Grammar › Verb Tenses › Irregular Verbs
Irregular Verbs
Irregular verbs don't add -ed in the past. Learn three forms for each:
- Base — go, see, buy.
- Past simple — went, saw, bought.
- Past participle (with have/be) — gone, seen, bought.
Use the past simple for finished actions (I went) and the past participle after have (I've gone). Some verbs keep one form (put/put/put); many follow sound patterns (sing/sang/sung).
The three forms
Every verb has three forms. For regular verbs the last two are the same (work → worked → worked). Irregular verbs are the ones you have to learn, because the forms change in unpredictable ways.
| Form | Used in | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Base | present tense, after did and to | I go / Did you go? |
| Past simple | the past simple | I went yesterday. |
| Past participle | perfect tenses and the passive | I’ve gone. / It was eaten. |
Common irregular verbs
| Base | Past simple | Past participle |
|---|---|---|
| be | was / were | been |
| become | became | become |
| begin | began | begun |
| break | broke | broken |
| bring | brought | brought |
| buy | bought | bought |
| catch | caught | caught |
| choose | chose | chosen |
| come | came | come |
| do | did | done |
| drink | drank | drunk |
| drive | drove | driven |
| eat | ate | eaten |
| fall | fell | fallen |
| feel | felt | felt |
| find | found | found |
| fly | flew | flown |
| forget | forgot | forgotten |
| get | got | got / gotten |
| give | gave | given |
| go | went | gone |
| grow | grew | grown |
| have | had | had |
| hear | heard | heard |
| know | knew | known |
| leave | left | left |
| lose | lost | lost |
| make | made | made |
| meet | met | met |
| pay | paid | paid |
| put | put | put |
| read | read | read |
| run | ran | run |
| say | said | said |
| see | saw | seen |
| sell | sold | sold |
| send | sent | sent |
| sing | sang | sung |
| sit | sat | sat |
| speak | spoke | spoken |
| swim | swam | swum |
| take | took | taken |
| teach | taught | taught |
| tell | told | told |
| think | thought | thought |
| understand | understood | understood |
| wear | wore | worn |
| win | won | won |
| write | wrote | written |
Learn them in patterns
Memorising is easier when you group verbs that behave the same way.
- No change: put, cut, let, hit, cost, hurt, shut → put / put / put.
- Same past and participle: buy → bought, bring → brought, think → thought, teach → taught, catch → caught; make → made, say → said, pay → paid, find → found.
- Three different forms (i–a–u): sing → sang → sung, drink → drank → drunk, swim → swam → swum, begin → began → begun.
- Participle in -en: eat → eaten, take → taken, give → given, write → written, break → broken, speak → spoken.
Common mistakes
1. Adding -ed to irregular verbs. The most common error. Irregular verbs never take -ed. goed, buyed, thinked → went, bought, thought.
2. Confusing the past simple and the past participle. After have/has, use the participle, not the past simple. I have went → I have gone, and I have ate → I have eaten. Pro tip: after have/has, always use the third form.
3. Using the participle for the past simple. Alone, without have, use the past simple. I seen it yesterday → I saw it yesterday.
✏️ Practice: Irregular Verbs
1. The past simple of 'buy' is ___.
2. I have ___ my homework.
3. She ___ to Italy last year.
4. Have you ever ___ sushi?
5. They ___ the match yesterday.
6. He has ___ his keys again.
7. The past participle of 'write' is ___.
8. We ___ a great time at the party.
9. Which sentence is correct?
10. She ___ her leg while she was skiing.
Frequently asked questions
How many irregular verbs are there?
There are around 200 in common use, but the 50–70 most frequent verbs (go, have, do, say, make, get…) cover most of what you need. Learn those first.
What is the difference between the past simple and the past participle?
The past simple is used alone for finished actions (I saw it). The past participle is used after have/has (I have seen it) or be (it was seen).
Is there a rule for irregular verbs?
Not really — they must be memorised. But many fall into sound groups (sing/sang/sung, drink/drank/drunk), so learning them in patterns helps a lot.
Why is 'I have went' wrong?
After 'have', English uses the past participle, and the participle of 'go' is 'gone': I have gone. 'Went' is the past simple, used without 'have'.
👩🏫 For teachers
CEFR objectives for “Irregular Verbs”:
- Can recall the three forms (base, past simple, past participle) of the most frequent irregular verbs (CEFR A2).
- Can select the past simple or the past participle according to the structure.
- Can group irregular verbs by sound pattern to aid memorisation.
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