Grammar: a list of irregular verbs in groups
All levels
Most irregular verbs are used a lot in English so they are important verbs to learn. In this list they are grouped, for example, by spelling or pronunciation. This should make them easier to remember.
| COMMON IRREGULAR VERBS | ||
|---|---|---|
| Base Form (Present) | Simple Past | Past Participle |
| Very important irregular verbs | ||
| be | was, were | been |
| do | did | done |
| go | went | gone/been |
| have | had | had |
| make | made | made |
| Same present and past participle | ||
| come | came | come |
| become | became | become |
| run | ran | run |
| Letter ‘o’ in the simple past and past participle | ||
| break | broke | broken |
| choose | chose | chosen |
| forget | forgot | forgotten |
| freeze | froze | frozen |
| get | got | got |
| speak | spoke | spoken |
| steal | stole | stolen |
| tear | tore | torn |
| awake | awoke | awoken |
| wake | woke | woken |
| wear | wore | worn |
| Letter ‘o’ in the simple past only | ||
| drive | drove | driven |
| ride | rode | ridden |
| rise | rose | risen |
| arise | arose | arisen |
| write | wrote | written |
| Simple past with ‘ew’, past participle with ‘own’ | ||
| blow | blew | blown |
| fly | flew | flown |
| grow | grew | grown |
| know | knew | known |
| throw | threw | thrown |
| Past participle ending in ‘n’ | ||
| bite | bit | bitten |
| eat | ate | eaten |
| hide | hid | hidden |
| fall | fell | fallen |
| bear | bore | born |
| draw | drew | drawn |
| forbid | forbade | forbidden |
| forgive | forgave | forgiven |
| give | gave | given |
| see | saw | seen |
| shake | shook | shaken |
| take | took | taken |
| 'ee’/’ea’ sound changes to ‘e’ sound | ||
| keep | kept | kept |
| sleep | slept | slept |
| feel | felt | felt |
| bleed | bled | bled |
| feed | fed | fed |
| meet | met | met |
| lead | led | led |
| deal | dealt | dealt |
| mean | meant | meant |
| read | read | read |
| ‘i’ changes to ‘ou’ | ||
| bind | bound | bound |
| find | found | found |
| wind | wound | wound |
| ‘i’ changes to ‘u’ | ||
| dig | dug | dug |
| stick | stuck | stuck |
| spin | spun | spun |
| sting | stung | stung |
| swing | swung | swung |
| ‘ell’ changes to ‘old’ | ||
| sell | sold | sold |
| tell | told | told |
| ‘ought’ and ‘aught’ endings in the simple past and past participle | ||
| bring | brought | brought |
| buy | bought | bought |
| catch | caught | caught |
| fight | fought | fought |
| seek | sought | sought |
| teach | taught | taught |
| think | thought | thought |
| Vowel changes from ‘i’ to ‘a’ to ‘u’ | ||
| begin | began | begun |
| drink | drank | drunk |
| ring | rang | rung |
| shrink | shrank | shrunk |
| sing | sang | sung |
| sink | sank | sunk |
| spring | sprang | sprung |
| swim | swam | swum |
| Verbs that don’t change | ||
| beat | beat | beat |
| bet | bet | bet |
| broadcast | broadcast | broadcast |
| burst | burst | burst |
| cost | cost | cost |
| cut | cut | cut |
| hit | hit | hit |
| hurt | hurt | hurt |
| let | let | let |
| put | put | put |
| quit | quit | quit |
| set | set | set |
| Other irregular verbs | ||
| bend | bent | bent |
| lend | lent | lent |
| send | sent | sent |
| build | built | built |
| burn | burned/burnt | burned/burnt |
| dream | dreamed/dreamt | dreamed/dreamt |
| hear | heard | heard |
| hang | hung | hung |
| hold | held | held |
| lay | laid | laid |
| pay | paid | paid |
| say | said | said |
| lean | leant/leaned | leant/leaned |
| learn | learned/learnt | learned/learnt |
| leave | left | left |
| lie | lay | lain |
| light | lit | lit/lighted |
| lose | lost | lost |
| prove | proved | proved/proven |
| shoot | shot | shot |
| show | showed | shown |