Introduction
In English, most verbs form their past tense by adding "-ed" to the base form. However, irregular verbs don't follow this pattern, and their past tense forms can vary widely. Irregular verbs must be memorized because they do not follow predictable rules.
Common Irregular Verbs
The table below lists some of the most common irregular verbs along with their base form, past tense, and past participle.
| Base Form | Past Tense | Past Participle |
|---|---|---|
| be | was/were | been |
| become | became | become |
| begin | began | begun |
| break | broke | broken |
| bring | brought | brought |
| build | built | built |
| buy | bought | bought |
| choose | chose | chosen |
| come | came | come |
| do | did | done |
| drink | drank | drunk |
| drive | drove | driven |
| eat | ate | eaten |
| fall | fell | fallen |
| feel | felt | felt |
| find | found | found |
| fly | flew | flown |
| forget | forgot | forgotten |
| get | got | gotten |
| give | gave | given |
| go | went | gone |
| grow | grew | grown |
| have | had | had |
| hear | heard | heard |
| hide | hid | hidden |
| know | knew | known |
| leave | left | left |
| lose | lost | lost |
| make | made | made |
| meet | met | met |
| pay | paid | paid |
| put | put | put |
| read | read | read |
| ride | rode | ridden |
| ring | rang | rung |
| run | ran | run |
| say | said | said |
| see | saw | seen |
| sell | sold | sold |
| send | sent | sent |
| sing | sang | sung |
| sit | sat | sat |
| sleep | slept | slept |
| speak | spoke | spoken |
| spend | spent | spent |
| stand | stood | stood |
| steal | stole | stolen |
| swim | swam | swum |
| take | took | taken |
| teach | taught | taught |
| tell | told | told |
| think | thought | thought |
| throw | threw | thrown |
| understand | understood | understood |
| wake | woke | woken |
| wear | wore | worn |
| win | won | won |
| write | wrote | written |
Patterns and Examples
1. No Change in Form
Some irregular verbs have the same form in the base, past tense, and past participle.
- Example:
- Cut: cut (past), cut (past participle)
- Put: put (past), put (past participle)
2. Vowel Changes
Many irregular verbs change their vowel sound in the past tense and past participle.
- Example:
- Begin: began (past), begun (past participle)
- Drink: drank (past), drunk (past participle)
3. Completely Different Forms
Some irregular verbs have completely different forms in the past tense and past participle.
- Example:
- Go: went (past), gone (past participle)
- Be: was/were (past), been (past participle)
Conclusion
Irregular verbs are an essential part of English grammar. While they don't follow a consistent pattern, understanding common irregular verbs and their forms will improve your speaking and writing skills.