English verbs that are the same in the present tense and in the past tense

Most of the commonly used English verbs are irregular. If the past tense and the past participle differ from the present tense, it is usually not hard to remember them—few non-native speakers would say “taked” instead of “took” and “taken”. However, there is a certain class of verbs that commonly cause problems: verbs whose past tense is the same as the present tense.

Take, for instance, the verb “cut”. The past tense of “cut” is also “cut”, so you could say both

I cut vegetables every day in the kitchen.
I cut some paper yesterday.

Usually, you must guess the meaning from the context, but if the verb is in the third person singular, you can tell by looking at its ending: “he cut” can only mean the past tense because the present tense would be “he cuts”. For this reason, the entries in the following list are of the form: to do – he does – he did – he has done.

List of the verbs

to bet – he bets – he bet – he has bet
to broadcast – he broadcasts – he broadcast – he has broadcast
Note: most dictionaries list also “broadcasted” as a possible form, but this form is not commonly used in practice.
to burst – he bursts – he burst – he has burst
to cut – he cuts – he cut – he has cut
to cost – it costs – it cost – it has cost
to cast – he casts – he cast – he has cast
to fit – it fits – it fit/ted – it has fit/ted
In the US, the past tense and past participle are usually “fit”, whereas in the UK they are usually “fitted”. However, as adjectives, “fit” means healthy or appropriate, and fitted means designed to fit both in the US and in the UK.
to forecast – he forecasts – he forecast – he has forecast
to hit – he hits – he hit – he has hit
to hurt – it hurts – it hurt – it has hurt
to let – he lets – he let – he has let
to miscast – he miscasts – he miscast – he has miscast
Note: “to miscast” means “to choose an unsuitable actor for a role”.
to offset – it offsets – it offset – it has offset
Note: “to offset” means “to compensate” in relation to costs.
to put – he puts – he put – he has put
to quit – he quits – he quit – he has quit
to recast – he recasts – he recast – he has recast
to reset – he resets – he reset – he has reset
to retrofit – he retrofits – he retrofit/ted – he has retrofit/ted
Note: “to retrofit” means “to equip something with a part it didn’t originally have”. The same note as for “fit/ted” applies also here.
to set – he sets – he set – he has set
to shed – it sheds – it shed – it has shed
to shut – he shuts – he shut – he has shut
to slit – he slits – he slit – he has slit
to spit – he spits – he spit/spat – he has spit/spat
Note: the form “spit” is popular in the US; in the UK the past tense is “spat”.
to sublet – he sublets – he sublet – he has sublet
to spread – he spreads – he spread – he has spread
to typecast – he typecasts – he typecast – he has typecast
Note: usually used in the passive. For an actor “to be typecast” means “to be always given the same type of character to play”.
to typeset – he typesets – he typeset – he has typeset
to undercut – he undercuts – he undercut – he has undercut
Note: “to undercut” means “to sell goods below your competitor’s prices”.
to upset – it upsets – it upset – it has upset
to wed – he weds – he wed/ded – he has wed/ded
Note: “to wed” is an old-fashioned term for “to marry”. Both “wed” and “wedded” are in use.
to wet – he wets – he wet/ted – he has wet/ted
Note: both “wet” and “wetted” are in use.

In addition to the verbs above, you should remember the verbs

to beat – he beats [beets] – he beat [beet] – he has beaten
to read – he reads [reeds] – he read [red] – he has read [red]

The past tense of “beat” is also “beat”. The form “has beat” (instead of beaten) exists but is considered colloquial. The past tense and past participle of “read” are also spelled “read” but pronounced the same as “red”.

List of the verbs

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