How to Pronounce Irregular Verbs in the Past Tense

Irregular verbs are verbs that do not form the past tense by simply adding -ed. Instead, the past form changes in different ways.

For example:

• go → went
• see → saw
• buy → bought
• take → took
• have → had

Because irregular verbs change in different ways, it can be difficult to know how to pronounce them. The good news is that many irregular verbs follow common pronunciation patterns.

This guide organizes the pronunciation of irregular verbs in the past tense. Useful pronunciation patterns are clearly explained here.

1. Pattern: /ɔːt/ or /ɑːt/

Some irregular verbs end in a sound similar to /ɔːt/ or /ɑːt/ in the past tense.

Base verb	Past tense	Pronunciation
buy	bought	/bɔːt/
bring	brought	/brɔːt/
think	thought	/θɔːt/
fight	fought	/fɔːt/
catch	caught	/kɔːt/
teach	taught	/tɔːt/

Notice that the spelling changes, but several verbs have a similar final sound.

Practice:

Say these words slowly, then naturally:

bought – brought – thought – fought – caught – taught

Now practice the sentences:

1. I bought a new jacket.
2. She brought some food.
3. We thought about the problem.
4. They fought for their rights.
5. He caught the bus.
6. My teacher taught us English.

2. Pattern: /ɜː/ + /t/

Some irregular past forms contain the /ɜː/ sound followed by /t/.

Base verb	Past tense	Pronunciation
learn	learnt	/lɜːrnt/
burn	burnt	/bɜːrnt/
dream	dreamt	/drɛmt/
feel	felt	/felt/
keep	kept	/kept/
sleep	slept	/slept/

The spelling does not always show you exactly how the word sounds, so listen carefully and practice the whole word.

Practice pairs:

learn → learnt
burn → burnt
feel → felt
keep → kept
sleep → slept

Complete the sentences:

1. I ______ very tired yesterday.
2. She ______ the lesson quickly.
3. We ______ late last night.
4. He ______ the letter carefully.
5. They ______ the old documents.

3. Pattern: /eɪ/ → /əʊ/

Some irregular verbs change their vowel sound significantly in the past tense.

Base verb	Past tense	Pronunciation
say	said	/seɪ/ → /sed/
make	made	/meɪk/ → /meɪd/
take	took	/teɪk/ → /tʊk/
break	broke	/breɪk/ → /brəʊk/
wake	woke	/weɪk/ → /wəʊk/

These verbs are especially important because the pronunciation cannot always be predicted from the spelling.

For example:

The word said is pronounced /sed/, not like sayed.

Practice

Read these pairs aloud:

• say → said
• make → made
• break → broke
• wake → woke
• take → took

Then complete the sentences:

1. She said hello.
2. I made dinner.
3. He broke his phone.
4. We woke up early.
5. They took the train.

4. Pattern: Short vowel changes

Many common irregular verbs change their vowel sound in the past tense.

Base verb	Past tense	Pronunciation
sing	sang	/sɪŋ/ → /sæŋ/
drink	drank	/drɪŋk/ → /dræŋk/
swim	swam	/swɪm/ → /swæm/
begin	began	/bɪˈɡɪn/ → /bɪˈɡæn/
sit	sat	/sɪt/ → /sæt/
give	gave	/ɡɪv/ → /ɡeɪv/

Notice the vowel change

/ɪ/ → /æ/

• sing → sang
• drink → drank
• swim → swam
• sit → sat

Practice the vowel contrast:

sit – sat
sing – sang
drink – drank
swim – swam

Practice sentences

1. I sat on the chair.
2. She sang a beautiful song.
3. He drank some water.
4. We swam in the lake.
5. They began the meeting at nine.

5. Pattern: /ɪ/ → /ʌ/

Another common vowel change is /ɪ/ → /ʌ/.

Base verb	Past tense	Pronunciation
win	won	/wɪn/ → /wʌn/
run	ran	/rʌn/ → /ræn/
come	came	/kʌm/ → /keɪm/
become	became	/bɪˈkʌm/ → /bɪˈkeɪm/

Some verbs change in more complicated ways, so it is better to learn the base form and past form together.

For example:

come → came
become → became
win → won

Practice

Complete the sentences with the correct past form.

1. She ______ first in the race. (win)
2. They ______ to my house yesterday. (come)
3. He ______ a doctor. (become)
4. I ______ five kilometres. (run)

6. Pattern: Vowel change + /d/

Some irregular verbs change the vowel and end with a /d/ sound.

Base verb	Past tense	Pronunciation
have	had	/hæv/ → /hæd/
hear	heard	/hɪr/ → /hɜːrd/
say	said	/seɪ/ → /sed/
pay	paid	/peɪ/ → /peɪd/
lay	laid	/leɪ/ → /leɪd/

The final d is pronounced as /d/, not /t/.

Compare:

• paid /peɪd/
• played /pleɪd/
• made /meɪd/

Practice

Say the final sound clearly:

had – heard – said – paid – laid

Now practice:

1. I had a busy day.
2. She heard a strange noise.
3. He said goodbye.
4. We paid for the tickets.
5. She laid the book on the table.

7. Pattern: /əʊ/ → /ʊ/

Several common verbs change from a longer /əʊ/ sound to a short /ʊ/ sound.

Base verb	Past tense	Pronunciation
know	knew	/nəʊ/ → /njuː/
throw	threw	/θrəʊ/ → /θruː/
grow	grew	/ɡrəʊ/ → /ɡruː/
blow	blew	/bləʊ/ → /bluː/
fly	flew	/flaɪ/ → /fluː/

These past forms often end with the sound /uː/.

Practice

Read the pairs:

grow → grew
throw → threw
blow → blew
fly → flew

Complete the sentences:

1. The child ______ very quickly. (grow)
2. She ______ the ball to me. (throw)
3. The wind ______ strongly. (blow)
4. The bird ______ away. (fly)

8. Pattern: Past forms ending in /t/

Some irregular verbs have a final /t/ sound.

Base verb	Past tense	Pronunciation
feel	felt	/felt/
keep	kept	/kept/
leave	left	/left/
lose	lost	/lɒst/
send	sent	/sent/
spend	spent	/spent/
build	built	/bɪlt/
lend	lent	/lent/

The final t should be pronounced clearly.

Practice

Say these words:

felt – kept – left – lost – sent – spent – built – lent

Now practice the sentences:

1. I felt tired.
2. She left at six.
3. He lost his keys.
4. We spent $50.
5. They sent me an email.
6. He built a new house.

9. Pattern: Past forms ending in /d/

Some irregular past forms end in /d/.

Base verb	Past tense	Pronunciation
have	had	/hæd/
hear	heard	/hɜːrd/
hold	held	/held/
find	found	/faʊnd/
tell	told	/təʊld/
sell	sold	/səʊld/

The final sound is voiced: /d/.

Try placing your fingers on your throat. You should feel vibration when you say /d/.

Compare:

/t/ → felt
/d/ → held

10. Pattern: Completely different forms

Some of the most common irregular verbs have past forms that are very different from the base form.

Base verb	Past tense	Pronunciation
go	went	/ɡəʊ/ → /went/
be	was/were	/biː/ → /wɒz/, /wɜːr/
see	saw	/siː/ → /sɔː/
eat	ate	/iːt/ → /eɪt/
do	did	/duː/ → /dɪd/
get	got	/ɡet/ → /ɡɒt/
come	came	/kʌm/ → /keɪm/

These verbs do not follow one simple pronunciation rule. The best strategy is to memorize them as pairs.

For example:

go – went
see – saw
eat – ate
do – did
get – got

A Useful Way to Learn Irregular Verb Pronunciation

Don’t memorize a long list of irregular verbs alphabetically. Instead, group verbs according to their sound patterns.

Pattern 1: Similar /ɔːt/ sound

buy → bought
bring → brought
think → thought
catch → caught
teach → taught

Pattern 2: /ɪ/ → /æ/

sing → sang
drink → drank
swim → swam
sit → sat

Pattern 3: Past form with /uː/

grow → grew
throw → threw
blow → blew
fly → flew

Pattern 4: Past form ending in /t/

feel → felt
keep → kept
leave → left
send → sent
spend → spent

Pattern 5: Past form ending in /d/

have → had
hear → heard
hold → held
tell → told

Practice

Practice 1: Match the Verbs

Match each base verb with its past tense.

Base verb	Past tense
1. buy	a. sang
2. sing	b. kept
3. keep	c. bought
4. grow	d. went
5. go	e. grew
6. think	f. thought
7. leave	g. left
8. catch	h. caught

Practice 2: Choose the Correct Past Form

1. Yesterday, I (go / went) to work by bus.
2. She (buy / bought) a new phone.
3. We (drink / drank) coffee in the morning.
4. He (keep / kept) the receipt.
5. They (see / saw) a movie last night.
6. I (feel / felt) tired after work.
7. She (leave / left) home at 8:00.
8. He (bring / brought) his lunch.
9. We (take / took) a taxi.
10. They (spend / spent) the afternoon at the beach.

Practice 3: Pronunciation Challenge

Read each pair aloud. Focus on the vowel change.

A

sing → sang
drink → drank
swim → swam
sit → sat

B

buy → bought
think → thought
bring → brought
teach → taught

C

feel → felt
keep → kept
leave → left
send → sent

D

grow → grew
throw → threw
blow → blew
fly → flew

Repeat each group three times.

Practice 4: Past-Tense Story

Complete the story with the correct past form of the verbs in brackets.

Last Saturday, I ______ (go) to the park with my friends. We ______ (take) some food with us and ______ (sit) under a tree. My friend ______ (bring) a football, so we ______ (play) for an hour. Then we ______ (drink) some water and ______ (eat) lunch. Suddenly, it ______ (begin) to rain, so we ______ (run) home.

After completing the story, read it aloud. Pay special attention to the vowel changes in the irregular verbs.

Practice 5: Say It Naturally

Answer these questions using the past tense.

1. What did you eat yesterday?
2. Where did you go last weekend?
3. What did you buy recently?
4. What movie did you see recently?
5. What did you drink this morning?
6. What did you do yesterday?
7. What time did you wake up?
8. Who did you meet recently?

Try to answer in complete sentences.

For example:

What did you eat yesterday?
I ate pasta for dinner.

Where did you go last weekend?
I went to the park with my family.

Final Pronunciation Tip

The most important thing to remember is that irregular verbs do not have one single pronunciation rule.

Instead, learn them in sound groups:

/ɔːt/
bought, brought, thought, caught, taught

/ɪ/ → /æ/
sing → sang, drink → drank, swim → swam

/uː/
grew, threw, blew, flew

final /t/
felt, kept, left, sent, spent

final /d/
had, heard, held, told

And remember: listen, repeat, and use the verbs in sentences. Learning the pronunciation as part of a complete sentence will help you remember it much more easily.