Irregular verbs (past tense) worksheet - Free Printable

Let's solve this step by step.

The task is to match the past tense forms of irregular verbs to their base (infinitive) forms. The list of past tense verbs is provided at the top:

> put * swam * was/were * left * became * went * drank * felt * gave * thought * knew * wrote * ran * bought * built * did * read * had * ate * flew * said * slept * made * got * won

We are given a table with 29 base verbs, and we need to fill in the correct past tense form for each.

---

Step-by-step matching:

1. be → was/were
2. buy → bought
3. eat → ate
4. give → gave
5. leave → left
6. read → read *(pronounced "red", but spelled the same)*
7. sleep → slept
8. win → won
9. build → built
10. drink → drank
11. get → got
12. know → knew
13. put → put *(same form in past)*
14. see → saw → Wait! "saw" is not in the list!

Wait — this is a problem.

Looking back at the provided past tense verbs, let's check:
> put * swam * was/were * left * became * went * drank * felt * gave * thought * knew * wrote * ran * bought * built * did * read * had * ate * flew * said * slept * made * got * won

Notice that "saw" is not listed. But "swam" is listed.

So perhaps there's a typo? Let's see:
- see → saw (correct past tense), but "saw" is missing from the list.
- swim → swam → yes, "swam" is in the list.

But wait — look at number 29: swim → should be swam

And number 14: see → should be saw, but "saw" is not in the list.

Hmm. That’s odd. Let’s check if any verb is missing or duplicated.

Wait — the list has "swam", which is the past of swim, and "saw" is missing.

But "see" is on the list (number 14), so it must have a past tense.

But "saw" is not among the options.

Wait — could it be that "saw" is missing from the list?

Let’s recheck the list:

> put * swam * was/were * left * became * went * drank * felt * gave * thought * knew * wrote * ran * bought * built * did * read * had * ate * flew * said * slept * made * got * won

That’s 25 verbs.

Now count the base verbs in the table: 29 items.

So 4 are missing?

Wait — let's check carefully.

Listed past tenses (25):

1. put
2. swam
3. was/were
4. left
5. became
6. went
7. drank
8. felt
9. gave
10. thought
11. knew
12. wrote
13. ran
14. bought
15. built
16. did
17. read
18. had
19. ate
20. flew
21. said
22. slept
23. made
24. got
25. won

Now go through the base verbs one by one and match:

| Base | Past Tense | Match? |
|------|------------|--------|
| 1. be | was/were | ✔ Yes |
| 2. buy | bought | ✔ Yes |
| 3. eat | ate | ✔ Yes |
| 4. give | gave | ✔ Yes |
| 5. leave | left | ✔ Yes |
| 6. read | read | ✔ Yes |
| 7. sleep | slept | ✔ Yes |
| 8. win | won | ✔ Yes |
| 9. build | built | ✔ Yes |
| 10. drink | drank | ✔ Yes |
| 11. get | got | ✔ Yes |
| 12. know | knew | ✔ Yes |
| 13. put | put | ✔ Yes |
| 14. see | saw | ✘ Not in list! |
| 15. think | thought | ✔ Yes |
| 16. begin | began | ✘ Not in list! |
| 17. do | did | ✔ Yes |
| 18. fly | flew | ✔ Yes |
| 19. have | had | ✔ Yes |
| 20. meet | met | ✘ Not in list! |
| 21. say | said | ✔ Yes |
| 22. take | took | ✘ Not in list! |
| 23. become | became | ✔ Yes |
| 24. come | came | ✘ Not in list! |
| 25. feel | felt | ✔ Yes |
| 26. go | went | ✔ Yes |
| 27. make | made | ✔ Yes |
| 28. run | ran | ✔ Yes |
| 29. swim | swam | ✔ Yes |
| 30. write | wrote | ✔ Yes |

Wait — we have 29 base verbs, but only 25 past tense forms provided.

But some past tenses are missing:

- see → saw → missing
- begin → began → missing
- meet → met → missing
- take → took → missing
- come → came → missing

But in the list, we have:
- swam (for swim)
- was/were (for be)
- became (for become)
- went (for go)
- drank (for drink)
- felt (for feel)
- gave (for give)
- thought (for think)
- knew (for know)
- wrote (for write)
- ran (for run)
- bought (for buy)
- built (for build)
- did (for do)
- read (for read)
- had (for have)
- ate (for eat)
- flew (for fly)
- said (for say)
- slept (for sleep)
- made (for make)
- got (for get)
- won (for win)
- left (for leave)
- put (for put)

So what about:
- see → saw → not in list
- begin → began → not in list
- meet → met → not in list
- take → took → not in list
- come → came → not in list

But wait — look again: the list has 25 items, but we have 29 base verbs.

So either:
- Some base verbs don't have past tense listed (which is impossible),
- Or there's a mistake in the image.

Wait — double-check the base verbs list:

The table shows:

1. be
2. buy
3. eat
4. give
5. leave
6. read
7. sleep
8. win
9. build
10. drink
11. get
12. know
13. put
14. see
15. think
16. begin
17. do
18. fly
19. have
20. meet
21. say
22. take
23. become
24. come
25. feel
26. go
27. make
28. run
29. swim
30. write

Wait — that's 30 entries, but the numbering goes up to 29? No:

Look closely:

It says:

1 be
...
15 think
16 begin
...
29 swim
30 write

Wait — 20 meet, then 21 say, ..., 29 swim, 30 write

But the last row says “20 write” — that’s a typo!

Ah! Look:

The table has two columns. The second column ends with:

| 29 | swim |
| 30 | write |

But the last row says “20 write” — probably a typo in the formatting.

Actually, looking at the image:

> 29 swim
> 20 write

That can’t be. It must be a formatting error.

Wait — no. Let's re-express the table:

It starts:

1 be
2 buy
3 eat
4 give
5 leave
6 read
7 sleep
8 win
9 build
10 drink
11 get
12 know
13 put
14 see
15 think
16 begin
17 do
18 fly
19 have
20 meet
21 say
22 take
23 become
24 come
25 feel
26 go
27 make
28 run
29 swim
30 write

Yes — 30 items, but the last line says “20 write” — that’s clearly a typo.

Probably meant to be 30 write.

But now, the past tense list has only 25 verbs, but we have 30 base verbs.

That’s inconsistent.

Wait — count the past tense verbs:

List:
1. put
2. swam
3. was/were
4. left
5. became
6. went
7. drank
8. felt
9. gave
10. thought
11. knew
12. wrote
13. ran
14. bought
15. built
16. did
17. read
18. had
19. ate
20. flew
21. said
22. slept
23. made
24. got
25. won

→ 25 past tenses

But we have 30 base verbs.

So 5 are missing.

But wait — maybe some verbs are duplicates?

No.

Wait — perhaps the "read" appears twice?

In the list: "read" is in the past tense list.

And "read" is also a base verb.

But that's fine.

But still, we're missing:

- see → saw
- begin → began
- meet → met
- take → took
- come → came

But these are not in the past tense list.

However, look again: the past tense list includes "swam", which is for swim, and "swim" is #29.

But "see" is #14 — its past tense is saw, but "saw" is not in the list.

Similarly, "begin" → began, not in list.

But here's a possibility: "began" might be missing, but "begun" is not the past tense.

Wait — unless the list is incomplete.

Alternatively, perhaps the task is only to use the verbs provided, and some base verbs are not used?

But no — all 30 are listed.

Wait — perhaps I miscounted.

Let’s count the past tense verbs:

List:
1. put
2. swam
3. was/were
4. left
5. became
6. went
7. drank
8. felt
9. gave
10. thought
11. knew
12. wrote
13. ran
14. bought
15. built
16. did
17. read
18. had
19. ate
20. flew
21. said
22. slept
23. made
24. got
25. won

That’s 25.

Base verbs: 30.

So 5 are missing.

But notice: "do" → did → in list
"go" → went → in list
"have" → had → in list
"say" → said → in list
"write" → wrote → in list
"run" → ran → in list
"swim" → swam → in list
"think" → thought → in list
"feel" → felt → in list
"drink" → drank → in list
"eat" → ate → in list
"sleep" → slept → in list
"read" → read → in list
"put" → put → in list
"get" → got → in list
"know" → knew → in list
"give" → gave → in list
"leave" → left → in list
"build" → built → in list
"buy" → bought → in list
"win" → won → in list
"be" → was/were → in list
"become" → became → in list

So far, all covered except:

- see → saw → missing
- begin → began → missing
- meet → met → missing
- take → took → missing
- come → came → missing

But these are not in the past tense list.

Unless...

Wait — is "swam" meant to be for "swim", and "saw" is not needed because "see" is not in the list?

But "see" is in the list.

Wait — maybe the list has a typo?

Or perhaps the user intended only certain verbs.

But the instruction says: "Drag the past of the verbs and drop them where they belong."

And the list has 25 past tenses.

But there are 30 base verbs.

So unless some base verbs are not irregular or are regular, but no — all are irregular.

Wait — "begin" → began — not in list
"meet" → met — not in list
"take" → took — not in list
"come" → came — not in list
"see" → saw — not in list

So 5 missing.

But perhaps the past tense list is supposed to include more?

Wait — look at the original image:

> put * swam * was/were * left * became * went * drank * felt * gave * thought * knew * wrote * ran * bought * built * did * read * had * ate * flew * said * slept * made * got * won

That’s 25 items.

But maybe the task is only for the ones that are in the list.

But all 30 base verbs are listed.

Unless the numbers are wrong.

Wait — the table has:

1 be
2 buy
3 eat
4 give
5 leave
6 read
7 sleep
8 win
9 build
10 drink
11 get
12 know
13 put
14 see
15 think
16 begin
17 do
18 fly
19 have
20 meet
21 say
22 take
23 become
24 come
25 feel
26 go
27 make
28 run
29 swim
30 write

So 30 items.

But the past tense list has only 25.

This suggests an error in the worksheet.

But perhaps the user wants us to match only the ones that are present.

But that doesn't make sense.

Alternatively, maybe "begin" is not included, but it is.

Wait — perhaps "began" is not needed because "begin" is not irregular? No, it is.

Another possibility: "read" is listed as both base and past, and it's the same spelling.

But that's fine.

Perhaps the past tense list is missing "saw", "began", "met", "took", "came".

But since they are not in the list, we cannot use them.

So likely, the worksheet has a mistake.

But let's assume that the past tense list is complete, and the base verbs are to be matched only if their past tense is in the list.

Then:

- see → saw → not in list → cannot match
- begin → began → not in list → cannot match
- meet → met → not in list → cannot match
- take → took → not in list → cannot match
- come → came → not in list → cannot match

But those are in the base verb list.

So this is a problem.

Unless...

Wait — look at the past tense list again:

> put * swam * was/were * left * became * went * drank * felt * gave * thought * knew * wrote * ran * bought * built * did * read * had * ate * flew * said * slept * made * got * won

Wait — is "swam" for "swim", and "saw" is missing.

But "see" is in the list.

Perhaps the worksheet is incomplete.

But let's try to match only the ones that can be matched.

So here is the correct answer for the ones that are in both lists:

| Number | Base Verb | Past Tense |
|--------|-----------|------------|
| 1 | be | was/were |
| 2 | buy | bought |
| 3 | eat | ate |
| 4 | give | gave |
| 5 | leave | left |
| 6 | read | read |
| 7 | sleep | slept |
| 8 | win | won |
| 9 | build | built |
| 10 | drink | drank |
| 11 | get | got |
| 12 | know | knew |
| 13 | put | put |
| 14 | see | ? (saw, not in list) |
| 15 | think | thought |
| 16 | begin | ? (began, not in list) |
| 17 | do | did |
| 18 | fly | flew |
| 19 | have | had |
| 20 | meet | ? (met, not in list) |
| 21 | say | said |
| 22 | take | ? (took, not in list) |
| 23 | become | became |
| 24 | come | ? (came, not in list) |
| 25 | feel | felt |
| 26 | go | went |
| 27 | make | made |
| 28 | run | ran |
| 29 | swim | swam |
| 30 | write | wrote |

So only 14 out of 30 can be matched using the provided past tense verbs.

But that seems unlikely.

Perhaps the worksheet is designed to only include the verbs that are in the list.

But then why list "see", "begin", etc.?

Another possibility: maybe the past tense list is not meant to be exhaustive, but the user is to choose from it.

But "saw" is not there.

Unless "swam" is for "swim", and "see" is not in the list.

But it is.

Wait — perhaps the user made a mistake in the image.

But based on the information, we can only match the ones that have a corresponding past tense in the list.

So the solution is to fill in the blanks with the matching past tense from the list.

Here is the completed table with matches where possible:

| Number | Base Verb | Past Tense |
|--------|-----------|------------|
| 1 | be | was/were |
| 2 | buy | bought |
| 3 | eat | ate |
| 4 | give | gave |
| 5 | leave | left |
| 6 | read | read |
| 7 | sleep | slept |
| 8 | win | won |
| 9 | build | built |
| 10 | drink | drank |
| 11 | get | got |
| 12 | know | knew |
| 13 | put | put |
| 14 | see | [missing] |
| 15 | think | thought |
| 16 | begin | [missing] |
| 17 | do | did |
| 18 | fly | flew |
| 19 | have | had |
| 20 | meet | [missing] |
| 21 | say | said |
| 22 | take | [missing] |
| 23 | become | became |
| 24 | come | [missing] |
| 25 | feel | felt |
| 26 | go | went |
| 27 | make | made |
| 28 | run | ran |
| 29 | swim | swam |
| 30 | write | wrote |

But since the past tense list does not include "saw", "began", "met", "took", "came", those cannot be filled.

Therefore, the worksheet may have an error.

However, if we assume that the past tense list is complete and the base verbs are only those whose past tense is in the list, then the only way is to realize that "see" might be a typo for "swim", but "swim" is already #29.

Alternatively, perhaps "see" is not meant to be there.

But it is.

Given the constraints, the best we can do is to provide the answers for the verbs that have a match.

Final Answer (only for verbs with matching past tense in the list):

| Number | Base Verb | Past Tense |
|--------|-----------|------------|
| 1 | be | was/were |
| 2 | buy | bought |
| 3 | eat | ate |
| 4 | give | gave |
| 5 | leave | left |
| 6 | read | read |
| 7 | sleep | slept |
| 8 | win | won |
| 9 | build | built |
| 10 | drink | drank |
| 11 | get | got |
| 12 | know | knew |
| 13 | put | put |
| 15 | think | thought |
| 17 | do | did |
| 18 | fly | flew |
| 19 | have | had |
| 21 | say | said |
| 23 | become | became |
| 25 | feel | felt |
| 26 | go | went |
| 27 | make | made |
| 28 | run | ran |
| 29 | swim | swam |
| 30 | write | wrote |

For the others (#14 see, #16 begin, #20 meet, #22 take, #24 come), the past tenses are not in the provided list, so they cannot be filled.

Conclusion: The worksheet contains an error — the past tense list is missing "saw", "began", "met", "took", and "came". Without these, the exercise cannot be fully completed as instructed.

If you have access to the original source, please verify the list of past tense verbs.

Otherwise, the above is the best possible completion based on the given data.