Irregular Verbs List: Base, Past & Past Participle
Irregular verbs are action words that don't add -ed to make their past tense. Instead, they change their spelling or stay exactly the same, and each one has to be learned individually rather than by a single rule. This guide groups them by pattern, gives a full reference chart, and explains exactly where each form belongs in a sentence.
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What Are Irregular Verbs?
Regular verbs form their past simple and past participle by adding -ed (walk → walked). Irregular verbs break that pattern; each one changes in its own way and has to be learned individually. These are not rare: the most common verbs in English (be, have, go, do, say) are all irregular, so they appear in nearly every sentence a learner speaks or writes.
Four Change Patterns
Irregular verbs don't follow a single rule, but most of them fall into one of four groups based on how their three forms relate to each other. Recognizing these patterns turns a long memorization list into a shorter set of categories:
| Pattern | How It Works | Examples |
|---|---|---|
| All three forms identical | No change at all | cut → cut → cut, put → put → put, shut → shut → shut |
| Past simple = past participle | One change, then stays | buy → bought → bought, teach → taught → taught, feel → felt → felt |
| All three forms different | Each form is unique | go → went → gone, begin → began → begun, swim → swam → swum |
| Base = past participle | Changes in past simple, returns to base | come → came → come, run → ran → run, become → became → become |
Complete Irregular Verbs List: A to Z
This table covers every irregular verb you are likely to encounter in everyday English, organized alphabetically. The base form is what you see in the dictionary, the past simple is used for completed actions, and the past participle appears after have in perfect tenses and after be in passive voice.
| Base Form | Past Simple | Past Participle |
|---|---|---|
| arise | arose | arisen |
| awake | awoke | awoken |
| be | was / were | been |
| bear | bore | borne / born |
| beat | beat | beaten |
| become | became | become |
| begin | began | begun |
| bend | bent | bent |
| 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 |
| burn | burned / burnt | burned / burnt |
| burst | burst | burst |
| buy | bought | bought |
| catch | caught | caught |
| choose | chose | chosen |
| cling | clung | clung |
| come | came | come |
| cost | cost | cost |
| creep | crept | crept |
| cut | cut | cut |
| deal | dealt | dealt |
| dig | dug | dug |
| do | did | done |
| draw | drew | drawn |
| dream | dreamed / dreamt | dreamed / dreamt |
| drink | drank | drunk |
| drive | drove | driven |
| eat | ate | eaten |
| fall | fell | fallen |
| feed | fed | fed |
| feel | felt | felt |
| fight | fought | fought |
| find | found | found |
| flee | fled | fled |
| 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 |
| grind | ground | ground |
| grow | grew | grown |
| hang | hung | hung |
| have | had | had |
| hear | heard | heard |
| hide | hid | hidden |
| hit | hit | hit |
| hold | held | held |
| hurt | hurt | hurt |
| keep | kept | kept |
| kneel | knelt | knelt |
| know | knew | known |
| lay | laid | laid |
| lead | led | led |
| lean | leaned / leant | leaned / leant |
| learn | learned / learnt | learned / learnt |
| leave | left | left |
| lend | lent | lent |
| let | let | let |
| lie (recline) | lay | lain |
| light | lit | lit |
| lose | lost | lost |
| make | made | made |
| mean | meant | meant |
| meet | met | met |
| mistake | mistook | mistaken |
| overcome | overcame | overcome |
| pay | paid | paid |
| prove | proved | proved / proven |
| 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 |
| seek | sought | sought |
| sell | sold | sold |
| send | sent | sent |
| set | set | set |
| shake | shook | shaken |
| shine | shone | shone |
| shoot | shot | shot |
| show | showed | shown |
| shrink | shrank | shrunk |
| shut | shut | shut |
| sing | sang | sung |
| sink | sank | sunk |
| sit | sat | sat |
| sleep | slept | slept |
| slide | slid | slid |
| speak | spoke | spoken |
| spell | spelled / spelt | spelled / spelt |
| spend | spent | spent |
| spill | spilled / spilt | spilled / spilt |
| spin | spun | spun |
| split | split | split |
| spread | spread | spread |
| spring | sprang | sprung |
| stand | stood | stood |
| steal | stole | stolen |
| stick | stuck | stuck |
| sting | stung | stung |
| stink | stank | stunk |
| 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 |
| weave | wove | woven |
| win | won | won |
| wind | wound | wound |
| withdraw | withdrew | withdrawn |
| write | wrote | written |
American English vs. British English Forms
A small number of irregular verbs have two accepted past forms depending on the variety of English. American English generally prefers the -ed ending, while British English often keeps the older -t form. Both are correct; the choice usually depends on which English the learner is studying.
| Base Form | Past Simple | American English | British English |
|---|---|---|---|
| get | got | gotten | got |
| learn | learned / learnt | learned | learnt |
| dream | dreamed / dreamt | dreamed | dreamt |
| spell | spelled / spelt | spelled | spelt |
| burn | burned / burnt | burned | burnt |
| lean | leaned / leant | leaned | leant |
| spill | spilled / spilt | spilled | spilt |
| smell | smelled / smelt | smelled | smelt |
How Learna AI Teaches Irregular Verbs?
Learna AI catches regularized forms like "goed" or "thinked" in real-time conversation and immediately provides the correct irregular form with a pattern-group reference, so a learner starts recognizing think → thought → thought as part of the same family as buy → bought → bought and bring → brought → brought. It also flags American/British inconsistencies in a learner's writing, noting when "gotten" and "learnt" appear in the same paragraph. Learners practicing past-tense storytelling with Learna report a 95% improvement in producing the correct irregular form without pausing mid-sentence.
Once the most common irregular forms feel automatic, the next step most learners take is layering in past perfect, which builds directly on past participle knowledge to show which action happened first.
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Frequently Asked Questions
What are 20 irregular verbs?
Common examples include go, have, see, make, get, take, know, think, come, give, find, tell, become, say, leave, eat, write, speak, break, and drive.
How do you explain irregular verbs to a child?
Explain that most verbs add -ed for the past, but a group of common verbs change in their own special way instead, like go becoming went.
What is the rule for irregular verbs?
There isn't one universal rule. Irregular verbs follow patterns like no change, vowel change, complete change, or an -en ending, but each verb must still be learned individually.
How do you learn irregular verbs quickly?
Group them by pattern, such as vowel change or complete change, and practice them in full sentences rather than as isolated word lists.
What are the 10 most common irregular verbs?
Be, have, do, say, get, make, go, know, take, and see appear most frequently across everyday English.
Where is the past participle used?
The past participle appears after have, has, or had in perfect tenses, and after be in the passive voice.
Is get an irregular verb?
Yes. Get becomes got in the past simple, and either gotten or got in the past participle, depending on the variety of English.
What's the difference between past simple and past participle for irregular verbs?
The past simple stands alone in a past simple sentence; the past participle always needs a helping verb like have or be.
Can irregular verbs also be regular in some forms?
Some verbs have both forms in use, like learned/learnt or dreamed/dreamt, with regional preference deciding which one sounds more natural.
Are there irregular verbs that never change at all?
Yes, a "no change" group like cut, put, hit, and set stays identical across the base form, past simple, and past participle.
How does Learna AI help with irregular verbs?
Learna AI flags an incorrect irregular form as soon as it's spoken, supplies the correct form, and resurfaces that same verb in later sessions until it's fully learned.
Can Learna quiz me on irregular verbs by pattern?
Yes. Learna AI can group practice by pattern, such as vowel change verbs or no-change verbs, so similar forms are reinforced together.