Irregular Threes is a quick game to practice and remember Irregular Verbs- it’s ideal for a younger class: it’s noisy, chaotic, energetic and great fun, too!

(There are some quieter versions of this game at the bottom of the page, however!)

Running the Game

Firstly go over a few irregular verbs and make sure the students understand the way in which they work and the three parts to each verb:

• go – went – gone
• eat – ate – eaten

and so on.

Now divide the class into groups of 3. Each group can choose their own name; put each name at the top of an empty column on the board.

With the entire class standing at the back of the class, call out a verb. The moment you call it one member of each group has to rush forward and write the verb on the board in their team’s column. They then rush back and give the chalk/marker to the next member of their team who rushes forward and writes the past form up; they rush back and hand over the chalk/marker to the final member of their team who writes up the past participle.

The team who completes first, wins.

Noise Levels

With a game like this it can get a little rowdy. If you want to slow it down a little bit you can vary the method by having the students sit around a desk and – on your command – each one has to write the correct form of the verb on a slip of paper which they hold up when they’re done. First correct answer up wins.

Useful Links

Irregular Verbs in English – all about those verbs which do not conjugate regularly.