Language

117 top irregular verbs in English: A list, with the common tenses

18 March 2024

Author

Berlitz

Learning to conjugate verbs in English is super easy, even when you’re dealing with irregular verbs. Although it may sound like irregular verbs may be difficult to learn, the reality is that you don’t have a lot to worry about. English isn’t a conjugation-heavy language, so unlike Spanish, French, or German, you won’t have to spend an inordinate amount of time memorizing countless irregular verbs.

In fact, what’s irregular about many irregular verbs is that they don’t need to be conjugated, which means that you won’t even have to worry about learning any other version of the verb besides the infinitive form!

With that said, it is important to be able to recognize which verbs are irregular and which ones aren’t so you don’t make any mistakes that could be easily avoided. Plus, you’ll want to know the four types of irregular verbs so you can easily categorize each of the irregular verbs and nail the conjugation when you speak or write.

Ready to get started? In this handy guide, we’ll cover everything you need to know about irregular verbs in English, including the four types, a massive list of 117 of the most common irregular verbs, and five expert tips for learning them. Let’s go!

What are irregular verbs in English and how many are there?

Irregular verbs are those that don’t follow regular conjugation rules. Those usually involve adding -d or -ed at the end of the base form of a verb. Irregular verbs do not follow these patterns either for the simple past or the past participle — or neither one of the two. Although there are around 200 irregular verbs in English, many of them aren’t commonly used at all. Below, we’ve included 117 of the most common irregular verbs for you.

Types of irregular verbs in English

Before we jump into the ultimate list of irregular verbs in English, let’s start by reviewing the four kinds of irregular verbs so you know what to expect.

Irregular verbs with the same base form, past tense, and past participle

One of the most common types of irregular verbs is also the easiest to learn. For these types of verbs, all you have to do is keep the infinitive form of the verb as is and use it for both the past tense and the past participle. Some common examples include:

Bid
Broadcast
Set

Irregular verbs with the same past tense and past participle

Another type of irregular verb involves those that use the same conjugation for the simple past and past participle tenses. These are also relatively easy to learn, as you’ll just have to use to remember to use the same conjugation for both tenses. Here are some examples with the base form followed by the irregular conjugation:

Bend → Bent
Build → Built
Get → Got

Irregular verbs with the same base form and past participle

This type of irregular verb includes the wildcards of all English verbs. While the simple past will have a unique and often irregular conjugation, the past participle will be exactly the same as the base verb. While this might sound counterintuitive, rest assured that the list of verbs in this category isn’t long. Here are some examples of verbs with the base form followed by the simple past form (remember that the past participle is the same as the base form!):

Run → Ran
Become → Became
Overcome → Overcame

Irregular verbs with a different base form, past tense, and past participle

Finally, we have irregular verbs where each tense is completely different from each other. While it may sound like this might be the trickiest type of verb to learn, we’ve got a few tricks to memorize them easily. Keep reading until the end of this blog to learn more! For now, here are a few examples of verbs in this category, starting with the base form followed by the simple past conjugation and the past participle:

Freeze → Froze → Frozen
Write → Wrote → Written
Eat → Ate → Eaten

List of the 117 most common irregular verbs in English and their past tense conjugation

Now that you’re familiar with the four types of irregular verbs in English, let’s take a look at 117 irregular verbs in English:

Infinitive	Simple Past	Past Participle	Example
To awake	Awoke	Awoken	I was awoken in the middle of the night by a loud bang.
To be	Was/were	Been	I think I might have already been asleep by the time you called me.
To bear	Bore	Born	Even though he wasn’t responsible for the accident, he alone bore the consequences.
To beat	Beat	Beaten	You beat me to the punch! I was about to say that.
To become	Became	Become	She became the top swimmer in her high school.
To begin	Began	Begun	I rushed as much as I could, but the competition had already begun by the time I got there.
To bend	Bent	Bent	I can’t use this part anymore because it’s bent.
To bid	Bid	Bid	She bid him farewell on a cold, rainy night.
To bite	Bit	Bitten	Luckily, I’ve never been bitten by a snake.
To bleed	Bled	Bled	I got a nosebleed last night and bled all over my pillowcase.
To blow	Blew	Blown	I think he blew it out of proportion — it really wasn’t that big of a deal.
To break	Broke	Broken	The handle broke as soon as I touched it.
To bring	Brought	Brought	She brought the same cookies she had brought last year!
To broadcast	Broadcast	Broadcast	The news report was broadcast this morning.
To build	Built	Built	This house was built in the 19th century.
To burn	Burned or burnt	Burn or burnt	I made some mac & cheese, but I left it in the oven too long and burnt it to a crisp!
To bust	Bust	Bust	The original dam bust from all the pressure in 1987, so they had to build a new one.
To buy	Bought	Bought	She bought him a new car for his birthday.
To catch	Caught	Caught	We caught our kid using his phone past his bedtime, so we had to take it away.
To choose	Chose	Chosen	The dress I had chosen is no longer in stock.
To cling	Clung	Clung	The cat clung on to the roof for dear life.
To come	Came	Come	I’m shocked, this news really came out of the blue.
To cost	Cost	Cost	Even though she bought this art piece as an investment, she had to sell it for less than what it had originally cost her.
To creep	Crept	Crept	The intruder crept into our house without making any noise.
To cut	Cut	Cut	Due to budget constraints, the school cut its arts program last year.
To dig	Dug	Dug	The dog randomly dug out a bone from the ground.
To do	Did	Done	It was too late by the time he realized what he had done.
To draw	Drew	Drawn	He was quite impressed with the results, considering he had never drawn anything like that before.
To dream	Dreamed or dreamt	Dreamed or dreamt	They finally moved into the home they had always dreamt of.
To drive	Drove	Driven	I had never driven on a coastline like this before.
To drink	Drank	Drunk	I had already drunk too much wine by the time we started having dinner.
To eat	Ate	Eaten	I was so hungry I could have eaten a whole cow!
To fall	Fell	Fallen	Nathan wasn’t careful so he fell into the river.
To feed	Fed	Fed	Even though it was a very long time, they kept me very well fed.
To feel	Felt	Felt	I felt like you weren’t listening to me.
To fight	Fought	Fought	I fought really hard to get to where I am today.
To find	Found	Found	You should check with the lost and found department to see if they have your card.
To flee	Fled	Fled	They fled their war-torn country when they were just children.
To fling	Flung	Flung	He just grabbed my notebook and flung it out the window!
To fly	Flew	Flown	The bird flew away before the cat could catch it.
To forbid	Forbade	Forbidden	Taking photos inside the museum is strictly forbidden.
To forget	Forgot	Forgotten	I had forgotten about the homework assignment, but luckily, I remembered right before the deadline.
To forgive	Forgave	Forgiven	No need to apologize, you’re already forgiven!
To freeze	Froze	Frozen	He froze when he heard her voice.
To get	Got	Got	I got a new pair of jeans yesterday.
To give	Gave	Given	He gave me flowers on our first date!
To grind	Ground	Ground	Do you want to buy ground coffee or whole beans?
To go	Went	Gone	Oh, she’s already gone! She left this morning.
To grow	Grew	Grown	I didn’t like the carpet at first, but it grew on me.
To hang	Hung	Hung	He hung his laundry in the balcony and it flew off!
To have	Had	Had	I think he already had lunch, so we can start eating without him
To hear	Heard	Heard	Hey! I heard you’re coming to visit next month?
To hide	Hid	Hidden	They found a hidden treasure at the beach and became rich!
To hit	Hit	Hit	He got injured while skiing because he hit a tree.
To hold	Held	Held	My cat loves being held like a little baby.
To hurt	Hurt	Hurt	Your words really hurt me, so it will take some time for me to move on.
To keep	Kept	Kept	I kept your letter after all these years.
To know	Knew	Known	I wish I had known before I came all the way here!
To lay	Laid	Laid	They laid a strong foundation before beginning construction on the megaproject.
To lead	Led	Led	Poor management led to the bankruptcy of what once was a thriving company.
To learn	Learned	Learned	I was placed two math levels above my grade because I had already learned most of what they were studying.
To leave	Left	Left	I rushed to the airport to meet there, but she had already left by the time I got there.
To lend	Lent	Lent	Here are the books you had lent me.
To let	Let	Let	Our teacher let us out of class a few minutes early.
To lie	Lay	Lain	Yesterday was a great day, I just lay by the beach and ate a bunch of fruits.
To lose	Lost	Lost	I can’t believe I found the jacket I thought I had lost years ago!
To make	Made	Made	This dish is what made this restaurant an international phenomenon.
To mean	Meant	Meant	I don’t know what she meant by that, but she seems upset.
To meet	Met	Met	I had never met someone like you.
To pay	Paid	Paid	As long as I’m being paid, I don’t mind staying after closing.
To prove	Proved	Proven	We’re all innocent until proven guilty in the court of law.
To put	Put	Put	I can’t find my scarf. I know I put it somewhere, but I can’t remember where!
To quit	Quit	Quit	He had already quit his job before I had a chance to convince him not to.
To read	Read	Read	He read her a bedtime story before putting her to bed.
To ride	Rode	Ridden	I’ve ridden every single rollercoaster in this theme park.
To ring	Rang	Rung	He rang me up at the cash register upstairs.
To rise	Rose	Risen	It’s very inspiring to see how you rose from the bottom.
To run	Ran	Run	You should have already run at least 20 miles in one go before you attempt to run a marathon.
To say	Said	Said	I misunderstood what she had said.
To see	Saw	Seen	That was the most beautiful sunset I’ve ever seen.
To seek	Sought	Sought	I sought some advice from my thesis advisor, but he was upset I even asked!
To sell	Sold	Sold	Fortunately, the house sold in less than two weeks.
To send	Sent	Sent	I sent my bags ahead of time so they were already at the hotel when I got there.
To set	Set	Set	I set the table earlier today so we should be ready for dinner.
To sew	Sewed	Sewn	This one-of-a-kind, hand-sewn dress was passed on to me by my grandma.
To shake	Shook	Shaken	I’m still a little shaken from the car accident, but, thankfully, I’m okay.
To show	Showed	Shown	He had already shown her the birthday party invite, so he ruined the surprise.
To shut	Shut	Shut	I forgot to shut the window and now my room is full of mosquitoes.
To sing	Sang	Sung	She sang a beautiful song at our wedding.
To sink	Sank	Sunk	The boat sank to the bottom of the ocean after hitting an iceberg.
To sit	Sat	Sat	My mom forgot she had to pick me up from school so I just sat there and waited for her for hours.
To sleep	Slept	Slept	I hadn’t slept that well in a really long time.
To slide	Slid	Slid	The dog slid down the waterslide like an enthusiastic child.
To sling	Slung	Slung	I was already on my way out but I still slung a few pieces of candy in my bag.
To sow	Sowed	Sown	The farmers sowed diligently all day long, but soon they will be able to feast on their harvest.
To speak	Spoke	Spoken	There you have it, spoken like a true native!
To spend	Spent	Spent	I spent the whole afternoon studying Spanish, and I think it’s actually paying off!
To spin	Spun	Spun	Everything was fine at first, but things just spun out of control.
To stand	Stood	Stood	Nobody dared to help after the accident, everyone just stood there in shock.
To steal	Stole	Stolen	They stopped construction because the government found out it was being financed with stolen money.
To sting	Stung	Stung	I’m very lucky because I’ve never been stung by a bee.
To stink	Stank	Stunk	All of our fruits went bad because the power went out while we were away, so our fridge stunk terribly when we returned.
To swear	Swore	Sworn	I could’ve sworn I saw you at the mall the other day.
To swim	Swam	Swum	I swam all the way to the island and back yesterday.
To swing	Swung	Swung	I swung at the ball as hard as I could, but I still didn’t hit a home run.
To take	Took	Taken	I think what I said might’ve been taken out of context.
To teach	Taught	Taught	Having taught children for over two decades, I think I can speak to children effectively.
To tear	Tore	Torn	I’m torn between these two dresses, what do you think?
To tell	Told	Told	I’ve told you a million times to always lock the door when you leave!
To think	Thought	Thought	Learning English is much easier than I thought.
To throw	Threw	Thrown	I threw my bags on the floor and ran to give him a hug as soon as I got home.
To understand	Understood	Understood	I finally understood how to conjugate verbs in Spanish after taking a few more online classes.
To wake	Woke	Woken	She woke me up right in time to make it to the airport to catch my flight.
To wear	Wore	Worn	He wore a sharp-looking suit with a striking red tie to the gala.
To weep	Wept	Wept	I was able to get over my last breakup, but only after I had wept for several days.
To win	Won	Won	They placed me with some novice players, so I had won the game before it even began.
To write	Wrote	Written	I think this might be the most beautiful story ever written.

5 best strategies for learning irregular verbs

1. Group them by type

Before you set out to memorize all irregular verbs without a structure, you should group the ones you want to learn by type. Of course, you won’t memorize 100+ irregular verbs in one go, so selecting the verbs that are most important to you and grouping them by type will make it much easier for you to remember what makes that verb irregular. That way, you’ll know if you’ll need to change the entire verb or if you get to keep the stem, and if you should change them in all verb tenses or just one or two.

2. Recite the infinitive, simple past, and past participle forms

Memorizing irregular verbs can be easier if you memorize all three verb conjugations in one go. Not only will it make it easier to remember which conjugations need special attention, but you’ll also be able to create a fun rhyme in your head, which will increase your chances of remembering all three conjugations. For example, try saying the following conjugations very quickly:

Freeze, froze, frozen
Begin, began, begun
Sing, sang, sung
Stink, stank, stunk
Wear, wore, worn

Isn’t it kinda fun? It’s almost like you’re saying a short little tongue twister!

3. Always check if a verb is irregular

Of course, not all verbs are irregular. An overwhelming majority of English verbs are regular, so you can just follow regular conjugation rules then. However, one of the most common mistakes English learners make is conjugating irregular verbs assuming that they can be conjugated like regular verbs. Thus, any time you learn a new verb, make sure to look it up in the dictionary to double-check whether you’re dealing with a regular on an irregular verb!

4. Use spaced repetition software for hard verbs

Every now and then, you’ll run into some particularly difficult verbs that will make you mess up over and over again — and that’s totally okay! When that happens, simply add the word and its conjugations to your favorite spaced repetition software (SRS) and keep reviewing it until you’ve got it! If you don’t have an SRS tool yet, check out Anki, which is one of the favorite tools of language learners.

5. Listen to music with irregular verbs

Let’s face it, studying a new language is much more effective when it’s fun! That’s why it’s such a good idea to use music to learn a language, even for things like irregular verbs. Some fun songs that include a healthy amount of irregular verbs include:

Return to Sender by Elvis Presley
Sympathy for the Devil by The Rolling Stones
Because You Loved Me by Celine Dion

All three of the songs above will help you memorize some helpful irregular verbs as each one contains many irregular verbs that can be easily burned into your psyche after a few listens.

Skip the headaches with this handy list of English irregular verbs

English isn’t a conjugation-heavy language, so make sure you don’t make the easily avoidable mistakes of conjugating an irregular verb as if it were a regular verb! In this article, we’ve covered some of the most common irregular verbs, the four types of irregular verbs, and five unmissable tips to memorize all these irregular verbs!

If you enjoyed this article, make sure to check out the rest of our blog! There, we have dozens of super helpful (and free!) guides on all things English grammar, vocab, and even fun facts! Some recent articles include a guide to American slang or how to order food in English.