Niveau A1 · Grammaire
Irregular Verbs
Les verbes irréguliers au prétérit
Partie 1La forme affirmative▾
Au prétérit, la plupart des verbes prennent -ed (work → worked). Mais certains verbes, très fréquents, ont une forme spéciale : ce sont les verbes irréguliers. Il faut les apprendre par cœur.
sujet+verbe irrégulier+complément
I + went + home → I went home. = Je suis rentré(e) à la maison. (go → went, et pas « goed »)
| Base | Prétérit | Sens | Exemple | En français |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| go | went | aller | I went home. | Je suis rentré(e). |
| have | had | avoir, prendre | She had a coffee. | Elle a pris un café. |
| do | did | faire | We did our homework. | Nous avons fait nos devoirs. |
| say | said | dire | He said hello. | Il a dit bonjour. |
| get | got | recevoir, obtenir | I got a present. | J'ai reçu un cadeau. |
| make | made | faire, fabriquer | They made a cake. | Ils ont fait un gâteau. |
| see | saw | voir | You saw the sea. | Tu as vu la mer. |
💡 Bonne nouvelle : un verbe irrégulier a la même forme pour toutes les personnes : I went, she went, they went. Pas de -s, pas de -ed !
Comment apprendre les verbes irréguliers ?
5 verbs a day 5 verbes par jourSay them aloud dites-les à voix hauteFlashcards faites des cartesOne sentence une phrase par verbeFamilies classez-les par famillesReview! révisez souvent
12 verbes irréguliers fréquents
| Verbe → prétérit | Français | Exemple |
|---|---|---|
| eat → ate | manger | We ate pizza. |
| drink → drank | boire | He drank a coffee. |
| buy → bought | acheter | They bought bread. |
| take → took | prendre | We took the train. |
| come → came | venir | My friend came home. |
| give → gave | donner | She gave me a book. |
| think → thought | penser | I thought about you. |
| leave → left | partir, quitter | He left at 6. |
| sleep → slept | dormir | The baby slept well. |
| meet → met | rencontrer, retrouver | I met my friends. |
| write → wrote | écrire | She wrote a letter. |
| speak → spoke | parler | We spoke English. |
Partie 2Les familles de verbes▾
1
La forme ne change pas
put → put · cut → cut · hit → hit
put → put · cut → cut · hit → hit
2
Le prétérit finit par -ought
buy → bought · think → thought · bring → brought
buy → bought · think → thought · bring → brought
3
Le i devient a
drink → drank · swim → swam · sing → sang
drink → drank · swim → swam · sing → sang
4
ee devient e + t
sleep → slept · keep → kept · feel → felt
sleep → slept · keep → kept · feel → felt
Partie 3La forme négative▾
Au négatif, le verbe irrégulier disparaît ! On utilise didn't + le verbe à la base. C'est la même règle que pour les verbes réguliers.
sujet+didn't+verbe (base)
| Affirmatif | Négatif | En français |
|---|---|---|
| I went. | I didn't go. | Je ne suis pas allé(e). |
| She had a car. | She didn't have a car. | Elle n'avait pas de voiture. |
| They saw it. | They didn't see it. | Ils ne l'ont pas vu. |
| He bought bread. | He didn't buy bread. | Il n'a pas acheté de pain. |
| We ate meat. | We didn't eat meat. | Nous n'avons pas mangé de viande. |
⚠️ Attention : après didn't, on revient à la base : She didn't go (et pas « She didn't went »).
Partie 4Les questions▾
Dans une question, c'est Did qui porte le passé : le verbe irrégulier revient à la base.
Did+sujet+verbe (base)… ?
You went to London. → Did you go to London?
She bought a car. → Did she buy a car?
They ate pizza. → Did they eat pizza?
Les réponses courtes
| Question | Oui ✓ | Non ✗ |
|---|---|---|
| Did you go out? | Yes, I did. | No, I didn't. |
| Did he see it? | Yes, he did. | No, he didn't. |
| Did she buy it? | Yes, she did. | No, she didn't. |
| Did it begin? | Yes, it did. | No, it didn't. |
| Did they come? | Yes, they did. | No, they didn't. |
⚠️ Dans la réponse courte, pas de verbe irrégulier : Yes, I did. (et pas « Yes, I went. »)
Les questions avec What, Where, When, Who
Avec un mot interrogatif, il se place tout au début de la question.
| Mot | Sens | Exemple | En français |
|---|---|---|---|
| What | Que / Quoi | What did you eat? | Qu'est-ce que tu as mangé ? |
| Where | Où | Where did you go? | Où es-tu allé(e) ? |
| When | Quand | When did she come? | Quand est-elle venue ? |
| Who | Qui | Who did you meet? | Qui as-tu rencontré ? |
Attention !Les erreurs à éviter▾
💡 Le verbe be est le seul à avoir deux formes au prétérit : I / he / she / it was, you / we / they were. Exemple : I was happy. They were at home.
RécapLes verbes irréguliers en un coup d'œil▾
| Exemple | Structure | |
|---|---|---|
| Affirmatif | She went home. | sujet + forme irrégulière |
| Négatif | She didn't go home. | sujet + didn't + base |
| Question | Did she go home? | Did + sujet + base ? |
| Réponse courte | Yes, she did. / No, she didn't. | Yes / No + sujet + did / didn't |
© Love English · Irregular Verbs · V1