FAQs

What is an irregular verb, in one sentence?

An irregular verb is a verb whose past simple and/or past participle does not follow the regular “-ed” pattern (e.g., go → went → gone, not goed).

How are irregular verbs different from regular verbs?

Regular verbs add -ed to form both the past simple and past participle (walk → walked → walked). Irregular verbs change in unpredictable ways: vowel shifts (sing → sang → sung), complete changes (go → went → gone), or no change at all (put → put → put). Because there’s no single rule, you learn them by pattern awareness, exposure, and spaced repetition rather than by a universal formula.

What are the three key forms I need to know?

Know the base form (infinitive without “to”), the past simple, and the past participle. The base form appears in the present simple and with modals (They go, I can go). The past simple describes finished past actions (They went). The past participle is used with perfect tenses and passive voice (They have gone; It was written).

Which irregular verbs are most common in daily English?

Focus first on high-frequency items. A practical starter set includes: be, have, do, say, go, get, make, know, think, take, see, come, want (regular), use (regular), find, give, tell, work (regular), call (regular), try (regular), ask (regular), need (regular), feel, become, leave. Among these, the irregulars to master early are: be, have, do, say, go, get, make, know, think, take, see, come, find, give, tell, feel, become, leave.

Are there patterns that make irregular verbs easier to learn?

Yes—group them by sound or spelling change:

• i → a → u: sing, sang, sung; drink, drank, drunk
• ow → ew → own: grow, grew, grown; know, knew, known
• no change: cut, cut, cut; put, put, put; let, let, let
• t ending: keep, kept, kept; sleep, slept, slept; feel, felt, felt

These clusters reduce memory load and help you predict likely forms.

What’s the difference between the past simple and the past participle for irregular verbs?

The past simple is a stand-alone past form (She went home). The past participle appears with have/has/had for perfect tenses (She has gone home) and with be for passives (The letter was written). Some verbs share the same past simple and participle (felt/felt), while others have three different forms (write/wrote/written).

Is “got” or “gotten” correct in the past participle?

Both are correct, depending on dialect. In American English, the participle is typically gotten (has gotten better), while British English usually uses got (has got better). However, for the meaning “to possess,” both dialects favor have got as a present construction (I’ve got a car), which is not a true perfect tense of get.

What about tricky pairs like “lie” and “lay” or “hang” and “hanged”?

Lie (recline): lie (base), lay (past), lain (participle). I lie down, I lay down yesterday, I have lain down.

Lay (put/place): lay (base), laid (past), laid (participle). I lay the book, I laid it yesterday, I have laid it.

Hang: For ordinary uses, hang–hung–hung (He hung the coat). For legal/executive punishment, hang–hanged–hanged (They were hanged).

Are forms like “dreamt,” “learnt,” and “spoilt” wrong?

No. These are chiefly British variants. American English more often uses dreamed, learned, spoiled. Both styles are widely understood; choose one dialect and be consistent in formal writing. Similarly, sneaked and snuck coexist in American English, with sneaked more traditional and snuck very common in speech.

How do irregular verbs work with perfect tenses and the passive voice?

Perfect tenses pair have/has/had with the past participle: She has written three emails. The passive voice pairs a form of be with the past participle: The email was written yesterday. The key is memorizing the participle accurately, as it is essential for both structures.

Do phrasal verbs change form like their main verbs?

Yes. The particle stays the same, but the verb part inflects irregularly. Examples: take off → took off → taken off, come across → came across → come across. Conjugate the verb first, then add the particle: He has taken off; They had come across it.

What are common mistakes learners make with irregular verbs?

• Using past simple where a participle is needed (I have went ✗ → I have gone ✓).
• Over-regularizing forms (buyed ✗ → bought ✓; eated ✗ → eaten ✓).
• Mixing similar verbs (lay vs. lie).
• Inconsistent dialect choices (learnt in one sentence and learned in the next).

Can you give a compact list of high-value irregulars with examples?

Below are frequently used items with sample perfect or passive constructions:

• be → was/were → been: I have been there.
• become → became → become: She has become confident.
• begin → began → begun: Work has begun.
• break → broke → broken: The glass was broken.
• bring → brought → brought: They have brought lunch.
• come → came → come: He has come early.
• do → did → done: The job is done.
• drink → drank → drunk: We have drunk enough water.
• eat → ate → eaten: She has eaten.
• find → found → found: They have found it.
• get → got → gotten/got: It has gotten/got easier.
• give → gave → given: He has given notice.
• go → went → gone: She has gone home.
• know → knew → known: I have known her for years.
• make → made → made: It was made locally.
• read → read → read (pronounced /red/ in past forms): I have read it.
• see → saw → seen: We have seen enough.
• take → took → taken: Photos were taken.
• think → thought → thought: I had thought so.
• write → wrote → written: The letter was written.

How should I study irregular verbs efficiently?

Use a three-step cycle: (1) Cluster by pattern (e.g., sing–sang–sung group), (2) Contextualize with short, personal sentences that reflect your real life (I have sung in a choir), (3) Spaced repetition with flashcards or apps to recycle forms over days and weeks. Add weekly “error hunts”: re-read your writing and correct any mis-conjugations.

How can I check if a verb is irregular when I’m unsure?

Apply a quick test: imagine the perfect form with have. If -ed sounds wrong or you’ve often heard another form, it’s likely irregular (have went sounds wrong → have gone). When writing, keep a concise reference list or a trusted dictionary tab open to verify participles, which cause most errors.

Do irregular verbs change in the continuous (progressive) tenses?

No. Continuous forms use be + -ing, and the irregularity appears only in the past simple or past participle, not the -ing form. For example, write → writing, go → going, take → taking. The challenge is choosing the correct auxiliary (am/is/are/was/were) and, in perfect continuous tenses, the correct participle of be (have been writing).

What classroom or self-study activities build accuracy with irregular verbs?

• Minimal-pair drills for confusing sets (lie/lay scenarios).
• Dictation and shadowing with short stories focused on perfect tenses and passives.
• Transformation tasks: change present to past, active to passive, simple to perfect.
• Micro-writing: 5–7 sentences using a target cluster (begin/began/begun, etc.).
• Error logs: keep a list of your own mistakes with corrected models.

Can I mix British and American forms in the same text?

In casual speech, mixing happens. In formal writing, choose one variety and maintain it consistently—spelling (learned/learnt), vocabulary (got/gotten), and punctuation. If your audience is international, either stick to one standard or note your choices at the start of a document or style guide.

What’s a quick plan to master the top 50 irregular verbs?

Week 1: Learn 10 high-frequency items (be, have, do, go, get, make, know, think, take, see) with example sentences in simple, perfect, and passive. Week 2: Add 10 more (come, find, give, tell, feel, become, leave, put, keep, let). Week 3: Add 15 mids (begin, bring, break, choose, write, speak, wear, drive, eat, fall, give, hold, read, run, sit). Week 4: Add 15 with trickier changes (ring, sing, swim, throw, grow, fly, show, rise, freeze, steal, teach, think (review), take (review), go (review), be (review)). Test yourself daily with short quizzes and a weekly writing paragraph using at least 12 target verbs.

Final tip: how can I avoid fossilizing incorrect forms?

Always notice before you produce. Read and listen widely, highlight accurate examples, and build a personal mini-dictionary of troublesome verbs with three forms and one model sentence each. When in doubt, pause and check. Correcting an error immediately (in your notes or draft) prevents it from becoming your default pattern.

English Grammar Guide: Complete Rules, Examples, and Tips for All Levels