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Irregular Verbs
What Are Irregular Verbs?
An irregular verb is one that does not form its simple past tense or its past participle by adding "-ed" or "-d" to the base form.Irregular verbs contrast with regular verbs, which form the simple past tense and past participle by adding "-ed" or "-d."
Let's compare an irregular verb to a regular verb:
Irregular Verb | Simple Past Test | Past Participle |
---|---|---|
arise | arose | arisen |
Regular Verb | Simple Past Test | Past Participle |
jump | jumped | has jumped |
- Alan forgot the balloon.
- Sarah froze the fish.
- Oops, I have forgotten the balloons.
- Buy frozen fish.
Table of Contents
- Find the Irregular Verb Test
- Spell the Irregular Verbs Test
- Irregular Verbs Are Common
- Irregular Verbs vs Regular Verbs
- The Most Common Irregular Verbs
- Verbs with Irregular and Regular Forms
- Irregular Verbs That Don't Change
- Irregular Verbs Can Be Strong or Weak Verbs
- Why Irregular Verbs Are Important
- Printable Test

Find the Irregular Verb Test
It's your go! Select the irregular verb.(Hint: Find the verb whose past forms do not end "-ed" or "-d.")
Spell the Irregular Verbs Test
Click on the green letters to spell the past tense and then the past participle of the irregular verb shown.Irregular Verb | |
---|---|
Past Tense | Past Participle |
Irregular Verbs Are Common
Ironically, the most commonly used verbs in English are all irregular:Base Form | Simple Past Tense | Past Participle |
---|---|---|
be | was/were | has been |
come | came | has come |
do | did | has done |
get | got | has got (![]() gotten ( ![]() |
go | went | has gone |
have | had | has had |
know | knew | has known |
make | made | has made |
say | said | has said |
see | saw | has seen |
take | took | has taken |
think | thought | has thought |
Irregular Verb | Simple Past Tense | Past Participle |
---|---|---|
begin | began | has begun |
break | broke | has broken |
buy | bought | has bought |
Irregular Verbs vs Regular Verbs
Compare the past forms of the irregular verbs above with the past forms of these regular verbs. Notice that the regular verbs add just "-ed" or "-d":Regular Verb | Simple Past Tense | Past Participle |
---|---|---|
cook | cooked | has cooked |
play | played | has played |
dance | danced | has danced |
The Most Common Irregular Verbs
The most common irregular verbs in English are be, have, and do. Aside from these three (which deserve a special status for being both main or auxiliary verbs), the top 10 irregular verbs in English are:- see, say, go, come, know, get, give, become, find, and think.
Irregular Verb | Past Simple | Past Participle |
---|---|---|
arise | arose | arisen |
be | was/were | been |
beat | beat | beaten |
become | became | become |
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 |
buy | bought | bought |
catch | caught | caught |
choose | chose | 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 |
fight | fought | fought |
find | found | found |
fly | flew | flown |
forbid | forbade | forbidden |
forget | forgot | forgotten |
forgive | forgave | forgiven |
freeze | froze | frozen |
get | got | got (![]() gotten ( ![]() |
give | gave | given |
go | went | gone |
grow | grew | grown |
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 | 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 |
sell | sold | sold |
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 |
strike | struck | struck |
swear | swore | sworn |
sweep | swept | swept |
swim | swam | swum |
swing | swung | swung |
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 |
win | won | won |
withdraw | withdrew | withdrawn |
write | wrote | written |
Verbs with Irregular and Regular Forms
The following verbs can be regular or irregular:Verb | Past Simple | Past Participle |
---|---|---|
burn | burned OR burnt | burned OR burnt |
dream | dreamed OR dreamt | dreamed OR dreamt |
learn | learned OR learnt | learned OR learnt |
hang | hung also hanged | hung also hanged |
smell | smelled OR smelt | smelled OR smelt |
spell | spelled OR spelt | spelled OR spelt |
Irregular Verbs That Don't Change
Some irregular verbs do not change their forms for the simple past tense and the past participle:Verb | Past Simple | Past Participle |
---|---|---|
bet | bet | bet |
broadcast | broadcast | broadcast |
cut | cut | cut |
hit | hit | hit |
hurt | hurt | hurt |
let | let | let |
put | put | put |
quit | quit | quit |
read | read | read |
set | set | set |
shut | shut | shut |
spread | spread | spread |
Irregular Verbs Can Be Strong or Weak Verbs
An irregular verb can be either a weak verb (when its past forms end "-d" or "-t") or a strong verb. Here are some examples of strong and weak irregular verbs:Base Form | Simple Past Tense | Past Participle | comment |
---|---|---|---|
grow | grew | has grown | irregular verb (strong) |
freeze | froze | has frozen | irregular verb (strong) |
tell | told | has told | irregular verb (weak) |
shoot | shot | has shot | irregular verb (weak) |
Infographic Explaining Strong, Weak, Regular, and Irregular Verbs
The terms "irregular verb" and "strong verb" are not synonyms (i.e., they do not mean the same). Similarly, the terms "regular verb" and "weak verb" are not synonyms.Here is a Venn diagram that explains how verbs are classified:

Good luck!
- Irregular verbs are a pain, but you must learn them. Flash cards are a good option.
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