An irregular verbs game for Australian classrooms
Irregular verbs don’t take -ed in the past tense: go becomes went and gone. The wheel chooses the verb, the class calls out the past tense and past participle, and you reveal the answer and mark it. Australian English follows British spelling, so learnt, spelt and smelt are fine, and the list shows the American forms beside them.
How to play
- Choose what to ask: both forms, the past tense or the past participle.
- Pick the levels, A1 to B2+, or tick the verbs you are working on.
- Spin, let the class answer, then reveal the answer and mark it.
- Save your class to play turns, knockout or points, with a report at the end.
Ways to use it
- A quick English warm-up before writing a recount in the past tense.
- Weekly verb lists, ticked in the list below.
- A knockout round on Friday afternoon.
- Revision for EAL/D students learning the past tense.
- A printed list for homework books.
Irregular verbs list
All 143 irregular verbs on the wheel, with the past tense, past participle and level. Where British and American English differ, both forms are shown.
| Verb | Past tense | Past participle | Level |
|---|---|---|---|
| arise | arose | arisen | B2+ |
| be | was / were | been | A1 |
| bear | bore | borne / born (US) | B2+ |
| beat | beat | beaten / beat (US) | B1 |
| become | became | become | A2 |
| begin | began | begun | A1 |
| bend | bent | bent | B2+ |
| bet | bet | bet | B1 |
| bind | bound | bound | B2+ |
| bite | bit | bitten | B1 |
| bleed | bled | bled | B1 |
| blow | blew | blown | B1 |
| break | broke | broken | A2 |
| breed | bred | bred | B2+ |
| bring | brought | brought | A2 |
| broadcast | broadcast / broadcasted (US) | broadcast / broadcasted (US) | B2+ |
| build | built | built | A2 |
| burn | burnt / burned | burnt / burned | B1 |
| burst | burst | burst | B2+ |
| buy | bought | bought | A1 |
| cast | cast | cast | B2+ |
| catch | caught | caught | A1 |
| choose | chose | chosen | A1 |
| cling | clung | clung | B2+ |
| come | came | come | A1 |
| cost | cost | cost | A2 |
| creep | crept | crept | B2+ |
| cut | cut | cut | A2 |
| deal | dealt | dealt | B1 |
| dig | dug | dug | B1 |
| dive | dived / dove (US) | dived | B1 |
| do | did | done | A1 |
| draw | drew | drawn | A1 |
| dream | dreamed / dreamt | dreamed / dreamt | A2 |
| drink | drank | drunk | A1 |
| drive | drove | driven | A1 |
| eat | ate | eaten | A1 |
| fall | fell | fallen | A2 |
| feed | fed | fed | B1 |
| feel | felt | felt | A1 |
| fight | fought | fought | B1 |
| find | found | found | A1 |
| fit | fitted / fit (US) | fitted / fit (US) | B1 |
| flee | fled | fled | B2+ |
| fly | flew | flown | A1 |
| forbid | forbade | forbidden | B2+ |
| forget | forgot | forgotten | A1 |
| forgive | forgave | forgiven | B1 |
| freeze | froze | frozen | B1 |
| get | got | got / gotten (US) | A1 |
| give | gave | given | A1 |
| go | went | gone | A1 |
| grow | grew | grown | A2 |
| hang | hung | hung | B1 |
| have | had | had | A1 |
| hear | heard | heard | A1 |
| hide | hid | hidden | B1 |
| hit | hit | hit | A2 |
| hold | held | held | A2 |
| hurt | hurt | hurt | A2 |
| keep | kept | kept | A2 |
| kneel | knelt / kneeled | knelt / kneeled | B2+ |
| know | knew | known | A1 |
| lay | laid | laid | B2+ |
| lead | led | led | B1 |
| lean | leaned / leant (UK) | leaned / leant (UK) | B2+ |
| leap | leaped / leapt | leaped / leapt | B2+ |
| learn | learned / learnt (UK) | learned / learnt (UK) | A1 |
| leave | left | left | A1 |
| lend | lent | lent | A2 |
| let | let | let | A2 |
| lie | lay | lain | A2 |
| light | lit / lighted | lit / lighted | B1 |
| lose | lost | lost | A2 |
| make | made | made | A1 |
| mean | meant | meant | A2 |
| meet | met | met | A1 |
| overcome | overcame | overcome | B2+ |
| pay | paid | paid | A1 |
| prove | proved | proved / proven (US) | B1 |
| put | put | put | A1 |
| quit | quit | quit | B1 |
| read | read | read | A1 |
| ride | rode | ridden | A1 |
| ring | rang | rung | A2 |
| rise | rose | risen | B1 |
| run | ran | run | A1 |
| say | said | said | A1 |
| see | saw | seen | A1 |
| seek | sought | sought | B2+ |
| sell | sold | sold | A2 |
| send | sent | sent | A1 |
| set | set | set | B1 |
| sew | sewed | sewn / sewed | B1 |
| shake | shook | shaken | B1 |
| shed | shed | shed | B2+ |
| shine | shone / shined | shone / shined | B1 |
| shoot | shot | shot | B1 |
| show | showed | shown | A1 |
| shrink | shrank | shrunk | B2+ |
| shut | shut | shut | A2 |
| sing | sang | sung | A1 |
| sink | sank / sunk (US) | sunk | B1 |
| sit | sat | sat | A1 |
| sleep | slept | slept | A1 |
| slide | slid | slid | B2+ |
| smell | smelled / smelt (UK) | smelled / smelt (UK) | B1 |
| sow | sowed | sown / sowed | B2+ |
| speak | spoke | spoken | A1 |
| spell | spelled / spelt (UK) | spelled / spelt (UK) | A2 |
| spend | spent | spent | A2 |
| spill | spilled / spilt (UK) | spilled / spilt (UK) | B1 |
| spin | spun / span (UK) | spun | B2+ |
| spit | spat | spat | B2+ |
| split | split | split | B2+ |
| spoil | spoiled / spoilt | spoiled / spoilt | B1 |
| spread | spread | spread | A1 |
| spring | sprang / sprung (US) | sprung | B2+ |
| stand | stood | stood | A2 |
| steal | stole | stolen | A2 |
| stick | stuck | stuck | B1 |
| strike | struck | struck | B1 |
| swear | swore | sworn | B2+ |
| sweep | swept | swept | B2+ |
| swell | swelled | swollen / swelled | B2+ |
| swim | swam | swum | A1 |
| swing | swung | swung | B2+ |
| take | took | taken | A1 |
| teach | taught | taught | A1 |
| tear | tore | torn | B1 |
| tell | told | told | A1 |
| think | thought | thought | A1 |
| throw | threw | thrown | A2 |
| tread | trod / treaded (US) | trodden / trod (US) | B2+ |
| understand | understood | understood | A1 |
| undertake | undertook | undertaken | B2+ |
| upset | upset | upset | B2+ |
| wake | woke / waked | woken / waked | A1 |
| wear | wore | worn | A1 |
| weep | wept | wept | B2+ |
| win | won | won | A2 |
| withdraw | withdrew | withdrawn | B2+ |
| write | wrote | written | A1 |
Forms from the Cambridge Advanced Learner’s Dictionary. Levels from the English Vocabulary Profile (CEFR) as shown in the Cambridge Dictionary.
More classroom games
- Random name picker: pick a student at random, fairly, from your saved class.
- Times tables wheel: times tables facts on a wheel, with the same class games.
Frequently Asked Questions
Do Australians say learnt or learned?
Both are used in Australia. Australian English follows British practice, so learnt, spelt and smelt are common alongside learned, spelled and smelled. American English mostly uses the -ed forms.
How many irregular verbs do students need to know?
Fewer than the full list: students start with the A1 verbs, the most common such as be, have, go and say. The SpinnerWheel list has 143, grouped by level from A1 to B2 and above.
What is a past participle?
The past participle is the form used with have and in the passive: I have eaten, it was written. For regular verbs it is the same as the past tense, walked; for many irregular verbs it is different: eat, ate, eaten.
Can the whole class play the irregular verbs quiz?
Save the class list once and the wheel picks who answers each verb. Play turns, knockout or points, and a report shows which verbs need more practice. It is free, and the names stay on the device.