One problem with using the past simple and the present perfect is that some verbs are regular (add ‘ed’ to the verb) and others are irregular (change the verb itself). Remembering all those irregular verbs is not easy. Let’s look at the most common irregular verbs in business English.
Task 1: Complete the table of irregular verbs.
|
became
|
become
|
|
leave
|
|
|
|
begin
|
|
|
let
|
|
|
|
bring
|
|
|
make
|
|
|
|
come
|
|
|
meet
|
|
|
|
do
|
|
|
pay
|
|
|
|
feel
|
|
|
put
|
|
|
|
find
|
|
|
read
|
|
|
|
get
|
|
|
say
|
|
|
|
give
|
|
|
see
|
|
seen
|
|
go
|
|
|
send
|
|
|
|
have
|
|
|
set
|
|
|
|
hear
|
|
|
take
|
|
|
|
hold
|
|
|
tell
|
|
|
|
keep
|
|
|
think
|
|
|
|
know
|
|
|
understand
|
|
|
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*2014/12/26更新
Task 1 Feedback:
Past simple & present perfect: irregular verbs
Here are the answers to the previous task:
|
become
|
became
|
become
|
leave
|
left
|
left
|
|
begin
|
began
|
begun
|
let
|
let
|
let
|
|
bring
|
brought
|
brought
|
make
|
made
|
made
|
|
come
|
came
|
come
|
meet
|
met
|
met
|
|
do
|
did
|
done
|
pay
|
paid
|
paid
|
|
feel
|
felt
|
felt
|
put
|
put
|
put
|
|
find
|
found
|
found
|
read
|
read
|
read
|
|
get
|
got
|
got/gotten
|
say
|
said
|
said
|
|
give
|
gave
|
given
|
see
|
saw
|
seen
|
|
go
|
went
|
gone/been
|
send
|
sent
|
sent
|
|
have
|
had
|
had
|
set
|
set
|
set
|
|
hear
|
heard
|
heard
|
take
|
took
|
taken
|
|
hold
|
held
|
held
|
tell
|
told
|
told
|
|
keep
|
kept
|
kept
|
think
|
thought
|
thought
|
|
know
|
knew
|
known
|
understand
|
understood
|
understood
|
* Notice that ‘learn’ can be regular ‘learned’ and irregular ‘learnt’. Chose whichever one you prefer to use. Americans like to make this verb regular: ‘learned’, but this is very vulgar.
* Notice that the spelling of ‘read’ is the same in all forms, but the pronunciation of the past simple and the p.p. is /red/.
* Notice that ‘be’ has two p.ps. ‘Gone’ means ‘go and stay’, ‘been’ means ‘go and return’. ‘He has gone to America’ means he is in America now. ‘He has been to America’ means he went to America but has returned and is here now.
* In British English, ‘got’ is the p.p. of ‘get’. In American English, ‘gotten’ is the p.p. of ‘get’. However, in International English, ‘gotten’ is quite rare. You do not need to learn it.
*Some of these you will have got right, some you will have got wrong. Put a tick next to the ones you got wrong and focus on learning those. I’m afraid there is no easy way to do this, no trick I can give you. You just have to learn them!
