Irregular Verbs – English Grammar Exercises for A2
You are writing an urgent post in your neighborhood’s Facebook group to warn everyone about a recent bike theft at your house. Read the post below and choose the best option (A, B, or C) to complete each sentence.
1 Dear neighbors, I can’t believe it, but someone has just ______ my bicycle from my front garden!
(A) stole
(B) stolen
(C) stealed
2 It is gone! The criminal has ______ it right in the middle of the day.
(A) took
(B) taked
(C) taken
3 I ______ it securely locked near the front door just this morning.
(A) left
(B) leaved
(C) leave
4 But the thief ______ the thick metal chain completely.
(A) broken
(B) breaked
(C) broke
5 I just ______ the broken pieces of the lock lying on the grass.
(A) finded
(B) found
(C) find
6 My next-door neighbor ______ a strange noise around 2 PM.
(A) hear
(B) heard
(C) heared
7 However, she ______ it was just the garbage truck outside.
(A) thought
(B) think
(C) thinked
8 The thief quickly ______ away before anyone could look out the window.
(A) runned
(B) run
(C) ran
9 I have already ______ to the local police about this crime.
(A) spoken
(B) spoke
(C) speaked
10 An officer ______ to my house a few minutes ago to check the scene.
(A) comed
(B) came
(C) come
11 I have ______ him a clear photo of my missing bike.
(A) gived
(B) given
(C) gave
12 The police have ______ down all the important information in their notebook.
(A) written
(B) writed
(C) wrote
13 Have any of you ______ a man acting suspiciously in our street today?
(A) saw
(B) seed
(C) seen
14 The police think the thief might have ______ the bike in a nearby alley.
(A) hided
(B) hidden
(C) hid
15 Sadly, nobody ______ the guy while he was committing the crime.
(A) caught
(B) catched
(C) catch
16 I have ______ articles about similar thefts in the next town recently.
(A) readed
(B) read
(C) reading
17 Have you ______ your garage doors firmly closed today?
(A) keep
(B) keeped
(C) kept
18 This terrible situation has ______ me a very hard lesson about home security.
(A) taught
(B) teach
(C) teached
19 Please make sure you haven’t ______ to lock your gates tonight!
(A) forgot
(B) forgotten
(C) forgetted
20 I hope everyone has ______ this warning seriously. Stay safe!
(A) understand
(B) understood
(C) understanded
ANSWER KEY & EXPLANATIONS
1 (B)
Explanation: “stolen” is the correct past participle (V3) of “steal”, used here for the Present Perfect tense (“has stolen”). (A) “stole” is a common mistake (using V2 instead of V3). (C) is a grammar error (adding “-ed” to an irregular verb).
2 (C)
Explanation: “taken” is the correct V3 of “take” (Present Perfect: “has taken”). (A) is a common mistake (using V2). (B) is a grammar error.
3 (A)
Explanation: “left” is the correct past simple (V2) of “leave”. It describes a finished action in the past (“this morning”). (B) is a common mistake. (C) is a grammar error.
4 (C)
Explanation: “broke” is the correct V2 of “break”. (B) is a common mistake. (A) “broken” is a grammar error because V3 cannot act as a main verb without an auxiliary verb (have/has/had).
5 (B)
Explanation: “found” is the correct V2 of “find”. (A) is a common mistake. (C) is a grammar error.
6 (B)
Explanation: “heard” is the correct V2 of “hear”. (C) is a common mistake (spelling it “heared”). (A) is a grammar error.
7 (A)
Explanation: “thought” is the correct V2 of “think”. (C) is a common mistake. (B) is a grammar error.
8 (C)
Explanation: “ran” is the correct V2 of “run”. (A) is a common mistake. (B) “run” is a grammar error (using V1/V3 for a past event).
9 (A)
Explanation: “spoken” is the correct V3 of “speak”, needed for the Present Perfect (“have spoken”). (B) is a common mistake (using V2). (C) is a grammar error.
10 (B)
Explanation: “came” is the correct V2 of “come”. (A) is a common mistake. (C) is a grammar error.
11 (B)
Explanation: “given” is the correct V3 of “give” (Present Perfect: “have given”). (C) is a common mistake (using V2 “gave” after “have”). (A) is a grammar error.
12 (A)
Explanation: “written” is the correct V3 of “write”. (C) is a common mistake. (B) is a grammar error.
13 (C)
Explanation: “seen” is the correct V3 of “see” (Present Perfect: “Have you seen”). (A) is a common mistake (using V2 “saw”). (B) is a grammar error.
14 (B)
Explanation: “hidden” is the correct V3 of “hide” (used after “might have”). (C) is a common mistake (using V2 “hid”). (A) is a grammar error.
15 (A)
Explanation: “caught” is the correct V2 of “catch”. (B) is a common mistake. (C) is a grammar error.
16 (B)
Explanation: “read” is the correct V3 of “read” (spelled the same but pronounced /red/). (A) is a common spelling mistake. (C) is a grammar error.
17 (C)
Explanation: “kept” is the correct V3 of “keep” (Present Perfect: “Have you kept”). (B) is a common mistake. (A) is a grammar error.
18 (A)
Explanation: “taught” is the correct V3 of “teach”. (C) is a common mistake. (B) is a grammar error.
19 (B)
Explanation: “forgotten” is the correct V3 of “forget”. (A) “forgot” is a common mistake because many learners incorrectly use the V2 form after “have”. (C) is a grammar error.
20 (B)
Explanation: “understood” is the correct V3 of “understand”. (C) is a common mistake. (A) is a grammar error.
GRAMMAR POINTS TO REMEMBER
- Present Perfect for Recent Events: We use the Present Perfect tense (have/has + V3) to announce news or describe a recent event where the exact time is not important, but the result is clearly seen now.
- Example: Someone has stolen my bike. (Result: I don’t have a bike right now).
- Focus on STEAL and TAKE:
- steal -> stole (V2) -> stolen (V3). Do not say “stealed”.
- take -> took (V2) -> taken (V3). Do not say “taked”.
- Past Simple for Story Details: After you announce the main news with Present Perfect, you switch to Past Simple (V2) to give specific details about how, when, or where it happened.
- Example: The thief broke the lock. My neighbor heard a noise.
- The Biggest V2 vs V3 Trap: The most common mistake A2 students make is using V2 after “have/has” (e.g., have saw, have gave, have forgot). Always remember that perfect tenses require the Past Participle (V3)!