Irregular verbs game
Do — did — done. A verb appears: mark its past simple and past participle before the timer runs out. The faster you answer, the faster it gets. Mistakes come back a few cards later, so the tricky verbs stick.
Verb Rush
How to play
See the verb
A base form appears, say do, with two empty boxes: V2 and V3.
Mark the forms
Tap the past simple first (did), then the past participle (done) — or press 1–6. Every right answer in a row shortens the timer and raises the multiplier.
Learn from mistakes
A wrong tile shows the right forms and costs a life. That verb comes back a few cards later.
Four patterns that make irregular verbs easier
Irregular verbs look random, but most of them follow one of four patterns. Learning them in groups is much faster than learning a list from A to Z.
Past simple = past participle
66buy — bought — bought, find — found — found, say — said — said. The largest group.
Three different forms
43go — went — gone, drink — drank — drunk, write — wrote — written. The ones to practise most.
Participle = base form
4come — came — come, run — ran — run, become — became — become.
All three forms the same
14cut — cut — cut, put — put — put, let — let — let.
List of irregular verbs
All 127 verbs used in the game, from the most common to the rarer ones. Where British and American English differ (learnt / learned), both forms are correct.
| Base form (V1) | Past simple (V2) | Past participle (V3) |
|---|---|---|
| Everyday (A1–A2) | ||
| be | was/were | been |
| have | had | had |
| do | did | done |
| say | said | said |
| go | went | gone |
| get | got | got / gotten |
| make | made | made |
| know | knew | known |
| think | thought | thought |
| take | took | taken |
| see | saw | seen |
| come | came | come |
| give | gave | given |
| find | found | found |
| tell | told | told |
| become | became | become |
| leave | left | left |
| feel | felt | felt |
| put | put | put |
| bring | brought | brought |
| begin | began | begun |
| keep | kept | kept |
| hold | held | held |
| write | wrote | written |
| stand | stood | stood |
| hear | heard | heard |
| let | let | let |
| mean | meant | meant |
| meet | met | met |
| run | ran | run |
| pay | paid | paid |
| sit | sat | sat |
| speak | spoke | spoken |
| lose | lost | lost |
| buy | bought | bought |
| send | sent | sent |
| build | built | built |
| understand | understood | understood |
| eat | ate | eaten |
| drink | drank | drunk |
| sleep | slept | slept |
| read | read | read |
| Common (A2–B1) | ||
| fall | fell | fallen |
| cut | cut | cut |
| sell | sold | sold |
| teach | taught | taught |
| catch | caught | caught |
| fight | fought | fought |
| drive | drove | driven |
| ride | rode | ridden |
| choose | chose | chosen |
| forget | forgot | forgotten |
| break | broke | broken |
| wake | woke | woken |
| steal | stole | stolen |
| grow | grew | grown |
| throw | threw | thrown |
| fly | flew | flown |
| draw | drew | drawn |
| show | showed | shown / showed |
| wear | wore | worn |
| swim | swam | swum |
| sing | sang | sung |
| ring | rang | rung |
| win | won | won |
| spend | spent | spent |
| lend | lent | lent |
| lead | led | led |
| feed | fed | fed |
| hit | hit | hit |
| hurt | hurt | hurt |
| cost | cost | cost |
| shut | shut | shut |
| set | set | set |
| lie | lay | lain |
| lay | laid | laid |
| hide | hid | hidden |
| bite | bit | bitten |
| shake | shook | shaken |
| learn | learnt / learned | learnt / learned |
| burn | burnt / burned | burnt / burned |
| dream | dreamt / dreamed | dreamt / dreamed |
| light | lit / lighted | lit / lighted |
| shoot | shot | shot |
| dig | dug | dug |
| hang | hung | hung |
| beat | beat | beaten |
| forgive | forgave | forgiven |
| freeze | froze | frozen |
| blow | blew | blown |
| Less common (B1–B2) | ||
| arise | arose | arisen |
| bet | bet | bet |
| bind | bound | bound |
| bleed | bled | bled |
| burst | burst | burst |
| creep | crept | crept |
| deal | dealt | dealt |
| flee | fled | fled |
| forbid | forbade | forbidden |
| kneel | knelt / kneeled | knelt / kneeled |
| lean | leant / leaned | leant / leaned |
| leap | leapt / leaped | leapt / leaped |
| overcome | overcame | overcome |
| seek | sought | sought |
| shine | shone | shone |
| shrink | shrank | shrunk |
| slide | slid | slid |
| smell | smelt / smelled | smelt / smelled |
| spell | spelt / spelled | spelt / spelled |
| spill | spilt / spilled | spilt / spilled |
| spin | spun | spun |
| spit | spat / spit | spat / spit |
| split | split | split |
| spread | spread | spread |
| stick | stuck | stuck |
| sting | stung | stung |
| strike | struck | struck |
| swear | swore | sworn |
| sweep | swept | swept |
| swing | swung | swung |
| tear | tore | torn |
| upset | upset | upset |
| weep | wept | wept |
| wind | wound | wound |
| withdraw | withdrew | withdrawn |
| grind | ground | ground |
| mislead | misled | misled |
Questions about irregular verbs
How many irregular verbs are there in English?
Around 200 are in common use, but about 100 cover almost everything you will read or hear. This game uses the 127 most useful ones, starting with the everyday core.
What is the difference between past simple and past participle?
Past simple (V2) describes a finished action: “I went home.” Past participle (V3) is used with have and in the passive: “I have gone”, “The window was broken.”
What is the fastest way to learn irregular verbs?
Learn them by pattern, practise little and often, and recall them under light time pressure — exactly what the game does. Reading also helps: every book repeats the most common verbs hundreds of times.
Is “learned” or “learnt” correct?
Both. British English often uses learnt, dreamt and burnt; American English prefers learned, dreamed and burned. Either form is accepted.
What is the daily challenge?
Fifteen verbs, the same for every player on a given day, both forms each and no lives — just your score. Share your result and come back tomorrow for a new set.