Most irregular verbs change in the past, but a small group does not change at all. Cut, put, hit, let, set, shut, cost, hurt and spread use one form for the base, the past simple and the past participle.
This group is easy to use and easy to miss. "I cut my finger yesterday" looks exactly like the present, so the time word, not the verb, tells you which one it is.
Read is the strangest member: the spelling never changes, but the sound does. This page lists the group, explains how to show the time, and drills the forms in 20 sentences.
The rule
The never-changing group
- cut, put, hit, let, set, shut, cost, hurt, spread, split, burst, bet, quit.
- The three forms are identical: I cut today, I cut yesterday, I have cut.
- These verbs never take -ed in standard English. "Putted" and "hurted" are not words.
- The meaning stays the same; only the time word or the sentence changes.
Read: one spelling, two sounds
- The present sounds like "reed": I read the news every morning.
- The past simple and the past participle sound like "red": I read the news last night. I have read the news.
- The spelling is read in every form, so never write "readed".
- In speech, the vowel sound is the only clue to the tense.
Verbs that return to the base form in the participle
- come, came, come; run, ran, run; become, became, become.
- The middle form is different, but the third form is the same as the first.
- So "have come" and "have run" are correct, but "have came" and "have ran" are not.
- Compare this group with the same-form group: one changes only in the middle, the other never changes.
How to show the past when the verb does not change
- Use a finished time word: yesterday, last night, in 2019, two days ago.
- Use the past continuous around it: "I was cutting vegetables when the phone rang."
- Use the present perfect after have or has for a result that matters now: "I have cut my finger."
- In a story, the neighbouring verbs usually show the tense: "He came in, put down his bag and sat."
Common traps with cost, hurt and let
- Cost: "The ticket cost twenty euros", not "costed". Costed exists only for calculating a price in business English.
- Hurt: "I hurt my back", not "hurted".
- Let: "She let me go", not "letted".
- Shut and spread behave the same way: "shut the door", "spread the news".
Examples
- I cut the bread, and I have cut my finger.One form covers both tenses.
- She put the keys on the table and has put them away again.Put looks the same in every form.
- We hit the ball over the wall, and the ball was hit hard.The passive also uses hit.
- He read the letter yesterday, and he reads every letter aloud.The spelling is read; only the sound changes.
- The ticket cost twenty euros.Never say "costed" for a price in the past.
- The children ran home, and they have run all the way before.Run returns to the base form in the participle.
- They came late, and they have come again today.Come, came, come.
- I hurt my knee last week.Hurt does not change and does not take -ed.
- She let me finish the story.Let is the same in the past simple.
- The shop shut at six, and it has shut already.Shut covers the past and the participle.
Common mistakes
- Wrong: The jacket costed me fifty pounds. Right: The jacket cost me fifty pounds.
- Cost does not take -ed in everyday English: cost, cost, cost.
- Wrong: I hurted my arm while playing. Right: I hurt my arm while playing.
- Hurt keeps the same form in the past simple and the participle.
- Wrong: He putted the report on my desk. Right: He put the report on my desk.
- Put never changes. Putted is not a word.
- Wrong: My parents letted me stay up late. Right: My parents let me stay up late.
- Let does not add -ed in the past.
- Wrong: I readed that book last year. Right: I read that book last year.
- Read keeps the spelling read in every form. In the past it sounds like "red".
Practice drill
Answer all 20 questions. Each answer is marked at once, and the rule is explained under the question.
I ___ my finger while cooking yesterday.
Show answer and explanation
Answer: A. cut Cut has the same form in the past simple; the time word yesterday shows the past.
She ___ the keys on the table last night.
Show answer and explanation
Answer: B. put Put never changes, so the past simple is the same as the base form.
The ball was ___ over the wall.
Show answer and explanation
Answer: C. hit The passive uses the same form hit. Hit does not take -ed.
These days, he ___ the newspaper every morning.
Show answer and explanation
Answer: D. reads The present with he adds -s: reads, pronounced like "reedz".
I have ___ that book twice.
Show answer and explanation
Answer: A. read The participle of read is read, pronounced like "red". It never becomes readed.
The ticket ___ twenty euros.
Show answer and explanation
Answer: B. cost Cost keeps one form in the past: cost, cost, cost.
He ___ his back at the gym last week.
Show answer and explanation
Answer: C. hurt Hurt does not add -ed, so the past simple is hurt.
They have ___ home already.
Show answer and explanation
Answer: D. run After have, run returns to the base form: run, ran, run.
My parents ___ me stay up late last Saturday.
Show answer and explanation
Answer: A. let Let has the same form in the past simple; letted is not a word.
The shop ___ at six yesterday evening.
Show answer and explanation
Answer: B. shut Shut keeps one form for the present and the past.
She has ___ the news to everyone.
Show answer and explanation
Answer: C. spread Spread is the same in the past participle; spreaded is not standard.
We ___ at the cafe for an hour.
Show answer and explanation
Answer: D. sat Sit is irregular: sit, sat, sat. The past simple is sat.
He has ___ to the party with his brother.
Show answer and explanation
Answer: A. come After has, use the participle come. Come, came, come.
I ___ the sign but I did not understand it.
Show answer and explanation
Answer: B. read The past simple of read is spelled read and pronounced like "red".
She ___ me borrow her car last weekend.
Show answer and explanation
Answer: C. let Let has the same form in the past simple: let, let, let.
How much did the tickets ___?
Show answer and explanation
Answer: D. cost After did, the same-form verb cost keeps its base form: did the tickets cost.
We were ___ vegetables when the phone rang.
Show answer and explanation
Answer: A. cutting The past continuous uses -ing: were cutting. The base form stays cut.
He ___ the door quietly and left.
Show answer and explanation
Answer: B. shut Shut is the same in the past simple; shutted is not standard English.
I have ___ twenty pounds on this game.
Show answer and explanation
Answer: C. bet Bet keeps one form: bet, bet, bet.
The children have ___ in the garden all day.
Show answer and explanation
Answer: D. run After have, use the participle run, which returns to the base form.
Questions learners ask
Which irregular verbs never change?
The everyday group is cut, put, hit, let, set, shut, cost, hurt, spread, split, burst, bet and quit. Each one uses the same form for the base, the past simple and the past participle. A slightly different group changes in the middle but returns to the base form in the participle: come, came, come and run, ran, run.
How do I know whether read is present or past?
Listen to the vowel. The present rhymes with "feed"; the past rhymes with "bed". In writing, look for a time word or the helper have. "I read a lot" is either present or past on its own, but "I read a lot last summer" is clearly past.
Is "quit" still irregular?
In American English, quit is the same in all three forms: quit, quit, quit. British English also accepts quitted as the past, but quit is the safer choice everywhere. The same pattern applies to bet and burst.
More grammar topics
Phrasal verbs with put
The everyday meanings of put on, put off, put up, put out, put down and put away, with the separable word order.
Phrasal verbs with turn
The main meanings of turn on, off, up, down, into, out and around, with the pronoun rule for separable verbs.
Have gone vs have been
Have gone means someone left and is still away; have been means the visit is over or the person has experience of the place.
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