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Irregular Verbs in English: A Complete Guide

Irregular verbs are essential in English grammar, but they don’t follow the usual rule of adding -ed for past tense. Instead, they have unique forms that you need to memorize. This guide breaks them down with simple examples to make learning easier.

What Are Irregular Verbs?

An irregular verb is a verb that does not follow the usual rule of forming the past tense by adding -ed. For example:

  • Regular verb: playplayed

  • Irregular verb: gowent (not "goed")

Irregular verbs are common in English, so learning them is essential for effective communication.

How Are Irregular Verbs Different?

Regular verbs follow a consistent pattern:

  • Base form: walk

  • Past tense: walked

  • Past participle: walked

Irregular verbs change in unpredictable ways. For example:

  • Base form: run

  • Past tense: ran

  • Past participle: run

Tip: The past tense and past participle of irregular verbs often don’t follow any specific rule. Memorization and practice are key!

Forms of Irregular Verbs
  • Base form: The original form of the verb (e.g., eat).

  • Past tense: The form used for past actions (e.g., ate).

  • Past participle: Used with helping verbs like has or have (e.g., eaten).

Base Form
Past Tense
Past Participle

go

went

gone

drink

drank

drunk

write

wrote

written

take

took

taken

Common Patterns in Irregular Verbs

Although irregular verbs dont follow fixed rules, some patterns can help you group them:

1. Verbs with All Forms the Same

Base form = Past Simple = Past Participle

These verbs do not change at all.

Base Form
Past Tense
Past Participle

Bet

Bet

Bet

Cost

Cost

Cost

Cut

Cut

Cut

Hit

Hit

Hit

Hurt

Hurt

Hurt

Let

Let

Let

Put

Put

Put

Read

Read

Read

Set

Set

Set

Shut

Shut

Shut

2. Verbs with Same Past Simple and Past Participle

Base form ≠ Past Simple = Past Participle

The base form changes, but the past simple and participle forms are identical.

Base Form
Past Tense
Past Participle

Bring

Brought

Brought

Build

Built

Built

Burn

Burnt/Burned

Burnt/Burned

Buy

Bought

Bought

Catch

Caught

Caught

Feel

Felt

Felt

Keep

Kept

Kept

Leave

Left

Left

Send

Sent

Sent

Spend

Spent

Spent

3. Verbs with All Forms Different

Base form ≠ Past Simple ≠ Past Participle

Each form of the verb is unique.

Base Form
Past Tense
Past Participle

Be

Was/Were

Been

Begin

Began

Begun

Drink

Drank

Drunk

Eat

Ate

Eaten

Go

Went

Gone

Ring

Rang

Rung

Swim

Swam

Swum

Take

Took

Taken

Write

Wrote

Written

See

Saw

Seen

4. Verbs with Vowel Changes

Base form and past forms have a vowel change

The verbs undergo changes primarily in vowels.

Base Form
Past Tense
Past Participle

Break

Broke

Broken

Choose

Chose

Chosen

Drive

Drove

Driven

Speak

Spoke

Spoken

Steal

Stole

Stolen

Wake

Woke

Woken

Freeze

Froze

Frozen

Shake

Shook

Shaken

Write

Wrote

Written

Ride

Rode

Ridden

5. Verbs Ending in "-en" in the Past Participle

Past participle form ends with “-en”

These verbs have a specific suffix in their participle forms.

Base Form
Past Tense
Past Participle

Break

Broke

Broken

Choose

Chose

Chosen

Drive

Drove

Driven

Speak

Spoke

Spoken

Steal

Stole

Stolen

Wake

Woke

Woken

Freeze

Froze

Frozen

Shake

Shook

Shaken

Write

Wrote

Written

Ride

Rode

Ridden

Eat

Ate

Eaten

Give

Gave

Given

See

Saw

Seen

Take

Took

Taken

Write

Wrote

Written

Drive

Drove

Driven

6. Verbs with "-d" or "-t" Ending Past Forms

Verbs with "-d" or "-t" Ending Past Forms

Base Form
Past Tense
Past Participle

Build

Built

Built

Burn

Burnt/Burned

Burnt/Burned

Dream

Dreamt/Dreamed

Dreamt/Dreamed

Feel

Felt

Felt

Lend

Lent

Lent

Send

Sent

Sent

Spend

Spent

Spent

Smell

Smelt/Smelled

Smelt/Smelled

Spill

Spilt/Spilled

Spilt/Spilled

Learn

Learnt/Learned

Learnt/Learned

7. Rare or Less Common Irregular Verbs

Used less frequently in modern English

Base Form
Past Tense
Past Participle

Abide

Abode

Abided/Abidden

Arise

Arose

Arisen

Awake

Awoke

Awoken

Behold

Beheld

Beheld

Bend

Bent

Bent

Bereave

Bereaved/Bereft

Bereaved/Bereft

Beseech

Besought

Besought

Bet

Bet

Bet

Bid

Bade/Bid

Bidden/Bid

Bind

Bound

Bound

Breed

Bred

Bred

Cling

Clung

Clung

Creep

Crept

Crept

Deal

Dealt

Dealt

Dive

Dove/Dived

Dived

Fling

Flung

Flung

Forsake

Forsook

Forsaken

Hew

Hewed

Hewed/Hewn

Knit

Knit/Knitted

Knit/Knitted

Leap

Leapt/Leaped

Leapt/Leaped

Lie

Lay

Lain

Shed

Shed

Shed

Sling

Slung

Slung

Smite

Smote

Smitten

Spit

Spat/Spit

Spat/Spit

Spread

Spread

Spread

Strew

Strewed

Strewn/Strewed

Stride

Strode

Stridden

Strive

Strove

Striven

Thrust

Thrust

Thrust

Wring

Wrung

Wrung

8. Comprehensive table for all irregular verbs

Heres a list of full irregular verbs in English

Base Form
Past Tense
Past Participle

Abide

Abode

Abided/Abidden

Arise

Arose

Arisen

Awake

Awoke

Awoken

Be

Was/Were

Been

Bear

Bore

Born(e)

Beat

Beat

Beaten

Become

Became

Become

Begin

Began

Begun

Bend

Bent

Bent

Bet

Bet

Bet

Bid (offer)

Bid

Bid

Bid (farewell)

Bade

Bidden

Bind

Bound

Bound

Bite

Bit

Bitten

Bleed

Bled

Bled

Blow

Blew

Blown

Break

Broke

Broken

Bring

Brought

Brought

Build

Built

Built

Burn

Burnt/Burned

Burnt/Burned

Buy

Bought

Bought

Catch

Caught

Caught

Choose

Chose

Chosen

Cling

Clung

Clung

Come

Came

Come

Cost

Cost

Cost

Creep

Crept

Crept

Cut

Cut

Cut

Deal

Dealt

Dealt

Dig

Dug

Dug

Do

Did

Done

Draw

Drew

Drawn

Dream

Dreamt/Dreamed

Dreamt/Dreamed

Drink

Drank

Drunk

Drive

Drove

Driven

Eat

Ate

Eaten

Fall

Fell

Fallen

Feed

Fed

Fed

Feel

Felt

Felt

Fight

Fought

Fought

Find

Found

Found

Flee

Fled

Fled

Fly

Flew

Flown

Forget

Forgot

Forgotten

Forgive

Forgave

Forgiven

Freeze

Froze

Frozen

Get

Got

Got/Gotten

Give

Gave

Given

Go

Went

Gone

Grow

Grew

Grown

Hang

Hung

Hung

Have

Had

Had

Hear

Heard

Heard

Hide

Hid

Hidden

Hit

Hit

Hit

Hold

Held

Held

Hurt

Hurt

Hurt

Keep

Kept

Kept

Know

Knew

Known

Lay

Laid

Laid

Lead

Led

Led

Leave

Left

Left

Lend

Lent

Lent

Let

Let

Let

Lie

Lay

Lain

Light

Lit/Lighted

Lit/Lighted

Lose

Lost

Lost

Make

Made

Made

Mean

Meant

Meant

Meet

Met

Met

Pay

Paid

Paid

Put

Put

Put

Read

Read

Read

Ride

Rode

Ridden

Ring

Rang

Rung

Rise

Rose

Risen

Run

Ran

Run

Say

Said

Said

See

Saw

Seen

Sell

Sold

Sold

Send

Sent

Sent

Set

Set

Set

Sew

Sewed

Sewn

Shake

Shook

Shaken

Shine

Shone

Shone/Shined

Shoot

Shot

Shot

Show

Showed

Shown/Showed

Shut

Shut

Shut

Sing

Sang

Sung

Sink

Sank

Sunk

Sit

Sat

Sat

Sleep

Slept

Slept

Slide

Slid

Slid

Speak

Spoke

Spoken

Spend

Spent

Spent

Spill

Spilt/Spilled

Spilt/Spilled

Spin

Spun

Spun

Split

Split

Split

Spread

Spread

Spread

Stand

Stood

Stood

Steal

Stole

Stolen

Stick

Stuck

Stuck

Sting

Stung

Stung

Stink

Stank

Stunk

Stride

Strode

Stridden

Strike

Struck

Struck/Stricken

String

Strung

Strung

Swear

Swore

Sworn

Sweep

Swept

Swept

Swim

Swam

Swum

Take

Took

Taken

Teach

Taught

Taught

Tear

Tore

Torn

Tell

Told

Told

Think

Thought

Thought

Throw

Threw

Thrown

Understand

Understood

Understood

Wake

Woke

Woken

Wear

Wore

Worn

Weave

Wove

Woven

Win

Won

Won

Wind

Wound

Wound

Withdraw

Withdrew

Withdrawn

Write

Wrote

Written

Conclusion

Irregular verbs are challenging but essential for mastering English. By focusing on the most common verbs, learning their patterns, and practicing regularly, you can improve your skills quickly. Remember, practice makes perfect —so keep using these verbs in your daily conversations!