Present Tense – shows action that is happening now
 Past Tense – shows action that has already happened
 Irregular Verb – do not add –ed to show past action

3.  To identify irregular verbs
 To use irregular verbs in speaking and writing
 EQ: How does an irregular verb change from the
present tense to the past tense?

4.  Most verbs end in –ed to show past tense
 Examples: drop – dropped, skip – skipped
 An irregular verb does not end in –ed.
 Irregular verbs have different spellings or different
endings that need to be learned.
 Example: Yesterday, my mom bought me a book about
dolphins.

5. Present Tense Past Tense
break broke
bring brought
come came
begin began
eat ate
give gave
grow grew
know knew
make made
say said
tell told
take took

6. 1. I (know) that my teacher took a trip this summer.
2. Our teacher (brings) photographs to show us.
3. She (tells) us all about her trip to California.
4. In Napa Valley, they (grow) their own grapes.

7. 5. We (take) a day to tour the Redwood Forest.
6. We (leave) in time to get to the airport.
7. We (drive) to the Jelly Belly factory to take a tour.
8. My family and I (make) a plan to go again next year.

8.  Some helping verbs include: had, have, and has
 Most irregular verbs change to a different spelling
when they are used with helping verbs.
 Let’s look at an example sentence:
Mrs. Adams has taken many classes.

9. Present Past Past with Helping Verb
Break Broke (has, have, had) broken
Bring Brought (has, have, had) brought
Come Came (has, have, had) come
Begin Began (has, have, had) begun
Eat Ate (has, have, had) eaten
Give Gave (has, have, had) given
Grow Grew (has, have, had) grown
Know Knew (has, have, had) known
Make Made (has, have, had) made
Say Said (has, have, had) said
Tell Told (has, have, had) told
Take Took (has, have, had) taken

10. 1. My parents had (drive) all morning to get to the shore.
 Answer: had driven
2. Then, they had (ride) the ferry to get to Ocracoke.
 Answer: had ridden
3. We have (take) this trip before.
 Answer: have taken
4. My brother has (tell) me where to eat there.
 Answer: has told

11. 5. The school (had grown, had grew) by thirty-two
students.
6. No one (has done, has did) more homework than
Sarah.
7. The students (have took, have taken) thirty minutes of
recess today.

12. Thumbs Up/Thumbs Down Activity
Excerpt From: A
Father’s Garden by
Ana Maria Alvarado
One day, David was sad when he came home from
school. His mother gave him a snack to eat. She asked
if something was wrong.
David told her that he didn’t go see his father
because he didn’t have time. He was going to play
basketball with his friends. They wanted to practice
and get ready for Saturday’s game with the kids from
another street. After practice, David was going to
come right home because he had a lot of homework to
do tonight.

13.  Irregular verbs are those that do not follow the rule of
adding –ed to form the past tense.
 Irregular verbs have different past tense spellings that
need to be remembered, or memorized.
 Sometimes when used with a helping verb, the spelling
changes again
Closed – regular
Thought – irregular
Have taken – irregular with helping verb

14. EQ: How does an irregular verb change from the present
tense to the past tense?
 Write the irregular verb form of the verb in
parentheses that belongs in each sentence.
1. Our journey__________ at 8:30 yesterday. (begin)
2. My sister had__________ a map of Pennsylvania.
(bring)
3. The train___________ us through the mountain.
(take)
4. A conductor___________ us a receipt for the ride.
(give)

15. Games
1. This is a game to play on the computer where you drag the verbs into either the regular or irregular verb
box. http://www.english-grammar-lessons.com/irregularverbs/exercise1.swf
2. Irregular Verbs Fun Deck – This is a game to be played on the computer through iTunes, where you
choose the correct verb to complete each sentence.
Reading Activities
1. Choose a box from your book box. Get a piece of paper and fold it in half. On one half write regular
and on the other half write irregular. As you are reading make a list of regular and irregular verbs you
find in your book. This is an independent activity.
2. Partner read your guided reading book. As you read together, write down any irregular verbs you find.
Writing Activities
1. Take an irregular verb worksheet. Some of the examples show present tense and some show past tense.
Fill in the missing tense.
2. Look back in your writing journal to a previous entry that you have made. Underline all the verbs in
that entry and above each one write either R or I. R stands for regular verb and I stands for irregular.
If you find any mistakes in your irregular verbs, please correct them.

16.  http://www.thinkcentral.com/ - Houghton Mifflin
Journeys
 A Father’s Garden by Ana Maria Alvarado
 http://www.elcerritowire.com/4/grammar.htm
 http://www.english-grammar-
lessons.com/irregularverbs/exercise1.swf