Irregular Verbs in English

The irregular verbs ( irregular verbs ) have a different formation of regular verbs.

The regulars follow the pattern of flexion formation in the tenses Simple Past and Past Participle , that is, the -ed particle is added to the infinitive verb.

The irregulars, in turn, have their own training for the inflections of the tenses Simple Past and Past Participle. This formation bears no resemblance to the infinitive of the verb.

Difference between regular and irregular verb

Check out the examples below:

Regular verb example: to play

• John play ed soccer yesterday. (John played football yesterday.)
• We have play ed basketball for five years. (We played basketball for five years.)

Note that the flexion spelling is formed with the infinitive play + particle -ed

Irregular verb example: to go

• John went to school yesterday. (John went to school yesterday).
• We have go ne to that same school for six years. (We went to that same school for six years).

Note that, in the last sentence, the flexion has its own spelling, that is, its formation is not caused by the junction of the infinitive go + particle -ed .

Although not the vast majority, irregular verbs are widely used in the English language. Therefore, check below a table with the main irregular verbs in English.

List of irregular English verbs

Infinitive	Simple Past	Past Participle	Translation
abide	abode	abode	stay, survive
arise	arose	arisen	rise, arise
awake	awoke	awoken	wake up, wake up
be	was / were	been	to be
bear	bore	born	born, produce
beat	beat	beaten	hit
become	became	become	become, transform
begin	began	begun	begin
bet	bet	bet	to bet
break	broke	broken	break, break
bid	bid	bid	make an offer (bet)
bind	bound	bound	unite, connect
bite	bit	bitten	to bite
bleed	bled	bled	to bleed
break	broke	broken	to break
bring	brought	brought	bring, execute
build	built	built	build, manufacture
buy	bought	bought	purchase
catch	Pego	Pego	take
choose	chose	chosen	choose, prefer
eats	cam	eats	come, arrive
cost	cost	cost	to cost
cut	cut	cut	cut
of	did	done	do, care, work
draw	drew	drawn	draw, trace
drink	drank	drunk	drink
drive	drove	driven	drive, guide
eat	up until	eaten	eat, chew
fall	fell	fallen	fall down
feed	fed	fed	feed, nourish
feel	felt	felt	feel, perceive
fight	fought	fought	fight, fight
find	found	found	find, discover
fly	flew	flown	fly
forbid	forbade	forbidden	prohibit, prevent
forget	forgot	forgotten	forget
forgive	forgave	forgiven	forgive, excuse
freeze	froze	frozen	Freeze
get	got	gotten	receive, get, get
give	gave	given	give, deliver
go	went	gone	go, leave
grow	grew	grown	grow up
have	had	had	have, possess
hear	heard	heard	hear listen
hide	hid	hidden	hide, hide
hit	hit	hit	hit
hold	held	held	to hold
hurt	hurt	hurt	hurt, hurt
keep	kept	kept	keep, keep
know	knew	known	know, know
lead	led	led	command, guide
learn	learned	learned	learn, study
leave	left	left	leave, leave, leave
legend	lent	lent	lend
lie	lay	lain	to lay
lose	lost	lost	lose, waste
make	made	made	do, create
mean	meant	meant	think, mean
meet	met	met	know, find
pay	paid	paid	pay, pay off
put	put	put	put, put
read	read	read	read, learn
ride	run	ridden	walk, walk
ring	rang	rung	ring (bell, phone)
run	ran	run	run
say	said	said	say, tell
see	saw	seen	see, observe
sell	sold	sold	sell, negotiate
send	sent	sent	send, send
set	set	set	define, configure, mark, adjust
shake	shook	shaken	shake, shake, shake
shine	shone	shone	shine
shoot	shot	shot	shoot, shoot, photograph, film
show	showed	shown	Show
shut	shut	shut	close
sing	sang	sung	sing
sit	sat	sat	to sit
sleep	slept	slept	sleep, rest
slide	slid	slid	slip, slide
speak	spoke	spoken	Speak, tell
spend	spent	spent	spend, spend (vacation, holiday)
stand	stood	stood	stand / stand
steal	stole	stolen	to steal
swear	swore	sworn	to swear
swim	swam	swum	swim
take	took	taken	take, take
teach	taught	taught	teach
tell	told	told	tell, know
think	thought	thought	think, believe
throw	threw	thrown	throw, throw
understand	understood	understood	understand
wake	woke	waked	wake up, wake up
wear	wore	worn	use, wear
win	won	won	win, get
write	wrote	written	write, write down

Examples

To better understand irregular verbs in English, check out some example sentences below:

• We made this gift for you. (We made this gift for you.)
• He even many pieces of cake. (He ate many slices of cake.)
• My pencil fell beneath my chair. (My pen fell under my chair).
• I went to Brazil by plane last month. (I flew to Brazil last month.)
• The child picked up a pencil and drew a tree. (The child took a pencil and drew a tree.)
• The teacher began the debate by asking a question about culture. (The teacher started the debate with a question about culture.)
• I forgot to put a stamp on the envelope. (I forgot to put a stamp on the envelope.)
• The child hid a toy under a pile of books. (The child hid a toy under a pile of books.)
• She became nervous and gave a confused speech. (She got nervous and gave a confused speech.)
• Joana chose the red dress because it was cheaper. (Joana chose the red dress because it was cheaper.)

Tip

The best way to learn the forms of irregular English verbs is to practice and exercise. The use of these forms in different situations is more efficient than simply the “decorate” method.

Therefore, consulting the list above when necessary is an interesting way to memorize the formations of each one. In time, this will become natural.

Exercises

Now that you have learned about irregular verbs, test your knowledge by doing the exercises below:

1 . (Fuvest) She did not tell me the truth. She __________ to me.

a) lie
b) lain
c) laid
d) lay
e) lied

Answer

alternative e) lied

2 . (Unesp) Brazil __________ last year’s world soccer championship.

a) win
b) won
c) wins
d) to win
e) winning

Answer

alternative b) won

3 . (Unesp-1997) John __________ add me money last week.

a) sends
b) send
c) sent
d) sending
e) to send

Answer

alternative c) sent

4 . (Mackenzie-2000) Check the alternative that correctly fills in the gaps I, II and III of the following sentences:

He __________ (I) me in favor 2 months ago.
They __________ (II) an attempt to escape.
I __________ (III) an important decision last night.

a) did – made – made
b) made – did – made
c) did – made – did
d) made – made – made
e) made – did – did

Answer

alternative a) did – made – made