List of irregular verbs 3 forms. Regular and irregular verbs in English. How to distinguish regular verbs from irregular ones
Not regular verbs in English (Irregular Verbs) are verbs that form forms Past Simple(past simple tense) and Past Participle(past participles) in a special way, that is, they are exceptions in relation to general rule formation of these forms. Consequently, irregular verbs and their forms are usually memorized. The list of the most common irregular verbs contains about 200 verbs.
With our service you can quickly find the irregular verb you need. All forms of irregular verbs have transcription and pronunciation. The infinitive, that is, the I form of the verb, has a translation into Russian.
There are also a number of verbs in English that can be either regular or irregular. In the service, such verbs are marked with an asterisk. *
and contain Additional information regarding their use in modern English.
Help on verb forms
I form of the verb- this is (Infinitive), that is indefinite form verb or initial form. The infinitive in English corresponds to the Russian infinitive form of the verb, which answers the questions “What to do? What to do?": read - to read. Particle to is a formal sign of the infinitive, but the infinitive can also be used without a particle to .
II form of the verb is a form of (past simple tense). This form is used to form the past simple tense: read - read, read, read; bought - bought, bought, bought.
III verb form is a form (or Participle II, past participle). The English past participle corresponds to the Russian passive past participle: read - read, bought - purchased. III form is also used to form tenses of the Perfect group (perfect tenses) and to form
For successful study foreign language It is necessary to lay a certain foundation consisting of basic skills. In addition to vocabulary and developed pronunciation, this basis also includes grammatical knowledge. Undoubtedly, the most important thing for English grammar is the system of tenses and verb forms, without the knowledge of which not a single sentence can be constructed. Today, while studying the topic, we will combine a set of vocabulary with mastering grammar, as we will analyze one of the most necessary basic concepts - irregular verbs in English. Let us consider the essence of the phenomenon, and also provide a list of all necessary words with transcription and translation into Russian.
In order to answer the question posed in the title, let’s take a short excursion into theory.
English verbs have several basic forms that help form tense aspects:
- Infinitive - she’s a beginner, dictionary form. ().
- Past indefinite – a form for expressing past events. According to the rule, it is formed by adding the ending –ed to the infinitive. ().
- Past participle – a form necessary for the formation of perfect tenses and passive voices. According to grammatical norms, it must coincide with the previous category, i.e. also add –ed. ().
- Active participle – it is not always distinguished as a separate form, but it should be noted that these are verbs with the ending –ing, which are used in the tenses of the continuous group. ()
Today we are interested in the second and third items of the list, since they are responsible for the correctness or incorrectness of the verb. We have already noted that general rule to form past forms - add the ending -ed. But, due to historical reasons, established language clichés do not always correspond to the norms, and it is much easier to accept exceptions than to try to change the established way of life. That is why there is such a thing as irregular verbs in the English language. English grammar calls this phenomenon irregular verbs.
Irregular verbs include those verbs in which the past tense form is not formed according to the general rule, that is, they are characterized by an atypical conjugation. Such verb forms have to be learned by heart, since they are individual for each case. It is noteworthy that the proportion of incorrect words used in speech English verbs is about 70%. This means that only 30% of all frequently used verbs obey the general rule.
This concludes the theory and moves on to the practical part, in which we will consider examples of irregular verbs in the English language with translation and transcription. This will allow you to combine learning vocabulary and working with pronunciation.
Learning irregular verbs in English
You're probably wondering how many irregular verbs you have to learn in English? We hasten to surprise you, because you probably didn’t expect to see such a number: there are over 450 representatives of the irregular type of formation of past forms. But don’t worry, we won’t learn the full list of irregular verbs, since more than half of the words in it have long gone out of use modern language. There are approximately two hundred actively used words left, which we will divide into even smaller groups in order to master the material gradually.
The first 50 words for beginners
For beginners learning the language, it will be enough to familiarize themselves with a very small list of the most common verbs. This minimum will be enough for you to work with simple sentences in English. In order to avoid having to be distracted by other rules during training, next to the example we will indicate how the word is read in English, and will also roughly explain which Russian sounds correspond English letters. Russian transcription will be presented only in this section, since further study requires a higher level of knowledge of a foreign language.
| Top 50 irregular verbs | |||
| Forms* | Transcriptions | Russian pronunciation | Translation |
| be – was/were – been | [bi – uoz/uyor – bin] | be | |
| begin – began – begun | [bigIn – bigEn – bigAn] | start off | |
| break – broke – broken | [break – brouk – broken] | break | |
| bring – brought – brought | [bring – brought – brought] | bring | |
| build-built-built | [build – build – build] | build | |
| buy – bought – bought | [bye – boot – boot] | buy | |
| catch – caught – caught | [ketch – koot – koot] | catch | |
| come – came – come | [kam - keim -kam] | come | |
| cut – cut – cut | [cat – cat – cat] | cut | |
| do – did – done | [duu – did – dan] | do | |
| drink – drank – drunk | [drink – drank – drank] | drink | |
| drive – driven – driven | [drive – drow – driven] | drive | |
| eat – ate – eaten | [iit – et – iitn] | eat | |
| fall – fell – fallen | [fool – fal – foolen] | fall | |
| feel – felt – felt | [fiil – felt – felt] | feel | |
| find – found – found | [find – found – found] | find | |
| fly – flew – flown | [fly – flow – flow] | fly | |
| forget – forgot – forgotten | [fogEt – fogOt – fogOtn] | forget | |
| get - got - got | [get – goth – goth] | receive | |
| give – gave – given | [give – gave – gIven] | give | |
| go – went – gone | [go – vent – gon] | go | |
| have – had – had | [have – head – head] | have | |
| hear – heard – heard | [hier - hurd - hurd] | hear | |
| hold – held – held | [hold – held – held] | hold | |
| keep – kept – kept | [kip – capt – capt] | hold | |
| know – knew – known | [no – new – noun] | know | |
| leave – left – left | [liiv – left – left] | leave | |
| let – let – let | [let – let – let] | let | |
| lie-lay-lain | [bark - lay - lane] | lie | |
| lose – lost – lost | [luuz – lost – lost] | lose | |
| make – made – made | [make – made – made] | do | |
| mean – meant – meant | [miin – ment – ment] | to mean | |
| meet – met – met | [miit – mat – mat] | meet | |
| pay – paid – paid | [pay – pay – pay] | to pay | |
| put – put – put | [put – put – put] | put | |
| read – read – read | [read–red–red] | read | |
| run - run - run | [ran – ren – ran] | run | |
| say – said – said | [say – sed – sed] | speak | |
| see – saw – seen | [si – sou – siin] | see | |
| show – shown – shown | [ʃou – ʃoud – ʃoun] | [show – shoud – shown] | show |
| sit – sat – sat | [sit – set – set] | sit | |
| sleep – slept – slept | [slip – slapt – slapt] | sleep | |
| speak – spoken – spoken | [speek – spoke – spooken] | speak | |
| stand – stood – stood | [stand – stud – stud] | stand | |
| take – took – taken | [take – knock – takeken] | take | |
| tell – told – told | [tel – tould –tould] | tell | |
| think – thought – thought | [θɪŋk – θɔ:t – θɔ:t] | [son – sout – sout] | think |
| understand – understood – understood | [ʌndər ‘stænd – ʌndər ‘stʊd – ʌndər ‘stʊd] | [andestand – andestud – andestud] | understand |
| win – won – won | [win – one – one] | win | |
| write – written – written | [right – route – ritn] | write | |
Other English topics: What is the difference between the verbs make and do - usage, phrases and phrases
*The column shows the three main forms of the verb in the following order:
- infinitive;
- past indefinite (Past Indefinite/Simple);
- past participle (Participle II).
Now you are familiar with the most commonly used irregular verbs in English. This list of words can be easily printed and memorized at any convenient time. Replenish your knowledge gradually; you don’t need to immediately load yourself with large amounts of information. Since the table contains many basic verbs, there will be no difficulties in learning the words, because in practice they are used in every second text or dialogue.
Top 100 – intermediate level vocabulary
If you are already confident in using the verbs you have learned, then it is time to move to the next level of knowledge and discover new irregular English verbs.
In this section we will continue to study the most commonly used irregular verbs, with another table to help us. It contains the same number of words arranged in alphabetical order as the first one, but in it we will no longer give an approximate Russian sound: will help you understand how to pronounce a word English transcription. We hope you have already studied the material on how transcription signs are used. So, let's continue our work: we'll study just 50 more words and get the top 100 irregular verbs.
| Forms | Transcriptions | Translation |
| arise – arose – arisen | [ə’raiz – ə’rəuz – ə’riz(ə)n] | arise, rise |
| awake – awoke – awoken | [ə`waɪk – ə`woʊk – ə`woʊkn] | wake up, wake up |
| bear – bore – born | carry, bear, give birth | |
| become – became – become | become | |
| bind – bound – bound | bind | |
| bite – bit – bitten | bite, bite | |
| blow – blew – blown | blow | |
| burn – burnt – burnt | burn, burn | |
| choose – chose – chosen | choose | |
| cost – cost – cost | cost | |
| creep – crept – crept | crawl, creep | |
| deal – dealt – dealt | deal, trade | |
| dig-dag-dag | dig, dig | |
| draw – drew – drown | paint | |
| dream – dream – dream | dream, dream | |
| fight – fought – fought | fight, fight, fight | |
| feed – fed – fed | feed | |
| forgive – forgave – forgiven | forgive, forgive | |
| freeze – froze – frozen | freeze, freeze | |
| grow – grown – matured | grow, grow | |
| hang – hung – hunger * | hang, hang | |
| hide-hid-hidden | hide, hide, conceal | |
| hurt – hurt – hurt | offend, injure, harm | |
| lead – led – led | lead, lead | |
| learn – learn – learn | study, teach | |
| lend – tape – tape | lend, lend | |
| ride – rode – ridden | ride a horse | |
| ring – rang – rung | call, ring | |
| rise – rose – risen | rise, ascend | |
| seek – sought – sought | search | |
| sell – sold – sold | sell | |
| set – set – set | put, install | |
| shake – shook – shaken | [ʃeɪk – ʃʊk – ʃeɪkən] | shake, shake |
| shine – shone –shone | [ʃaɪn – ʃoʊn – ʃoʊn] | shine, shine, sparkle |
| shut – shut – shut | [ʃʌt – ʃʌt – ʃʌt] | close |
| sing-sang-sung | sing | |
| slide – slide – slide | slide | |
| smell – smelt – smelt | smell, sniff | |
| spend – spell – spell | spend, squander | |
| steal – stole – stolen | steal, steal | |
| swim – swam – swum | swim | |
| swing – swung – swung | sway | |
| teach – taught – taught | teach, educate | |
| tear – tore – torn | tear, tear, tear | |
| throw – thrown – thrown | [θroʊ – θru: – θroʊn] | throw, throw, throw |
| upset – upset – upset | [ʌp’set – ʌp’set – ʌp’set] | upset, upset; overturn |
| wake – woke – woken | wake up, wake up | |
| wear – wore – worn | wear, dress | |
| weep – wept – wept | cry, sob | |
| wet – wet – wet | wet, moisten, moisten |
*Important note for translators: this verb has two meanings. The forms given in the table indicate expressions used with translation "hang, hang things." A rarer context is hanging as an execution, to hang a criminal. In such a situation, this English verb behaves as if it were correct, i.e. attaches the ending –ed: hang – hanged – hanged.
So, we have looked at all the main and popular irregular verbs in the English language, and congratulations! Don’t try to master the entire stock of new words at once, as you will only become more confused about forms and meanings. For effective and quick memorization We suggest you print out the given material, divide the verbs into groups for easy perception, and make cards with the spelling English word and Russian translation. This method successfully helps most students learn the inflection of irregular verbs.
If you have already mastered the most common verbs of the English language with transcription, we invite you to expand your horizons even more and look into the less popular, but still common, use of irregular words in speech.
Rare but necessary verbs
The list of irregular verbs in English that we have studied already has a hundred examples. This, as we have already noted, is approximately half of the active vocabulary modern Englishman on the topic of irregular verbs. The use of the following hundred words is certainly not something you encounter every day. But, firstly, they are often included in standard tests and tasks to confirm the level of language proficiency, and secondly, it is better to know rare grammatical points of the language than to misunderstand something and get into an awkward situation. So, let's study rare, but necessary, irregular verbs in English with translation and transcription.
| Forms | Transcriptions | Translation |
| abide – abode/abided – abode/abided | [əˈbaɪd – əˈbəʊd/əˈbaɪdɪd – əˈbəʊd/əˈbaɪdɪd] | withstand, endure, endure; abide |
| backbite – backbitten – backbitten | [ˈbækbaɪt – ˈbækbɪtən – ˈbækbɪtən] | slander |
| backslide – backslide – backslide | [ˈbækslaɪd – bækˈslɪd – bækˈslɪd] | retreat, refuse |
| beat – beat – beaten | beat | |
| befall – befell – befallen | happen, happen | |
| beget – begot/begat – begotten | generate, produce | |
| begird – begirt – begirt | gird | |
| behold – beheld – beheld | see | |
| bend – bent – bent | bend | |
| bereave – bereft/bereaved – bereft/bereaved | deprive, take away | |
| beseech – besought – besought | beg, beg | |
| beset – beset – beset | besiege, surround | |
| speak – bespoke – bespoken | order, secure | |
| bespit – bespat – bespat | spit | |
| bet – bet – bet | [ˈbet – ˈbet – ˈbet] | bet, bet |
| betake – betook – betaken | accept, resort, go | |
| bid – bid/bade – bidden | order, ask, set a price | |
| bleed – bleed – bleed | bleed | |
| breed – bred – bred | multiply, grow, produce | |
| broadcast – broadcast – broadcast | [ˈbrɔːdkɑːst – ˈbrɔːdkɑːst – ˈbrɔːdkɑːst] | broadcast (television/radio broadcasting) |
| browbeat – browbeat – browbeaten | [ˈbraʊbiːt – ˈbraʊbiːt – ˈbraʊbiːtən] | intimidate, intimidate |
| burst – burst – burst | explode, explode, explode | |
| bust – bust/busted – bust/busted | demote, destroy, go bankrupt, ruin | |
| cast – cast – cast | throw, pour metal | |
| chide – chid – chid | scold | |
| cleave – cleft – cleft | to split, to cut | |
| cling – clung – clung | cling, cling | |
| dwell – dwelt – dwelt | to dwell, reside, linger | |
| flee – fled – fled | run away, save yourself | |
| fling – flung – flung | rush | |
| forbear – forbore – forborne | refrain | |
| forbid – forbad – forbidden | prohibit | |
| forecast – forecast – forecast | [ˈfɔːkɑːst – ˈfɔːkɑːst – ˈfɔːkɑːst] | predict, prognosticate |
| foresee – foresaw – foreseen | foresee | |
| forsake – forsook – forsaken | leave, leave | |
| forswear – forswore – forsworn | renounce | |
| gainsay – gainsaid – gainsaid | [ˌɡeɪnˈseɪ – ˌɡeɪnˈsed – ˌɡeɪnˈsed] | deny, contradict |
| gild – gilt/gilded – gilt/gilded | [ɡɪld – ɡɪlt/ ˈɡɪldɪd – ɡɪlt/ ˈɡɪldɪd] | gild, gild |
| grind – ground – ground | [ɡraɪnd – ɡraʊnd – ɡraʊnd] | grind, rub, grind |
| heave – heaved/hove – heaved/hove | pull, lift, move | |
| hew – hewed – hewn | cut down, hew | |
| hit – hit – hit | hit, strike, hit | |
| inlay – inlaid – inlaid | [ɪnˈleɪ – ɪnˈleɪd – ɪnˈleɪd] | put in, insert |
| input – input – input | [ˈɪnpʊt – ˈɪnpʊt – ˈɪnpʊt] | enter data |
| interweave – interwove – interwoven | [ˌɪntəˈwiːv – ˌɪntəˈwəʊv – ˌɪntəˈwəʊvən] | to weave, intertwine |
| kneel – knelt – knelt | kneel | |
| knit – knit – knit | to knit | |
| lade – laded – laden/laded | load, upload | |
| lean – leant – leant | lean, lean, lean against | |
| leap – leapt – leapt | jump, gallop | |
| light – lit – lit | illuminate | |
| misdeal – misdealt – misdealt | [ˌmɪsˈdiːl – ˌmɪsˈdelt – ˌmɪsˈdelt] | act/do wrong |
| misgive – misgave – misgiven | [ˌmɪsˈɡɪv – ˌmɪsˈɡeɪv – ˌmɪsˈɡɪvən] | create fear |
| mow – mowed – mown | mow, reap (cereals) | |
| outbid – outbid – outbid | surpass, outbid | |
| plead – plead – plead | go to court | |
| prove – proved – proved/proven | prove, confirm | |
| quit – quit – quit | throw, leave | |
| rebind – rebound – rebound | [ˌriːˈbaɪnd – rɪˈbaʊnd – rɪˈbaʊnd] | rebind, rebind |
| rent – rent – rent | to tear apart, to tear off | |
| rid – rid – rid | liberate, liberate | |
| sew – sewed – sewn/sewed | sew | |
| shear – sheared – shorn | [ʃɪə – ʃɪəd – ʃɔːn] | cut, cut off |
| shed – shed – shed | [ʃed – ʃed – ʃed] | spill, lose |
| shoe – shod – shod | [ʃuː – ʃɒd – ʃɒd] | shoe, shoe |
| shoot – shot – shot | [ʃuːt – ʃɒt – ʃɒt] | shoot, shoot |
| shred – shred – shred | [ʃred – ʃred – ʃred] | shred, shred, scatter |
| shrink – shrank – shrunk | [ʃrɪŋk – ʃræŋk – ʃrʌŋk] | shrink, shrink |
| shrive – shrove/shrived – shriven/shrived | [ʃraɪv – ʃrəʊv/ʃraɪvd – ˈʃrɪvən/ʃraɪvd] | confess, forgive sins |
| slay-slew-slain | kill | |
| sling – slung – slung | hang up, throw | |
| slink-slunk-slunk | sneak, sneak away | |
| slit – slit – slit | cut lengthwise | |
| smite – smote – smitten | hit, beat, strike | |
| sow – sowed – sow | sow | |
| speed – sped – sped | drive, rush | |
| spill – spill – spill | shed | |
| spin – spun/span – spun | twist, twirl, spin | |
| spit – spat/spit – spat/spit | spit | |
| split – split – split | split | |
| spoil – spoilt – spoilt | spoil | |
| spread – spread – spread | distribute | |
| spring – sprang – sprung | jump, jump | |
| stick – stuck – stuck | glue | |
| sting – stung – stung | sting | |
| strew – strewed – strewn | sprinkle, sprinkle | |
| stride – strode – stridden | step | |
| strike – struck – struck | strike, strike | |
| strive – strove – striven | try, fight | |
| swear – swore – sworn | to swear | |
| sweep – swept – swept | sweep | |
| swell – swelled – swollen | swell | |
| thrust – thrust – thrust | [θrʌst – θrʌst – θrʌst] | push, poke |
| tread – trod – trod/trodden | step | |
| waylay – waylayd – waylayd | [ˌweɪˈleɪ – ˌweɪˈleɪd – ˌweɪˈleɪd] | lie in wait |
| weave – wove/ weaved – woven/ weaved | weave | |
| wed – wed –wed | marry | |
| wind – wound – wound | wind up (mechanism) | |
| work – worked(wrought) * – worked(wrought) | [ˈwɜːk – wɜːkt/ ˈrɔːt – wɜːkt/ ˈrɔːt] | work |
| wring – wrung – wrung | squeeze, twist, compress |
Other English topics: Phrasal verb give: variety of combinations and meanings
*wrought – a very outdated book form, shown in the table for informational purposes only. In modern English its use is neither practiced nor recommended.
Now we can actually claim to have studied all the irregular verbs in modern English. Because the remaining words, in most cases, are derivatives of already learned verbs. For example, we looked at the word understand. When we encounter the same expression, but with a negative prefix - misunderstand, we will already know that its forms will become misunderstood/misunderstood.
That's all, learn irregular verbs in English, work with translation and transcription, and don't rush to memorize everything at once. It’s better to study a few words a day than to struggle with a huge list and be nervous about not remembering it. Good luck in your practice!
There are correct (regular) and incorrect (irregular). When using irregular verbs, their forms are formed in different ways than regular verbs (by adding –ed to the infinitive).
The Irregular Verbs table consists of three forms:
- (this is the initial form of the verb without the particle to).
- (verb in past tense).
- (past participle).
Unfortunately, there is no such rule that helps determine which verb is correct and which is not.
In total, the English language has about . Naturally, you won’t be able to learn them right away, and there’s no need to: many of them are not used in speech, as they are considered outdated.
Ways to quickly memorize Irregular Verbs
There are some ways you can speed up learning Irregular Verbs:
Group No. 1. The verb in all three forms has the same pronunciation and spelling.
For example:
| cut | cut | cut | cut |
| hurt | hurt | hurt | hurt |
Group№ 2 . Past Simple and Past Participle are identical in spelling and pronunciation. For example:
Group№ 4 .The verb form is formed by adding -old to the first group of the infinitive:
Group№ 6. The form of the verb in the Present Simple and Past Participle is the same:
Group№ 8 .The Past Simple form is formed using –ew, and the Past Participle form is formed using -own:
Group№ 9 . ABOUT The Past Participle form is formed using the ending -n added to the infinitive:
Group№ 11 . The vowel letter in each form varies according to i-a-u principle, For example:
Note. Verbs formed with the prefixes re-, dis-, over-, un-, mis-, out-, under- and others will also be irregular. Their Past Simple and Past Participal forms are the same as the verbs from which they were derived. For example, set – reset, stand – understand.
Table of irregular verbs (Irregular Verbs)
Below is a table of Irregular Verbs with the 117 most common and most used.
| Infinitive | Past simple | Past participle | Translation |
| be | was, were | been | be |
| beat | beat | beaten ['bi:tn] | beat |
| become | became | become | become |
| begin | began | begun | start off |
| bleed | bled | bled | bleed |
| blow | blew | blown | blow |
| break | broke | broken [‘brouk(e)n] | break |
| bring | brought | brought | bring |
| build | built | built | build |
| burn | burnt | burnt | burn |
| burst | burst | burst | break out |
| buy | bought | bought | buy |
| catch | caught | caught | catch, grab |
| choose | chose [ʃəuz] | chosen | choose |
| come | came | come | come |
| cost | cost | cost | cost |
| creep | crept | crept | crawl |
| cut | cut | cut | cut |
| do | did | done | do |
| draw | drew | drawn | draw, drag |
| dream | dream | dream | dream, doze |
| drink | drank | drunk | drink |
| drive | drove | driven [‘drivn] | drive |
| eat | ate | eaten [‘i:tn] | There is |
| fall | fell | fallen [‘fɔ:lən] | fall |
| feed | fed | fed | feed |
| feel | felt | felt | feel |
| fight | fought | fought | fight |
| find | found | found | find |
| fit | fit | fit | fit to size |
| fly | flew | flown | fly |
| forget | forgot | forgotten | forget |
| forgive | forgave | forgiven | forgive |
| freeze | froze | frozen [‘frouzn] | freeze |
| get[get] | got | got | receive |
| give | gave | given | give |
| go | went | gone | go |
| grow | grew | grown | grow |
| hang | hung | hung | hang |
| have | had | had | have |
| hear | heard | heard | hear |
| hide | hid | hidden ['hidn] | hide |
| hit | hit | hit | hit the target |
| hold | held | held | hold |
| hurt | hurt | hurt | hurt |
| keep | kept | kept | contain |
| kneel | knelt | knelt | kneel |
| know | knew | known | know |
| lay | laid | laid | put |
| lead | led | led | lead |
| lean | leant | leant | tilt |
| learn | learn | learn | learn |
| leave | left | left | leave |
| lend | tape | tape | occupy |
| let | let | let | let |
| lie | lay | lain | lie |
| light | lit | lit | illuminate |
| lose | lost | lost | lose |
| make | made | made | produce |
| mean | meant | meant | to mean |
| meet | met | met | meet |
| mistake | mistook | mistaken | make a mistake |
| pay | paid | paid | to pay |
| prove | proved | proven | prove |
| put | put | put | put |
| quit | quit | quit | go out |
| read | read | read | read |
| ride | rode | ridden [‘ridn] | ride a horse |
| ring | rank | rung | ring |
| rise | rose | risen [‘rizn] | get up |
| run | ran | run | run |
| say | said | said | speak |
| see | saw | seen | see |
| seek | sought | sought | search |
| sell | sold | sold | sell |
| send | sent | sent | send |
| set | set | set | put |
| sew | sewed | sewn | sew |
| shake [ʃeik] | shook [ʃuk] | shaken [‘ʃeik(ə)n] | shake |
| show [ʃəu] | showed [ʃəud] | shown [ʃəun] | show |
| shrink [ʃriŋk] | shrank [ʃræŋk] | shrunk [ʃrʌŋk] | reduce |
| shut [ʃʌt] | shut [ʃʌt] | shut [ʃʌt] | close |
| sing | sang | sung | sing |
| sink | sank, sunk | sunk | drown |
| sit | sat | sat | sit |
| sleep | slept | slept | sleep |
| slide | slide | slide | slide |
| sow | sowed | south | sow |
| speak | spoke | spoken [‘spouk(e)n] | speak |
| spell | spelled | spelled | to spell |
| spend | spent | spent | spend |
| spill | spilt | spilt | shed |
| spoiler | spoilt | spoilt | spoil |
| spread | spread | spread | spread out |
| spring | sprang | sprung | jump |
| stand | stood | stood | stand |
| steal | stole | stolen [‘stəulən] | steal |
| stick | stuck | stuck | prick |
| sting | stung | stung | sting |
| sweep | swept | swept | sweep |
| swell | swelled | swollen [‘swoul(e)n] | swell |
| swim | swam | swum | swim |
| swing | swung | swung | sway |
| take | took | taken [‘teik(ə)n] | take, take |
| teach | taught | taught | learn |
| tear | tore | torn | tear |
| tell | told | told | tell |
| think [θiŋk] | thought [θɔ:t] | thought [θɔ:t] | think |
| throw [θrəu] | threw [θru:] | thrown [θrəun] | throw |
| understand [ʌndə’stænd] | understood [ʌndə’stud] | understood [ʌndə’stud] | understand |
| wake | woke up | woke [‘wouk(e)n] | wake up |
| wear | wore | worn | wear |
| weep | wept | wept | cry |
| wet | wet | wet | wet |
| win | won | won | win |
| wind | wound | wound | wriggle |
| write | wrote | written [‘ritn] | write |
Let's see clearly how the forms of irregular verbs change in sentences:
- I write a letter to my Grandmother. - My father wrote a bestseller last year.- This story was written by unknown soldier of the Second Worlds War.
- I see my best friend every day. I saw my cousin three days ago at my uncle Bens birthday party. – I have already seen this comedy.
By following the rules described in the article, it will become much easier to learn the wrong ones. Good luck!
Our topic today is getting to know such an interesting phenomenon as forms of irregular verbs. As you know, the English language is very cunning. This language often lays all sorts of traps for us. One of them is irregular verbs. English is not the only language that has irregular verbs. French also rich in irregular verbs.
Irregular English verbs have three or four forms?Romanian language, German, Latin, Greek also contains irregular verbs. And even the Russian language is replete with them. I think you have repeatedly heard about irregular verbs in English, in other words Irregular Verbs. Why are such verbs called irregular? Everything is very simple: in the past tense they are conjugated in their own way, have their own special form, while all other verbs in the past tense have the ending -ed.
For comparison, let's conjugate 3 regular regular verbs in the Past Simple:
| Work - ra | sing | |
| I worked | I translated | I managed |
| You worked | You translated | You managed |
| He worked | He translated | He managed |
| She worked | She translated | She managed |
| It worked | It translated | It managed |
| We worked | We translated | We managed |
| They worked | They translated | They managed |
As you can see, all 3 verbs are conjugated the same way, according to the pattern of stem + ending -ed.
The situation is completely different in the case of irregular verbs. Let's conjugate 3 more verbs in the simple past tense (Past Simple), which are irregular, and here pay attention to the fact that each of these verbs has its own, absolutely different shape at the end or even at the root of a word:
| Blow blow | Go - go | Bring - bring |
| I blew | I went | I brought |
| You blew | You went | You brought |
| He blew | He went | He brought |
| She blew | She went | She brought |
| It blew | It went | It brought |
| We blew | We went | We brought |
| They blew | They went | They brought |
Even the naked eye can see that each of these verbs appeared in its own form, completely different from the others. The catch is that there is no specific rule by which you can find out the form of an irregular verb. Each of them is conjugated differently. The English language, friends, is full of tricks and underwater reefs. Another catch is that each irregular verb has not one form, but three.
Three forms of irregular verbs
So what are these three forms?
- The first is the infinitive or initial (indefinite) form of the verb
- The second is Past Participle I, that is, the form that corresponds to the simple past tense (Past Simple), it is also used in the 2nd and 3rd cases of the conditional mood (Conditional of the 2-d and of the 3-d case)
- The third is Past Participle II, the one that is used in the present perfect tense (Present Perfect) and in the long past tense (Past Perfect). The same form is used in the passive voice (Passive Voice), in the conditional mood of the 3-d case and some other grammatical rules.
Here are some examples of 3 forms of irregular verbs:
- To arise - arose - arisen - to rise
- To be - was, were - been - to be
- To bear - bore - born - to give birth
- To become - became - become - become, become
- To begin - began - began - to begin
- To catch - caught - caught - to catch, to catch
- To choose - chose - chosen - to choose
- To dig - dug - dug - dig, dig
- To dream - dreamt - dreamt - dream, dream
- To feel - felt - felt - to feel
- To forget - forgot - forgotten - to forget
- To have - had - had - to have
Now let’s look at these 3 forms using example sentences in all of the above verb tenses.
- So, the simple past tense of the verb (Past Simple Tense):
Yesterday she felt herself bad ( to feel). — Yesterday she felt bad. Last Wednesday we met Jim ( to meet). — Last Wednesday we met Jim. Last night I dream you ( to dream). “Last night I dreamed about you.” I was in Paris last year ( to be) — I was in Paris last year.
- Present Perfect Tense:
I have just seen him ( to see). - I just saw him. Tom has already brought my books ( to bring). — Tom has already brought my books. Have you ever been in London ( to be)? - Have you ever been in London? Ann has already forgotten her boy-friend ( to forget).- Anna has already forgotten her boyfriend.
- Past Perfect Tense:
I noticed that I had forgotten my keys ( to forget). — I noticed that I forgot my keys. He understood that he had lost his documents ( to lose). — He realized that he had lost his documents.
- Passive Voice:
The dog is fed by me ( to feed). — The dog was fed by me (I fed the dog). Made in France ( to make). - Made in France.
- Conditional mood of the 2nd and 3rd cases (Conditional). The second and third forms appear here:
If I had money, I would buy a car ( to have). — If I had money, I would buy a car (real condition). If I had money, I would have bought a car ( to have, to buy).- If I had money, I would buy a car (unreal condition, past tense).
How to learn all forms of irregular verbs? Cheat sheet for memorizing Irregular Verbs
As mentioned above, there are no rules by which the forms of irregular verbs are formed; everyone has their own. But we hope that this poetic form will help you quickly remember these irregular verbs:
To write-wrote-written
To eat-ate-eat
To speak-spoke-spoken
To break-broken-broken
To come-come-come
To become-became-become
To run-run-run
To swim-swam-swum
To know-knew-known
To throw-threw-thrown
To blow-blew-blown
To fly-flown
Tossing-sang-sung
To ring-rang-rung
To hide-hid-hidden
To bite-bit-bitten
To send-sent-sent
To spend-spent-spent
To sleep-slept-slept
To keep-kept-kept
To tell-told-told
To sell-sold-sold
To teach-taught-taught
To catch-caught-caught
To fight-fought-fought
To think-thought-thought
To buy-bought-bought
To bring-brought-brought
To cut-cut-cut
To shut-shut-shut
To cost-cost-cost
To lose-lost-lost
To lead-led-led
To feed-fed-fed
To feel-felt-felt
To hold-held-held
From this funny poetic form we see that some irregular verbs have the same letter combinations, which allows them to rhyme and thereby make it easier for us to remember them.
"Fourth" form of irregular verbs
There is a common belief that there is also a 4th form of irregular verbs. This 4th configuration is formed according to the scheme stem + ending -ing. It defines the Present Participle, that is, the present participle in such tenses as the Present Continuous and the Past Continuous. In other words, it is the present and past tense of the imperfect form. It follows from this that there are not 3, but 4 forms of irregular verbs. But this 4th configuration is, as it were, unofficial.
Let's look at this very 4th form using examples of sentences with the Present Continuous:
The same 4th form in sentences with Past Continuous:
To teach-taught-taught-teaching - to teach
I was teaching at school. — I taught at school.
To choose-chose-chosen-choosing - choose
We were choosing a new dress fir Kitty.- We were choosing a dress for Kitty.