Irregular Verbs – English Grammar Exercises for A2
A Minor Accident (You are telling your friends the story of why your arm is currently wrapped in a bandage).
Choose the best option (A, B, or C) to complete each sentence. Read the context carefully before making your choice.
1 You are probably wondering why I have a bandage on my arm. Well, yesterday, I ______ off my bicycle.
(A) falled
(B) fall
(C) fell
2 I landed very hard on the pavement and ______ my right arm.
(A) broke
(B) broken
(C) breaked
3 I couldn’t move my fingers at all, and it ______ a lot!
(A) hurts
(B) hurt
(C) hurted
4 My neighbor was in his garden. He ______ the accident and ran over to help me.
(A) seen
(B) seed
(C) saw
5 He ______ over so quickly that he dropped his own gardening tools.
(A) came
(B) comed
(C) come
6 Let me explain how it happened. I ______ my bike too fast down a steep hill.
(A) rided
(B) rode
(C) ridden
7 The hill was wet from the rain, and I suddenly ______ control of the steering wheel.
(A) lost
(B) loose
(C) losed
8 The front tire ______ a large rock that was hiding in the mud.
(A) hitted
(B) hits
(C) hit
9 I lost my balance, ______ over the handlebars, and landed on my arm.
(A) flown
(B) flew
(C) flied
10 As soon as I hit the ground, I immediately ______ a sharp pain in my wrist.
(A) feel
(B) felt
(C) feeled
11 My jacket caught on a sharp branch during the fall, and it ______.
(A) tore
(B) teared
(C) torn
12 My left knee also ______ a little bit because I scraped it on the rough street.
(A) bleeded
(B) bleed
(C) bled
13 My kind neighbor immediately ______ me to the local hospital in his car.
(A) taked
(B) took
(C) taken
14 He ______ very slowly and carefully so I wouldn’t be in more pain from the bumps in the road.
(A) driven
(B) drived
(C) drove
15 At the hospital, the doctor looked at the X-ray and ______ me the bad news.
(A) told
(B) telled
(C) tell
16 The nurse ______ a heavy plaster cast on my arm to keep the bone straight.
(A) putted
(B) puts
(C) put
17 Before sending me home, they ______ me some strong medicine to help with the pain.
(A) given
(B) gave
(C) gived
18 The emergency room visit ______ a lot of money, but luckily, I have good health insurance.
(A) cost
(B) costs
(C) costed
19 We finally ______ the hospital and went out to the street at midnight.
(A) leave
(B) left
(C) leaved
20 My neighbor’s car was parked far away, so we ______ a taxi to go back home.
(A) caught
(B) catched
(C) catch
ANSWER KEY & EXPLANATIONS
1 (C) fell
Why it’s correct: “Fell” is the correct Past Simple (V2) form of the irregular verb “fall”.
Error Analysis: (A) is a common mistake (applying the regular “-ed” rule to an irregular verb). (B) is a basic grammar error (using the Present Simple “fall” for a past event).
2 (A) broke
Why it’s correct: “Broke” is the correct V2 form of “break”.
Error Analysis: (C) is a common mistake (adding “-ed” to make “breaked”). (B) is a structural error (“broken” is the V3 past participle, which cannot be used alone in Past Simple without “have/had”).
3 (B) hurt
Why it’s correct: “Hurt” is an irregular verb that does not change its form in the past tense (hurt – hurt – hurt).
Error Analysis: (C) is a common mistake (“hurted” does not exist in standard English). (A) is a basic error (Present Simple with an “s”).
4 (C) saw
Why it’s correct: “Saw” is the correct V2 form of “see”.
Error Analysis: (B) is a common mistake (“seed” is incorrect). (A) is a structural error (“seen” is the V3 past participle and requires an auxiliary verb like “has” or “had”).
5 (A) came
Why it’s correct: “Came” is the correct V2 form of “come”.
Error Analysis: (B) is a common mistake (adding “-ed”). (C) is a basic error (using the V1/V3 form “come” instead of the past tense).
6 (B) rode
Why it’s correct: “Rode” is the correct V2 form of “ride”.
Error Analysis: (A) is a common mistake (“rided” is incorrect). (C) is a structural error (“ridden” is the V3 past participle).
7 (A) lost
Why it’s correct: “Lost” is the correct V2 form of “lose”.
Error Analysis: (C) is a common mistake (“losed” is incorrect). (B) is a basic error (“loose” is an adjective meaning not tight, confusing the spelling and grammar completely).
8 (C) hit
Why it’s correct: “Hit” is an irregular verb that stays the exact same in the past tense (hit – hit – hit).
Error Analysis: (A) is a very common mistake (“hitted” does not exist). (B) is a basic error (Present Simple tense).
9 (B) flew
Why it’s correct: “Flew” is the correct V2 form of “fly”.
Error Analysis: (C) is a common mistake (“flied” is only used in baseball terminology, not for general flying/falling). (A) is a structural error (“flown” is the V3 past participle).
10 (B) felt
Why it’s correct: “Felt” is the correct V2 form of “feel”.
Error Analysis: (C) is a common mistake (“feeled” is incorrect). (A) is a basic error (Present Simple tense).
11 (A) tore
Why it’s correct: “Tore” is the correct V2 form of “tear”.
Error Analysis: (B) is a common mistake (“teared” relates to crying tears from your eyes, not ripping fabric). (C) is a structural error (“torn” is the V3 past participle).
12 (C) bled
Why it’s correct: “Bled” is the correct V2 form of “bleed”.
Error Analysis: (A) is a common mistake (adding “-ed”). (B) is a basic error (Present Simple tense).
13 (B) took
Why it’s correct: “Took” is the correct V2 form of “take”.
Error Analysis: (A) is a common mistake (“taked” is incorrect). (C) is a structural error (“taken” is the V3 past participle).
14 (C) drove
Why it’s correct: “Drove” is the correct V2 form of “drive”.
Error Analysis: (B) is a common mistake (“drived” is incorrect). (A) is a structural error (“driven” is the V3 past participle).
15 (A) told
Why it’s correct: “Told” is the correct V2 form of “tell”.
Error Analysis: (B) is a common mistake (“telled” is incorrect). (C) is a basic error (Present Simple tense).
16 (C) put
Why it’s correct: “Put” is an irregular verb that does not change in the past tense (put – put – put).
Error Analysis: (A) is a common mistake (“putted” is only used in golf, not for placing objects). (B) is a basic error (Present Simple tense).
17 (B) gave
Why it’s correct: “Gave” is the correct V2 form of “give”.
Error Analysis: (C) is a common mistake (“gived” is incorrect). (A) is a structural error (“given” is the V3 past participle).
18 (A) cost
Why it’s correct: “Cost” is an irregular verb that does not change in the past tense (cost – cost – cost).
Error Analysis: (C) is a common mistake (“costed” is sometimes used in business for pricing, but not for general past expenses). (B) is a basic error (Present Simple tense).
19 (B) left
Why it’s correct: “Left” is the correct V2 form of “leave”.
Error Analysis: (C) is a common mistake (“leaved” is incorrect). (A) is a basic error (Present Simple tense).
20 (A) caught
Why it’s correct: “Caught” is the correct V2 form of “catch”.
Error Analysis: (B) is a common mistake (“catched” is incorrect). (C) is a basic error (Present Simple tense).
GRAMMAR POINTS TO REMEMBER
- The “No – ED” Rule for Irregulars: The most common mistake English learners make is adding “-ed” to irregular verbs (e.g., saying breaked, falled, taked). Irregular verbs do not follow normal rules; you must memorize their specific V2 (Past Simple) forms.
- The “Unchanging” Verbs: Be very careful with a special group of irregular verbs that do not change at all from Present to Past. In this story, verbs like hurt, hit, put, and cost look exactly the same in the past tense. Never say hurted or hitted!
- V2 vs. V3 (Past Simple vs. Past Participle): Another frequent error is using the V3 form (Past Participle) instead of the V2 form for a simple past story. You cannot say “I broken my arm” or “I flown over the bike.” V3 forms always need a helper verb like have, has, or had before them. For quick, finished actions in a story, always use V2 (e.g., “I broke my arm”).