Irregular Verbs List –  Definition, Rules & Conjugation

Irregular verbs are one of the most challenging aspects of English grammar for learners, as they don’t follow the typical rules for verb conjugation. Unlike regular verbs, which add “-ed” for past tense, irregular verbs take on various forms that must be memorized.

To ease this learning process, we’ve compiled an irregular verbs list highlighting the most frequently used ones. With this guide, you’ll gain a better understanding of these verbs and how to use them correctly in both writing and speaking.

50 + Irregular Verbs List

No.	Base Form	Past Simple	Past Participle
1	say	said	said
2	make	made	made
3	go	went	gone
4	take	took	taken
5	come	came	come
6	see	saw	seen
7	know	knew	known
8	get	got	got/gotten (US)
9	give	gave	given
10	find	found	found
11	think	thought	thought
12	tell	told	told
13	become	became	become
14	show	showed	shown
15	leave	left	left
16	feel	felt	felt
17	put	put	put
18	bring	brought	brought
19	begin	began	begun
20	keep	kept	kept
21	hold	held	held
22	write	wrote	written
23	stand	stood	stood
24	hear	heard	heard
25	let	let	let
26	mean	meant	meant
27	set	set	set
28	meet	met	met
29	run	ran	run
30	pay	paid	paid
31	sit	sat	sat
32	speak	spoke	spoken
33	lie	lay	lain
34	lead	led	led
35	read	read	read
36	grow	grew	grown
37	lose	lost	lost
38	fall	fell	fallen
39	send	sent	sent
40	build	built	built
41	understand	understood	understood
42	draw	drew	drawn
43	break	broke	broken
44	spend	spent	spent
45	cut	cut	cut
46	rise	rose	risen
47	drive	drove	driven
48	buy	bought	bought
49	wear	wore	worn
50	choose	chose	chosen
51	shut	shut	shut
52	hurt	hurt	hurt
53	burst	burst	burst
54	shed	shed	shed
55	bet	bet	bet
56	hit	hit	hit
57	split	split	split
58	spread	spread	spread
59	cast	cast	cast
60	thrust	thrust	thrust
61	bend	bent	bent
62	bind	bound	bound
63	learn	learnt/learned	learnt/learned
64	catch	caught	caught
65	light	lit	lit
66	hang	hung	hung
67	spoil	spoilt/spoiled	spoilt/spoiled
68	spill	spilt/spilled	spilt/spilled
69	have	had	had
70	burn	burnt/burned	burnt/burned
71	strike	struck	struck
72	kneel	knelt	knelt
73	dream	dreamt/dreamed	dreamt/dreamed
74	blow	blew	blown
75	arise	arose	arisen
76	sink	sank	sunk
77	drink	drank	drunk
78	sing	sang	sung
79	fly	flew	flown
80	ring	rang	rung
81	ride	rode	ridden
82	shrink	shrank	shrunk
83	strive	strove	striven
84	throw	threw	thrown
85	shake	shook	shaken
86	bite	bit	bitten
87	begin	began	begun

A Different Approach to Learning Irregular Verbs from List

1. Verbs Ending in ‘Oose’ → ‘Ose’ → ‘Osen’

Base Verb	Simple Past Form	Past Participle Form
Choose	Chose	Chosen

2. Verbs Ending in ‘Ow/Aw’ → ‘Ew’ → ‘Own/Awn’

Base Verb	Simple Past Form	Past Participle Form
Blow	Blew	Blown
Throw	Threw	Thrown
Know	Knew	Known
Grow	Grew	Grown
Draw	Drew	Drawn

3. Verbs Ending in ‘Ive’ → ‘Ove/Ave’ → ‘Iven’

Base Verb	Simple Past Form	Past Participle Form
Strive	Strove	Striven
Give	Gave	Given
Forgive	Forgave	Forgiven

4. Verbs Ending in ‘Ise’ → ‘Ose’ → ‘Isen’

Base Verb	Simple Past Form	Past Participle Form
Arise	Arose	Arisen
Rise	Rose	Risen

5. Verbs Ending in ‘Et’ → ‘Ot’ → ‘Otten’

Base Verb	Simple Past Form	Past Participle Form
Get	Got	Gotten
Forget	Forgot	Forgotten

6. Verbs Ending in ‘Ide/Ite’ → ‘Ode/Ote/Id/It’ → ‘Idden/Itten’

Base Verb	Simple Past Form	Past Participle Form
Ride	Rode	Ridden
Write	Wrote	Written
Bite	Bit	Bitten
Hide	Hid	Hidden

7. Verbs Ending in ‘Ink/Ing/In’ → ‘Ank/Ang/An’ → ‘Unk/Ung/Un’

Base Verb	Simple Past Form	Past Participle Form
Sink	Sank	Sunk
Drink	Drank	Drunk
Sing	Sang	Sung
Ring	Rang	Rung
Spring	Sprang	Sprung
Begin	Began	Begun

8. Verbs Ending in ‘Ake’ → ‘Ook’ → ‘Aken’

Base Verb	Simple Past Form	Past Participle Form
Take	Took	Taken
Shake	Shook	Shaken
Mistake	Mistook	Mistaken

9. Verbs Ending in ‘Eak/Ake/Eal’ → ‘Oke/Ole’ → ‘Oken/Olen’

Base Verb	Simple Past Form	Past Participle Form
Break	Broke	Broken
Speak	Spoke	Spoken
Wake	Woke	Woken
Steal	Stole	Stolen

10. Verbs Ending in ‘Ear’ → ‘Ore’ → ‘Orn/Orne’

Base Verb	Simple Past Form	Past Participle Form
Wear	Wore	Worn
Tear	Tore	Torn
Bear	Bore	Borne

11. Verbs with ‘Ought/Aught’ in Both Forms

Base Verb	Simple Past Form	Past Participle Form
Seek	Sought	Sought
Think	Thought	Thought
Catch	Caught	Caught
Buy	Bought	Bought
Fight	Fought	Fought
Bring	Brought	Brought
Teach	Taught	Taught

Definition of Irregular Verbs

Irregular verbs are verbs that do not follow the standard rules of conjugation in the past simple and past participle forms. Unlike regular verbs, which simply add “-ed” to form the past tense and past participle, irregular verbs undergo changes in their spelling or stay the same across different tenses.

Rules for Irregular Verbs

1. No Fixed Rule for Conjugation: Unlike regular verbs, there is no consistent pattern for how irregular verbs change in the past tense or past participle. You must memorize these forms.
2. Different Changes:
   • Vowel changes: Some irregular verbs change the vowels in their base form.
     • Example: sing → sang → sung.
   • Complete change: Some verbs undergo complete spelling changes.
     • Example: go → went → gone.
   • No change: A few irregular verbs remain the same in all forms.
     • Example: cut → cut → cut.
3. Groupings Based on Change:
   • Vowel and consonant changes: buy → bought → bought.
   • Only vowel changes: swim → swam → swum.
   • Completely different words: be → was/were → been.
4. Use in Sentences:
   • Irregular verbs still follow basic grammatical rules for subject-verb agreement, but their forms differ when talking about the past, present, or future.

Conjugation of Common Irregular Verbs

1. Be:
   • Present: am, is, are
   • Past: was, were
   • Past participle: been
2. Go:
   • Present: go
   • Past: went
   • Past participle: gone
3. Have:
   • Present: have, has
   • Past: had
   • Past participle: had
4. Do:
   • Present: do, does
   • Past: did
   • Past participle: done
5. Make:
   • Present: make
   • Past: made
   • Past participle: made
6. Take:
   • Present: take
   • Past: took
   • Past participle: taken
7. See:
   • Present: see
   • Past: saw
   • Past participle: seen
8. Drink:
   • Present: drink
   • Past: drank
   • Past participle: drunk

Summary

• Irregular verbs break the usual rules of conjugation.
• They must be memorized, as they don’t follow standard patterns like regular verbs.
• Common examples include verbs like be, have, do, go, and many others.

Conclusion

Although irregular verbs may seem difficult to master, having a handy irregular verbs list can make all the difference. By familiarizing yourself with these verbs, you’ll improve your grammar skills and boost your confidence in everyday communication. Remember, the more you practice, the more natural these irregular forms will become.

Keep this list close, and watch your English improve!