irregular verbs

1 common irregular verbs
This is a list of the more common irregular verbs. Students should check that they know all of them. For a complete list, see a good dictionary.
Infinitive
Simple past
Past participle
arise
arose
arisen
awake
awoke
awoken
be
was, were
been
bear
bore
born(e)
beat
beat
beaten
become
became
become
begin
began
begun
bend
bent
bent
bet
bet, betted
bet, betted
bind
bound
bound
bite
bit
bitten
bleed
bled
bled
blow
blew
blown
break
broke
broken
bring
brought
brought
broadcast
broadcast
broadcast
build
built
built
burn
burnt/burned
burnt/burned
burst
burst
burst
buy
bought
bought
catch
caught
caught
choose
chose
chosen
come
came
come
cost
cost
cost
cut
cut
cut
deal
dealt /delt/
dealt /delt/
dig
dug
dug
do
did
done
draw
drew
drawn
dream
dreamt /dremt/
dreamt /dremt/
dreamed /dri:md/
dreamed /driimd/
drink
drank
drunk
drive
drove
driven
eat
ate /et/
eaten /’i:tan/
fall
fell
fallen
feed
fed
fed
feel
felt
felt
fight
fought
fought
find
found
found
fly
flew
flown
Infinitive
Simple past
forbid
forbade
forget
forgot
forgive
forgave
freeze
froze
get
got
give
gave
go
went
grow
grew
hang
hung
have
had
hear
heard /h3:d/
hide
hid
hit
hit
hold
held
hurt
hurt
keep
kept
kneel
knelt
know
knew
lay
laid
lead
led
lean
leant/leaned
learn
learnt/learned
leave
left
lend
lent
let
let
lie
lay
light
lit/lighted
lose
lost
make
made
mean
meant /ment/
meet
met
pay
paid
put
put
quit
quit/quitted
read /ri:d/
read /red/
ride
rode
ring
rang
rise
rose
run
ran
say
said /sed/
see
saw
sell
sold
send
sent
set
set
Past participle
forbidden
forgotten
forgiven
frozen
got
given
gone/been
grown
hung
had
heard/h3:d/
hidden
hit
held
hurt
kept
knelt
known
laid
led
leant/leaned
learnt/learned
left
lent
let
lain
lit/lighted
lost
made
meant /ment/ met
paid
put
quit/quitted
read /red/
ridden
rung
risen
run
said /sed/ seen sold sent
set
Infinitive
Simple past
shake
shook
shine
shone /Jnn/
shoot
shot
show
showed
shrink
shrank/shrunk
shut
shut
sing
sang
sink
sank
sit
sat
sleep
slept
slide
slid
smell
smelt/smelled
speak
spoke
speed
sped
spell
spelt/spelled
spend
spent
spill
spilt/spilled
spin
span/spun
spit
spat
split
split
spoil
spoilt/spoiled
spread
spread
stand
stood
steal
stole
stick
stuck
sting
stung
strike
struck
swear
swore
sweep
swept
swing
swung
swim
swam
take
took
teach
taught
tear
tore
tell
told
think
thought
throw
threw
understand
understood
wake
woke
wear
wore
win
won
wind /waind/
wound /waund/
write
wrote
Past participle
shaken
shone /Jnn/
shot
shown
shrunk
shut
sung
sunk
sat
slept
slid
smelt/smelled
spoken
sped
spelt/spelled
spent
spilt/spilled spun spat split
spoilt/spoiled
spread
stood
stolen
stuck
stung
struck
sworn
swept
swung
swum
taken
taught
torn
told
thought
thrown
understood
woken
worn
won
wound /waond/ written
verbs that are easily confused
fell
felt
filled
found
Infinitive Simple past
fall
feel
fill
find
founded
(= get back something lost) found
(= start up an organisation or institution)
flowed
flow
flew
(of a liquid = move) fly
(= move in the air)
lay
(= put down flat)
lie lay
(= be down)
lie lied
(= say things that are not true)
For more details of these three verbs, see lay and lie.
left
lived
raised
rose
struck
stroked
laid
leave
live
raise
(= put up) rise
(= go/get up)
strike (= hit) stroke
(= pass the hand gently over)
wound /waund/
wind /waind/
wounded
(= turn, tighten a spring etc) wound /wu:nd/
(= injure in a battle)
Past participle
fallen
felt
filled
found
founded
flowed
flown
laid
lain
lied
left
lived
raised
risen
struck • stroked
wound /waund/ wounded
3 notes
•
Says is pronounced /sez/.
• The old past participle drunken is used as an adjective in some expressions (e.g. a drunken argument, drunken driving), but these are not very common.
• Prove (regular) has an irregular past participle proven which is sometimes used instead of proved, especially as an adjective (e.g. a proven liar).
• Speed can also have regular forms, especially in the expression speeded up.
• Sung and sunk are sometimes used instead of sang and sank.
• Burn, dream, lean, learn, smell, spell, spill and spoil are all regular in American English. In British English, irregular past tenses and participles with -t are also common.
• Dive is regular in British English, but can be irregular in American: dive – dived/dove (Vdouv/) – dived
• Fit and quit are usually irregular in American English.
• The American past participle of get is either got or gotten (see hardly, scarcely and no sooner.7).
• Spit has both spit and spat as past tense and participle in American English.
• Note the standard AmE pronunciations of ate (/eit/) and shone (/Joun/).
irregular verbs
• list of common examples see irregular verbs