Mastering Irregular Verbs

Irregular verbs are a unique and essential part of English grammar. Unlike regular verbs, which follow a predictable pattern when forming their past tense and past participle forms, irregular verbs have unique forms that must be memorized. In this lesson, we’ll explore what irregular verbs are, why they matter, and how to use them correctly in sentences. By the end, you’ll have a solid understanding of irregular verbs and be able to use them confidently in your writing and speaking.

Introduction to Irregular Verbs

Definition of Irregular Verbs

Irregular verbs are verbs that do not follow the standard rules for forming their past tense and past participle forms. While regular verbs typically add -ed to form the past tense (e.g., “walk” → “walked”), irregular verbs have unique forms that must be memorized. For example, the verb “go” changes to “went” in the past tense and “gone” in the past participle. Irregular verbs are common in English, and mastering them is essential for accurate communication.

Comparison with Regular Verbs

Regular verbs follow a predictable pattern:

• Base Form: walk
• Past Tense: walked
• Past Participle: walked

Irregular verbs, on the other hand, do not follow this pattern:

• Base Form: go
• Past Tense: went
• Past Participle: gone

Importance of Mastering Irregular Verbs

Irregular verbs are used frequently in everyday speech and writing. Using them correctly helps you sound more fluent and natural. For example, saying “She went to the store” instead of “She goed to the store” makes your sentence grammatically correct and easier to understand. Mastering irregular verbs is crucial for effective communication and building confidence in English.

Common Irregular Verbs

Below is a table of common irregular verbs with their base form, past tense, and past participle. Memorizing these forms will help you use irregular verbs correctly in sentences.

#	Base Form	Past Simple	Past Participle
1	arise	arose	arisen
2	awake	awoke	awoken
3	be	was/were	been
4	bear	bore	borne
5	beat	beat	beaten
6	become	became	become
7	begin	began	begun
8	bend	bent	bent
9	bet	bet	bet
10	bind	bound	bound
11	bite	bit	bitten
12	bleed	bled	bled
13	blow	blew	blown
14	break	broke	broken
15	bring	brought	brought
16	build	built	built
17	burn	burnt/burned	burnt/burned
18	buy	bought	bought
19	catch	caught	caught
20	choose	chose	chosen
21	come	came	come
22	cost	cost	cost
23	cut	cut	cut
24	deal	dealt	dealt
25	dig	dug	dug
26	do	did	done
27	draw	drew	drawn
28	dream	dreamt/dreamed	dreamt/dreamed
29	drink	drank	drunk
30	drive	drove	driven
31	eat	ate	eaten
32	fall	fell	fallen
33	feed	fed	fed
34	feel	felt	felt
35	fight	fought	fought
36	find	found	found
37	flee	fled	fled
38	fly	flew	flown
39	forget	forgot	forgotten
40	forgive	forgave	forgiven
41	freeze	froze	frozen
42	get	got	gotten/got
43	give	gave	given
44	go	went	gone
45	grow	grew	grown
46	hang	hung	hung
47	have	had	had
48	hear	heard	heard
49	hide	hid	hidden
50	hit	hit	hit
51	hold	held	held
52	hurt	hurt	hurt
53	keep	kept	kept
54	know	knew	known
55	lay	laid	laid
56	lead	led	led
57	learn	learnt/learned	learnt/learned
58	leave	left	left
59	lend	lent	lent
60	let	let	let
61	lie	lay	lain
62	light	lit/lighted	lit/lighted
63	lose	lost	lost
64	make	made	made
65	mean	meant	meant
66	meet	met	met
67	pay	paid	paid
68	put	put	put
69	read	read	read
70	ride	rode	ridden
71	ring	rang	rung
72	rise	rose	risen
73	run	ran	run
74	say	said	said
75	see	saw	seen
76	sell	sold	sold
77	send	sent	sent
78	set	set	set
79	shake	shook	shaken
80	shine	shone	shone
81	shoot	shot	shot
82	show	showed	shown
83	shut	shut	shut
84	sing	sang	sung
85	sink	sank	sunk
86	sit	sat	sat
87	sleep	slept	slept
88	slide	slid	slid
89	speak	spoke	spoken
90	spend	spent	spent
91	stand	stood	stood
92	steal	stole	stolen
93	stick	stuck	stuck
94	sting	stung	stung
95	strike	struck	struck
96	swear	swore	sworn
97	sweep	swept	swept
98	swim	swam	swum
99	take	took	taken
100	teach	taught	taught
101	tear	tore	torn
102	tell	told	told
103	think	thought	thought
104	throw	threw	thrown
105	understand	understood	understood
106	wake	woke	woken
107	wear	wore	worn
108	win	won	won
109	write	wrote	written
110	abide	abode/abided	abode/abided
111	befall	befell	befallen
112	beget	begot	begotten
113	behold	beheld	beheld
114	beseech	besought	besought
115	bespeak	bespoke	bespoken
116	bestrew	bestrewed	bestrewn
117	bestride	bestrode	bestridden
118	betake	betook	betaken
119	bid (farewell)	bade	bidden
120	bid (auction)	bid	bid
121	bind	bound	bound
122	bless	blest/blessed	blest/blessed
123	breed	bred	bred
124	broadcast	broadcast	broadcast
125	browbeat	browbeat	browbeaten
126	burst	burst	burst
127	bust	bust/busted	bust/busted
128	cast	cast	cast
129	clap	clapped/clapt	clapped/clapt
130	cleave (split)	cleft/clove	cleft/cloven
131	cleave (adhere)	clave	cleaved
132	cling	clung	clung
133	clothe	clad/clothed	clad/clothed
134	creep	crept	crept
135	crossbreed	crossbred	crossbred
136	dare	durst/dared	dared
137	deal	dealt	dealt
138	disprove	disproved	disproven/disproved
139	dive	dived/dove	dived
140	dwell	dwelt/dwelled	dwelt/dwelled
141	enwind	enwound	enwound
142	fight	fought	fought
143	fit	fitted/fit	fitted/fit
144	flee	fled	fled
145	fling	flung	flung
146	forbear	forbore	forborne
147	forego	forewent	foregone
148	foresee	foresaw	foreseen
149	foretell	foretold	foretold
150	forgo	forwent	forgone
151	gainsay	gainsaid	gainsaid
152	grind	ground	ground
153	hamstring	hamstrung	hamstrung
154	heave	hove/heaved	hove/heaved
155	hew	hewed	hewn/hewed
156	inlay	inlaid	inlaid
157	input	input/inputted	input/inputted
158	interweave	interwove	interwoven
159	kneel	knelt/kneeled	knelt/kneeled
160	knit	knitted/knit	knitted/knit
161	lade	laded	laden/laded
162	lean	leant/leaned	leant/leaned
163	leap	leapt/leaped	leapt/leaped
164	miscast	miscast	miscast
165	misdeal	misdealt	misdealt
166	mishear	misheard	misheard
167	mislay	mislaid	mislaid
168	mislead	misled	misled
169	misread	misread	misread
170	miswrite	miswrote	miswritten
171	offset	offset	offset
172	outbid	outbid	outbid
173	outdo	outdid	outdone
174	outgrow	outgrew	outgrown
175	output	output/outputted	output/outputted
176	outrun	outran	outrun
177	outsell	outsold	outsold
178	outshine	outshone	outshone
179	overbid	overbid	overbid
180	overcome	overcame	overcome
181	overdo	overdid	overdone
182	overdraw	overdrew	overdrawn
183	overeat	overate	overeaten
184	overhang	overhung	overhung
185	overhear	overheard	overheard
186	overlay	overlaid	overlaid
187	overpay	overpaid	overpaid
188	overrun	overran	overrun
189	oversee	oversaw	overseen
190	overshoot	overshot	overshot
191	oversleep	overslept	overslept
192	overthrow	overthrew	overthrown
193	partake	partook	partaken
194	plead	pled/pleaded	pled/pleaded
195	preset	preset	preset
196	proofread	proofread	proofread
197	rebind	rebound	rebound
198	recast	recast	recast
199	relay	relaid	relaid
200	reset	reset	reset

Using Irregular Verbs in Sentences

Present Tense vs. Past Tense vs. Past Participle

Irregular verbs have three main forms: the base form (present tense), the past tense, and the past participle. Each form is used in different contexts:

• Base Form: Used for the present tense (except third-person singular).
  • Example: I go to school every day.
• Past Tense: Used for actions completed in the past.
  • Example: I went to school yesterday.
• Past Participle: Used with helping verbs (e.g., have, has, had) to form perfect tenses.
  • Example: I have gone to school.

Examples of Irregular Verbs in Different Tenses

Here are some examples of irregular verbs in sentences:

• Base Form: She eats breakfast every day.
• Past Tense: She ate breakfast this morning.
• Past Participle: She has eaten breakfast.
• Base Form: They see the movie.
• Past Tense: They saw the movie last night.
• Past Participle: They have seen the movie.

Practice Exercises

1. Fill in the blanks with the correct verb form:
   • She ________ (go) to the store yesterday. (went)
   • He has ________ (eat) breakfast. (eaten)
   • They ________ (see) the movie last night. (saw)
2. Rewrite the sentences using the correct verb form:
   • She go to the store yesterday. → She went to the store yesterday.
   • He has eated breakfast. → He has eaten breakfast.

Common Mistakes with Irregular Verbs

1. Using the Wrong Form

A common mistake is using the wrong form of an irregular verb.

• Incorrect: She has went to the store.
• Correct: She has gone to the store.

2. Overgeneralizing Rules

Some learners apply the regular verb rule (-ed) to irregular verbs.

• Incorrect: He eated breakfast.
• Correct: He ate breakfast.

3. Confusing Past Tense and Past Participle

Another common mistake is using the past tense instead of the past participle (or vice versa).

• Incorrect: She has went to the store.
• Correct: She has gone to the store.

Tips for Avoiding Mistakes

• Memorize Common Irregular Verbs: Create a list of common irregular verbs and practice their forms.
• Practice Regularly: Use irregular verbs in speaking and writing to reinforce your understanding.
• Proofread: Check your writing for correct verb forms.

Practice Activities

Activity 1: Fill in the Blanks

Complete the sentences with the correct verb form:

1. She ________ (go) to the store yesterday. (went)
2. He has ________ (eat) breakfast. (eaten)
3. They ________ (see) the movie last night. (saw)

Activity 2: Identify the Correct Verb Form

Choose the correct verb form to complete the sentences:

1. She has ________ (gone/went) to the store. (gone)
2. He ________ (ate/eaten) breakfast this morning. (ate)
3. They have ________ (seen/saw) the movie. (seen)

Activity 3: Correct the Mistakes

Correct the mistakes in the following sentences:

1. She has went to the store. → She has gone to the store.
2. He eated breakfast. → He ate breakfast.
3. They have saw the movie. → They have seen the movie.