Verb Tense: Using Irregular Verbs -- Exercise 1
Directions: Choose the correct verb for the sentences below.
1.
When Mom __________ out the kitchen rug, dog hair, bread crumbs, coffee grounds, and spaghetti noodles flew through the air and dusted the sidewalk.
A. shaked
B. shook
C. had shook
2.
At the back of the lab, Glenn decorated the margins of his biology textbook with caricatures. When test time arrives, Glenn will wish that he had __________ the different cell types Dr. Shuman was explaining to the class.
A. drawn
B. drawed
C. drew
3.
Theodore bought beautiful roses for Glenda, his date. Because he did not have a vase, he rinsed out a peanut butter jar. After Theodore __________ Glenda's reaction to the arrangement, he realized that he had not made a favorable first impression.
A. saw
B. had saw
C. seen
4.
Jennifer has discovered that hanging clothes outside to dry has its disadvantages. Recently, a spider crept into a pair of her jeans and __________ a day biting the "intruder"--Jennifer's bare leg--that had invaded the arachnid's new home.
A. spend
B. spent
C.
5.
Ms. Ayer __________ several deep breaths to keep from exploding at Jerry, whose excuse for missing yet another class was that Grandma had died--for the fifth time in one semester!
A. taked
B. took
C. tooked
6.
Diane always wonders where she will next discover a pair of her husband's dirty socks. Yesterday Mike __________ two in the refrigerator next to a carton of orange juice.
A. leaved
B. leaft
C. left
7.
When Richie jammed the photocopier for the eighth time, Sharon, the department secretary, picked up a heavy stapler and __________ it at his head.
A. through
B. throwed
C. threw
8.
Because her hands were still slippery from the dishwater, Marilyn dropped the watermelon, which __________ on the floor in an explosion of pulp and seeds.
A. busted
B. bursted
C. burst
9.On his way to an interview at SunTrust Bank, Geraldo stepped in gum. Nervous about the meeting, he failed to notice the candy wrapper and leaves that __________ to his shoe as he walked from the parking garage to the lobby.
A. sticked
B. stuck
C. stucked
10.
On Christmas Eve, Captain Beane wore a pair of antlers while greeting passengers boarding his 727. The costume __________ little trust in Louise, whose fear of flying required a serious pilot.
A. built
B. build
C. builded
11.
Jim would have __________ the difficult and dirty job of cleaning the slimy gutters if the blue sky, seventy-degree weather, and new titanium graphite driver had not summoned him to the golf course.
A. began
B. begun
C. beginned
12.
After losing electricity during a hurricane, the Martinez family ___________ candles, speared hot dogs on pencils, and roasted the wieners over this makeshift barbecue.
A. lit
B. lited
C. litted
13.
Because Nigel had __________ to the supermarket with this week's grocery money, Shirley expected him to return with bread, milk, and other essentials. Boy, was she angry when he came home with fifty dollars worth of losing lottery tickets!
A. gone
B. went
C. goed
14.
When Henry opened the vegetable crisper at the bottom of the refrigerator, the puddle of rotting lettuce that he discovered __________ up the kitchen for the rest of the day.
A. stinked
B. stank
C. stanked
15.
Whenever Mike _________ his Cessna 152, a small airplane, he worried about running out of fuel, hitting birds, and being abducted by alien spaceships.
A. flied
B. flown
C. flew
16.
Audrey had just __________ into her first forkful of omelet when she noticed mushrooms in the egg. Because she was highly allergic to this vegetable, she had to spit the mouthful into her napkin, wiping her tongue with a clean corner.
A. bited
B. bitt
C. bitten
17.
Maria __________ from the cold glass of Pepsi, trying to extinguish the anger that, lava-like, threatened to explode at her husband Darren, who had spent the day watching college football instead of mowing the lawn.
A. drinked
B. drank
C. drunk
18.
Raphael would have __________ jeans and a T-shirt to the interview if he thought such attire would land him the job. Because he knew better, Raphael struggled into a scratchy suit that made him feel as though ants were crawling over his skin.
A. wore
B. wored
C. worn
19.
At first, Rose __________ to tolerate Simon's lack of punctuality. His good looks compensated for her having to wait an extra ten or fifteen minutes. But once Simon's tardiness hit half an hour, Rose dumped him for a boyfriend who looked at his watch.
A. chose
B. choose
C. choosed
20.
One spring Joe __________ tomatoes in the backyard; pollution, insects, and weekend badminton matches did so much damage to the poor plants that Joe went back to buying canned tomatoes at the grocery store.
A. grew
B. had grew
C. growed
Verb Tense: Using Irregular Verbs -- Exercise 2
This handout accompanies Exercise 2 of Grammar Bytes! The interactive version of this exercise is available at www.chompchomp.com/tense2.
A strong wind __________ through the trees, loosening clumps of moss, dead branches, old kites, and baby squirrels, all of which fell to the wet ground below.
A. had blew
B. blew
C. blowed
Charlie believed that he had __________ the best essay of the semester, but when Mrs. Varner returned the paper, the slashes of red ink and caustic comments immediately changed his opinion of the work.
A. wrote
B. wroten
C. written
Becky had an empty wallet and stomach, so she __________ a Snicker's bar from the candy rack. The ensuing guilt was harder to tolerate than her growling belly.
A. stole
B. had stole
C. stealed
In her dreams that night, Diana had __________ in a pool of warm cocoa; when she awoke, the aroma of chocolate still tickled her nostrils.
A. swimmed
B. swam
C. swum
Chauncey would have __________ some of the squid eyeball stew if a long, gray tentacle hadn't dangled over the side of the bowl.
A. ate
B. eaten
C. eatten
My grandmother doesn't trust banks, so she has __________ money all over the house. Once, I pulled an old Reader's Digest off a shelf and found seven $100 bills stuck between the pages.
A. hid
B. hiden
C. hidden
George would have __________ to class sooner, but a beautiful woman was listening to him lie about his fat wallet and hot car, and he couldn't tear himself away from the conversation.
A. came
B. come
C. commed
If Eli hadn't escaped to the kitchen to cool down, he would have __________ a heavy plate over the head of Mrs. Jones, who sent back her chicken for the fourth time.
A. broken
B. breaked
C. braked
9.
Dashing down the hallway, Tuan slipped in a puddle of Pepsi and crashed into the water fountain. His elbow and nose __________ for the rest of the day.
A. hurt
B. hurted
C. had hurted
Giselle dreaded attending her US Government class. Whenever Dr. Duncan called on her, Giselle felt as if she had __________ in her chair; she couldn't open her mouth, let alone answer one of his questions.
A. freezed
B. froze
C. frozen
A thin stray kitten cried outside the back door. Because Rebecca felt sorry for the poor animal, she __________ it some leftover ravioli, the only food she had in the refrigerator.
A. fed
B. feed
C. feeded
Last week, Hector had __________ his girlfriend Gloria an expensive gold necklace. When he saw her flirting with Omar, Hector knew that he should have purchased new rims for his car instead.
A. gived
B. gave
C. given
Because Kerri Ann __________ all of her biology homework, she spent the rest of the evening eating pizza with her friends. The next morning, when Dr. Wright passed out the quiz, Kerri Ann realized that her books should have been her only evening company.
A. done
B. had done
C. had did
On his way to an interview, Gonzalo __________ a hot dog to quiet his rumbling stomach. While he was wolfing down this quick meal, yellow mustard dripped all over the front of his crisp white shirt.
A. buyed
B. bough
C. bought
Omar woke up before dawn and drove to Daytona Beach. As the sun __________ over the ocean, he watched the water sparkle like the beautiful diamond earrings he had given his girlfriend Gloria, who then dumped him for a new boyfriend with a higher MasterCard limit.
A. rised
B. raised
C. rose
Dan would have __________ his new truc...
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