Spin the wheel Classroom wheel spinner Irregular verbs wheel
Fifty verbs ESL students use every week
The 50 base forms on the wheel are the irregular verbs that show up most in everyday English, from be and have to swim and write. They fall into a few patterns: verbs that don't change at all (put, put, put), verbs where the last two forms match (buy, bought, bought), and verbs with three different forms (speak, spoke, spoken). Many teachers add a column for the pattern when students write their answers.
The game works for adult beginners, teens in an English class and kids learning English as a second language. Pre-intermediate students give both forms. More advanced classes add a third step: a sentence in the present perfect, like “I have never flown in a helicopter.”
This list follows American usage, so the participle of get is gotten. British-trained students will say got, and both are correct; it is worth a minute of class time to explain why.
What's on this wheel
- be
- have
- do
- go
- take
- make
- get
- give
- come
- see
- know
- think
- say
- tell
- find
- feel
- leave
- bring
- buy
- catch
- teach
- begin
- break
- choose
- drive
- eat
- fall
- fly
- forget
- grow
- hear
- hold
- keep
- lose
- meet
- pay
- put
- read
- ride
- run
- sell
- send
- sing
- sit
- sleep
- speak
- spend
- stand
- swim
- write
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Running the verb game in class
- Show the wheel on the projector with Present and call one student, or a team, to the front.
- Press Spin. The student says the base form, the past simple and the past participle: write, wrote, written.
- For extra points, the student uses the verb in a sentence about last weekend. Remove each verb that was answered well with Remove from wheel.
- Trim the list in Entries to the verbs from this week's unit when you want a shorter review.
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Irregular verb questions
Which irregular verbs trip students up most?
Read is the classic one: read, read, read, spelled the same but pronounced “red” in the past. Lie and lay, which are not on this wheel, confuse even native speakers. Be has two past forms, was and were, and fly becomes flew, flown.
Can I add verbs from our textbook?
Yes. Open Entries, type each base form on its own line and spin. Past about 60 verbs the slices get too thin to read, so make a second wheel for the rest.
How do I check answers quickly?
Keep a printed irregular verb chart at the teacher's desk, or let the rest of the class give a thumbs up or down before you confirm. Peer checking keeps everyone listening, not just the student at the front.
Does this work for a one-on-one lesson online?
It does. Press Share and send the link to the student, or share your screen and spin it yourself. Short five-minute rounds at the start of each lesson work better than one long drill.
Why is the participle of get gotten and not got?
Both are standard. American English uses gotten in most cases, as in “It has gotten cold,” while British English uses got. Pick the one your course book uses and stay consistent.
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