Verb forms
Base form
/ɡoʊ/
Past Simple
/went/
Past Participle
/ɡɔːn/
Example sentences
Base form · go
- We usually go to the mountains in summer.
Past Simple · went
- She went home early because she felt tired.
- Did you go it before lunch?
- I went it as soon as I possibly could.
- We went it together earlier this week.
Past Participle · gone
- He has gone to the airport to meet his parents.
- He has gone it many times before.
- I have already gone it more than once.
- She has just gone the very same thing.
Common collocations
go shopping
to go out to buy things
go on
to continue
go wrong
to fail or develop a problem
Key tenses
| Present Simple | Past Simple | Present Perfect |
|---|---|---|
I go he / she / it goes | I went | I have gone |
| Present Continuous:I am going · he / she / it is going | ||
Grammar guide
The verb "go" is fully irregular — all three principal parts are distinct: the base form "go", the past simple "went", and the past participle "gone". The ABC group contains many of the most common and important verbs in English, so learning them is essential for fluency.
Use the past simple "went" for actions, events, or states that were completed at a definite point in the past. It is the main verb in the clause and needs no auxiliary: "We went the whole project in three days." Typical time markers include yesterday, last week, ago, when, and at + a specific time. The past simple is the most frequently used past tense in spoken and written English.
The past participle "gone" is never used on its own as a main verb. It appears in: (1) the present perfect with have/has — "I have never gone anything like it before"; (2) the past perfect with had — "She had already gone before I arrived"; (3) passive voice with a form of be — "The final version was gone by the whole team." These three structures together cover the great majority of perfect and passive constructions in English.
The ABC group demands the most memorisation because each verb has three unique forms to learn. Focus first on the highest-frequency verbs: be (was/were/been), do (did/done), go (went/gone), know (knew/known), take (took/taken), see (saw/seen), give (gave/given), and write (wrote/written). Regular reading and listening is the most effective way to make ABC verb forms automatic — passive exposure reinforces the patterns far better than drills alone.
Quick quiz
Which sentence is correct?
Conjugation pattern
All three forms are different — this group needs the most practice.
Verbs with the same pattern