xxzList #1: the ‘important’ family

(learn these first if you don’t already know them):

PRESENT PAST SIMPLE PAST

PARTICIPLE EXAMPLES
be was been I was tired/angry/sad/bored/hot It
(am/are/is) were was Monday/You were 10 years old

do did done He did

homework/chores/work
They did a puzzle/a sport

eat ate eaten She ate spaghetti/meat/fruit

We ate dinner/breakfast/a lot

feel felt felt I felt

happy/sad/tired/frustrated He
felt like playing video games

find found found You found a toy/a book

We found time to play

get got got They got bored/tired/healthy

She got a book/a game

give gave given You gave (your friend) a

present/help I gave up (playing
video games)

go went gone We went to the cinema/park/a

party They went on holiday/on a
plane

have had had She had time/energy

I had a dog/brother/game

hear heard heard You heard a sound/an

(listen to) (listened to) (listened to) argument They listened to
music/the radio

know knew known He knew English/Miguel

We knew how to swim/drive

leave left left I left a book on …

She left home/school

make made made You made a cake/to make

dinner He made a paper
plane

read read read They read a

(red) (red) book/website/newspaper I read
quickly/slowly/badly/well

say said said She said

 hello/goodbye/sorry/yes We
said a sentence

see saw seen I saw a plane/a friend/an

(watch) (watched) (watched) accident You watched TV/a
film/a series

take took taken He took a photo/a

video/medicine They took a
book to/from …

tell told told You told a story/a joke/a secret/a

lie She told (her brother) ______

think thought thought I thought about a game/a film/a

friend He thought about
playing/reading

write wrote written They wrote a book/a story/an

email I wrote to my friend/to my
dad

List #2: the ‘copycats’ family

(these verbs copy other verbs’ patterns)

PRESENT PAST SIMPLE PAST

PARTICIPLE EXAMPLES
VENIR come came come
volverse become became become He came to the park/to
school/home You became
famous/rich/a teacher

dibujar draw drew drawn I drew a picture/dog/house

retirarse withdraw withdrew withdrawn We withdrew from a game/class

conseguir get got got / gotten They got hungry/bored/a book

olvidar forget forgot forgot / forgotten I forgot my homework/my address

dar give gave given She gave a present/help

perdonar forgive forgave forgiven He forgave someone for something

ponerse de pie stood stood You stood on a chair/stage/I stood

stand understood understood up They understood English/a
entender misunderstood misunderstood question She misunderstood
understand someone
malinterpretar
misunderstand

escribir write wrote written They wrote a book/to a friend

reescribir rewrite rewrote rewritten I rewrote a book/a story

List #3: the ‘easy’ family

(these verbs are the same in all its forms)

PRESENT PAST SIMPLE PAST

PARTICIPLE EXAMPLES
costar cost cost cost It cost a lot of money/5 euros
It cost your life

cortar cut cut cut I cut a piece of paper/an

onion You cut your
finger/your leg

pegar hit hit hit She hit her friend/a table

They hit a ball/a racket/shuttlecock

herir hurt hurt hurt I hurt my knee/ankle/arm

We hurt his feelings

dejar permitir let let let He let my friend go/sing/sleep

We let our parents down

poner put put put They put a book on the table

She put down the football

colocar set set set I set the table/the places

You set up an online game

cerrado shut shut shut I shut a door/a window

He shut up

List #4: the ‘ght’ family

PRESENT PAST SIMPLE PAST

PARTICIPLE EXAMPLES
Llevar bring brought brought He brought a book home/to
school She brought her mum a
gift

Comprar buy bought bought I bought

food/clothes/presents/dinner They
bought a house/a car

Cojer catch caught caught You caught a ball/a toy/a plate

We caught up with a friend

Pelear fight fought fought I fought (with) my friend/my

brother He fought in a football
match

Enseñar teach taught taught She taught

English/maths/science They
taught him to play football
 Pensar think thought thought I thought about a game/a film/a
friend He thought about
playing/reading

List #5: the ‘ow > ew > own’ family (BUT: show is regular: show – showed - showed)

PRESENT PAST SIMPLE PAST

PARTICIPLE EXAMPLES
Soplar blow blew blown You blew out your candles
We blew bubbles

Dibujar draw drew drawn I drew a picture/a landscape/a

friend They drew a card

Volar fly flew flown He flew a plane/a helicopter

She flew quickly/slowly

Crecer grow grew grown They grew flowers/a

plant/vegetables I grew up in
Valladolid

Saber know knew known He knew English/Miguel

We knew how to swim/drive

Tirar throw threw thrown She threw away rubbish/food

You threw a party

List #6: the ‘en’ family I

(these verbs change their vowel in the past simple and use the same vowel for present and past participle)

PRESENT PAST SIMPLE PAST

PARTICIPLE EXAMPLES
drive conducir drove driven He drove a car/a boat/a bus/a
train She drove me crazy

Comer eat ate eaten She ate spaghetti/meat/fruit

We ate dinner/breakfast/a lot

Caerse fall fell fallen I fell over (a ball/a rock/a

show) Andrés fell in love

Dar give gave given You gave (your friend) a

present/help I gave up (playing
video games)

Montar en ride rode ridden He rode a bike/a scooter

They rode the bus/train to school

Cojer take took taken He took a photo/a

video/medicine They took a
 book to/from …

Escribir write wrote written They wrote a book/a story/an

email I wrote to my friend/to my
dad

List #7: the ‘en’ family II

(these verbs change their vowel in the past simple and past participle)

PRESENT PAST SIMPLE PAST

PARTICIPLE EXAMPLES
bite bit bitten You bit my brother/a hot dog
A mosquito/A dog bit my leg

break broke broken I broke a window/a plate

He broke the ice/a promise

choose chose chosen They chose a film/a song/a

present She chose to play
football

freeze froze frozen We froze meat/ice cream

You were frozen by fear

get got gotten They got bored/tired/healthy

She got a book/a game

hide hid hidden He hid a toy/sweets/clues

I hid from my friends/my teacher

speak spoke spoken I spoke English/with my friends

We spoke about football/video
games

steal stole stolen She stole sweets/a book

They stole someone’s pencil

wake woke woken He woke up

I woke my dad up

List #8: the ‘in – an – un’ family

PRESENT PAST SIMPLE PAST

PARTICIPLE EXAMPLES
begin began begun I began school/a game/my
homework We began
playing/singing/working

drink drank drunk You drank water/Coke/juice

She drank slowly/a lot/too much
 ring rang rung He rang his friend/his
grandparents They rang a bell

run ran run We ran a race/a marathon

I ran away from my friend/from home

sing sang sung He sang a song/hymn

She sang with me

sit sat sat They sat on a chair/on the

floor You sat down

swim swam swum I swam with my friends

She swam in the sea/swimming pool

List #9: the ‘t’ family I: ee > e_t

(the past simple and past participle are the same)

PRESENT PAST SIMPLE PAST

PARTICIPLE EXAMPLES
keep kept kept We kept
working/running/playing He
kept a secret/a present/a toy

meet met met You met up with friends/family

She met a celebrity (for the first time)

sleep slept slept I slept well/badly/deeply

They slept in a bed/tent/hammock

List #10: the ‘t’ family II: end > ent

(the past simple and past participle are the same; exception: end)

PRESENT PAST SIMPLE PAST

PARTICIPLE EXAMPLES
bend bent bent He bent a photo/a pen
We bent the truth

send sent sent I sent someone a card/a

present They sent her a
message

spend spent spent She spent money on clothes

You spent time with your family

List #11: the ‘t’ family III: others

(the past simple and past participle are the same)
 PRESENT PAST SIMPLE PAST
PARTICIPLE EXAMPLES
build built built We built a house/a sandcastle
They built a bed/a wardrobe

burn burnt / burned burnt / burned He burnt toast/meat/the

dinner I burnt myself in the
sun

learn learnt / learned learnt / learned She learnt about the

planets/division You learnt in
school/at home

leave left left I left a book on …

She left home/school

lose lost lost We lost a match/a game

I lost my patience

List #12: the ‘difficult’ family

(these verbs don’t follow a pattern we know)

PRESENT PAST SIMPLE PAST

PARTICIPLE EXAMPLES
lay laid laid We laid the table
The chicken laid eggs.

pay paid paid She paid for dinner/a present/a

toy They paid in cash/by card

sell sold sold I sold my house/my toy/sweets

He sold a car on eBay/Facebook

wear wore worn We wore a shirt/trousers/a

jumper You wore smart/casual
clothes

win won won I won a match/a game/the

lottery You won against your
friend