Irregular verbs are the ones that do not follow the “-ed” rule in the past. There are far fewer of them than regular verbs, but the most common verbs in the language are among them: “be”, “have”, “go”, “get”, “make”.
Group 1: no change
| Base form | Past | Past participle |
|---|---|---|
| put | put | put |
| cut | cut | cut |
| let | let | let |
| set | set | set |
| hit | hit | hit |
| cost | cost | cost |
| hurt | hurt | hurt |
| shut | shut | shut |
Group 2: same past and participle
| Base form | Past | Past participle |
|---|---|---|
| have | had | had |
| make | made | made |
| say | said | said |
| get | got | got (US: gotten) |
| find | found | found |
| tell | told | told |
| think | thought | thought |
| buy | bought | bought |
| bring | brought | brought |
| teach | taught | taught |
| feel | felt | felt |
| leave | left | left |
| keep | kept | kept |
| sleep | slept | slept |
| meet | met | met |
| pay | paid | paid |
| send | sent | sent |
| spend | spent | spent |
| build | built | built |
| understand | understood | understood |
| stand | stood | stood |
| lose | lost | lost |
| hear | heard | heard |
| sit | sat | sat |
Group 3: three different forms
| Base form | Past | Past participle |
|---|---|---|
| be | was/were | been |
| do | did | done |
| go | went | gone |
| see | saw | seen |
| know | knew | known |
| take | took | taken |
| give | gave | given |
| come | came | come |
| write | wrote | written |
| speak | spoke | spoken |
| begin | began | begun |
| drink | drank | drunk |
| sing | sang | sung |
| eat | ate | eaten |
| drive | drove | driven |
| forget | forgot | forgotten |
| choose | chose | chosen |
| break | broke | broken |
Tips for memorizing them
- Study by group, not alphabetically. Patterns help your brain.
- Learn the 20 most common first: be, have, do, say, go, get, make, know, think, take, see, come, give, find, tell, feel, leave, put, keep, begin.
- See them in sentences. “I’ve never seen that”, “She told me”, “We went home”.
- Say the three forms out loud together, like a rhythm: “go, went, gone”.
Where to hear these verbs
The most common irregular verbs appear in practically every TV scene. When you click a verb like “went” or “brought” in Telidioma, the card shows the base form and the meaning in that sentence. To use the participle correctly, see the present perfect explained.
Frequently asked questions
How many irregular verbs are there in English?
There are a few hundred, but most are rare. The 50 most common cover the vast majority of what you hear in conversation, TV and everyday texts.
What is the difference between the past and the past participle?
The simple past is used on its own (“I went”). The participle appears with “have” in the present perfect (“I have gone”) and in the passive voice (“It was written”).
What is the fastest way to memorize irregular verbs?
Group them by pattern and see them in real sentences. TV shows help because the most common ones appear all the time.