Irregular Verbs: List of 70 Popular Irregular Verbs in English

Irregular verbs are a unique aspect of the English language that can be challenging for learners to master. Unlike regular verbs, which follow a predictable pattern when conjugated, irregular verbs have their own unique forms for the past tense and past participle. This means that learners must memorize each irregular verb and its various forms in order to use them correctly in speech and writing.

In this article, we will explore the world of irregular verbs in English. We will provide you with a comprehensive list of irregular verbs, along with their various forms, to help you improve your grammar skills.

List of Irregular Verbs

Irregular verbs are verbs that don’t take on the regular –d, -ed, or -ied spelling patterns of the past simple (V2) or past participle (V3).

This is an irregular verbs list in the English language.

Base Form (V1)	Past Simple (V2)	Past Participle (V3)
swim	swam	swum
teach	taught	taught
buy	bought	bought
speak	spoke	spoken
do	did	done
sell	sold	sold
wear	wore	worn
read	read	read
hear	heard	heard
eat	ate	eaten
run	ran	run
put	put	put
go	went	gone
cut	cut	cut
fall	fell	fallen
drink	drank	drunk
fly	flew	flown
choose	chose	chosen
dream	dreamt	dreamt
freeze	froze	frozen
be	was/ were	been
come	came	come
become	became	become
find	found	found
begin	began	begun
forget	forgot	forgotten
break	broke	broken
build	built	built
catch	caught	caught
get	got	gotten
have	had	had
keep	kept	kept
lend	lent	lent
make	made	made
meet	met	met
say	said	said
send	sent	sent
give	gave	given
hide	hid	hidden
hold	held	held
know	knew	known
leave	left	left
lose	lost	lost
pay	paid	paid
see	saw	seen
set	set	set
take	took	taken
withdraw	withdrew	withdrawn
show	showed	shown
tell	told	told
input	input	input
shut	shut	shut
think	thought	thought
awake	awoke	awoken
sing	sang	sung
understand	understood	understood
blow	blew	blown
sit	sat	sat
win	won	won
bring	brought	brought
sleep	slept	slept
write	wrote	written
cling	clung	clung
overcome	overcame	overcome
deal	dealt	dealt
spend	spent	spent
upset	upset	upset
draw	drew	drawn
feel	felt	felt
forbid	forbade	forbidden

Types of Irregular Verbs

Base Form

The base form of an irregular verb is the form that is used for the present tense. Unlike regular verbs that add -s or -es to the base form for the third-person singular, irregular verbs have unique forms for each person. For example, the base form of the irregular verb “go” is “go” for all persons.

Past Simple

The past simple tense is used to describe actions that happened in the past. Irregular verbs have unique forms for the past simple tense. These forms do not follow the typical pattern of adding -ed to the base form. For example, the past simple form of the irregular verb “go” is “went.”

Past Participle

The past participle form is used to form the present perfect tense, past perfect tense, and passive voice. Irregular verbs have unique forms for the past participle. These forms do not follow the typical pattern of adding -ed to the base form. For example, the past participle form of the irregular verb “go” is “gone.”

Usage of Irregular Verbs

In Sentences

When using irregular verbs in sentences, it is important to remember that they do not follow the regular pattern of adding “-ed” to the end of the verb. Instead, each irregular verb has its own unique past tense and past participle form.

Here are some examples of irregular verbs used in sentences:

• I ate breakfast this morning.
• She sang a beautiful song at the concert.
• He ran a marathon last year.

In Questions

When asking questions using irregular verbs, the auxiliary verb “did” is used in the past tense. The irregular verb remains in its base form.

Here are some examples of irregular verbs used in questions:

• Did you eat breakfast this morning?
• Did she sing a beautiful song at the concert?
• Did he run a marathon last year?

In Negative Statements

When making negative statements using irregular verbs, the auxiliary verb “did not” (or its contraction “didn’t”) is used in the past tense. The irregular verb remains in its base form.

Here are some examples of irregular verbs used in negative statements:

• I did not eat breakfast this morning.
• She did not sing a beautiful song at the concert.
• He did not run a marathon last year.

Common Irregular Verbs

In English, there are many irregular verbs that do not follow the standard rules of adding “-ed” to form the past tense. These verbs must be memorized in order to use them correctly in sentences.

Here are some of the most common irregular verbs, grouped by ending pattern:

• -en (e.g. eat, eaten): eat, beaten, bitten, eaten, fallen, forgotten, given, hidden, ridden, taken
• -ew (e.g. sew, sewn): sew, sewn, show, shown, strew, strewn, throw, thrown
• -ink (e.g. drink, drunk): drink, drunk, shrink, shrunk, sink, sunk, stink, stunk
• -ive (e.g. strive, striven): drive, driven, strive, striven, thrive, thriven
• -ow (e.g. blow, blown): blow, blown, grow, grown, know, known, mow, mown, show, shown, throw, thrown

It’s important to note that irregular verbs can also have irregular past participles. For example, the past participle of “go” is “gone,” not “goed.”

Less Common Irregular Verbs

Now that we have covered the common irregular verbs, let’s take a look at some of the less common ones. These verbs are not used as frequently as the common ones, but it’s still important to know their irregular forms.

Here are some examples of less common irregular verbs:

• Bet – past tense: bet, past participle: bet
• Broadcast – past tense: broadcast, past participle: broadcast
• Creep – past tense: crept, past participle: crept
• Dig – past tense: dug, past participle: dug
• Leap – past tense: leapt/leaped, past participle: leapt/leaped
• Sew – past tense: sewed, past participle: sewn
• Slay – past tense: slew, past participle: slain
• Thrive – past tense: thrived/throve, past participle: thrived

It’s important to note that some of these verbs, like leap and thrive, have alternative past tense forms. While leaped and thrived are more commonly used, leapt and throve are still considered correct forms.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is the definition of an irregular verb and can you provide examples?

Irregular verbs are verbs that do not follow the standard conjugation rules in English. Unlike regular verbs, which add “-ed” to form the past tense and past participle, irregular verbs have their own unique forms that must be memorized. Examples of irregular verbs include “eat” (past tense “ate”), “go” (past tense “went”), and “see” (past tense “saw”).

How many irregular verbs are there in the English language?

There are over 200 irregular verbs in the English language. While this may seem like a lot to memorize, many of these verbs are commonly used in everyday speech and writing.

What are some common irregular verbs in English?

Some of the most common irregular verbs in English include “be” (past tense “was/were”), “have” (past tense “had”), “do” (past tense “did”), and “go” (past tense “went”). Other common irregular verbs include “see” (past tense “saw”), “eat” (past tense “ate”), and “get” (past tense “got”).

Are there any rules for how irregular verbs change in tense?

Unlike regular verbs, which follow a predictable pattern for forming the past tense and past participle, irregular verbs do not follow any specific rules or patterns. The only way to learn the past tense and past participle forms of irregular verbs is through memorization.

Can you provide a list of 20 irregular verbs with their past tense and past participle forms?

Yes, here are 20 irregular verbs with their past tense and past participle forms:

1. be – was/were – been
2. have – had – had
3. do – did – done
4. go – went – gone
5. see – saw – seen
6. eat – ate – eaten
7. get – got – gotten
8. make – made – made
9. give – gave – given
10. take – took – taken
11. come – came – come
12. run – ran – run
13. speak – spoke – spoken
14. write – wrote – written
15. break – broke – broken
16. choose – chose – chosen
17. drive – drove – driven
18. forget – forgot – forgotten
19. swim – swam – swum
20. wear – wore – worn

Last Updated on November 15, 2023