Verbs That Never Change: Put, Hit, Let, Read

See the Pattern First

The verb never moves. Only the time words change.

• Today I put the keys here. Yesterday I put them there.
• The window cost £50 last year. It still costs £50 today.
• She hit the ball hard in the last match.
• I have read that book twice.

This is the easiest verb group in English — there is literally nothing to learn except the list. The only trap is read, and it is a trap for your ears, not your pen.

The Full List — 11 Verbs

Same word in all three columns. That is the whole rule.

These come up often, so they have their own full lesson with more practice: is it cut or cutted? and the past tense of hurt and the past tense of shut.

The Read Trap

Read is spelled the same in every form but pronounced differently. Present: “reed”. Past: “red”. So “I read every day” and “I read it yesterday” look identical on paper and sound completely different out loud.

This means a reader can only tell the tense from the words around it. When you write, help them: add a time word like yesterday, last night or every day, and there is no confusion.

Why “Cutted” Feels Right

If you have written “cutted” or “putted”, here is why your brain did that:

• English adds -ed to about 95% of verbs, so your brain applies the pattern automatically. That is intelligent behaviour, not carelessness.
• Children learning English as a first language make exactly the same mistake, and for exactly the same reason.

“Putted” does exist — but only in golf, where it means hitting a ball on the green. Nowhere else.

Two More Verbs That Never Change

Set and let are two more verbs that stay the same in all three forms.

Step 1: Set, Set, Set

Examples:

• Every morning, I set my alarm for 7 a.m. (now)
• Yesterday, she set the books on the shelf. (past)
• They have set a new goal for the team. (with have/has/had)

How to remember: Think of the word “set” as a rock — it is solid and it never moves. No matter what tense you use, it stays “set.”

Step 2: Let, Let, Let

Examples:

• They let their children play outside every day. (now)
• She let me use her phone yesterday. (past)
• We always let the dog sleep on the sofa. (now)

How to remember: Before you write the past tense, ask yourself: “Does this verb end in -t and is it short?” If the answer is yes (let, put, cut, hit, shut, set), do not add anything. The word is already correct.

Mistakes Learners Make (You Are Not Alone)

These four are the classics:

• ✗ I cutted my finger → ✓ I cut my finger
• ✗ he putted the box down → ✓ he put the box down
• ✗ it costed £20 → ✓ it cost £20
• ✗ she hitted the ball → ✓ she hit the ball

Notice how natural the wrong versions feel. That is the -ed habit at work. Once you know these 11 verbs are exceptions, the habit stops causing trouble.

Your Turn — Quick Quiz

Five questions. Take your time — the table above is still there if you need it.

Set follows this no-change pattern too. Practise set in the past tense with examples about tables, alarms and goals.

Keep Going

Eleven verbs that ask nothing of you. That is a good deal.

But some verbs are generous in a different way: they give you two correct past forms. Dreamed or dreamt? Learned or learnt? Both are right — and which you choose says something about where you learned English.

Next lesson: Verbs with two past forms: dreamed or dreamt?

Sources

• Cambridge Dictionary — Nouns: plural forms
• Oxford Learner’s Dictionaries

Khamis Maiouf

I’m Khamis Maiouf. I’m studying Health and Social Care and have completed Functional Skills Level 2 in English and Level 3 Hairdressing. I have taught ESOL in my community and helped students with GCSE English. I run English Teacher Site to help people learn and practise English.