Irregular Verbs

Illustration of Irregular Verbs
Irregular verbs are verbs that don’t follow the standard rule of adding -ed to form the past tense and past participle. Instead, they change in different ways or stay the same across tenses.

Irregular Verbs - Exercises

These exercises test different forms of IRREGULAR VERBS

 

Regular vs. Irregular Verbs

Type

Example

Regular Verb

Present: walk → Past: walked → Past Participle: walked

Irregular Verb

Present: go → Past: went → Past Participle: gone

List of Common Irregular Verbs

Here is a table of frequently used irregular verbs with their present, past, and past participle forms:

Base Form (Present)

Past Tense

Past Participle

Example Sentence

Arise

Arose

Arisen

"She arose early in the morning."

Awake

Awoke

Awoken

"He has awoken feeling refreshed."

Be

Was/Were

Been

"I have been to London before."

Bear

Bore

Borne/Born

"She has borne the pain bravely."

Beat

Beat

Beaten

"They have beaten the other team."

Become

Became

Become

"He has become a famous artist."

Begin

Began

Begun

"The movie has just begun."

Bend

Bent

Bent

"He bent the wire into a circle."

Bet

Bet

Bet

"She bet all her money on the race."

Bind

Bound

Bound

"He bound the books with string."

Bite

Bit

Bitten

"The dog has bitten the mailman."

Bleed

Bled

Bled

"He bled after cutting his hand."

Blow

Blew

Blown

"The wind has blown the leaves away."

Break

Broke

Broken

"The vase was accidentally broken."

Breed

Bred

Bred

"The rabbits were bred for research."

Bring

Brought

Brought

"She has brought a cake to the party."

Build

Built

Built

"They built the house in just three months."

Burn

Burnt/Burned

Burnt/Burned

"He has burned all the old papers."

Burst

Burst

Burst

"The pipe burst in the cold weather."

Buy

Bought

Bought

"They bought a new car last month."

Catch

Caught

Caught

"She caught a cold after walking in the rain."

Choose

Chose

Chosen

"He has chosen the blue jacket."

Come

Came

Come

"She has already come home."

Cost

Cost

Cost

"The dress cost too much money."

Cut

Cut

Cut

"He cut the paper into small pieces."

Deal

Dealt

Dealt

"He dealt with the problem effectively."

Dig

Dug

Dug

"They dug a hole for the new tree."

Do

Did

Done

"I have done my homework."

Draw

Drew

Drawn

"She has drawn a beautiful picture."

Dream

Dreamed/Dreamt

Dreamed/Dreamt

"He dreamt about flying last night."

Drink

Drank

Drunk

"She has drunk all the juice."

Drive

Drove

Driven

"I have driven this route many times."

Eat

Ate

Eaten

"He has eaten the entire cake."

Fall

Fell

Fallen

"The apples have fallen from the tree."

Feel

Felt

Felt

"She felt cold in the winter air."

Fight

Fought

Fought

"They fought bravely in the battle."

Find

Found

Found

"I found my missing keys under the sofa."

Fly

Flew

Flown

"The bird has flown away."

Forget

Forgot

Forgotten

"I have forgotten her name again!"

Forgive

Forgave

Forgiven

"He has forgiven her mistakes."

Freeze

Froze

Frozen

"The lake has frozen over."

Get

Got

Gotten/Got

"I have gotten a new job."

Give

Gave

Given

"She has given him a gift."

Go

Went

Gone

"He has gone to the market."

Grow

Grew

Grown

"The plant has grown taller overnight."

Hang

Hung

Hung

"He hung the painting on the wall."

Have

Had

Had

"She has had a busy day."

Hear

Heard

Heard

"I heard a strange noise last night."

Hide

Hid

Hidden

"He has hidden the treasure well."

Hold

Held

Held

"She held her baby tightly."

Keep

Kept

Kept

"He has kept his promise."

Know

Knew

Known

"She has known him for years."

Leave

Left

Left

"They left early for the meeting."

Lose

Lost

Lost

"I lost my phone yesterday."

Make

Made

Made

"She made a cake for the party."

Mean

Meant

Meant

"I meant no harm."

Meet

Met

Met

"I met her at the conference."

Pay

Paid

Paid

"He paid for the meal."

Ride

Rode

Ridden

"She has ridden a horse before."

Ring

Rang

Rung

"The phone has rung twice already."

Say

Said

Said

"She said hello to everyone."

See

Saw

Seen

"I have seen that movie."

Sell

Sold

Sold

"He sold his car last week."

Send

Sent

Sent

"She sent the email yesterday."

Speak

Spoke

Spoken

"He has spoken to the manager."

Take

Took

Taken

"She has taken her lunch."

Teach

Taught

Taught

"He taught them how to swim."

Tell

Told

Told

"She told me a funny story."

Think

Thought

Thought

"I thought about you yesterday."

Write

Wrote

Written

"She has written a new book."

Rules for Learning Irregular Verbs

  1. No Fixed Rules: Irregular verbs must be memorized because they don’t follow a consistent pattern.

  2. Focus on Common Verbs: Start with the most frequently used irregular verbs, such as be, go, come, do, say, have.

  3. Group by Patterns: Some irregular verbs share similarities in how they change. For example:

    • Verbs that stay the same: Cut – Cut – Cut

    • Verbs with identical past tense and past participle: Buy – Bought – Bought

    • Verbs that change completely: Go – Went – Gone

FAQ About Irregular Verbs

Why are some verbs irregular?

Irregular verbs are remnants of older English forms that didn’t follow modern regularization rules. Their unique forms have persisted over time.

Are all irregular verbs different in the past tense and past participle?

No, some irregular verbs have the same past tense and past participle forms (e.g., buy – bought – bought), while others stay the same in all forms (e.g., cut – cut – cut).

Can irregular verbs ever become regular?

Yes, over time, some verbs have become regular. For example, the past tense of "help" used to be "holp" but is now "helped."

Is there a trick to learning irregular verbs?

Grouping verbs with similar patterns, practicing with flashcards, and using them in sentences can help you remember them more easily.

Are irregular verbs used more often than regular verbs?

Yes, many of the most common verbs in English, like be, go, have, say, and do, are irregular, making them essential to learn.

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