Irregular verbs don't follow the -ed rule: go → went → gone, buy → bought → bought. They're also some of the most common verbs in English, so they're worth learning first.
How to use this list
- Past simple is for finished past actions: I went to work yesterday.
- Past participle is for the present perfect and the passive: I've gone home. It was written in 2020.
- Learn them in groups that sound the same: buy, bring, think → bought, brought, thought; sing, drink, swim → sang, drank, swam.
The list (91 verbs)
| Base form | Past simple | Past participle | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| be | was / were | been | exist; describe |
| become | became | become | start to be |
| begin | began | begun | start |
| bite | bit | bitten | cut with teeth |
| blow | blew | blown | move air |
| break | broke | broken | damage into pieces |
| bring | brought | brought | carry here |
| build | built | built | make a building |
| buy | bought | bought | pay for |
| catch | caught | caught | take hold of; get (a bus) |
| choose | chose | chosen | pick |
| come | came | come | move towards |
| cost | cost | cost | have a price |
| cut | cut | cut | divide with a knife |
| do | did | done | perform an action |
| draw | drew | drawn | make a picture |
| drink | drank | drunk | take liquid |
| drive | drove | driven | control a car |
| eat | ate | eaten | have food |
| fall | fell | fallen | drop down |
| feel | felt | felt | experience |
| fight | fought | fought | struggle against |
| find | found | found | discover |
| fly | flew | flown | travel in the air |
| forget | forgot | forgotten | not remember |
| forgive | forgave | forgiven | stop being angry with |
| freeze | froze | frozen | become ice |
| get | got | got | receive; become |
| give | gave | given | hand to someone |
| go | went | gone / been | move to a place |
| grow | grew | grown | get bigger |
| hang | hung | hung | attach from above |
| have | had | had | own; experience |
| hear | heard | heard | notice sounds |
| hide | hid | hidden | put out of sight |
| hit | hit | hit | strike |
| hold | held | held | keep in your hand |
| hurt | hurt | hurt | cause pain |
| keep | kept | kept | continue to have |
| know | knew | known | have information |
| lay | laid | laid | put down flat |
| lead | led | led | guide |
| learn | learnt / learned | learnt / learned | get knowledge |
| leave | left | left | go away from |
| lend | lent | lent | give for a short time |
| let | let | let | allow |
| lie | lay | lain | be in a flat position |
| lose | lost | lost | not find; not win |
| make | made | made | create |
| mean | meant | meant | have a meaning |
| meet | met | met | see and talk to |
| pay | paid | paid | give money |
| put | put | put | place |
| quit | quit | quit | stop; leave a job |
| read | read | read | look at words |
| ride | rode | ridden | travel on a bike or horse |
| ring | rang | rung | make a phone or bell sound |
| rise | rose | risen | go up |
| run | ran | run | move fast on foot |
| say | said | said | speak words |
| see | saw | seen | notice with your eyes |
| sell | sold | sold | give for money |
| send | sent | sent | make something go to someone |
| set | set | set | put; arrange |
| shake | shook | shaken | move quickly up and down |
| shine | shone | shone | give light |
| shoot | shot | shot | fire a gun; take a photo or video |
| show | showed | shown | let someone see |
| shut | shut | shut | close |
| sing | sang | sung | make music with your voice |
| sink | sank | sunk | go down under water |
| sit | sat | sat | be on a chair |
| sleep | slept | slept | rest at night |
| speak | spoke | spoken | talk |
| spend | spent | spent | use money or time |
| stand | stood | stood | be on your feet |
| steal | stole | stolen | take without permission |
| stick | stuck | stuck | attach with glue |
| sting | stung | stung | hurt with a sting |
| swim | swam | swum | move in water |
| take | took | taken | get; carry |
| teach | taught | taught | help someone learn |
| tear | tore | torn | rip |
| tell | told | told | say to someone |
| think | thought | thought | use your mind |
| throw | threw | thrown | send through the air |
| understand | understood | understood | know the meaning |
| wake | woke | woken | stop sleeping |
| wear | wore | worn | have clothes on |
| win | won | won | come first |
| write | wrote | written | put words on paper or screen |
Quick quiz
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Learn more about the past simple and the present perfect, or follow the full Complete English Course.
Frequently asked questions
What are irregular verbs in English?
Verbs that don't add -ed in the past simple and past participle, like go → went → gone or eat → ate → eaten.
How many irregular verbs are there in English?
Around 200, but you only need the most common 80 to 100 for everyday English. This list covers those.
What's the easiest way to learn irregular verbs?
Learn them in sound groups (bought, brought, thought), say them out loud, and use them in your own sentences about your week.