Did you know that the 8 most common verbs in English are irregular verbs?
We won’t learn a long list like you probably did in middle school: go-went-gone, take-took-taken, do-did-done. No.
We are going to revise the 8 irregular verbs in English that are absolutely essential.
To help you learn these verbs easily, we will put them in context.
After all, no one ever says: “Yesterday, I go-went-gone … went to the movies with a friend”!
It’s better to tell a little story in the simple past tense, right?
So we will forget the 3 column table for the moment, and just concentrate on the past simple irregular verbs.
A story with the top 8 irregular verbs in English
was/were
Sorry I was absent yesterday.
had
I had a problem with my car.
did
I did everything I could.
went
But in the end, I just went to a garage.
said
The mechanic said he wanted to see my car.
saw
He saw it and he immediately laughed.
took
It took me a minute to understand why.
got
But then I got what was so funny. I understood why he was laughing!
can
I could see that the problem was easy to solve…
…I needed to fill up the gas tank.
Just below the video, you will find a link to download the list and a little activity to tell us your own story.
Easy as pie!
So there’s my Top 8 list of irregular English verbs, in a nice little story!
And really, it’s not MY list, but a list from a study by researchers at Harvard university.
Now, if you’re thinking “Christina, it would be great if I could print these irregular verbs and put them on my bathroom mirror to study everyday”, you’re in luck!
You can download the list (plus 5 other English cheat sheets) by going to this page. Just enter your email to have instant access to all 6 cheat sheets.
Lots of love to you,
Christina
P.S. Did you like this video? And the cheat sheets?
Share the links with your friends!
If you want more help to have correct fluency in English, check out my book “What the Faute?” : Un livre in English pour éviter 32 erreurs fréquentes en anglais
Hi Chritina
Tanks for this list of irregular verbs.
I have a question about the story by ” won’t ”
Is it “will not ” ???
Could you explain me please.
Xx
Cat
Hi Catherine,
I’m glad the list helped you! And you’re right, “won’t” is the contraction of “will not”. It’s as simple as that!
Hope that helps, but let me know if you have more questions about it!
exactly
thanks too much Christina really it is an interesting
Hi Sabir, Thanks so much! What was the most important point that you took from this lesson?
Hi! I like your lesson on the irregular verbs,but is there a work sheet on which i practice, and would you tell me if the lessons are sequential.
I coul not access to the 6 cheat cheats ?
Why ?
Could you help me please
Sincerely
Cat
I sent you an email with a direct access to the cheat sheets… Let me know if you’re still having problems and I’ll get the developers to look into it. Sorry about that!
Hi Christina,
Regarding other irregular verbs, do you recommend a relevant site to deal with ?
I use Linguee for my wording, but it’s not so convenient for grammar aspects.
Some thoughts ?
Thnaks in advance for your feedback
Best regards
Sylvestre
firstly i would like to thank you for answering me and that refers to your kindness..
secondly,
my questions are how can i improve my speaking and skills? and how can i communicate with natives??
Hi Najim,
If you’re just looking for someone to practice speaking with, the best thing I can recommend is italki at http://bit.ly/italki-SEwC. You can find a conversation partner or a teacher to talk with to improve your speaking skills. Let me know if you decide to work with a partner! I’d love to hear about it!
speaking and listening skills
Hi! Christina i just wanted to know if this phrase is correct,,,,you will learn more English in the future ,will you? Or will you learn more English in the future? Will you. the main point when to use will you at the end of the sentence or what is the meaning of will you? At the end. Thanks.
Hi Christina,
Thank you so much for this video
Please I want to know why people prefer to use ”could you ….?” than ”can you ….?”? I understand that ”could” it’s not in the simple past in this case but I just want to know why it’s more used than ”can”.
Secondly, how to use ”can” for the future?
THANK YOU IN ADVANCE!
Hi Doulo, great question! I don’t know if we use “could” more than “can”… Where did you hear or read that, I’m curious to know!
To answer your question, we do use “could” as a simple past form of “can”, for example: “Yesterday, I could connect to the internet with no problem, but today the connection’s bad.”
But we also use it in the present, for example: “Could you give me that book?”
Or to talk about future possibilities: We could go to that new pizza restaurant this weekend if you want!
And for “can” in the future, it’s “will be able to”: Tomorrow, you’ll be able to join the course.
Good luck with all that!
Thanks a lots!
I mean to ask someone a question, I always heard people telling ”could you” than ”can you”. For example: could you repeat please? Could you speak slowly please? could you tell me…. please? I don’t know, may be I am wrong, I just noticed it. I am so bad in english Lol.
We can say both, and both are polite. Sometimes you hear “could” is more polite than “can”, but in fact, there are other things that will determine if it’s polite. Intonation, for example is very important. So you can say “Could you repeat?” or “Can you repeat?” and the intonation will make both sound polite.
Thank you Christina for all your helping
Hi coach christina. Please, I would like to use the word “figure” but I don’t remember in the real context it can work. Help me please.
Hi Gefry,
I’d suggest going back to to revise the lesson as a starting point. Then try to use it in a conversation (in your head, if necessary). That can be a good first step to trying to use it in a real context. Try that!
Hi dear Christina, first of all thanks too much for your feeling to help people for improving English language, second to be frank with you I have a problem in English language that I face a difficulty for understanding English while hearing quick talking. thanks again for your efforts.
Hi Sabir, thanks for your message, and for honestly sharing your difficulties in English. It’s good that you have identified the aspects of English you have difficulties with. Here are some other videos that can help you with understanding “fast” English:
http://christinarebuffet.com/fr/blog/resources-for-listening-practice/
http://christinarebuffet.com/blog/understanding-the-cashier-at-the-supermarket/
http://christinarebuffet.com/fr/blog/understand-real-american-english-lisa/
Try those and come back and tell me if they help you!
Hi Christina,
Thank you for this episode! It was clear to understand, but I still have some doubts about how to use “could” regarding past situations. I mean, when it is necessary to use “be able” or “manage to” instead of “could”.
Could explain that, please?
All the best! Vero
oh! I’m sorry!
I meant: “could you explain that please?”
Ü
Hi Vero,
Very good question! I’ll add it to my list of topics, and make a video about it! In the meantime, here’s a quick & simple explanation:
1. You can use could to say you were able to do something. EX: I could see the fireworks from my house / I was able to see the fireworks from my house.
2. “Manage to” is the sense of trying and succeeding to do an action. Like “I managed to talk to the president of the company last week…finally!”
Let me know if that answers your questions or if you have others about “could”. The more questions the better, as it’ll help me know what to put in the video on the subject. If you have the question, others probably do too!
Thanks a lot, Christina!
Your explanation has been clear. I think that’s enough for me. Surely, it will be very useful!
All the best with your video!
Vero
Great, glad to hear it was helpful for you, Vero! Have a good one!
Hi Christina!
I love your explanation! Your tips are very easy to memorize!
Hi! Christina
Thank you soo much for accepting me I’m soo glade to join you.
Please help me to make my english fluent.
Hi Shahnawaz,
Thanks for learning English with me, but I can’t make you fluent. Only you can do that yourself by working on your English consistently, over time!
But I can give you resources and tips, like the ones you’ll find here on the blog! So welcome, and spend some time exploring the resources to help make yourself more fluent 🙂
you are the best of the world, i´m from venezuela and i learning with you. God Bless You!!! Thanks you for your help…
Thanks so much Leomil, that’s so kind of you!
Thank you Christina for your lessons. With French phrases it is double profit. J’ais etudier le francais en ecole, mais oublier pres que tous.
Hey , Hai Christina! Just now watched your Video… I’m very much excited to improve my English Fluency… I’ll share it with the people in my network.. I’m sure they gonna love learning with you…
Hi dear.. i love u
Hi Christina!
I love your videos, I like French, too !!
Hi Christina I wanna thank you to your excellent job. But I wanna know if I can receive everyday a lesson ?
Thx