Past Simple: Regular & Irregular Verbs
One looks tidy and predictable (regular). Regular verbs politely add -ed.
The other is pure chaos (irregular verbs). They laugh in your face, shapeshift for no reason, and expect you to just “remember them.”
But hey—mistakes are part of the fun. You’ll say buyed instead of bought, laugh, cringe, and eventually nail it.
👉 That’s why students end up memorising two big lists of verbs. But don’t worry — we’re going to make them stick with stories and mnemonics, not tears.
Story Snippet (Irregular verbs)
Yesterday was peak Abroadien chaos
I went abroad (of course) and immediately ate too much pizza 🍕🤢. Then I drank the whole bar’s worth of water 🍺—hydration or madness? Hard to tell.
I saw a cat causing total chaos 🐱💥, while I had no money left 💸😭—classic. Desperate, I bought shoes I absolutely didn’t need 👠😅 and took the wrong train 🚆😬 (again).
Trying to recover, I made coffee… and somehow made a disaster ☕🔥. On the street, I found coins 💰😎, and I said “Jackpot!” before stepping in a puddle 🌊😳.
Quick Explanation
Regular verbs → the polite, predictable ones. They follow the rules: add -ed and done.
- walk → walked
- cook → cooked
- panic → panicked
Irregular verbs → the rebels. They refuse the rules. They wear sunglasses indoors and say, “I don’t follow -ed, deal with it.”
- go → went
- eat → ate
- drink → drank
👉 Each irregular verb = a mini story. That’s how you remember.
Mnemonics for Common Irregulars (A2 Level)
Here’s how to remember the most useful rebels without crying over tables:
- go → went
- “I go abroad, I went wild 😎”
- eat → ate
- “I eat pizza, I ate too much 🍕🤢”
- drink → drank
- “I drink water, I drank the whole bar 🍺”
- see → saw
- “I see the cat, I saw chaos 🐱💥”
- have → had
- “I have money, I had none yesterday 💸😭”
- buy → bought
- “I buy shoes, I bought regrets 👠😅”
- take → took
- “I take photos, I took the wrong train 🚆”
- make → made
- “I make coffee, I made a disaster ☕🔥”
- find → found
- “I find coins, I found chaos 💰😎”
- say → said
- “I say hello, I said nonsense 🤐”
Mini Exercises
1. Fill in the blanks – Past Simple only
2. Multiple-choice – Options (Past Simple)
Chaos Prompt – Creative Writing
Write 3 sentences about yesterday using:
- 2 regular verbs (like played, washed, cooked)
- 2 irregular verbs (like went, ate, found)
Example:
“I cooked pasta, washed the dishes, went to the shop, and ate too much chocolate.”
Tip for Memory – Emoji Associations
- 🍕 = food chaos → ate, drank
- 🐱 = pet chaos → saw, found
- 🛒 = shopping → bought, paid
- 🚆 = travel fails → went, took
- 💸 = money → had, lost
💡 Quick Trick: Regular verbs are boring = “add -ed.” Irregular verbs are hilarious = make a funny mini story.
Check other articles for Past Simple. And remember to read Graded Stories so what you learn STICKS.