Irregular verbs
The most useful irregular verbs, grouped by how their three forms change.
How to use this sheet
Each line shows the base form, past simple and past participle. Use the past simple for a finished past action (She wrote a letter) and the participle after have (She has written a letter).
| Group | Pattern | Examples |
|---|---|---|
| 1. No change | AAA | cut – cut – cut; put – put – put |
| 2. Past and participle match | ABB | buy – bought – bought; feel – felt – felt |
| 3. All three forms differ | ABC | begin – began – begun; drink – drank – drunk |
| 4. Base and participle match | ABA | come – came – come; run – ran – run |
A, B and C indicate whether each form is the same or different; they do not describe the exact spelling change.
1. No change AAA
The base form, past simple and past participle have the same spelling.
| Base form | Past simple | Past participle |
|---|---|---|
| Same spelling and sound | ||
| cost | cost | cost |
| cut | cut | cut |
| hit | hit | hit |
| hurt | hurt | hurt |
| let | let | let |
| put | put | put |
| set | set | set |
| shut | shut | shut |
| spread | spread | spread |
| Same spelling, different pronunciation | ||
| read | read | read |
Read keeps its spelling, but its past and participle are pronounced like “red”.
2. Past and participle match ABB
The past simple and past participle are the same. Learn related sound and spelling changes together.
| Base form | Past simple | Past participle |
|---|---|---|
| -ought / -aught | ||
| bring | brought | brought |
| buy | bought | bought |
| catch | caught | caught |
| fight | fought | fought |
| teach | taught | taught |
| think | thought | thought |
| -elt / -ept / -eft | ||
| feel | felt | felt |
| keep | kept | kept |
| leave | left | left |
| sleep | slept | slept |
| sweep | swept | swept |
| -ent / -uilt | ||
| build | built | built |
| lend | lent | lent |
| send | sent | sent |
| spend | spent | spent |
| Short vowel or consonant changes | ||
| feed | fed | fed |
| find | found | found |
| get | got | got |
| have | had | had |
| hear | heard | heard |
| hold | held | held |
| lead | led | led |
| lose | lost | lost |
| make | made | made |
| mean | meant | meant |
| meet | met | met |
| pay | paid | paid |
| say | said | said |
| sell | sold | sold |
| sit | sat | sat |
| stand | stood | stood |
| tell | told | told |
| understand | understood | understood |
| win | won | won |
Get has got as its past form. Its participle is usually got in British English; gotten is also common in American English.
3. All three forms differ ABC
The base, past simple and past participle are different. Several verbs share a vowel-change pattern.
| Base form | Past simple | Past participle |
|---|---|---|
| i → a → u | ||
| begin | began | begun |
| drink | drank | drunk |
| ring | rang | rung |
| sing | sang | sung |
| sink | sank | sunk |
| swim | swam | swum |
| -oke / -oken and similar changes | ||
| break | broke | broken |
| choose | chose | chosen |
| freeze | froze | frozen |
| speak | spoke | spoken |
| steal | stole | stolen |
| wake | woke | woken |
| Long vowel changes | ||
| drive | drove | driven |
| ride | rode | ridden |
| rise | rose | risen |
| write | wrote | written |
| -ew → -own / -awn | ||
| blow | blew | blown |
| draw | drew | drawn |
| fly | flew | flown |
| grow | grew | grown |
| know | knew | known |
| throw | threw | thrown |
| Other essential verbs | ||
| be | was/were | been |
| do | did | done |
| eat | ate | eaten |
| fall | fell | fallen |
| forget | forgot | forgotten |
| give | gave | given |
| go | went | gone |
| see | saw | seen |
| take | took | taken |
| wear | wore | worn |
4. Base and participle match ABA
The past simple changes, but the past participle returns to the base form.
| Base form | Past simple | Past participle |
|---|---|---|
| The common ABA verbs | ||
| become | became | become |
| come | came | come |
| run | ran | run |