Unit 6: Passive voice
Tips for learning irregular verbs
Select a unit
- 1Go beyond intermediate with our new video course
- 2Reported speech in 90 seconds!
- 3If or whether?
- 45 ways to use 'would'
- 5Let and allow
- 6Passive voice
- 7Unless
- 8Mixed conditionals
- 9The zero article - in 90 seconds
- 10The indefinite article - in 90 seconds
- 11The. That's right - the! Learn all about it in 90 seconds
- 12The continuous passive
- 13Future perfect
- 14Need + verb-ing
- 15Have something done
- 16Wish
- 17Word stress
- 18Different ways of saying 'if'
- 19Passive reporting structures
- 20The subjunctive
- 21When and if
- 22Inversion
- 23Phrasal verbs
- 24The future
- 25Modals in the past
- 26Narrative tenses
- 27Phrasal verb myths
- 28Conditionals review
- 29Used to - review
- 30Linking words of contrast
Session 4
Learning irregular verbs can be hard. But with Helen's tips they'll become easy!
Activity 1
Stop Saying...
Irregular verbs
As you know, learning irregular verbs in English is not easy. Raphael from Reunion Island would like some tips for learning them. Can Helen help him, and you, learn some new strategies?
ነቲ ቪድዮ ብምዕዛብ ነቲ ስራሕ ዕመምዎ

Summary
It's a good idea to learn verbs in groups, depending on how many forms they have for the infinitive, past simple and past participle.
One form
- put, put, put
- shut, shut, shut
Two forms
- find, found, found
- have, had, had
Three forms
- choose, chose, chosen
- ring, rang, rung
The last group can be split into further groups in which the three verb forms rhyme, for example:
Rhyming group 1
- begin, began, begun
- sing, sang, sung
Rhyming group 2
- break, broke, broken
- speak, spoke, spoken
There are more rhyming groups - look at a the Grammar Reference, plus here and here for more tips!
To do
Do you know how many forms these verbs have?
How many forms?
6 Questions
How many forms do these verbs have? Choose the correct answers.
ሓገዝ
Activity
How many forms do these verbs have? Choose the correct answers.
ኣመት
This one was mentioned in the video.Question 1 of 6
ሓገዝ
Activity
How many forms do these verbs have? Choose the correct answers.
ኣመት
I told you about this before…Question 2 of 6
ሓገዝ
Activity
How many forms do these verbs have? Choose the correct answers.
ኣመት
Oops, I've cut myself…Question 3 of 6
ሓገዝ
Activity
How many forms do these verbs have? Choose the correct answers.
ኣመት
I met him three years ago…Question 4 of 6
ሓገዝ
Activity
How many forms do these verbs have? Choose the correct answers.
ኣመት
He has seen many things...Question 5 of 6
ሓገዝ
Activity
How many forms do these verbs have? Choose the correct answers.
ኣመት
He let me borrow his carQuestion 6 of 6
Excellent!Great job!ሕማቕ ዕድል!ዘመዝገብኩምዎ ነጥቢ ...:
End of Session 5
That's it for this session.
Next time we dine at the White Elephant, BBC Learning English's favourite comedy restaurant.
Thanks to St George International school for providing a student for this programme.
ናይ ስዋስው ክፍሊ
Group verbs depending on how many forms they have for the infinitive, past simple and past participle.
One form
- put, put, put
- shut, shut, shut
Two forms
- find, found, found
- have, had, had
Three forms
- choose, chose, chosen
- ring, rang, rung
The last group can be split into further groups in which the three verb forms rhyme, for example:
Rhyming group 1
- begin, began, begun
- sing, sang, sung
Rhyming group 2
- break, broke, broken
- speak, spoke, spoken