Irregular Verbs in English (irregular verbs) are verbs that form the past tense not according to the rule 'plus -ed', but each in its own way: go — went — gone, write — wrote — written. Such a verb has three forms (V1, V2, V3), and all three must be memorized. On this page, you will find a table of the 50 most useful verbs with translation and transcription, divided into groups by type of alternation, an explanation of when the second form is needed and when the third, a breakdown of common mistakes, and an interactive trainer to test yourself immediately.
Test yourself: 10 sets of 12 questions, with explanations after each answer.
Open the trainerRegular and Irregular Verbs in English: What's the Difference
Any English verb has three main forms: the base form (found in the dictionary), the past tense form, and the participle. The only question is how the second and third forms are obtained.
Regular verbs behave predictably: both forms are identical and are formed in one way — by adding the ending -ed.
Irregular verbs are the old-timers of the language. They have preserved the ancient way of forming forms — by alternating the vowel in the root (sing — sang — sung) or a special ending (buy — bought). There is no rule by which the form can be calculated — it is looked up in a table and memorized.
The most annoying thing is that irregular verbs are the most frequently used words in the language. be, have, do, go, say, make appear in speech more often than others, so you can't get around them. But they will also appear constantly — which means they will be remembered quickly on their own.
play — played — played
go — went — gone
Three Forms of a Verb: V1, V2, and V3
The forms are numbered — this is the order in which they are written in tables and spoken aloud. Below is what each form means and in which sentence it appears.
Memorize two rules separately, as they are the most common sources of error:
- after did, didn’t, and will, the verb is in its base form: Did you see it?, not Did you saw it? — did already indicates the past tense;
- after have, has, had — conversely, only the third form: I have seen it.
For more details on the tenses themselves, see the materials on Past Simple and Present Perfect; here, only the form of the verb that fits is important.
Did you write?
The letter was written.
Table of Irregular Verbs in English with Translation and Transcription
The table below contains the 50 most frequent irregular verbs. They are arranged not alphabetically, but by groups: within each group, the forms change according to the same pattern, making them much easier to learn: instead of fifty separate words, you get nine understandable schemes.
How to read a row: first, the three forms separated by hyphens (V1 — V2 — V3), below them the transcription, and to the right the translation. The letters in the group header indicate its pattern: A — A — A — all three forms are the same, A — B — B — the second and third are the same, A — B — A — the first and third, A — B — C — all three are different.
| Three Forms: V1 — V2 — V3 | Translation |
|---|---|
| 1. All three forms are the sameA — A — A | |
| put — put — put[pʊt] | to put |
| cut — cut — cut[kʌt] | to cut |
| let — let — let[let] | to let |
| hit — hit — hit[hɪt] | to hit |
| cost — cost — cost[kɒst] | to cost |
| read — read — read[riːd — red — red] | to read |
| 2. Second and third are the same, ending in ‑tA — B — B | |
| send — sent — sent[send — sent — sent] | to send |
| build — built — built[bɪld — bɪlt — bɪlt] | to build |
| spend — spent — spent[spend — spent — spent] | to spend |
| keep — kept — kept[kiːp — kept — kept] | to keep |
| sleep — slept — slept[sliːp — slept — slept] | to sleep |
| feel — felt — felt[fiːl — felt — felt] | to feel |
| leave — left — left[liːv — left — left] | to leave |
| mean — meant — meant[miːn — ment — ment] | to mean |
| 3. Endings ‑ought and ‑aughtA — B — B | |
| buy — bought — bought[baɪ — bɔːt — bɔːt] | to buy |
| bring — brought — brought[brɪŋ — brɔːt — brɔːt] | to bring |
| think — thought — thought[θɪŋk — θɔːt — θɔːt] | to think |
| teach — taught — taught[tiːtʃ — tɔːt — tɔːt] | to teach |
| catch — caught — caught[kætʃ — kɔːt — kɔːt] | to catch |
| 4. Alternation i — a — uA — B — C | |
| begin — began — begun[bɪˈɡɪn — bɪˈɡæn — bɪˈɡʌn] | to begin |
| drink — drank — drunk[drɪŋk — dræŋk — drʌŋk] | to drink |
| sing — sang — sung[sɪŋ — sæŋ — sʌŋ] | to sing |
| swim — swam — swum[swɪm — swæm — swʌm] | to swim |
| ring — rang — rung[rɪŋ — ræŋ — rʌŋ] | to ring |
| 5. Third form ending in ‑enA — B — C | |
| take — took — taken[teɪk — tʊk — ˈteɪkən] | to take |
| give — gave — given[ɡɪv — ɡeɪv — ˈɡɪvn] | to give |
| eat — ate — eaten[iːt — eɪt — ˈiːtn] | to eat |
| write — wrote — written[raɪt — rəʊt — ˈrɪtn] | to write |
| speak — spoke — spoken[spiːk — spəʊk — ˈspəʊkən] | to speak |
| break — broke — broken[breɪk — brəʊk — ˈbrəʊkən] | to break |
| choose — chose — chosen[tʃuːz — tʃəʊz — ˈtʃəʊzn] | to choose |
| forget — forgot — forgotten[fəˈɡet — fəˈɡɒt — fəˈɡɒtn] | to forget |
| 6. Second form ‑ew, third ‑own and ‑awnA — B — C | |
| know — knew — known[nəʊ — njuː — nəʊn] | to know |
| grow — grew — grown[ɡrəʊ — ɡruː — ɡrəʊn] | to grow |
| throw — threw — thrown[θrəʊ — θruː — θrəʊn] | to throw |
| fly — flew — flown[flaɪ — fluː — fləʊn] | to fly |
| draw — drew — drawn[drɔː — druː — drɔːn] | to draw |
| 7. First and third forms are the sameA — B — A | |
| come — came — come[kʌm — keɪm — kʌm] | to come |
| become — became — become[bɪˈkʌm — bɪˈkeɪm — bɪˈkʌm] | to become |
| run — ran — run[rʌn — ræn — rʌn] | to run |
| 8. Most frequent: all three forms are differentA — B — C | |
| be — was / were — been[biː — wɒz / wɜː — biːn] | to be |
| do — did — done[duː — dɪd — dʌn] | to do |
| go — went — gone[ɡəʊ — went — ɡɒn] | to go |
| see — saw — seen[siː — sɔː — siːn] | to see |
| 9. Most frequent: second and third forms are the sameA — B — B | |
| have — had — had[hæv — hæd — hæd] | to have |
| make — made — made[meɪk — meɪd — meɪd] | to make |
| get — got — got*[ɡet — ɡɒt — ɡɒt] | to get |
| say — said — said[seɪ — sed — sed] | to say |
| find — found — found[faɪnd — faʊnd — faʊnd] | to find |
| tell — told — told[tel — təʊld — təʊld] | to tell |
How to Pronounce Irregular Verbs: Transcription and Pitfalls
With regular verbs, pronunciation is predictable: the root stays the same, only the ending changes. With irregular verbs, the root itself changes, and the spelling and pronunciation often diverge. Therefore, it's best to learn the forms aloud and check them against the transcription, rather than guessing from the letters. The three pitfalls that trip people up most often are below.
How Many Irregular Verbs Are There in English?
There is no exact number — it all depends on what you count.
- Full academic lists contain up to 470 verbs, but most of them are rare or archaic words.
- Standard dictionaries and reference books list around 200.
- The school curriculum uses a list of 100–150 verbs over all years.
- In grades 5–6, about 50 are taught — the very ones collected in the table above.
The main point is that frequency is distributed very unevenly. A few dozen verbs cover the vast majority of cases where an irregular verb is needed at all. Memorizing the entire list is pointless: rare verbs are learned naturally as you read.
By the way, the list of irregular verbs is not growing: all new words that enter the language (to google, to download) become regular. Over time, the number of irregular verbs even decreases.
How to Quickly Learn Irregular Verbs
Memorizing a list alphabetically is the longest way. The order that works best:
- Learn in groups. Within a group, one pattern applies, and memory latches onto it: remember sing — sang — sung, and ring — rang — rung immediately comes to mind.
- In portions of 5–7 verbs per day. The brain can't hold more at one sitting, but a daily portion over two weeks covers the entire school minimum.
- Say all three forms consecutively aloud, like a chant. The chain 'take — took — taken' is remembered by rhythm, not by individual words.
- Immediately form sentences with each new form — about yourself and your day. A word from a living sentence stays in memory many times longer than a line from a table.
- Revisit old portions after a day, then after three days, then after a week. Spaced repetition is more effective than an hour of cramming at once.
- Test yourself, don't just reread. Rereading a table creates a false sense of 'I know this'. True testing is when you have to recall the form yourself: cover the second and third forms with your hand or use the trainer — it uses the verbs from this table in real sentences.
Examples with Analysis: Which Form to Use
Example 1. Second Form in Past Tense
Task: Last summer we ___ (swim) in the lake.
Step 1. The marker last summer indicates a completed action in the past → simple past tense is needed, which means the second form.
Step 2. Check if the verb is irregular. 'swim' is in the table of irregular verbs, group 'i — a — u': swim — swam — swum. The form 'swimmed' does not exist.
Step 3. Take the middle form — swam.
Answer: Last summer we swam in the lake.
Example 2. Third Form After Has
Task: She has ___ (break) her phone.
Step 1. Before the blank is has — this is a strict signal: the third form must follow, regardless of the verb.
Step 2. break — broke — broken. The second form 'broke' is incorrect here: She has broke is a mistake.
Step 3. Use the last form — broken.
Answer: She has broken her phone. — She broke her phone (and it's still broken).
Example 3. Base Form After Did
Task: ___ you ___ (bring) the book?
Step 1. This is a question about the past, so we start with the auxiliary Did.
Step 2. Here's a trap. 'bring' is an irregular verb (bring — brought — brought), and your hand automatically reaches for 'brought'. But 'did' has already taken on the past tense, so the main verb remains in its base form.
Step 3. Assemble: Did + you + bring.
Answer: Did* you bring the book? ❌ Incorrect: Did you brought the book?*
Common Mistakes with Irregular Verbs
-
Adding -ed to an irregular verb: ❌ goed, buyed, thinked, teached.
The ending -ed is only for regular verbs. For irregular verbs, use the form from the table: ✅ went, bought, thought, taught.
-
Using the second form after have / has: ❌ I have wrote a letter. He has went home.
Only the third form is used after have / has / had: ✅ I have written a letter. He has gone home.
-
Using the second form with did or didn’t: ❌ Did you saw it? I didn’t took it.
The past tense in a sentence is indicated only once — through did. The main verb reverts to its base form: ✅ Did you see it? I didn’t take it.
-
Confusing similar verbs lie and lay and using the wrong form.
These are three different verbs: lie (to recline) — lay — lain; lay (to place) — laid — laid; and lie meaning 'to tell an untruth' is actually regular: lied — lied. Note: 'lay' is both the past tense of 'lie' and the base form of another verb.
-
Mistakes with be: ❌ They was at home. I have was there.
In the past tense, 'be' has two forms: was — for I, he, she, it; were — for you, we, they. And its third form is been: ✅ They were at home. I have been there.
-
Considering 'read' a regular verb because all three forms are spelled the same.
It is irregular: if it were regular, it would be 'readed'. The difference is in pronunciation, not spelling: read [riːd] — read [red] — read [red].
-
Applying the form of an irregular verb to a similarly spelled word: ❌ snow — snew (like know — knew), reach — raught (like teach — taught), blink — blank (like drink — drank).
Irregular verbs are a closed list; their forms are memorized by heart. A similar word is not necessarily irregular: ✅ snow — snowed, reach — reached, blink — blinked. If a verb is not among the irregular ones, add -ed.
Questions and Answers
What are irregular verbs in English?
These are verbs whose second and third forms are not formed according to the rule with the ending -ed, but in their own way: most often by alternating the vowel in the root (sing — sang — sung) or with a special ending (buy — bought — bought). All three forms of such verbs are memorized from a table.
What is the difference between regular and irregular verbs?
Regular verbs have identical second and third forms formed by adding -ed: work — worked — worked. Irregular verbs have unique forms for each: go — went — gone. You cannot predict the form by looking at the word.
How many irregular verbs do I need to learn?
Full lists have up to 470, standard reference books list around 200, and the school curriculum covers 100–150. However, in practice, 50–60 of the most frequent ones are enough: they cover most situations in speech and school exercises. The rest are learned naturally as you read.
When is the second form of a verb needed, and when is the third?
The second form (V2) is the simple past tense in affirmative sentences: I saw him yesterday. The third form (V3) is the past participle, used after have, has, had (I have seen him) and after be in the passive voice (the letter was written). The base form is used after did, didn’t, and will.
How can I tell if a verb is irregular?
You can't tell by its appearance: there's no specific marker in the word itself; you need to check a dictionary or table. There are two clues. Old, short words from everyday life (eat, drink, go, take) are more likely to be irregular, while new and borrowed words (to google, to download) are always regular.
Why are all three forms of the verb 'read' spelled the same?
They are indeed spelled the same, but pronounced differently: read [riːd] — read [red] — read [red]. The vowel alternation is preserved in pronunciation, while the spelling has standardized over time. You can determine the form only by the context of the sentence.
