Verbos irregulares TOEIC: lista, reglas y errores a evitar (guía completa)

Los verbos irregulares no siguen la regla del "-ed" en pasado.

En el TOEIC®, representan el 40% de las preguntas de gramática en la Parte 5 y aparecen en todos los contextos profesionales del examen.

¿La verdadera dificultad? Reconocer al instante qué forma usar cuando lees un correo, un informe o un anuncio.

Por ejemplo: "The supplier has sent the invoice" (no "sended"). Organizar estos verbos por situación profesional (y no por orden alfabético) te permite memorizarlos 3 veces más rápido.

Verbos para juntas y presentaciones

Estos verbos aparecen en los diálogos de Listening (Parte 3-4) y en los correos/anuncios sobre juntas (Parte 7).

Base	Pasado	Participio pasado	Contexto típico del TOEIC®
hold	held	held	Hold a meeting, conference
lead	led	led	Lead a team, discussion
speak	spoke	spoken	Speak at an event
begin	began	begun	Begin a presentation
bring	brought	brought	Bring documents, materials
meet	met	met	Meet clients, colleagues
tell	told	told	Tell about results
give	gave	given	Give a presentation, feedback
show	showed	shown	Show data, slides
hear	heard	heard	Hear opinions, concerns
understand	understood	understood	Understand the proposal
think	thought	thought	Think about options
say	said	said	Say during the meeting
mean	meant	meant	Mean to clarify
come	came	come	Come to the meeting
sit	sat	sat	Sit in the conference room
stand	stood	stood	Stand to present
leave	left	left	Leave the meeting early
forget	forgot	forgotten	Forget to mention
spend	spent	spent	Spend time discussing

Ejemplo típico Parte 7 :

"The keynote speaker will give a presentation on market trends, and participants who come early can meet with industry experts."
El orador principal dará una presentación sobre las tendencias del mercado, y los participantes que lleguen temprano podrán reunirse con expertos de la industria.

Verbos para correos y comunicaciones

Estos verbos predominan en la Parte 7 (correos, correspondencia) y en la Parte 5 (frases sobre comunicación interna).

Base	Pasado	Participio pasado	Contexto típico del TOEIC®
write	wrote	written	Write emails, reports
send	sent	sent	Send messages, files
receive	received	received	Receive confirmation
read	read	read	Read the memo
reply	replied	replied	Reply to inquiries (regular pero útil)
forward	forwarded	forwarded	Forward information (regular)
make	made	made	Make a request
let	let	let	Let someone know
tell	told	told	Tell about changes
know	knew	known	Know the details
find	found	found	Find attached
see	saw	seen	See below
hear	heard	heard	Hear from you soon
get	got	got/gotten	Get in touch
keep	kept	kept	Keep informed
put	put	put	Put in the subject line
understand	understood	understood	Understand the instructions
feel	felt	felt	Feel free to contact
think	thought	thought	Think it's important

Trampa frecuente Parte 5 :

"Please find the updated schedule attached." (no "attach")
Por favor, encuentre adjunto el horario actualizado.

Verbos para informes y análisis

Los encuentras en textos analíticos (Parte 7) y frases sobre resultados financieros (Parte 5-6).

Base	Pasado	Participio pasado	Contexto típico del TOEIC®
show	showed	shown	Show results, trends
find	found	found	Find that sales increased
become	became	become	Become the leader
grow	grew	grown	Grow by 15%
rise	rose	risen	Rise significantly
fall	fell	fallen	Fall below expectations
go	went	gone	Go up, go down
cost	cost	cost	Cost less than predicted
lose	lost	lost	Lose market share
win	won	won	Win new contracts
sell	sold	sold	Sell more units
buy	bought	bought	Buy new equipment
spend	spent	spent	Spend on marketing
pay	paid	paid	Pay suppliers
set	set	set	Set new records
break	broke	broken	Break even
hit	hit	hit	Hit targets
meet	met	met	Meet goals
beat	beat	beaten	Beat competitors
cut	cut	cut	Cut costs
forecast	forecast	forecast	Forecast revenues

Ejemplo Parte 6 :

"Sales have risen by 12% this quarter, and the company has set a new record for annual revenue."
Las ventas han aumentado un 12% este trimestre, y la compañía ha establecido un nuevo récord de ingresos anuales.

Verbos para recursos humanos y reclutamiento

Estos verbos aparecen en ofertas de empleo, políticas de RH (Parte 7) y preguntas sobre el personal (Parte 5).

Base	Pasado	Participio pasado	Contexto típico del TOEIC®
hire	hired	hired	Hire new employees (regular)
choose	chose	chosen	Choose candidates
become	became	become	Become a manager
take	took	taken	Take a position
leave	left	left	Leave the company
begin	began	begun	Begin employment
quit	quit	quit	Quit the job
lead	led	led	Lead a department
build	built	built	Build a team
teach	taught	taught	Teach new skills
learn	learned/learnt	learned/learnt	Learn procedures
train	trained	trained	Train staff (regular)
promote	promoted	promoted	Promote to senior role (regular)
give	gave	given	Give notice
get	got	got/gotten	Get promoted
make	made	made	Make a decision
offer	offered	offered	Offer a contract (regular)
sign	signed	signed	Sign an agreement (regular)
understand	understood	understood	Understand benefits
know	knew	known	Know company policies

Ejemplo Parte 7 :

"We have chosen three finalists and will make a hiring decision by Friday."
Hemos elegido a tres finalistas y tomaremos una decisión de contratación para el viernes.

Verbos para viajes y traslados profesionales

Frecuentes en anuncios de viaje (Parte 7), diálogos en el aeropuerto/hotel (Parte 3) y notas de gastos.

Base	Pasado	Participio pasado	Contexto típico del TOEIC®
go	went	gone	Go on a business trip
come	came	come	Come back from abroad
fly	flew	flown	Fly to the conference
leave	left	left	Leave for Tokyo
take	took	taken	Take a flight
drive	drove	driven	Drive to the site
ride	rode	ridden	Ride the shuttle
catch	caught	caught	Catch a train
miss	missed	missed	Miss a connection (regular)
arrive	arrived	arrived	Arrive at the hotel (regular)
depart	departed	departed	Depart on time (regular)
bring	brought	brought	Bring luggage
forget	forgot	forgotten	Forget passport
lose	lost	lost	Lose baggage
find	found	found	Find accommodation
book	booked	booked	Book a room (regular)
stay	stayed	stayed	Stay overnight (regular)
choose	chose	chosen	Choose a hotel
spend	spent	spent	Spend two nights
meet	met	met	Meet overseas clients

Ejemplo Parte 3 (diálogo) :

"I flew to Seoul last week and met with our partners there."
La semana pasada volé a Seúl y me reuní con nuestros socios allí.

Verbos para producción y operaciones

Los ves en textos sobre manufactura, logística y procesos (Parte 6-7).

Base	Pasado	Participio pasado	Contexto típico del TOEIC®
make	made	made	Make products
build	built	built	Build facilities
design	designed	designed	Design new models (regular)
create	created	created	Create prototypes (regular)
produce	produced	produced	Produce goods (regular)
manufacture	manufactured	manufactured	Manufacture components (regular)
develop	developed	developed	Develop solutions (regular)
build	built	built	Build infrastructure
set	set	set	Set up equipment
run	ran	run	Run operations
begin	began	begun	Begin production
shut	shut	shut	Shut down temporarily
speed	sped	sped	Speed up delivery
deal	dealt	dealt	Deal with issues
handle	handled	handled	Handle logistics (regular)
ship	shipped	shipped	Ship orders (regular)
send	sent	sent	Send shipments
bring	brought	brought	Bring supplies
take	took	taken	Take inventory
keep	kept	kept	Keep stock levels
hold	held	held	Hold materials
put	put	put	Put in storage
lay	laid	laid	Lay foundations
wear	wore	worn	Wear safety gear
break	broke	broken	Break down (machinery)
fix	fixed	fixed	Fix equipment (regular)
repair	repaired	repaired	Repair tools (regular)

Verbos para decisiones y planeación

Esenciales para la Parte 5-6 (contextos estratégicos) y Parte 7 (memorandos sobre estrategias).

Base	Pasado	Participio pasado	Contexto típico del TOEIC®
choose	chose	chosen	Choose a strategy
decide	decided	decided	Decide on actions (regular)
make	made	made	Make decisions
take	took	taken	Take measures
set	set	set	Set objectives
plan	planned	planned	Plan initiatives (regular)
think	thought	thought	Think about options
consider	considered	considered	Consider proposals (regular)
agree	agreed	agreed	Agree on terms (regular)
approve	approved	approved	Approve budgets (regular)
recommend	recommended	recommended	Recommend changes (regular)
propose	proposed	proposed	Propose solutions (regular)
suggest	suggested	suggested	Suggest improvements (regular)
discuss	discussed	discussed	Discuss plans (regular)
review	reviewed	reviewed	Review options (regular)
evaluate	evaluated	evaluated	Evaluate results (regular)
determine	determined	determined	Determine priorities (regular)
establish	established	established	Establish guidelines (regular)
know	knew	known	Know the risks
understand	understood	understood	Understand implications
mean	meant	meant	Mean to implement
seek	sought	sought	Seek approval
bring	brought	brought	Bring ideas
put	put	put	Put forward proposals
come	came	come	Come up with solutions
feel	felt	felt	Feel confident about

Verbos para compras y contratos

Frecuentes en órdenes de compra, facturas y negociaciones (Parte 7).

Base	Pasado	Participio pasado	Contexto típico del TOEIC®
buy	bought	bought	Buy supplies
sell	sold	sold	Sell products
pay	paid	paid	Pay invoices
cost	cost	cost	Cost $5000
spend	spent	spent	Spend budget
charge	charged	charged	Charge fees (regular)
bid	bid	bid	Bid on contracts
win	won	won	Win the tender
lose	lost	lost	Lose the deal
get	got	got/gotten	Get a discount
give	gave	given	Give a quote
offer	offered	offered	Offer terms (regular)
negotiate	negotiated	negotiated	Negotiate prices (regular)
sign	signed	signed	Sign contracts (regular)
make	made	made	Make an offer
order	ordered	ordered	Order materials (regular)
deliver	delivered	delivered	Deliver goods (regular)
send	sent	sent	Send payment
receive	received	received	Receive shipment (regular)
owe	owed	owed	Owe money (regular)
lend	lent	lent	Lend resources
borrow	borrowed	borrowed	Borrow equipment (regular)

Los 3 errores catastróficos (y cómo evitarlos)

Entre los candidatos que seguimos, tres errores se repiten constantemente y cuestan entre 20 y 50 puntos en total.

Error 1: Confundir las formas A-B-C

Los verbos como write/wrote/written o choose/chose/chosen son los más engañosos.

The contract was wrote last month. ✗
The contract was written last month. ✓
El contrato se redactó el mes pasado.

Después de "was/were", SIEMPRE usas el participio pasado (3ª columna), nunca el pasado simple (2ª columna).

Error 2: Olvidar "have/has" en el presente perfecto

The supplier sent the invoice three times this week. (pasado simple)
The supplier has sent the invoice three times this week. (presente perfecto) ✓
El proveedor envió la factura tres veces esta semana.

Con "this week/month/year" (periodo no terminado), debes usar "has/have + participio pasado".

Error 3: Aplicar "-ed" por reflejo

Después de años de inglés, tu cerebro automatiza el "-ed". Así que terminas con: "choosed", "sended", "builded".

Reflejo: cuando dudes de un verbo común (go, make, take, send, write, know), probablemente es irregular.

En Flow Exam, puedes practicar directamente el tema Verbos Irregulares exactamente en el mismo formato que en el TOEIC®. Así que si tienes dificultades con este tema, no volverás a cometer los mismos errores jamás.

Método de aprendizaje por contexto (realmente efectivo)

Incluso con candidatos que ya tienen acceso a una plataforma de preparación a través de su escuela, la memorización por listas alfabéticas falla.
La razón es simple: esas herramientas se enfocan en la regla, pero rara vez en el reflejo que debes tener bajo presión.

Paso 1: elige UN contexto (por ejemplo, "correos electrónicos"). Concéntrate en los 15-20 verbos de esa categoría durante 3 días.
Paso 2: crea 5 oraciones realistas de TOEIC® al día con esos verbos. Ejemplo: "I have sent the report and attached the financial data."
Paso 3: practica con preguntas de Parte 5 dirigidas (4 opciones, 10 segundos por pregunta). El reconocimiento pasivo no es suficiente.
Paso 4: En 6 semanas, cubres todos los contextos profesionales con una memorización duradera.

Los candidatos que más rápido progresan tienen algo en común: categorizan sus errores (contexto + tipo de confusión) en lugar de solo repetir ejercicios al azar.

Checklist rápido según el contexto de la oración

Tipo de texto TOEIC®	Verbos irregulares frecuentes	Trampa principal
Email/Memo	send, write, receive, find, get, let, know	Confundir "sent" y "send" después de "was"
Informe financiero	show, grow, rise, fall, sell, cost, meet, set	Olvidar "have" antes de "risen/grown"
Anuncio de empleo	choose, become, take, lead, give, make	Mezclar "chose" y "chosen"
Viaje pro	go, fly, leave, take, bring, meet	"Gone" vs "went" según el contexto
Junta	hold, give, speak, begin, bring, meet	Olvidar "held" después de "was"
Producción	make, build, run, set, shut, break	Participio pasado después de "been"
Contratos	buy, sell, pay, win, sign, send	"Bought" vs "brought" (confusión común)

¿Listo para practicar?

Los verbos irregulares por contexto profesional representan una estrategia 3 veces más efectiva que el aprendizaje alfabético.

El error clásico: aprender listas sin conexión con las situaciones del TOEIC® y fallar bajo presión el día del examen.

En Flow Exam, puedes practicar directamente el tema Verbos Irregulares en la Parte 5, con miles de preguntas del mismo formato que las del TOEIC® oficial.

Así que si tienes dificultades con este tema, no volverás a cometer los mismos errores jamás.

Algunos superpoderes de la plataforma Flow Exam:

150 tips realmente exclusivos basados en la experiencia de más de 500 candidatos que obtuvieron +950 en el TOEIC®: claros, concretos, probados y validados en el campo.
Sistema de práctica inteligente, que adapta los ejercicios a tu perfil y te practica directamente en los temas donde cometes más errores. Resultado → una progresión 3.46 veces más rápida en comparación con las plataformas tradicionales.
Ruta de aprendizaje ultra-personalizada: práctica dirigida solo en las preguntas y temas que te hacen perder puntos → ajustada continuamente para adaptarse a la evolución de tu nivel.
Estadísticas personalizadas sobre +200 temas precisos (adverbios, pronombres, linking words,…).
Modo Condiciones reales exactamente como el Día D (lectura de instrucciones en Listening, cronómetro, etc.) → Puedes activarlo cuando quieras.
Flashcards generadas automáticamente a partir de tus propios errores, y optimizadas por el método de las J (repetición espaciada) para una memorización duradera y cero olvidos.
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