Top 10 Irregular Verbs in English

10 Most Popular Irregular Verbs

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The top 10 irregular verbs in English are:

see, say, go, come, know, get, give, become, find, and think.

This list does not include be, have, and do, which can be main verbs or auxiliary verbs.

Table of Contents

An Overview of Irregular Verbs
The Five Forms of the Verbs
The Full Conjugation in All 12 Tenses (Interactive)
Multi-choice Test
Learn with Hangman!

An Overview of Irregular Verbs

Unlike regular verbs, irregular verbs do not follow a specific pattern when it comes to forming the past tense and past participle forms. Although the rules governing the formation of irregular verbs may seem daunting at first, mastering them is an essential part of learning English. Many common verbs are irregular verbs.

The Five Forms of the Verbs

Here are the five forms for each of the top 10 regular verbs. Notice that they do not follow the standard pattern when forming their past forms and past-participle forms, which the reason they are called irregular verbs. Read more about regular verbs and their spelling rules.

base form	-s form	past form	-ing form	past-participle form
see	sees	saw	seeing	seen
say	says	said	saying	said
go	goes	went	going	gone
come	comes	came	coming	come
know	knows	known	knowing	known
get	gets	got	getting	got / gotten
give	gives	gave	giving	given
become	becomes	became	becoming	become
find	finds	found	finding	found
think	thinks	thought	thinking	thought

What are these forms?

Base form. The base form (also called the infinitive form) is the version of the verb without any endings (endings such as -s, -ing, and -ed). It is typically used after helping verbs (e.g., should know, must find) and to give commands (e.g., look!).
-s form. The -s form (also called the third-person-singular form) is used in the present tense with he, she, and it (e.g., he gives, she thinks) and singular nouns (e.g., the dog sees, the girl goes).
Past form. The past form is the same as the simple past tense (e.g., Janet found, she gave).
-ing form. The -ing form (also called the present-participle form) is a form used as an adjective (e.g., given eye) or for verb tense (e.g., She has found).
Past-participle form. The past-participle form, which has no alternative name, is a form used as an adjective (e.g., known problem) or for verb tense (e.g., They have given).

The Full Conjugation in All 12 Tenses (Interactive)

Click on a verb to see how it conjugates in the 12 tenses.

All 4 Past Tenses

Person	Simple Past	Past Progressive Tense	Past Perfect Tense	Past Perfect Progressive Tense
I you he/she/it we you they	past tense past tense past tense past tense past tense past tense The simple past tense is for a completed activity that happened in the past.	was present participle were present participle was present participle were present participle were present participle were present participle The past progressive tense is for an ongoing activity in the past. Often, it is used to set the scene for another action.	had past participle had past participle had past participle had past participle had past participle had past participle The past perfect tense is for emphasizing that an action was completed before another took place.	had been present participle had been present participle had been present participle had been present participle had been present participle had been present participle The past perfect progressive tense is for showing that an ongoing action in the past has ended.

All 4 Present Tenses

Person	Simple Present	Present Progressive Tense	Present Perfect Tense	Present Perfect Progressive Tense
I you he/she/it we you they	base form base form 3rd pers sing present base form base form base form The simple present tense is mostly for a fact or a habit.	am present participle are present participle is present participle are present participle are present participle are present participle The present progressive tense is for an ongoing action in the present.	have past participle have past participle has past participle have past participle have past participle have past participle The present perfect tense is for an action that began in the past. (Often, the action continues into the present.)	have been present participle have been present participle has been present participle have been present participle have been present participle have been present participle The present perfect progressive tense is for a continuous activity that began in the past and continues into the present (or finished very recently).

All 4 Future Tenses

Person	Simple Future	Future Progressive Tense	Future Perfect Tense	Future Perfect Progressive Tense
I you he/she/it we you they	will base form will base form will base form will base form will base form will base form The simple future tense is for an action that will occur in the future.	will be present participle will be present participle will be present participle will be present participle will be present participle will be present participle The future progressive tense is for an ongoing action that will occur in the future.	will have past participle will have past participle will have past participle will have past participle will have past participle will have past participle The future perfect tense is for an action that will have been completed at some point in the future.	will have been present participle will have been present participle will have been present participle will have been present participle will have been present participle will have been present participle The future perfect progressive tense is for an ongoing action that will be completed at some specified time in the future.

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Here is a little more detail for each irregular verb:

see, say, go, come, know, get, give, become, find, and think

Learn with Hangman!

Hangman is a classic word game. In this version, the hidden word is a regular verb (not necessarily form this list). Choose your first letter to start.

Guess the hidden verb by choosing one letter at a time.
If you guess a letter in the hidden verb, then all is good.
If you guess a letter that is not in the hidden verb, then the hangman starts to build the gallows.
If the gallows are completed, you lose.
Good luck!

Create Your Own Version of This Game

Here is the word library for this game:

abide, alight, arise, awake, be, bear, beat, become, begin, behold, bend, bet, bid, bid, bind, bite, bleed, blow, break, breed, bring, broadcast, build, burn, burst, bust, buy, cast, catch, choose, clap, cling, clothe, come, cost, creep, cut, dare, deal, dig, dive, do, draw, dream, drink, drive, dwell, eat, fall, feed, feel, fight, find, fit, flee, fling, fly, forbid, forecast, foresee, foretell, forget, forgive, forsake, freeze, get, give, go, grind, grow, handwrite, hang, have, hear, hide, hit, hold, hurt, inlay, input, keep, kneel, knit, know, lay, lead, lean, leap, learn, leave, lend, let, lie, light, lose, make, mean, meet, melt, mislead, mistake, misunderstand, mow, overhear, overtake, pay, preset, prove, put, quit, read, rid, ride, ring, rise, rive, run, saw, say, see, seek, sell, send, set, sew, shake, shave, shear, shed, shine, shoe, shoot, show, shrink, shut, sing, sink, sit, slay, sleep, slide, sling, slink, slit, smell, sneak, sow, speak, speed, spell, spend, spill, spin, spit, split, spoil, spread, spring, stand, steal, stick, sting, stink, stride, strike, string, strip, strive, sublet, swear, sweat, sweep, swell, swim, swing, take, teach, tear, tell, think, thrive, throw, thrust, tread, undergo, understand, undertake, upset, wake, wear, weave, wed, weep, wend, wet, win, wind, withdraw, withhold, withstand, wring, write