Irregular past tense forms of common verbs
Can use common irregular past tense verbs in sentences
Look at these examples. Can you spot the grammar pattern?
Tegnap Péter ment a boltba.
Yesterday Péter went to the shop.
Az étteremben sokat ettünk és ittunk.
We ate and drank a lot at the restaurant.
Ki volt itt tegnap?
Who was here yesterday?
Pay attention to the highlighted parts. What do they have in common?
Common irregular past forms: megy→ment, jön→jött, eszik→evett, iszik→ivott, vesz→vett, tesz→tett, van→volt. Personal endings are the same as regular verbs — attach to the irregular stem.
Apply this grammar in A1 course exercises
Practice ExercisesApplies regular -t to irregular stem (e.g. *ment → *mented instead of mentél)
Memorise the irregular past stems: ment, jött, evett, ivott, vett, tett, volt. Then add normal personal endings.
Confuses volt (was) with van (is) in past contexts
van = present tense 'is'; volt = past tense 'was'. They are completely different forms.
Tegnap Péter ment a boltba.
Yesterday Péter went to the shop.
megy → ment (3rd sg irregular past). Personal endings attach to ment-.
Az étteremben sokat ettünk és ittunk.
We ate and drank a lot at the restaurant.
eszik→evett+ünk; iszik→ivott+unk → ettünk, ittunk (1st pl, front/back harmony).
Ki volt itt tegnap?
Who was here yesterday?
van → volt (was). Entirely irregular — must memorise.
Practice in course
Apply this grammar in A1 course exercises