I went, not “I goed”: common irregular past verbs

The rule

Many common verbs don't add -ed in the past: go → went, buy → bought, think → thought, teach → taught. In questions and negatives, use did + the base verb: Did you go? I didn't buy it.

Learners apply the -ed rule to every verb (goed, buyed), or show the past twice: Did you went? Did already shows the past, so the verb after it goes back to its base form.

Examples

In a conversation

A: What did you do at the weekend?

B: I went to the new shopping centre with Omar. I bought some shoes.

A: Did you go to the cinema too?

B: No, we thought it was too late.

Practice

Choose the best answer. The answers are at the end of the lesson.

1. We ___ to the beach last Sunday.
   • a) goed
   • b) went
   • c) go
2. ___ the tickets online?
   • a) Did you buy
   • b) Did you bought
   • c) You buyed
3. Nora ___ us English last year.
   • a) teached
   • b) thought
   • c) taught

Tip

Learn them in sound groups: bought, brought, thought, taught and caught all rhyme. The spelling changes (-ought or -aught), but the sound is the same.

Answers

1. b) went. The past of go is went.
2. a) Did you buy. After did, use the base verb: buy.
3. c) taught. Teach becomes taught; thought is the past of think.

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