Irregular Verbs in English with Examples

Irregular Verbs in English

Irregular verbs are actually fairly common in the English language, and you will encounter them frequently. We suggest taking some time to read through the list of irregular verbs (below) and also to practice using them in sentences.


There are a few irregular verbs, in particular, that are used very frequently, so it is important to be familiar with them as soon as possible. Those most common irregular verbs – which happen to also be some of the most common words you will use in English – are the following (we have added the simple past form and the past participle form here to illustrate the changes):

Common Irregular Verbs in English

  • come (came, come)
  • get (got, got)
  • go (went, gone)
  • know (knew, known)
  • make (made, made)
  • say (said, said)
  • see (saw, seen)
  • take (took, taken)
  • think (thought, thought)

Here are a few examples using these common irregular verbs, including an explanation of each:

  • Did you take the last box to the moving truck?
  • I took all the others already.
  • We should have taken them all to the truck last night already.

→ Here the irregular verb “take” is in its base form in the first sentence. In the second sentence, we see it in its simple past form “took,” and in the third sentence, it is used in the past participle form “taken.”

  • I need to go to the store this afternoon.
  • I went to the farmer’s market in the morning, but the person who sells the best vegetables was already gone by the time I arrived.

→ Here the irregular verb “go” is in its base form in the first sentence. In the second sentence, we see it in its simple past form “went” and in the past participle form “gone.”

  • I hear her say that she likes balloons a lot, so I said to Anthony that we should get some for the party this weekend.

→ Here the irregular verb “say” is in its base form in the first part of sentence, and in the simple past form “said” in the second part of the sentence.

  • Do you know how to make a rocket? I’ve always wanted to try, but I have never made one.

→ Here the irregular verb “make” is in its base form in the first sentence. In the second sentence, we see it in its simple past form “made.”

  • Let’s eat some of these cookies. I ate some last week and found them to be delicious. Hopefully, my brother hasn’t already eaten them all.

→ In this example, the irregular verb eat is in base form. “Ate” is the past simple form of “eat,” and found is the past simple form of “find.” In the third sentence, eat is used in the past participle form “eaten.”

Full Listing of Irregular Verbs

Below we have provided a list of all irregular verbs used in English. The table show the base (or bare infinitive) form, followed by the simple past form and the past participle form for each verb. Becoming familiar with this list will help as you learn to speak and write English more regularly.


Base Form Past Simple Past Participle
arise arose arisen
awake awoke awoken
be was/were been
bear bore born(e)
beat beat beaten
become became become
begin began begun
bend bent bent
bet bet bet
bind bound bound
bite bit bitten
bleed bled bled
blow blew blown
break broke broken
breed bred bred
bring brought brought
broadcast broadcast broadcast
build built built
burn burnt/burned burnt/burned
burst burst burst
buy bought bought
can could been able
catch caught caught
choose chose chosen
cling clung clung
come came come
cost cost cost
creep crept crept
cut cut cut
deal dealt dealt
dig dug dug
do did done
draw drew drawn
dream dreamt/dreamed dreamt/dreamed
drink drank drunk
drive drove driven
eat ate eaten
fall fell fallen
feed fed fed
feel felt felt
fight fought fought
find found found
fly flew flown
forbid forbade forbidden
forget forgot forgotten
forgive forgave forgiven
freeze froze frozen
get got got
give gave given
go went gone
grind ground ground
grow grew grown
hang hung hung
have had had
hear heard heard
hide hid hidden
hit hit hit
hold held held
hurt hurt hurt
keep kept kept
kneel knelt knelt
know knew known
lay laid laid
lead led led
lean leant/leaned leant/leaned
learn learnt/learned learnt/learned
leave left left
lend lent lent
lie (in bed) lay lain
lie (to not tell the truth) lied lied
light lit/lighted lit/lighted
lose lost lost
make made made
may might might
mean meant meant
meet met met
mow mowed mown/mowed
must had to had to
overtake overtook overtaken
pay paid paid
put put put
read read read
ride rode ridden
ring rang rung
rise rose risen
run ran run
saw sawed sawn/sawed
say said said
see saw seen
sell sold sold
send sent sent
set set set
sew sewed sewn/sewed
shake shook shaken
shall should should
shed shed shed
shine shone shone
shoot shot shot
show showed shown
shrink shrank shrunk
shut shut shut
sing sasangw sung
sink sank sunk
sit sat sat
sleep slept slept
slide slid slid
smell smelt smelt
sow sowed sown/sowed
speak spoke spoken
spell spelt/spelled spelt/spelled
spend spent spent
spill spilt/spilled spilt/spilled
spit spat spat
spread spread spread
stand stood stood
steal stole stolen
stick stuck stung
stink stank stunk
strike struck struck
swear swore sworn
sweep swept swept
swell swelled swollen/swelled
swim swam swum
swing swung swung
take took taken
teach taught taught
tear tore torn
tell told told
think thought thought
throw threw thrown
understand understood understood
wake woke woken
wear wore worn
weep wept wept
will would would
win won won
wind wound wound
write wrote written

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