Past Tense: Irregular Verbs
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.
Common Error Patterns
Applies 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