How to Study Irregular Verbs
Table
Most verbs in English are regular verbs, meaning that they add the ed ending to form both the simple past and the past participle forms, which are identical, such as play-played-played. However, there is a considerable number of irregular verbs (about 450, but only about 200 are in common use) that form their simple past and past participle forms with a vowel change, such as in see-saw-seen (see table below). Some irregular verbs do not change form at all (let-let-let). Irregular verbs originate mostly from Old English, while any new verb coined in later periods tends to be regular. Still, the ten most used verbs in English are irregular.
Another distinction is between weak and strong verbs. In weak verbs, the simple past and past participle forms are identical, bearing a d or t ending (buy-bought-bought). In strong verbs the simple past and past participle are usually distinct, with the past participle having an en ending (speak-spoke-spoken). The classification of verbs to weak and strong in Modern English is less important for learners, so you can suffice with the regular-irregular distinction.
A user-friendly way to study English irregular verbs:
Regardless of the linguistic distinctions and classifications, which tend to be too complicated for learners, we suggest that you use the following tables, clustering together irregular verbs with similar change patterns in small groups. This kind of clustering aids your memory, which will strengthen with practice. Read through the tables and make note of the verbs you find useful for your purposes. You could also read the table headings if it helps you, or simply focus on the verbs themselves. You may consider creating flash cards with the different groups and study them, as explained on our vocabulary strategies pages. Remember that for looking up irregulars verbs after you have learned them, you have an alphabetical list in any dictionary for easy referencing.
You may notice that in some verb parts there are two correct forms. A general rule of thumb here is that the regular verb option (with ed, no vowel change) is more commonly used in American English, whereas the irregular option (vowel change) is still in use in British English. Moreover, there may also be finer nuances in meaning pertaining to the usage of the former or the latter. In any case, consult your dictionary if you are not sure about the exact usage.
The following irregular verb tables are sorted according to V1,V2, and V3 forms. Here is a quick reminder for these verb forms:
• Uses of the 3 main verb forms:
V1=base form • Present Simple
• “Future Simple” • I write in English every day.
• I will write an English essay tomorrow.
V2=Past Simple • Past Simple only! • Yesterday, I wrote 2 poems in English.
V3=Past participle • perfect tenses
• passive forms
• passive adjective • I have already written my English paper.
• This novel was written by Charles Dickens.
• This story is well-written.
Category 1: irregular ending with no vowel change, V2=V3
group 1: d ending changes to t, ent changes to end
bend bent bent
build built built
lend lent lent
send sent sent
spend spent spent
group 2: the verbs have and make
have \ has had had
make made made
group 3: regular (V2, V3) in US English, irregular in UK English
learn learned \ learnt learned \ learnt
burn burned \ burnt burned \ burnt
dwell dwelled \ dwelt dwelled \ dwelt
smell smelled \ smelt smelled \ smelt
spell spelled \ spelt spelled \ spelt
spill spilled \ spilt spilled \ spilt
spoil spoiled \ spoilt spoiled \ spoilt
group 4: ay ending changes to aid
*said is pronounced /sed/
lay
(the table,
clothes, eggs) laid laid
pay paid paid
say *said
(/sed/) *said
(/sed/)
Category 2: Vowel change, irregular ending, V2=V3
group 5: vowel change , d or t ending
creep crept crept
feed fed fed
feel felt felt
keep kept kept
kneel knelt \ kneeled knelt \ kneeled
meet met met
sleep slept slept
sweep swept swept
weep wept wept
*leave left left
group 6: different pronunciation of the same vowel
d or t ending
deal dealt dealt
dream dreamed \ dreamt dreamed \ dreamt
lean leaned \ leant leaned \ leant
leap leapt leapt
mean meant meant
read read (/red/) read (/red/)
hear heard heard
group 7: ell turns to old
sell sold sold
tell told told
group 8: vowel change with ought (or *aught) ending
d or t ending
bring brought brought
buy bought bought
fight fought fought
seek sought sought
think thought thought
*catch caught caught
*teach taught taught
Category 3: Verbs with the same form V1=V2=V3
group 9: Verbs that do not change
d or t ending
bet bet bet
bid (to offer) bid bid
broadcast broadcast \
broadcasted broadcast \
broadcasted
burst burst burst
cost cost cost
cut cut cut
fit fit
(was the right size)
fitted
(tailored, changed size) fit
(was the right size)
fitted
(tailored, changed size)
hit hit hit
hurt hurt hurt
let let let
put put put
set set set
shut shut shut
spread spread spread
quit quit quit
Category 4: Vowel change, V3 ending with (e)n
group 10: V2 and V3 with long /o / sound
break broke broken
choose chose chosen
freeze froze frozen
speak spoke spoken
steal stole stolen
awake awoke \ awaked awoken \ awaked
wake woke \ waked woken \ waked
weave wove woven
group 11: V2 long o sound, V3 shirt /i/ sound
arise arose arisen
rise rose risen
*ride rode *ridden
drive drove driven
*write wrote *written
group 12: The following verbs:
*bite bit *bitten
*hide hid *hidden
eat ate eaten
give gave given
forgive forgave forgiven
forbid * forbad(e) forbidden
* bid
( to command, farewell) bade *bidden
* forget forgot *forgotten
get got * gotten (AmE) \ got (BrE)
shake shook shaken
take took taken
see saw seen
beat beat beaten
fall fell fallen
lie
( down to rest) lay lain
Pay attention!
Do not confuse lie (tell a lie, regular), lie (down to rest, irregular), and lay (the table, irregular).
*lie
(tell a lie) lied lied
lie
(down to rest) lay lain
lay
(the table, eggs) laid laid
group 13: the ear-ore-orn pattern
bear bore born
swear swore sworn
tear tore torn
wear wore worn
group 14: V1 with ow, V2 with ew, V3 with own
blow blew blown
grow grew grown
know knew known
throw threw thrown
fly flew flown
draw drew *drawn
Category 5: regular V2, regular or irregular V3
group 15
show showed showed \ shown
sow sowed sowed \ sown
mow mowed mowed \ mown
swell swelled swelled \ swollen
sew sewed sewed \ sewn
*shine
(the shoes) shined shined
*shine
(brightly) shone shone
Category 6: vowel change, no ending, V2=V3
group 16: vowel change pattern, no ending
dig dug dug
stick stuck stuck
spin spun spun
sting stung stung
strike struck struck
swing swung swung
*hang
(a man) hanged hanged
*hang
(a picture) hung hung
slide slid slid
light lighted \ lit lighted \ lit
shoot shot shot
group 17: vowel change pattern i - ou - ou
bind bound bound
find found found
grind ground ground
wind wound wound
group 18: vowel change ee - e - e
bleed bled bled
feed fed fed
flee fled fled
*lead led led
*speed speeded \ sped speeded \ sped
Category 7: The craziest verbs!
group 19: vowel change pattern i - a - u
begin began begun
drink drank drunk
ring rang rung
shrink shrank shrunk
sing sang sung
sink sank sunk
spin span \ spun spun
spring sprang sprung
swim swam swum
group 20: vowel change, V1=V3
come came come
become became become
run ran run
group 21: miscellaneous
the verb to be
am
is
are was
was
were been
go went gone
*dive
(jumped head first) dove dived
*dive
(scuba-diving) dived dived
do did done
can could
may might
hold held held
stand stood stood
understand understood understood
sit sat sat
babysit babysat babysat
win won won
lose lost lost
Summary
This has been a review about the irregular verbs in English grammar. As these verbs are highly used in both spoken and written language, you should master their usage rather early on as you progress with your English writing. Reviewing the irregular verbs is not enough to make you use them correctly. The more you notice them up in your reading, and more importantly, use them properly in your writing, the better you will use them.
