Escolar Documentos
Profissional Documentos
Cultura Documentos
Table
Most verbs in English are regular verbs, meaning that they add the ed ending to form both the
simple past and the past participle forms, which are identical, such as play-played-played.
However, there is a considerable number of irregular verbs (about 450, but only about 200 are in
common use) that form their simple past and past participle forms with a vowel change, such as
in see-saw-seen (see table below). Some irregular verbs do not change form at all (let-let-let).
Irregular verbs originate mostly from Old English, while any new verb coined in later periods
tends to be regular. Still, the ten most used verbs in English are irregular.
Another distinction is between weak and strong verbs. In weak verbs, the simple past and past
participle forms are identical, bearing a d or t ending (buy-bought-bought). In strong verbs the
simple past and past participle are usually distinct, with the past participle having an en ending
(speak-spoke-spoken). The classification of verbs to weak and strong in Modern English is less
important for learners, so you can suffice with the regular-irregular distinction.
Regardless of the linguistic distinctions and classifications, which tend to be too complicated for
learners, we suggest that you use the following tables, clustering together irregular verbs with
similar change patterns in small groups. This kind of clustering aids your memory, which will
strengthen with practice. Read through the tables and make note of the verbs you find useful for
your purposes. You could also read the table headings if it helps you, or simply focus on the
verbs themselves. You may consider creating flash cards with the different groups and study
them, as explained on our vocabulary strategies pages. Remember that for looking up irregulars
verbs after you have learned them, you have an alphabetical list in any dictionary for easy
referencing.
You may notice that in some verb parts there are two correct forms. A general rule of thumb here
is that the regular verb option (with ed, no vowel change) is more commonly used in American
English, whereas the irregular option (vowel change) is still in use in British English. Moreover,
there may also be finer nuances in meaning pertaining to the usage of the former or the latter. In
any case, consult your dictionary if you are not sure about the exact usage.
The following irregular verb tables are sorted according to V1,V2, and V3 forms. Here is a quick
reminder for these verb forms:
d or t ending
deal dealt dealt
dream dreamed \ dreamt dreamed \ dreamt
lean leaned \ leant leaned \ leant
leap leapt leapt
mean meant meant
read read (/red/) read (/red/)
hear heard heard
d or t ending
bring brought brought
buy bought bought
fight fought fought
seek sought sought
think thought thought
*catch caught caught
*teach taught taught
d or t ending
bet bet bet
bid (to offer) bid bid
broadcast broadcast \
broadcasted broadcast \
broadcasted
burst burst burst
cost cost cost
cut cut cut
fit fit
(was the right size)
fitted
(tailored, changed size) fit
(was the right size)
fitted
(tailored, changed size)
hit hit hit
hurt hurt hurt
let let let
put put put
set set set
shut shut shut
spread spread spread
quit quit quit
Pay attention!
Do not confuse lie (tell a lie, regular), lie (down to rest, irregular), and lay (the table, irregular).
*lie
(tell a lie) lied lied
lie
(down to rest) lay lain
lay
(the table, eggs) laid laid
the verb to be
am
is
are was
was
were been
go went gone
*dive
(jumped head first) dove dived
*dive
(scuba-diving) dived dived
do did done
can could
may might
hold held held
stand stood stood
understand understood understood
sit sat sat
babysit babysat babysat
win won won
lose lost lost
Summary
This has been a review about the irregular verbs in English grammar. As these verbs are highly
used in both spoken and written language, you should master their usage rather early on as you
progress with your English writing. Reviewing the irregular verbs is not enough to make you use
them correctly. The more you notice them up in your reading, and more importantly, use them
properly in your writing, the better you will use them.