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

No Fixed Rules: Irregular verbs must be memorized because they don’t follow a consistent pattern.
Focus on Common Verbs: Start with the most frequently used irregular verbs, such as be, go, come, do, say, have.
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.