Grammar: A2 - ⚙️ Verbs in Depth: ⏳ Past & Future Tenses (Basics) - Lesson 3: Past Simple with common irregular verbs (go-went, eat-ate, see-saw, have-had, do-did)

Grammar: Past Simple Irregular Verbs

A2 Lesson 18: Common Irregular Verbs

What you will learn: By the end of this lesson, you will be able to use common irregular verbs like 'went', 'ate', and 'saw' in the past simple, and correctly form negatives and questions using 'did'.

What are Irregular Verbs?

While most verbs add '-ed' in the past simple, many of the most common verbs in English are irregular. This means they have a special past form that you need to memorize. Let's start with five of the most useful ones.

Five Common Irregular Verbs

Present (Base Form)	Past Simple Form	Example Sentence
go	went	We went to the river yesterday.
eat	ate	I ate chicken and rice for lunch.
see	saw	She saw a movie last night.
have	had	He had a good holiday.
do	did	They did their shopping this morning.

The Most Important Rule: Using 'Did' 📖

This is a very important rule. When we make a negative sentence or a question in the past simple, we use the helping verb did. When we use 'did', the main verb goes back to its original base form.

How to Form Negatives and Questions

Form	Structure	Example
Positive (+)	Subject + Past Form	He went to the market.
Negative (-)	Subject + didn't + Base Form	He didn't go to the market.
Question (?)	Did + Subject + Base Form?	Did he go to the market?

In Conversation

Let's see how these verbs are used in a chat about yesterday.

Lina: Hi Chantha! What did you do yesterday?

Chantha: I went to the cinema with my family. We saw a new Khmer movie.

Lina: Nice! Did you have a good time?

Chantha: Yes, it was great. But we didn't eat popcorn. We ate ice cream instead!

Practice Your Grammar 🎯

Exercise: Complete the Sentences

Use the correct past simple form of the verb in parentheses ( ).

1. I ______ to the market this morning. (go)
   → went
2. She ______ her homework. (not / do)
   → didn't do
3. ______ you ______ a good time at the party? (have)
   → Did you have
4. They ______ a lot of interesting things at the museum. (see)
   → saw
5. He ______ the spicy soup because he doesn't like spicy food. (not / eat)
   → didn't eat

Your Grammar Mission ⭐

What Did You Do Yesterday?

Write three sentences about your day yesterday. Use at least two different irregular verbs from this lesson. Try to write one positive, one negative, and one question.

Key Vocabulary

• Irregular Verb (Noun) | កិរិយាស័ព្ទមិនទៀងទាត់
  A verb that does not form its past tense by adding '-ed'.
• Memorize (Verb) | ចងចាំ
  To learn something so that you can remember it exactly.
• Base Form (Noun) | ទម្រង់មូលដ្ឋាន
  The original, simple form of a verb (e.g., go, eat, see).