Irregular Verbs

Irregular verbs in English deviate from the standard pattern of conjugation, presenting unique challenges for learners. Unlike regular verbs that follow a predictable -ed ending in the past tense, irregular verbs change form entirely, such as “go” becoming “went.” Mastering these verbs is crucial for fluency, as they are commonly used in everyday language. Understanding and memorizing irregular verbs enhances both spoken and written English proficiency.

What are Irregular Verbs?

Irregular verbs are verbs that do not follow the typical conjugation rules of adding “-ed” for past tense. Instead, they change forms in unique ways. Examples include “go” (went, gone) and “see” (saw, seen). Understanding irregular verbs is crucial for proper grammar and fluency in English, as they are commonly used in both written and spoken language.

Irregular Verbs Rules

Irregular verbs do not follow a single pattern, but there are some general rules to help understand their forms:

1. Change of Vowel Sound: Some irregular verbs change the vowel in the middle of the word.
   • Examples: sing → sang, drink → drank
2. Completely Different Forms: Some verbs have completely different forms for the past and past participle.
   • Examples: go → went, be → was/were
3. Same Form for All Tenses: Some irregular verbs have the same form in the base, past, and past participle.
   • Examples: cut → cut → cut, put → put → put
4. Adding -en or -n: Some verbs add an -en or -n ending in the past participle.
   • Examples: eat → eaten, see → seen
5. No Change: A few irregular verbs remain unchanged in all forms.
   • Examples: hit → hit, let → let

List of Irregular Verbs

Base Form	Past Tense	Past Participle
be	was/were	been
become	became	become
begin	began	begun
break	broke	broken
bring	brought	brought
buy	bought	bought
catch	caught	caught
choose	chose	chosen
come	came	come
cut	cut	cut
do	did	done
drink	drank	drunk
drive	drove	driven
eat	ate	eaten
fall	fell	fallen
feel	felt	felt
find	found	found
fly	flew	flown
get	got	gotten/got
give	gave	given
go	went	gone
have	had	had
hear	heard	heard
keep	kept	kept
know	knew	known
leave	left	left
make	made	made
meet	met	met
pay	paid	paid
read	read	read
run	ran	run
say	said	said
see	saw	seen
sell	sold	sold
send	sent	sent
sing	sang	sung
sit	sat	sat
speak	spoke	spoken
spend	spent	spent
stand	stood	stood
take	took	taken
teach	taught	taught
tell	told	told
think	thought	thought
understand	understood	understood
wear	wore	worn
win	won	won
write	wrote	written

Irregular Verbs Examples

Here are some examples of irregular verbs used in sentences, demonstrating their base form, past tense, and past participle:

1. Be
   • Base Form: I am happy today.
   • Past Tense: I was happy yesterday.
   • Past Participle: I have been happy all week.
2. Go
   • Base Form: They go to school every day.
   • Past Tense: They went to school yesterday.
   • Past Participle: They have gone to school every day this week.
3. Eat
   • Base Form: We eat dinner at 6 PM.
   • Past Tense: We ate dinner at 6 PM last night.
   • Past Participle: We have eaten dinner already.
4. Write
   • Base Form: She writes a letter.
   • Past Tense: She wrote a letter yesterday.
   • Past Participle: She has written many letters.
5. Take
   • Base Form: He takes the bus to work.
   • Past Tense: He took the bus to work yesterday.
   • Past Participle: He has taken the bus every day this week.
6. See
   • Base Form: I see the mountains from here.
   • Past Tense: I saw the mountains yesterday.
   • Past Participle: I have seen the mountains many times.
7. Buy
   • Base Form: They buy groceries every Saturday.
   • Past Tense: They bought groceries last Saturday.
   • Past Participle: They have bought groceries for the week.
8. Give
   • Base Form: She gives him a gift.
   • Past Tense: She gave him a gift yesterday.
   • Past Participle: She has given him many gifts.
9. Know
   • Base Form: We know the answer.
   • Past Tense: We knew the answer yesterday.
   • Past Participle: We have known the answer for a long time.
10. Read
    • Base Form: I read books every evening.
    • Past Tense: I read a book last night. (Note: pronunciation changes)
    • Past Participle: I have read many books.

Irregular Verbs for Kids

Here are some common irregular verbs, explained with simple examples to help kids understand:

1. Be
   • Base Form: I am happy.
   • Past Tense: I was happy yesterday.
   • Past Participle: I have been happy all day.
2. Go
   • Base Form: We go to the park.
   • Past Tense: We went to the park yesterday.
   • Past Participle: We have gone to the park many times.
3. Eat
   • Base Form: She eats an apple.
   • Past Tense: She ate an apple for lunch.
   • Past Participle: She has eaten an apple today.
4. See
   • Base Form: I see a bird.
   • Past Tense: I saw a bird this morning.
   • Past Participle: I have seen many birds.
5. Make
   • Base Form: He makes a cake.
   • Past Tense: He made a cake yesterday.
   • Past Participle: He has made a cake before.
6. Take
   • Base Form: They take a photo.
   • Past Tense: They took a photo last week.
   • Past Participle: They have taken many photos.
7. Read
   • Base Form: We read books.
   • Past Tense: We read a book yesterday. (Note: pronunciation changes)
   • Past Participle: We have read many books.
8. Run
   • Base Form: I run fast.
   • Past Tense: I ran fast yesterday.
   • Past Participle: I have run every day this week.
9. Sing
   • Base Form: She sings beautifully.
   • Past Tense: She sang beautifully at the concert.
   • Past Participle: She has sung many songs.
10. Write
    • Base Form: He writes a story.
    • Past Tense: He wrote a story last night.
    • Past Participle: He has written many stories.

Irregular Past Tense Verbs

Irregular past tense verbs do not follow the regular -ed ending pattern. Here is a list of common irregular verbs with their base form and past tense:

Base Form	Past Tense
arise	arose
be	was/were
become	became
begin	began
bend	bent
bet	bet
bite	bit
blow	blew
break	broke
bring	brought
build	built
buy	bought
catch	caught
choose	chose
come	came
cost	cost
cut	cut
dig	dug
do	did
draw	drew
drink	drank
drive	drove
eat	ate
fall	fell
feed	fed
feel	felt
fight	fought
find	found
fly	flew
forget	forgot
get	got
give	gave
go	went
grow	grew
hang	hung
have	had
hear	heard
hide	hid
hit	hit
hold	held
keep	kept
know	knew
lead	led
leave	left
lend	lent
let	let
lose	lost
make	made
meet	met
pay	paid
read	read (pronounced “red”)
ride	rode
ring	rang
rise	rose
run	ran
say	said
see	saw
sell	sold
send	sent
sing	sang
sit	sat
sleep	slept
speak	spoke
spend	spent
stand	stood
swim	swam
take	took
teach	taught
tell	told
think	thought
throw	threw
understand	understood
wake	woke
wear	wore
win	won
write	wrote

Regular Verbs vs. Irregular Verbs

Feature	Regular Verbs	Irregular Verbs
Definition	Verbs that form their past tense by adding -ed or -d to the base form.	Verbs that form their past tense in various ways, not following a single pattern.
Past Tense Formation	Add -ed or -d (e.g., walk → walked, love → loved).	Change the verb in unique ways (e.g., go → went, eat → ate).
Past Participle Formation	Typically the same as the past tense (e.g., walked, loved).	Can be different from the past tense (e.g., go → gone, eat → eaten).
Examples	Play → played, work → worked, live → lived	Begin → began → begun, see → saw → seen, run → ran → run
Number of Verbs	Most English verbs are regular.	A smaller subset of English verbs are irregular.
Learning Difficulty	Easier to learn due to the consistent pattern.	Harder to learn as each verb must be memorized individually.

How to Use Irregular Verbs

Using irregular verbs correctly involves understanding their different forms in various tenses. Here are some tips and examples to help you master irregular verbs:

Present Tense

In the present tense, irregular verbs behave like regular verbs. They change only for the third person singular form (he, she, it).

• Go
  • I go
  • You go
  • He/She/It goes
  • We go
  • They go

Past Tense

Irregular verbs change form completely in the past tense, and these changes must be memorized.

• Go
  • I went
  • You went
  • He/She/It went
  • We went
  • They went

Past Participle

The past participle form is used with perfect tenses and sometimes in passive voice constructions. It also often differs from the past tense form.

• Go
  • Present Perfect: I have gone
  • Past Perfect: I had gone
  • Future Perfect: I will have gone

Continuous Forms

The present and past continuous forms use the base form with “ing.”

• Go
  • Present Continuous: I am going, You are going, He/She/It is going, We are going, They are going
  • Past Continuous: I was going, You were going, He/She/It was going, We were going, They were going

Examples in Sentences

Be

• Present Tense: I am happy. You are excited. He is tired.
• Past Tense: I was happy. You were excited. He was tired.
• Past Participle: I have been happy. You have been excited. He has been tired.

Write

• Present Tense: I write letters. You write emails. She writes stories.
• Past Tense: I wrote a letter. You wrote an email. She wrote a story.
• Past Participle: I have written a letter. You have written an email. She has written a story.

See

• Present Tense: I see the stars. You see the moon. He sees the sun.
• Past Tense: I saw the stars. You saw the moon. He saw the sun.
• Past Participle: I have seen the stars. You have seen the moon. He has seen the sun.