Irregular Verbs

Irregular Verbs List

Difference between regular verbs and irregular verbs

Before delving into irregular verbs, it’s essential to provide a brief explanation of regular verbs. Regular verbs adhere to the standard rules of verb conjugation when forming the simple past tense or generating the past participle form of the verb. In both instances, the root form of the verb typically receives the addition of -ed, -d, or occasionally -t to create the simple past tense or construct a past participle. For instance, both the simple past tense and past participle of “climb” become “climbed.” The past participle is utilized in verb tenses such as the present perfect, past perfect, and future perfect, and it is coupled with the words “has,” “have,” “had,” and “will have.”

On the other hand, an irregular verb is characterized by having a past tense that does not conform to the typical -ed ending. So, how do we transform irregular verbs into the simple past tense or past participle? Well, this is where things become intricate. For instance, the simple past tense of the irregular verb “run” is “ran,” and the simple past tense of the irregular verb “take” is “took.” However, it doesn’t end there. The past participles of irregular verbs also deviate from the conventional rules. For example, the past participle of “run” remains “run,” and the past participle of “take” becomes “taken.”

Irregular verbs present one of the most challenging aspects of using verbs—and language in general. In most cases, there is no overarching rule or pattern to assist in conjugating an irregular verb. Instead, you’ll need to memorize how to conjugate each irregular verb as you encounter them—a true testament to the complexities of the English language! Fortunately, our comprehensive dictionary will aid you in identifying which verbs fall into the irregular category and provide details on the various forms associated with each one.

Irregular Verbs Examples

Download our printable PDF List of the 100 Most Common Irregular Verbs in English. 

Irregular Verbs that Don’t Change

Certain verbs maintain the same form when employed in both the past simple and past participle tenses. These verbs include:

• bet
• broadcast
• cut
• hit
• hurt
• let
• put
• quit
• read
• set
• shut
• spread

Most common irregular verbs in English: 

See, Go, Know, Get, Give, Find, Think, Say, Tell, Come, Run, Send, Win, Begin, Write, Steal, Speak, Swim 

Irregular Verb Rules 

Irregular verbs deviate from the standard grammatical rules for conjugating verbs in terms of tense and past participle. Instead, they have distinct forms for these grammatical aspects. In most cases, irregular verbs involve altering the internal vowel of the verb. For instance, “swim” transforms into “swam” and “swum.”

Irregular Verb Exercises

Complete the empty gaps with the correct irregular verb.

1. My cat jumped out of the swimming pool and _____________ himself, causing water to spray everywhere. (shake, shook, shaken)
2. You should have ______________ Tim’s face when she got her surprise. (saw, had seen, seen)
3. We _____________ the whole day lounging on the beach. (spend, spent, had spend)
4. Let’s _____________ a hike on Sunday. (take, took, taken)
5. My sister Julia ______________ her stinky socks on the coffee table. (leave, left, leaving)
6. This is the fifth time that pitcher has _____________ a foul ball (throw, threw, thrown)
7. The water balloon _____________ when it hit its target. (burst, busted, broken)
8. Jennifer intentionally ______________ gum in Justin’s hair. (stick, stuck, sticky)

Answers: 1 – shook, 2 – seen, 3 – spent, 4 – take, 5 – left, 6 – thrown, 7- burst, 8 – stuck

Improper Verbs

An improper verb can be used as an irregular verb. Improper verbs are verbs that deviate from the conventional conjugation patterns observed in regular verbs. Each improper verb exhibits a distinctive approach to expressing the simple past and past participle forms.

Non regular verbs