Regular verbs form the past and the past participle with -ed (work → worked → worked). Irregular verbs have their own forms, and you need to memorise them. The good news: they follow a few patterns, and studying them in groups is much easier than memorising an alphabetical list.Os verbos regulares formam o passado e o particípio com -ed (work → worked → worked). Os verbos irregulares têm formas próprias e precisam ser memorizados. A boa notícia: eles seguem alguns padrões, e estudar por grupos é muito mais fácil do que decorar uma lista em ordem alfabética.
A1 The three forms of a verb
Every English verb has three main forms: the base form, the simple past and the past participle. Each one has its own job in the sentence.Todo verbo em inglês tem três formas principais: a forma base, o passado simples e o particípio passado. Cada uma tem uma função própria na frase.
| Form | Used in | Example | Português |
|---|---|---|---|
| Base form (infinitive) | present, future, imperative, after modals | I go to school. I will go. | Eu vou à escola. Eu vou. (presente, futuro, imperativo, depois de modais) |
| Simple past | simple past (affirmative) | I went to school yesterday. | Fui à escola ontem. (passado simples afirmativo) |
| Past participle | perfect tenses and the passive voice | I have seen it. It was written in 1990. | Eu já vi. Foi escrito em 1990. (tempos perfeitos e voz passiva) |
Regular: + -ed
Past and participle end in -ed. Easy to learn, no surprises.O passado e o particípio terminam em -ed. Fácil de aprender, sem surpresas.
I worked, I have worked. (Eu trabalhei, eu já trabalhei.)
Irregular: own forms
Past and participle change. You learn them by heart, in groups.O passado e o particípio mudam. Você aprende de cor, em grupos.
I saw, I have seen. (Eu vi, eu já vi.)
Questions and negatives use the base form
In the simple past, the irregular form is used in affirmative sentences. With did and didn’t (negatives and questions), the main verb goes back to the base form: Did you go? I didn’t go.No passado simples, a forma irregular é usada nas frases afirmativas. Com did e didn’t (negativas e perguntas), o verbo principal volta para a forma base: Você foi? Eu não fui.
How to study
Click the three forms of each verb and repeat them aloud, always in the same order: go, went, gone. The rhythm helps your memory. Do one group a day.Clique nas três formas de cada verbo e repita em voz alta, sempre na mesma ordem: go, went, gone. O ritmo ajuda a memória. Faça um grupo por dia.
Group 1: All three forms are the same
The easiest group: the base form, the past and the participle are identical.O grupo mais fácil: a forma base, o passado e o particípio são iguais.
| Base form | Simple past | Past participle | Português |
|---|---|---|---|
| bet | bet | bet | apostar |
| burst | burst | burst | estourar, explodir |
| cast | cast | cast | lançar, escalar (elenco) |
| cost | cost | cost | custar |
| cut | cut | cut | cortar |
| fit | fit (US: United States) / fitted (UK: United Kingdom) | fit (American) / fitted (British) | caber, servir |
| hit | hit | hit | bater, atingir |
| hurt | hurt | hurt | machucar, doer |
| let | let | let | deixar, permitir |
| put | put | put | pôr, colocar |
| quit | quit | quit | desistir, largar |
| read | read | read | ler |
| set | set | set | ajustar, definir, pôr |
| shut | shut | shut | fechar |
| split | split | split | dividir, separar |
| spread | spread | spread | espalhar |
| upset | upset | upset | aborrecer, chatear |
The special case of read
The spelling is the same, but the pronunciation changes: read /riːd/ (like “ríd”) in the present and read /red/ (like “réd”) in the past and the participle.A escrita é a mesma, mas a pronúncia muda: read /riːd/ (como “ríd”) no presente e read /red/ (como “réd”) no passado e no particípio.
- I usually read before bed. (Eu costumo ler antes de dormir.)
- I read that book last year. (Eu li esse livro no ano passado.)
- The concert tickets cost a fortune. (Os ingressos do show custaram uma fortuna.)
- She put her phone on the table and shut the door. (Ela colocou o celular na mesa e fechou a porta.)
Group 2: Past and participle are the same
The biggest group: the past and the participle are identical, so you only need to learn two forms.O maior grupo: o passado e o particípio são idênticos, então você só precisa aprender duas formas.
| Base form | Simple past | Past participle | Português |
|---|---|---|---|
| bring | brought | brought | trazer |
| build | built | built | construir |
| buy | bought | bought | comprar |
| catch | caught | caught | pegar, apanhar |
| dig | dug | dug | cavar |
| feed | fed | fed | alimentar |
| feel | felt | felt | sentir |
| fight | fought | fought | lutar, brigar |
| find | found | found | encontrar, achar |
| get | got | got (UK) / gotten (US) | conseguir, obter, ficar |
| hang | hung | hung | pendurar |
| have | had | had | ter |
| hear | heard | heard | ouvir |
| hold | held | held | segurar |
| keep | kept | kept | manter, guardar |
| lay | laid | laid | colocar, pôr (deitado) |
| lead | led | led | liderar, conduzir |
| leave | left | left | sair, partir, deixar |
| lend | lent | lent | emprestar (dar emprestado) |
| light | lit | lit | acender, iluminar |
| lose | lost | lost | perder |
| make | made | made | fazer, fabricar |
| mean | meant | meant | significar, querer dizer |
| meet | met | met | conhecer, encontrar |
| pay | paid | paid | pagar |
| say | said | said | dizer |
| seek | sought | sought | procurar, buscar |
| sell | sold | sold | vender |
| send | sent | sent | enviar |
| shine | shone | shone | brilhar |
| shoot | shot | shot | atirar, filmar |
| sit | sat | sat | sentar-se |
| sleep | slept | slept | dormir |
| slide | slid | slid | deslizar |
| spend | spent | spent | gastar, passar (tempo) |
| spin | spun | spun | girar |
| stand | stood | stood | ficar de pé |
| stick | stuck | stuck | colar, grudar |
| sting | stung | stung | picar, arder |
| strike | struck | struck | golpear, atingir |
| sweep | swept | swept | varrer |
| swing | swung | swung | balançar |
| teach | taught | taught | ensinar |
| tell | told | told | contar, dizer |
| think | thought | thought | pensar |
| understand | understood | understood | entender |
| weep | wept | wept | chorar |
| win | won | won | ganhar, vencer |
The -ought / -aught family
Several verbs end in the same sound /ɔːt/: bring – brought, buy – bought, fight – fought, seek – sought, think – thought, catch – caught, teach – taught. Learn them together.Vários verbos terminam com o mesmo som /ɔːt/: bring – brought, buy – bought, fight – fought, seek – sought, think – thought, catch – caught, teach – taught. Aprenda todos juntos.
- We met at a party in 2019. (A gente se conheceu numa festa em 2019.)
- I have lost my keys again! (Perdi minhas chaves de novo!)
- My dad taught me how to ride a bike. (Meu pai me ensinou a andar de bicicleta.)
- They spent the whole weekend at the beach. (Eles passaram o fim de semana inteiro na praia.)
A2 More groups and patterns
British -t or American -ed?
Some verbs have two accepted forms. The form with -t is more British; the form with -ed is the one preferred in the US (United States). Both are correct, so use them consistently.Alguns verbos têm duas formas aceitas. A forma com -t é mais britânica; a forma com -ed é a preferida nos EUA (Estados Unidos). As duas estão corretas: escolha uma e use sempre a mesma.
| Base form | Past / Participle (UK) | Past / Participle (US) | Português |
|---|---|---|---|
| burn | burnt / burned | burned | queimar |
| dream | dreamt / dreamed | dreamed | sonhar |
| learn | learnt / learned | learned | aprender |
| smell | smelt / smelled | smelled | cheirar |
| spell | spelt / spelled | spelled | soletrar |
| spill | spilt / spilled | spilled | derramar |
| spoil | spoilt / spoiled | spoiled | estragar, mimar |
Group 3: Base and participle are the same
A small group: the participle looks exactly like the base form, and only the past is different.Um grupo pequeno: o particípio é igual à forma base, e só o passado é diferente.
| Base form | Simple past | Past participle | Português |
|---|---|---|---|
| become | became | become | tornar-se |
| come | came | come | vir, chegar |
| run | ran | run | correr |
- She became a doctor in 2020. (Ela se tornou médica em 2020.)
- Has the bus come yet? (O ônibus já chegou?)
- I have run three marathons. (Eu já corri três maratonas.)
- The kids ran to the park after school. (As crianças correram até o parque depois da aula.)
Group 4: All three forms are different
These verbs change in the past and again in the participle. Many participles end in -en or -n: eaten, given, known, seen.Esses verbos mudam no passado e de novo no particípio. Muitos particípios terminam em -en ou -n: eaten, given, known, seen.
| Base form | Simple past | Past participle | Português |
|---|---|---|---|
| arise | arose | arisen | surgir |
| awake | awoke | awoken | despertar |
| be | was / were | been | ser, estar |
| bear | bore | born / borne | suportar; dar à luz |
| beat | beat | beaten | bater, vencer (aqui só a base e o passado são iguais) |
| begin | began | begun | começar |
| bite | bit | bitten | morder |
| blow | blew | blown | soprar |
| break | broke | broken | quebrar |
| choose | chose | chosen | escolher |
| do | did | done | fazer |
| draw | drew | drawn | desenhar |
| drink | drank | drunk | beber |
| drive | drove | driven | dirigir |
| eat | ate | eaten | comer |
| fall | fell | fallen | cair |
| fly | flew | flown | voar |
| forbid | forbade | forbidden | proibir |
| forget | forgot | forgotten | esquecer |
| forgive | forgave | forgiven | perdoar |
| freeze | froze | frozen | congelar |
| give | gave | given | dar |
| go | went | gone | ir |
| grow | grew | grown | crescer, cultivar |
| hide | hid | hidden | esconder |
| know | knew | known | saber, conhecer |
| lie | lay | lain | deitar-se |
| mistake | mistook | mistaken | confundir, enganar-se |
| ride | rode | ridden | andar (de bicicleta, cavalo) |
| ring | rang | rung | tocar (campainha, telefone) |
| rise | rose | risen | subir, levantar-se |
| see | saw | seen | ver |
| sew | sewed | sewn | costurar |
| shake | shook | shaken | sacudir, apertar (a mão) |
| show | showed | shown | mostrar |
| shrink | shrank | shrunk | encolher |
| sing | sang | sung | cantar |
| sink | sank | sunk | afundar |
| speak | spoke | spoken | falar |
| steal | stole | stolen | roubar |
| swear | swore | sworn | jurar; xingar |
| swell | swelled | swollen | inchar |
| swim | swam | swum | nadar |
| take | took | taken | pegar, levar |
| tear | tore | torn | rasgar |
| throw | threw | thrown | jogar, atirar |
| wake | woke | woken | acordar |
| wear | wore | worn | vestir, usar (roupa) |
| write | wrote | written | escrever |
The i – a – u pattern
Several verbs follow the same vowel pattern: begin – began – begun, drink – drank – drunk, ring – rang – rung, sing – sang – sung, sink – sank – sunk, swim – swam – swum. Learn one and you learn them all.Vários verbos seguem o mesmo padrão de vogais: begin – began – begun, drink – drank – drunk, ring – rang – rung, sing – sang – sung, sink – sank – sunk, swim – swam – swum. Aprenda um e você aprende todos.
Lie, lay or lie?
lie – lay – lain: to lie down. I lay on the sofa yesterday.lie – lay – lain: deitar-se. Eu me deitei no sofá ontem.
lay – laid – laid: to put something down flat. She laid the baby in bed.lay – laid – laid: colocar algo deitado. Ela deitou o bebê na cama.
lie – lied – lied: to say something untrue, and this one is regular! He lied to me.lie – lied – lied: mentir, e esse é regular! Ele mentiu para mim.
See them in action
- I have never seen such a beautiful place. (Nunca vi um lugar tão bonito.)
- She went to London and bought a lot of books. (Ela foi para Londres e comprou muitos livros.)
- This book was written in 1990. (Este livro foi escrito em 1990.)
- We have already eaten, thanks. (Já comemos, obrigada.)
- The phone rang while I was swimming. (O telefone tocou enquanto eu estava nadando.)
- Someone has stolen my bike! (Alguém roubou minha bicicleta!)
Common mistakes
Avoid these
✗ She buyed a new phone. ✓ She bought a new phone.Buy é irregular: buy – bought – bought.
✗ I have never saw that film. ✓ I have never seen that film.Depois de have, use o particípio, não o passado.
✗ Did you went to the party? ✓ Did you go to the party?Com did, o verbo volta para a forma base.
✗ He lay to me. ✓ He lied to me.Mentir é lie – lied – lied (regular).
✗ I have wrote the email. ✓ I have written the email.O particípio de write é written.
✗ This photo was took in Paris. ✓ This photo was taken in Paris.Na voz passiva, use o particípio (taken), e não o passado (took).
Quick summary
| Group | Pattern | Example | Português |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | all three forms the same | cut – cut – cut | as três formas iguais |
| 2 | past = participle | buy – bought – bought | passado = particípio |
| UK / US | -t or -ed | learnt / learned | -t (britânico) ou -ed (americano) |
| 3 | base = participle | come – came – come | base = particípio |
| 4 | all three forms different | write – wrote – written | as três formas diferentes |
| i – a – u | vowel change | sing – sang – sung | mudança de vogal |
Practice time
Quiz
