Irregular verbs
ኢመደበኛ ግሦች (irregular verbs)
About 100 common verbs that don't add -ed in the past: base form, past simple and past participle, grouped by pattern so they are easier to learn.
All three the same (A–A–A), and A–B–A
Regular verbs add -ed: work – worked – worked. Irregular verbs change in their own way, but they fall into groups. Amharic verbs also follow patterns (ሰበረ, ይሰብራል, ሰብሮ), and learning English verbs by pattern works the same way. The easiest group never changes: cut – cut – cut. A small group goes back to the base form in the participle: come – came – come.
In Amharic
መደበኛ ግሦች -ed ይጨምራሉ፦ work – worked – worked። ኢመደበኛ ግሦች በራሳቸው መንገድ ይለወጣሉ፣ ግን በቡድኖች ይከፈላሉ። የአማርኛ ግሦችም አወቃቀር ይከተላሉ (ሰበረ፣ ይሰብራል፣ ሰብሮ)፤ የእንግሊዝኛ ግሦችንም በአወቃቀር መማር በዚሁ መንገድ ይሠራል። ቀላሉ ቡድን በፍጹም አይለወጥም፦ cut – cut – cut። ትንሽ ቡድን ደግሞ በ participle ወደ መሠረታዊ ቅርጹ ይመለሳል፦ come – came – come።
| Base | Past simple | Past participle | Amharic |
|---|---|---|---|
| bet | bet | bet | መወራረድ |
| burst | burst | burst | መፈንዳት |
| cost | cost | cost | ዋጋ ማውጣት |
| cut | cut | cut | መቁረጥ |
| fit | fit | fit | መመጠን |
| hit | hit | hit | መምታት |
| hurt | hurt | hurt | መጉዳት፤ ማመም |
| let | let | let | መፍቀድ |
| put | put | put | ማስቀመጥ |
| quit | quit | quit | ማቆም፤ መተው |
| read | read (said “red”) | read (said “red”) | ማንበብ |
| set | set | set | ማዘጋጀት፤ ማስቀመጥ |
| shut | shut | shut | መዝጋት |
| split | split | split | መከፋፈል |
| spread | spread | spread | ማሰራጨት |
| upset | upset | upset | ማበሳጨት |
| become | became | become | መሆን |
| come | came | come | መምጣት |
| run | ran | run | መሮጥ |
- With A–A–A verbs, the time word or the subject shows the tense: I put it there yesterday; she puts it there every day.
- read looks the same but sounds different: read (“reed”) now, read (“red”) in the past.
- The repair cost $300.
- I hurt my back at work last week.
- She quit her job and started her own business.
- He has become a US citizen.
- We ran to catch the bus.
Past = participle (A–B–B)
This is the biggest group: the past simple and the past participle are the same, so you learn only two forms. Many of them end in -ought / -aught, -t or -d.
In Amharic
ይህ ትልቁ ቡድን ነው፦ ኀላፊ ቀላሉና past participle አንድ ናቸው፤ ስለዚህ የሚማሩት ሁለት ቅርጾችን ብቻ ነው። ብዙዎቹ በ -ought / -aught፣ -t ወይም -d ያልቃሉ።
| Base | Past simple | Past participle | Amharic |
|---|---|---|---|
| bring | brought | brought | ማምጣት |
| buy | bought | bought | መግዛት |
| fight | fought | fought | መጣላት |
| think | thought | thought | ማሰብ |
| seek | sought | sought | መፈለግ |
| catch | caught | caught | መያዝ |
| teach | taught | taught | ማስተማር |
| build | built | built | መገንባት |
| send | sent | sent | መላክ |
| spend | spent | spent | ማውጣት (ገንዘብ)፤ ማሳለፍ (ጊዜ) |
| lend | lent | lent | ማበደር |
| bend | bent | bent | ማጠፍ |
| feel | felt | felt | መሰማት |
| keep | kept | kept | ማቆየት፤ መጠበቅ |
| sleep | slept | slept | መተኛት |
| sweep | swept | swept | መጥረግ |
| leave | left | left | መሄድ፤ መተው |
| lose | lost | lost | ማጣት፤ መሸነፍ |
| mean | meant | meant | ማለት (ትርጉም) |
| meet | met | met | መገናኘት |
| deal | dealt | dealt | ማስተናገድ (deal with) |
| feed | fed | fed | መመገብ |
| lead | led | led | መምራት |
| light | lit | lit | ማብራት፤ መለኮስ |
| hear | heard | heard | መስማት |
| sell | sold | sold | መሸጥ |
| tell | told | told | መንገር |
| say | said | said | ማለት |
| pay | paid | paid | መክፈል |
| lay | laid | laid | ማኖር፤ ማንጠፍ |
| find | found | found | ማግኘት |
| hold | held | held | መያዝ |
| stand | stood | stood | መቆም |
| understand | understood | understood | መረዳት |
| have | had | had | መኖር (ያለው) |
| make | made | made | መሥራት |
| sit | sat | sat | መቀመጥ |
| win | won | won | ማሸነፍ |
| hang | hung | hung | መስቀል |
| stick | stuck | stuck | መለጠፍ፤ መጣበቅ |
| dig | dug | dug | መቆፈር |
| shoot | shot | shot | መተኮስ |
- -ought and -aught sound the same (“ot”): bought, thought, caught, taught.
- said and paid: say – said (sounds “sed”), pay – paid.
- In American English, learn, burn, dream and spell are regular: learned, burned, dreamed, spelled.
- I bought a used car last month.
- My father taught me to read Ge'ez.
- We've spent too much money this week.
- She left her phone on the bus.
- Have you met our new neighbour?
All three different (A–B–C)
In this group all three forms are different. Many past participles end in -n or -en (taken, written, eaten), and many follow the i – a – u sound pattern (begin – began – begun, drink – drank – drunk). You need the third form for the present perfect (I have eaten) and the passive (It was stolen).
In Amharic
በዚህ ቡድን ሦስቱም ቅርጾች የተለያዩ ናቸው። ብዙ past participles በ -n ወይም -en ያልቃሉ (taken, written, eaten)፤ ብዙዎቹም የ i – a – u የድምፅ አወቃቀርን ይከተላሉ (begin – began – begun, drink – drank – drunk)። ሦስተኛው ቅርጽ ለ present perfect (I have eaten) እና ለ passive (It was stolen) ያስፈልጋል።
| Base | Past simple | Past participle | Amharic |
|---|---|---|---|
| be | was / were | been | መሆን |
| beat | beat | beaten | መምታት፤ ማሸነፍ |
| begin | began | begun | መጀመር |
| bite | bit | bitten | መንከስ |
| blow | blew | blown | መንፋት |
| break | broke | broken | መስበር |
| choose | chose | chosen | መምረጥ |
| do | did | done | ማድረግ |
| draw | drew | drawn | መሳል |
| drink | drank | drunk | መጠጣት |
| drive | drove | driven | መንዳት |
| eat | ate | eaten | መብላት |
| fall | fell | fallen | መውደቅ |
| fly | flew | flown | መብረር |
| forget | forgot | forgotten | መርሳት |
| forgive | forgave | forgiven | ይቅር ማለት |
| freeze | froze | frozen | መቀዝቀዝ |
| get | got | gotten (US) / got (UK) | ማግኘት |
| give | gave | given | መስጠት |
| go | went | gone | መሄድ |
| grow | grew | grown | ማደግ፤ ማብቀል |
| hide | hid | hidden | መደበቅ |
| know | knew | known | ማወቅ |
| ride | rode | ridden | መጋለብ፤ መሳፈር |
| ring | rang | rung | መደወል |
| rise | rose | risen | መነሣት፤ መጨመር |
| see | saw | seen | ማየት |
| shake | shook | shaken | መንቀጥቀጥ፤ መጨባበጥ |
| show | showed | shown | ማሳየት |
| sing | sang | sung | መዘመር |
| speak | spoke | spoken | መናገር |
| steal | stole | stolen | መስረቅ |
| swim | swam | swum | መዋኘት |
| take | took | taken | መውሰድ |
| tear | tore | torn | መቅደድ |
| throw | threw | thrown | መወርወር |
| wake | woke | woken | መንቃት |
| wear | wore | worn | መልበስ |
| write | wrote | written | መጻፍ |
- Past simple stands alone: I went. The participle needs a helper: I have gone, it was taken.
- been or gone? I've been to Seattle (I went and came back). He's gone to Seattle (he is there now).
- Americans say gotten for the participle: She has gotten better.
- I've never driven in snow.
- Somebody stole my bike, but the police found it.
- My daughter has grown so much this year.
- Have you eaten yet?
- He wrote a letter to the school.
How to learn them
Don't try to learn 100 verbs in one day. Learn ten a week, by group, out loud: say the three forms like a rhythm (drink – drank – drunk). Put each one in a true sentence about your life. Start with the verbs you use most: be, have, do, go, get, make, say, see, take, come, know, think. Test yourself with cards: the base on one side, the other two forms on the back.
In Amharic
100 ግሦችን በአንድ ቀን ለመማር አይሞክሩ። በሳምንት አሥር፣ በቡድን፣ ጮክ ብለው ይማሩ፦ ሦስቱን ቅርጾች እንደ ዜማ ይበሉ (drink – drank – drunk)። እያንዳንዱን ስለ ሕይወትዎ በሚናገር እውነተኛ ዓረፍተ ነገር ውስጥ ያስገቡ። በብዛት በሚጠቀሙባቸው ግሦች ይጀምሩ፦ be, have, do, go, get, make, say, see, take, come, know, think። በካርዶች ራስዎን ይፈትኑ፦ መሠረታዊው ቅርጽ በአንድ በኩል፣ ሌሎቹ ሁለቱ ከኋላ።
- Learn by sound groups: sing – sang – sung, ring – rang – rung, swim – swam – swum.
- Say them in sentences: Yesterday I went. I have gone. It was taken.
- After did, didn't, will and modals, use the base form: Did you go? (not Did you went?)
- Review the ones you get wrong more often than the ones you know.
- Yesterday I took the bus. I have taken it every day this week.
- I forgot my keys. I have forgotten them again!
- She spoke to the manager. She has spoken to him twice.
Common mistakes
| Mistake | Correct | Why |
|---|---|---|
| I bought a new phone. | buy is irregular: buy – bought – bought. | |
| I have been to Seattle. | After have, use the past participle (been or gone), not the past simple. | |
| She has written the letter. | write – wrote – written. | |
| Did you see the message? | After did, use the base form. | |
| He taught me to drive. | teach – taught – taught. | |
| The window was broken. | The passive uses the participle broken. |
Practice
Each answer is checked as you go, with the reason. Nothing here is saved.
Past simple of buy: ___
Past participle of write: ___
I ___ my keys at work yesterday.
Past simple of teach: ___
Have you ever ___ to Chicago?
Past simple of cut: ___
She has ___ the email already.
Past participle of speak: ___
Which verb has three forms that are the same (A–A–A)?
Past simple of think: ___
The kids have ___ all the cake!
Past participle of get in American English: ___