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Irregular Verbs in English*

Marianne Raynaud and Catherine Alhinc

Type 1: The same form for the simple past and the past participle

Group 1 - 1 (5 verbs)
The simple past and the past participle are the same and end with “d.” The infinitive is
always pronounced [i:] like the letter E, while the simple past and past participle are
pronounced [E] like in the word “edge.”

to breed bred bred

to read read read
to lead led led
to feed fed fed
to deal dealt dealt

Group 1 - 2 (10 verbs)

The simple past and the past participle are exactly the same and end with “t”. The infinitive
is always pronounced [I:] like the letter “E” while the simple past and past participle are
pronounced [E] like in the word "edge.”

to feel felt felt

to sweep swept swept
to leap leapt leapt
to sleep slept slept
to keep kept kept
to weep wept wept
to leave left left
to creep crept crept
to meet met met
to mean meant meant

Group 2 – 1 (7 verbs)
The simple past and past participles are the same and are formed by changing the last
consonant to a “d” or to “de.”

to have had had

to make made made
to say said said
to lay laid laid
to pay paid paid
to hear heard heard
to slide slid slid

*There are additional irregular verbs, but many of these now have common regular forms.

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Group 2 – 2 (11 verbs)
The simple past and past participles are the same and are formed by changing the last
consonant to “t.”

to spend spent spent

to bend bent bent
to lend lent lent
to send sent sent
to smell smelt smelt
to burn burnt burnt
to build built built

• The verbs below (also in group 2) have both regular and irregular forms ending in “t.”
They appear in “Was It Love?” as irregular verbs.
• In these tables the verbs marked with an asterisk have both regular and irregular forms.
In the story “Was It Love?” they have irregular forms.

to learn * learnt learnt

to dream * dreamt dreamt
to spill * spilt spilt
to spoil * spoilt spoilt

Group 3 – 1 (7 verbs)
The simple past and past participles are the same and are formed by changing the last
consonant to “ght” pronounced /t/.

to bring brought brought

to catch caught caught
to think thought thought
to buy bought bought
to fight fought fought
to seek sought sought
to teach taught taught

Group 4 A (11 verbs)

The simple past and past participles are the same and are formed by changing the last
consonant to “d.”

to tell told told

to sell sold sold
to bind bound bound
to find found found
to grind ground ground
to wind wound wound
to stand stood stood
to understand understood understood
to withstand withstood withstood
to hold held held
to withhold withheld withheld

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Group 4 B - 1 (10 verbs)
The simple past and past participles are the same and end in “t,” “ck,” “n” or “ne”.

to get got got / gotten (US)

to lose lost lost
to shine shone shone
to shoot shot shot
to sit sat sat
to spit spit / spat spit / spat
to stick stuck stuck
to strike struck struck
to swing swung swung
wring wrung wrung
to win won won

Group 4 B - 2 (9 verbs)
The simple past and past participle are once more the same and end in “g” or “ng.”

to dig dug clung

to cling clung dug
to fling flung flung
to hang hung / hanged hung / hanged
to sling slung slung
to spin spun spun
to sting stung stung
to string strung strung

Type II: Three different forms

Group 5 (11 verbs)

The simple past and past participles are different. These verbs all have infinitives ending in
“ow” except “fly”, “draw”, “withdraw” and “sew.” All but the last 4 verbs form the
simple past by changing the main syllable to “ew.” Four verbs have regular simple past
tenses but irregular past participles: “show,” “sew,” “mow,” and “sow.” For all the
verbs in group 5, the past participle is formed by adding “n” to the infinitive.

to blow blew blown

to grow grew grown
to know knew known
to throw threw thrown
to fly flew flown
to draw drew drawn
to withdraw withdrew withdrawn
to mow mowed mown / mowed
to show showed shown / showed
to sew* sewed sewn / sewed
to sow* sowed sown / sowed

Be careful, the verbs “sow” and “sew” are pronounced exactly the same.

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Group 6 (7 verbs)
The simple past and past participle are again different. The simple past changes the middle
vowel of the infinitive to an “o” and adds an “e” at the end if it doesn’t already exist
(break, broke; speak, spoke; steal, stole). The past participle is formed by adding an “n” to
the simple past.

to break broke broken

to choose chose chosen
to freeze froze frozen
to speak spoke spoken
to steal stole stolen
to wake woke woken
to weave wove woven

Group 7 – 1 (10 verbs)

The simple past and past participles are different. The simple past is formed by changing
the original central vowel sound to another sound:

“eat” à “ate” “take” à “took “hide” à “hid”.

Thus, the past “sounds” different from the infinitive (exception: beat = beat).
The past participle is formed by adding “n” to the infinitive if it ends with an “e”: “give”
à “given” or by adding “en” if it ends with a consonant: “eat” à “eaten”.

to take off /out took taken

to eat ate eaten
to beat beat beaten
to drive drove driven
to give gave given
to forgive forgave forgiven
to strive * strove / strived striven / strived
to shake shook shaken
to forsake forsook forsaken
to rise rose risen
to arise arose arisen

* Both regular and irregular forms

Group 7 – 2 (7 verbs)
The simple past and past participle differ. The central vowel sound changes in the past,
and the past participle doubles the “d,” “t” or “l” at the end.

to bite bit bitten

to write wrote written
to forget forgot forgotten
to forbid forbade forbidden
to hide hid hidden
to ride rode ridden
to fall fell fallen

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Group 8 - 1 (5 verbs)
The simple past and past participles are different. These are very common verbs.

to be was been
to see saw seen
to go went gone
to do did done
to begin began begun

Group 8 - 2 (4 verbs)
The simple past and past participle differ, but the past participle is like the infinitive.

to come came come

to become became become
to overcome overcame overcome
to run ran run

Group 8 - 3 (4 verbs).
The simple past and past participle are different. The simple past is formed by changing
the central vowel sound “ear” to “o” pronounced /O:/ and adding ”e” after the final
consonant. The past participle is formed by changing the final “e” to “n”.

to swear swore sworn

to bear bore born
to wear wore worn
to tear tore torn

Group 8 - 4 (8 verbs).
The simple past and past participle are different. The simple past is formed by changing
the central vowel sound “i” to “a” pronounced /{ /. The past participle is formed by
changing the central vowel sound to “u” pronounced /V /.

to spring sprang sprung

to ring rang rung
to sing sang sung
to drink drank drunk
to shrink shrank shrunk
to sink sank sunk
to stink stank stunk
to swim swam swum

Group 8 - 5 (2 verbs).
The simple past and past participle are different. The past participle ends in “ain,” which
is pronounced /en/.

to lie* lay lain

to slay slew slain

*Here the verb “to lie” means “to be in a horizontal position.” The verb “to lie,” which
means “not to tell the truth” is a regular verb.

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Type III: The same form for the infinitive, the simple past and the past participle

Group 9 - 1 (5 verbs)
The central vowel sound is /E/.

to let let let

to bet bet bet
to set set set
to shed shed shed
to spread spread spread

Group 9 - 2 (4 verbs)
The central vowel sound is /V/.

to hit hit hit

to bid bid bid
to slit slit slit
to split split split
to quit quit quit

Group 9 - 3 (3 verbs)
The central vowel sound is /V/.

to cut cut cut

to shut shut shut
to thrust thrust thrust

Group 9 - 4 (2 verbs)
The central vowel sound is /a:/.

to hurt hurt hurt

to burst burst burst

Group 9 - 5 (3 verbs)
The central vowel sound in the final syllable is /A:/.

to cast cast cast

to forecast forecast forecast
to broadcast broadcast broadcast

Group 9 - 6 (2 verbs)
The central vowel sound is /U/ or /Q/.

to put put put

to cost cost cost

If you now know the entire list, you have learned one hundred and forty-eight irregular
verbs and their tenses. Congratulations on your efforts to speak correct English!

Marianne Raynaud and Catherine Alhinc

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