Irregular Verbs

Don't you want to have a baby and become a mom?

After giving up smoking, he became fat and irritable.

He has just become a father.

I didn't mean to break your phone.

She laughed and that broke the tension. | She broke the record for the 5,000 metres.

I think I've broken your phone.

I managed to catch the glass before it hit the ground.

He caught her reading his old love letters. | If the virus is caught (= discovered) in time, most patients can be successfully treated. | A ship out at sea caught his attention.

They were happy because they had caught a lot of fish that day. | Two armed men were caught trying to cross the frontier at night.

If you're ever in Dublin, come and visit us. | Here comes Adam. | If you're ever in Dublin, come and visit us.

We came by car. | The door opened and a nurse came into the room.

I've come straight from the airport.

The water's deep here, so don't fall in! | Salaries in the public sector are expected to fall by 15 percent this year. | The material falls into three categories.

I fell down the stairs and injured my back. | He was leaning out of the window and almost fell out. | She suddenly fell ill.

The object appeared to have fallen from a great height. | Demand for new cars has fallen due to the recession.

The poor bird couldn't fly because it had a broken wing.

We flew to Paris. | Cathy flew by/past me in the corridor.

My holiday seems to have flown (by) (= passed very quickly) this year.

He went to the shop to get some milk. | When did you get the news about Sam? | What grade did he get for the exam? | Let me go get my glasses.

I got the impression that they'd rather be alone. | I got a phone call from Phil last night. | Your cat got a bird this morning!

Have the police got the man who did it yet?

This plant grows best in the shade. | Football's popularity continues to grow. | Lottie wants to grow her hair long. | The villagers grow coffee and maize to sell in the market. | We aim to grow the company by giving the customer a better deal.

He grew bored of the countryside. | I grew too old to be interested.

She's grown three centimetres this year. | She’s grown a lot since we last saw her.

Can you hold the bag while I open the door? | He currently holds the position of technical manager. | Could we hold a meeting to discuss this tomorrow afternoon? | I find it's almost impossible to hold a sensible conversation with her.

The little girl held her mother's hand. | They held the lead until the 89th minute. | The terrorists held him hostage for 18 months.

The parts are held together with glue. | The election will be held on 8 August.

Keep medicines in a locked cupboard | to keep pigs/goats/chickens | I made a promise to you and I intend to keep it. | keep a secret | I like to keep busy. | I wish you'd keep quiet.

My uncle kept a little tobacconist's in Gloucester. | You're a qualified skiing instructor? You kept that quiet! | I kept hoping that he'd phone me. | She kept me talking on the phone for half an hour.

If you need a coat I can lend you one/lend one to you. | The bank refuses to lend to students.

A number of prominent businessmen are rumoured to have lent the Party over £20 million.

I want you home by midnight. And I mean midnight. | Lower costs mean lower prices. |

Do you think she meant to say 9 a.m. instead of 9 p.m.? | It wasn't a valuable picture but it meant a lot to me.

The books with large print are meant for partially sighted readers.

Would you like to meet my sister? | Lorraine and I meet for lunch once a month. | Do you think we will be able to meet our deadline/target?

They met at work. | Guess who I met in town today. | We haven't yet been able to find a house that meets our needs/requirements.

The workers' demands for higher pay were not met by the management. | They will only agree to sign the contract if certain conditions are met.

Please shut the gate.

It's such a shame they shut that factory | Mary shut her book and put it down on the table. |

How much did you spend? | I think we need to spend more time together

We spent a fortune when we were in New York. | I spent a lot of time cleaning that room.

They continued firing until all their ammunition was spent (= there was none of it left).

Stand still and be quiet! | Stand the bottles on the table over there. |

The audience clapped and cheered when she stood up to speak. | They stood on the street corner handing out leaflets.

Some of these older houses have stood empty for years.

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My friend threw the ball back over the fence. | The news of the coup threw them into a state of panic.

The coat was thrown over the back of the chair. | I wasn't expecting a visitor. I was really thrown.

Please wake me early tomorrow. | Try not to wake the whole house when you come in!

I woke up with a headache.

We were woken in the night by the wail of ambulance sirens.

She wears very little make-up. | Tracey is wearing a simple black dress. | When she's working she wears her hair in a ponytail.

She wore an elegant dove-grey jacket. | The politician wore a confident smile throughout the interview.

I wish I'd worn something cooler - I'm boiling. | The wheel bearings have worn over the years, which is what's causing the noise.

Simon always beats me at tennis. | Taking the bus sure beats walking. | Let's try to beat the traffic by leaving early in the morning.

Holland beat Belgium (by) 3–1. |

The Nationalists were narrowly beaten in the election. | The child had been brutally/savagely beaten. | She was beaten to death.

He bites his fingernails. | The fish aren't biting today. | Higher mortgage rates are beginning to bite.

He bit into the apple. | An insect bit me on the arm.

I have been bitten by a dog

Your arm is bleeding. | He was bleeding heavily. | The newspaper is bleeding money and is now almost €150 million in the red.

Before help could reach him, the man bled to death.

She would have bled to death if we hadn't found her.

I wish you wouldn't blow smoke in my face.

The letter blew away and I had to run after it. | I blew the dust off the books. | He scored the winning goal just before the whistle blew. | The fuse blew in the middle of my favourite show.

A gale-force wind had blown the fence down. | His car had been blown to pieces. (by the bomb) |

The prisoners are made to dig holes and fill them in again.

The tunnel was dug with the aid of heavy machinery. | He dug into his pocket and took out a few coins. | As I dug deeper into his past (= found out more about it), I realized that there was a lot about this man that I didn't know.

He has dug his grave, but he'll not lay there until that treasure's out.

I've never found it easy to forgive and forget (= to behave as if something wrong had never happened).

He forgave his brother for breaking the window.

He still hasn't forgiven me for what I did. | I don't think she's ever quite forgiven me for getting her name wrong that time.

Hang your coat and hat (up) on the rack over there. | If I were you, I'd hang that sweater on the line and let it drip-dry.

A heavy gold necklace hung around her neck. | Smoke from the houses hung above the village.

He was found guilty and hung later that year. | Many of his finest pictures are hung (= are attached to the wall so that they can be seen) in the National Gallery.

He lies awake at night, worrying.

A cat lay in front of the fire. | A pen lay on the desk. | The town lay in ruins.

I can't get the cooker to light.

He lit his fifth cigarette in half an hour.

The stage had been lit with candles. | Fireworks lit up the sky

I'm going to quit smoking. | Would you quit your job if you inherited lots of money? | He hates Britain and wants to quit for good.

I don't know why she quit her job. | Despite opposition from his family, he quit school and became an actor.

At 6 a.m. we watched the sun rise. | My grandfather rises at five every morning to do his exercises.

The balloon rose gently (up) into the air. | She rose from her chair to welcome us. | Prices rose by 10 per cent.

The singer has risen from humble origins to become one of the most successful entertainers of all time.

The area shines like Times Square. | She's terrible at languages, but she shines at/in science.

The sun shone all afternoon. | The sun shone directly in my eyes.

If he's not armed, don't shoot. | The troops were told to shoot to kill.

He shot from the middle of the field and still managed to score.

She was shot three times in the head.

I tried to stick the pieces together with some glue/tape. | Stir the sauce so that it doesn't stick to the pan. | "Where shall I put these books?" "Oh, just stick them on the table for now."

He stuck up an announcement on the board with pins. | My car's stuck in the mud. | She stuck the needle into my arm. |

My book got wet and all the pages have stuck together.

Democratization has brought workers the right to strike and join a trade union. | They predict that a large earthquake will strike the west coast before the end of the decade.

Her car went out of control and struck an oncoming vehicle. | Have you ever been struck by lightning?

The disease has struck the whole community, sometimes wiping out whole families.

You have to be very careful with books this old because the paper tears very easily. | She tried to tear a small piece off the edge.

I tore my skirt on the chair as I stood up. | I tore off a piece of paper.

A couple of pages had been torn out of/from the book.

Tell me now! I can't bear the suspense! | It's your decision - you have to bear the responsibility if things go wrong. | Thank you for your advice - I'll bear it in mind (= I will remember and consider it). | Most animals bear their young in the spring.

The strain must have been enormous but she bore it well.

She had borne six children by the time she was 30. | The pear tree they planted has never borne fruit.

The road bends to the left after the traffic lights. | Make sure you bend your knees when you're picking up heavy objects. | Can you bend and pick up the trash?

I bent down and picked up the coins lying on the road. | She bent her head and looked at her feet.

The blackbird, like most birds, breeds in the spring. | She breeds pedigree Burmese cats.

Terriers are bred for their fighting instincts. | Animals bred in captivity would probably not survive if they were released into the wild.

The moon cast a white light into the room. The moon cast a light into the room. / The tree cast a shadow over his face. / She cast a look in the rear mirror. / New evidence has cast doubt on the verdict. / All the votes in the election have been cast.

The tree cast a shadow over/on his face.

He was often cast as the villain.

We only deal with companies which have a good credit record.

They have always dealt honestly and fairly with their customers. / Mark dealt him a blow straight in the face.

They have always dealt honestly and fairly with their customers.

I was expelled from school and forced to seek work. | You should seek compensation.

They sought to reassure the public.

Legal advice should be sought before you take any further action. | Contributions are being sought for the disaster fund.

Your sweater will shrink if you wash it at too high a temperature.

I shrank my sweater by putting it in the dryer!

The company's profits have shrunk from $5.5 million to $1.25 million. | The productivity improvements have shrunk our costs by 25 percent.

Don't slide on the ice, you'll fall down!

He slid the letter into his pocket while no one was looking. | I slid down the hill. | My phone slid out of my pocket.

Because Nelson Mandela, as he took over power as the first democratically-elected president of South Africa, faced a situation of a country that could have slid into the abyss of chaos.

Split the aubergines in half and cover with breadcrumbs.

The teacher split the children (up) into three groups. | His trousers split when he tried to jump the fence.

The prize was split between Susan and Kate. | The union executive has split down the middle (= divided into two equal-sized groups who disagree with each other) on what to do next.

It was a real shock, the first time I heard my mother swear. | When the cab driver started to swear at him, he walked away. | I don't know anything about what happened, I swear (it).

He was so angry he forgot himself and swore loudly.

A few of us knew what was going to happen, but we were sworn to secrecy (= we were made to promise to keep it a secret).

His mood swings between elation and despair. | Swing your legs over to this side of the bed.

The door swung open. | I swung (the bat) and missed.

Should the opportunity arise, I'd love to go to China. | Problems arise when kids leave school.

His reputation for carelessness was established long before the latest problems arose. | When the opportunity arose, he decided to take it.

An unforeseen difficulty has arisen.

He regularly goes to the races and bets heavily. | I bet you (that) she's missed the bus.

She bet £500,000 on the horse that came in second.

Just three months earlier, no one would have bet even a cent on it.

Every year thousands of people flee the big cities in search of the rural idyll. | People flee from war.

She fled (from) the room in tears. | Thousands of refugees fled across the border.

Many have fled to neighbouring Bangladesh and have been brutally persecuted en route.

The plan is to lay (= build) the foundations for the new apartments in October. | Just lay the suitcase on the bed, would you? | She can't accept she made a mistake and now she's trying to lay the blame on (= accuse) her assistant.

She laid the baby on the bed.

Modern office buildings have false floors, under which computer and phone wires can be laid. | Do you understand the seriousness of the charge (= legal accusation) that has been laid against you?

The earth spins on its axis. | Spin the ball (= make it turn around and around as you throw it) and it will change direction when it hits the ground.

He was killed when his car hit a tree and spun off the road. | The car spun on the ice.

The final stage of the production of cotton is when it is spun into thread.

Bind together the two broken ends. | He found a length of frayed rope and used it to bind the man's hands and legs.

They bound the packages with brightly coloured ribbon. | We tore up some material and bound up the wound as tight as we could.

The prisoner was bound hand and foot.

The road clings to (= closely follows) the coastline for several miles, then it turns inland. | Jenny is the kind of child who always clings whenever she's taken to a new place.

We got so wet that our clothes clung to us. | She clung to the handrail as she walked down the slippery steps. | The dress clung to her perfectly.

But Kate has clung to her middle-class roots and middle-class ideas of child-rearing defiantly.

Someone was creeping around outside my window.

She turned off the light and crept through the door. | The spider crept up the wall.

It seems that some sort of design error has crept into our financial blueprint and we need to rectify that.

Shall I grind a little black pepper over your salad? | They grind the grain into flour (= make flour by crushing grain) between two large stones. | She has a set of chef's knives that she grinds every week. | Ursula grinds her teeth at night.

He ground down the sharp metal edges to make them smooth.

Add a teaspoon of freshly ground black pepper.

I'm going on a diet to see if I can shed (= become thinner by losing) a few pounds. | The trees shed their leaves in autumn.

Psychotherapy helped him to shed some of his insecurity/inhibitions.

900 jobs will be shed over the next few months. | A lorry had shed a load of gravel across the road.

The organization is ready to spring into action (= start taking action) the moment it receives its funding. | He always springs to his feet when she walks in the room. | "Where did you spring from? - I didn't see you come in!"

I sprang out of bed to answer the door.

Chapters have sprung up in 5 or 6 other major cities already.

We strive to make our customers happy.

In her writing she strove for a balance between innovation and familiar prose forms.

That is what I have striven for. | In her writing she strove for a balance between innovation and familiar prose forms. | Mr Roe has kindled expectations that he must now strive to live up to. (synonyms: try, attempt, endeavour)

I kept treading on his toes when we were dancing. | Before the days of automation, they used to tread grapes to make wine. | Mind you don't tread in the mud.

He trod heavily and reluctantly up the stairs. | 'Hey, mind!' he said when she trod on his foot.

Yuck! Look what I've just trodden in! | With regard to the results, I can say, firstly, that we have trodden a new path.

It takes many forms, from deceptive emails which trick us into paying money to the wrong bank account, to the theft of credit card details.

He tricked me into buying a broken watch. / She was upset when she learned that her friend had deceived her.

She didn't do anything wrong, but they needed a scapegoat.

The ongoing process started 12 years ago.