What are irregular verbs?
Irregular verbs do not follow the conjugation rules. Usually, the simple past and past participle tense is not formed by adding ‘d’ or ‘ed’, or ‘ied’.
For example, go-went-gone
Some irregular verbs have same past simple(V2) and past participle(V3) forms, e.g. Bet-bet-bet
Irregular Verbs List
Take time to understand the difference between regular and irregular verbs. It will help you make the grammatically correct sentences.
This is the list of irregular verbs in English. Each verb is followed by past simple and past participle.
| Infinitive | Past Simple | Past Participle |
| Arise | Arose | Arisen |
| Babysit | Babysat | Babysat |
| Be | was/were | Been |
| Beat | Beat | Beaten |
| Bend | Bent | Bent |
| Begin | Began | Begun |
| Bet | Bet | Bet |
| Bind | Bound | Bound |
| Bite | Bit | Bitten |
| Bleed | Bled | Bled |
| Blow | Blew | Blown |
| Break | Broke | Broken |
| Breed | Bred | Bred |
| Bring | Brought | Brought |
| Build | Built | Built |
| Catch | Caught | Caught |
| Choose | Choe | Chosen |
| Come | Came | Come |
| Cost | Cost | Cost |
| Cut | Cut | Cut |
| Deal | Dealt | Dealt |
| Dig | Dug | Dug |
| Do | Did | Done |
| Draw | Drew | Drawn |
| Drink | Drank | Drunk |
| Drive | Drove | Driven |
| Eat | Ate | Eaten |
| Fall | Fell | Fallen |
| Feed | Fed | Fed |
| Feel | Felt | Felt |
| Find | Found | Found |
| Fly | Flew | Flown |
| Forbid | Forbade | Forbidden |
| Forget | Forgot | Forgotten |
| Forgive | Forgave | Forgiven |
| Freeze | Froze | Frozen |
| Get | Got | Gotten |
| Give | Gave | Given |
| Go | Went | Gone |
| Grow | Grew | Grown |
| Hang | Hung Hanged | Hung Hanged |
| 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 | Lain |
| Lead | Led | Led |
| Leave | Left | Left |
| Lend | Lent | Lent |
| Let | Let | Let |
| Lie | Lay | Lain |
| Light | Lit | Lit |
| Lose | Lost | Lost |
| Make | Made | Made |
| Mean | Meant | Meant |
| Meet | Met | Met |
| Pay | Paid | Paid |
| Put | Put | Put |
| Quit | Quit | Quit |
| Read | Read | Read |
| Ride | Rode | Ridden |
| Ring | Rang | Rung |
| Rise | Rose | Risen |
| Run | Ran | Run |
| Say | Said | Said |
| See | Saw | Seen |
| Send | Sent | Sent |
| Set | Set | Set |
| Shake | Shook | Shaken |
| Shine | Shone | Shone |
| Shoot | Shot | Shot |
| Show | Showed | Shown |
| Shut | Shut | Shut |
| Sing | Sang | Sung |
| Sink | Sank | Sunk |
| Sit | Sat | Sat |
| Sleep | Slept | Slept |
| Slide | Slid | Slid |
| Speak | Spoke | Spoken |
| Spend | Spent | Spent |
| Spin | Spun | Spun |
| Spread | Spread | Spread |
| Stand | Stood | Stood |
| Steal | Stole | Stolen |
| Stick | Stuck | Stuck |
| Sting | Stung | Stung |
| 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 |
| Wake | Understood | Understood |
| Wake | Woke | Woken |
| Wear | Wore | Worn |
| Win | Won | Won |
| Wind | Wound | Wound |
| Withdrawn | Withdrew | Withdrawn |
| Write | Wrote | Written |
“Hang” has two different meanings. The first is “to attach something in a high position e.g. on a wall or on a hook”. In this case we use verbs
Hang-Hung-Hung
But when “Hang” means “to kill someone by putting a rope around someone’s neck and leaving then in a high position without any support”. In this case we use verbs
Hang-Hanged-Hanged
This verb is typical of public executions in the past.
Lie has two meanings. When it means ” to put your body in a horizontal position (normally on a bed)”, it uses Lie-Lay-Lain
But it is regular Lie-Lied-Lied when it has other meaning of “not to say the truth”.
Read related topics:
1. Types of Verbs
2. Verb Exercises with Answers
3. Verb Moods
The following verbs can be regular or irregular.
| Infinitive | Past Simple | Past Participle |
| Burn | Burned Burnt | Burned Burnt |
| Dream | Dreamed Dreamt | Dreamed Dreamt |
| Learn | Learned Learnt | Learned Learnt |
| Smell | Smelled Smelt | Smelled Smelt |
The second form (burnt, learnt, smelt) is more common in British English.
Irregular verbs in English in the present tense follow very simple rules. The only change that is made to these verbs is in the third person – for He, She or It.
If the verb ends in ‘ss’, ‘x’, ‘ch’, ‘sh’ or the letter ‘o’, we add ‘es’ in the third person. For example,
- Kiss : Kisses
- Fix : Fixes
- Watch : Watches
- Crash : Crashes
- Go : Goes
Irregular Verb Examples
- A mechanic fixes cars.
- She watches dramas every night.
- He kisses his daughter before he goes to work
If the verb ends in a consonant + y, we remove ‘y’ and add ‘ies’ in the third person. For example,
- Carry : Carries
- Hurry : Hurries
- Study : Studies
- Deny : Denies
Example Sentences
- She studies every night.
- The baby cries all the time.
- He denies all the responsibilities.
Download: Irregular Verbs pdf