Irregular verbs are often mistaken for other verbs

FALL / FEEL

fall /fɔːl/ – fell /fel/ – fallen /ˈfɔː.lən/     /upadać/

to suddenly go down onto the ground or towards the ground without intending to or by accident

He has fallen flat on his face.

The book fell to the floor.

Warning: Check your verb endings! Many learners make mistakes when using 'fall' in the past tense. The past simple and past participle of 'fall' is 'fell'.

Paul felt off the roof and broke his leg.

Paul fell off the roof and broke his leg.

'Felt' is the past simple and past participle of 'feel'.

feel /fiːl/ – felt /felt/ – felt /felt/     /czuć/

to experience something physical or emotional

I felt a sharp pain in my shoulder.

She has felt ashamed of herself.

FIND / FOUND

find /faɪnd/ – found /faʊnd/ – found /faʊnd/     /znaleźć/

to discover, especially where a thing or person is, either unexpectedly or by searching, or to discover where to get or how to achieve something

I found my keys under the bed this morning.

find out or find?

Warning: choose the correct verb! To talk about discovering where a thing or person is or how to obtain or achieve something, don't say 'find out', say 'find':          We need to find a solution to this problem.

found /faʊnd/ – founded /faʊn.dɪd/ – founded /faʊn.dɪd /     /założyć, ufundować/

to bring something into existence

They founded the library in 1903.

FLY / FLEE / FLOW

fly /flaɪ/ – flew /fluː/ – flown /fləʊn/     /latać/

to travel by aircraft, or to go somewhere or cross something in an aircraft

He flew to Paris yesterday.

flee /fliː/ – fled /fled/ – fled /fled/ - fleeing     /uciekać, zbiec/

to escape by running away, especially because of danger or fear

Amy fled the room in tears.

flow /fləʊ/ – flowed – flowed     /płynąć/

(especially of liquids, gases or electricity) to move in one direction, especially continuously and easily

This river flows into the Baltic Sea.

LIE / LAY / LIE

lie /laɪ/ – lay /leɪ/ – lain /leɪn/ – lying     /leżeć/

to be in or move into a horizontal position on a surface

He is lying on the sofa.

The books lay on the desk.

lay /leɪ/ – laid /leɪd/ – laid /leɪd/ – laying     /położyć/

to put something in especially a flat or horizontal position, usually carefully or for a particular purpose

He laid his hand on my shoulder.

Please, lay your bag here.

Także: lay eggs /znosić jajka/, lay the table /nakrywać do stołu/, lay a finger on somebody /tknąć kogoś palcem, zrobić krzywdę/, lay money on something /postawić na coś pieniądze/

lay or lie?

Warning: do not confuse these two verbs! To talk about being in or moving into a horizontal position or being in a particular place, position, or direction, don't use the verb 'to lay', use the verb 'to lie'.

In the present tense, don't say 'lay' or 'lays', say 'lie' or 'lies':          When I'm on holiday I lie on the beach all day and read.

In the '-ing' form, don't say 'laying', say 'lying':          He always leaves his clothes lying on the floor where he took them off.

Remember that the past simple of 'lie' is 'lay', not 'laid':          I lay down and went to sleep.

lie /laɪ/ – lied – lied – lying     /kłamać/

to say or write something which is not true in order to deceive someone

Do not lie to me ever again!

John lied about his age.

Czasownik ‘lay’ /położyć/ wymaga dopełnienia, w zdaniu musimy podać co kładziemy.

Czasownik ‘lie’ /leżeć/ nie występuje z dopełnieniem.

Zwykle bezpośrednio po nim podajemy miejsce, gdzie coś leży. Czasownik ‘lie’ /kłamać/ jest regularny i występuje z przyimkami ‘to’ lub ‘about’.

RISE / RAISE

rise /raɪz/ – rose /rəʊz/ – risen     /wznosić się, wzrastać/

to move upwards

Prices rose by more than 10% last year.

Warning: Check your verb endings! Many learners make mistakes when using 'rise' in the past tense. The past simple is 'rose'. Don't write 'rised', write 'rose'. The past participle is 'risen'.

raise /reɪz/ – raised – raised     /podnosić coś/

to lift something to a higher position

He raised the glass to his lips.

Czasownik ‘rise’ używany jest gdy coś wznosi się/wzrasta samoczynnie, nie występuje po nim dopełnienie. Regularny czasownik ‘raise’ wymaga dopełnienia, musimy podać co jest podnoszone. W stronie biernej dopełnienie wyjątkowo nie występuje zaraz po czasowniku ‘raise’ tylko na początku zdania. e.g. We have to raise the standards./ The standards have to be raised.

Często wybór czasownika ‘rise’ bądź ‘raise’ zależy od informacji podanej w zdaniu. Np., jeśli podamy kto podniósł ceny użyjemy ‘raise’, gdy stwierdzimy, że ceny się podniosły użyjemy ‘rise’ .e.g. The government raised the prices / The prices rose.

SAW / SEW / SOW

saw /sɔː/ – sawed – sawn /ˌsɔːn/     /piłować/

to cut wood or other hard material using a saw

My brother is sawing wood.

sew /səʊ/ – sewed – sewn      /szyć/

to join two pieces of cloth together by putting thread through them with a needle

She sewed the dresses on the sewing machine.

sow /səʊ/ – sowed – sown      /siać/

to put seeds in or on the ground so that plants will grow

The field was sown with maze.

Te trzy czasowniki we wszystkich trzech formach różnią się od siebie zaledwie jedną literą. Należy więc dobrze zapamiętać, jakie znaczenie kryje się za każdą z tych samogłosek: ‘a’ to piła, ‘e’ to szycie, ‘o’ to ziarno, które się sieje. Uwaga! Czasowniki ‘sew’ i ‘sow’ wymawia się identycznie. W mowie jedynie kontekst pozwala je odróżnić.

STRIKE / STROKE

strike /straɪk/ – struck /strʌk/ – struck /strʌk/     /uderzać/

to hit or attack someone or something forcefully or violently

His head struck the bottom when he dived.

stroke /strəʊk/ – stroked – stroked      /głaskać/

an act of moving your hand, another part of the body or an object gently over something or someone, usually repeatedly and for pleasure

The girl gently stroked the cat.

WIND / WOUND

wind /waɪnd/ – wound /waʊnd/ – wound /waʊnd/     /nawijać/

to wrap something around an object several times or twist it repeatedly around itself

She wound the bandage around his wirst.

wound /wuːnd/ – wounded /ˈwuːn.dɪd/ – wounded /ˈwuːn.dɪd/      /ranić/

a damaged area of the body, such as a cut or hole in the skin or flesh made by a weapon

The gunman wounded five people.