Irregular Verbs in English

You irregular verbs (irregular verbs) have a different formation than regular verbs.

The regular ones follow the pattern of formation of the flexions in the verb tenses simple Past andPast Participate, that is, the particle -ed is added to the infinitive verb.

Irregulars, in turn, have their own formation for the inflections of verbal tenses simple Past and Past Participate. This formation bears no resemblance to the infinitive of the verb.

Difference between regular and irregular verb

Check out the examples below:

Example of regular verb: to play

• John played soccer yesterday. (John played football yesterday.)
• we have played basketball for five years. (We played basketball for five years.)

Note that the spelling of inflections is formed with the infinitive play + particle -ed

Irregular verb example: I'm going

• John went to school yesterday. (John went to school yesterday).
• we have gone to that same school for six years. (We went to that same school for six years).

Note that, in the last sentence, the inflection has its own spelling, that is, its formation does not originate by joining the infinitive

go + particle -ed.

Although not the vast majority, the irregular verbs are widely used in the English language. So, check out a table of irregular verbs in English below.

See too: Simple Past: exercises with commented feedback (easy level)

List of English Irregular Verbs

Infinitive	Simple Past	Past Participate	translation
abides	abode	abode	stay, survive
arise	arose	Arisen	rise up, rise up
wake up	awoke	awoken	wake up wake up
well	was/were	been	to be
bear	bore	born	be born, produce
beat	beat	beaten	hit
become	she became	become	become, transform
begin	began	begun	to start
bet	bet	bet	to bet
break	broke	broken	break, break
bid	bid	bid	make an offer (bet)
bind	bound	bound	unite, connect
bite	bit	bitten	to bite
bleed	bled	bled	to bleed
break	broke	broken	to break
bring	brought	brought	bring, execute
build	built	built	build, manufacture
buy	bought	bought	purchase
catch	Pego	Pego	to take
choose	chose	chosen	choose, prefer
eats	cam	eats	come, arrive
cost	cost	cost	to cost
cut	cut	cut	cut
of	did	done	do, take care, function
draw	drew	drawn	draw, trace
drink	drank	drunk	drink
drive	drove	driven	drive, guide
eat	until	eaten	eat, chew
fall	fell	fallen	fall down
feed	fed	fed	feed, nurture
feel	felt	felt	feel, perceive
fight	fought	fought	fight, fight
find	found	found	find, discover
fly	flew	flown	fly
forbid	forbad	forbidden	forbid, prevent
forget	forgot	forgotten	to forget
forgive	forgave	forgiven	forgive, excuse
freeze	froze	frozen	Freeze
get	got	gotten	receive, get, get
give	gave	given	give, deliver
go	went	gone	go, leave
grow	grew	grown up	grow up
have	had	had	have, possess
hear	heard	heard	hear listen
hide	hid	hidden	hide, hide
hit	hit	hit	hit
hold	held	held	hold
hurt	hurt	hurt	hurt, hurt
keep	kept	kept	keep, save
know	knew	known	know, know
lead	led	led	command, guide
learn	learned	learned	learn, study
leave	left	left	leave, leave, leave
lend	slow	slow	to loan
lie	lay	lain	to lie down
lose	lost	lost	lose, waste
make	made	made	make, create
mean	meant	meant	think, mean
meet	met	met	meet, find
pay	paid	paid	pay, settle
put	put	put	put, put
read	read	read	read, learn
ride	rotate	ridden	walk, walk
ring	rang	rung	ring (bell, phone)
run	ran	run	run
say	left	left	say tell
see	saw	seen	see, observe
sell	sold	sold	sell, trade
send	sit	sit	send, send
set	set	set	set, configure, mark, adjust
shake	shook	shaken	shake, shake, shake
shine	shone	shone	shine
shoot	shot	shot	shoot, shoot, photograph, film
show	shown	shown	Show
shut	shut	shut	close
sing	blood	sung	sing
sit	sat	sat	to sit
sleep	slept	slept	sleep, rest
slide	slide	slide	slip, slide
speak	spoke	spoken	Speak, tell
spend	spent	spent	spend, spend (vacation, holiday)
stand	stood	stood	stand/stand
steal	stole	stolen	to steal
swear	swore	sworn	to swear
swim	swam	swum	swim
take	took	taken	take, take
teach	taught	taught	teach
tell	awning	awning	tell, know
think	thought	thought	think, believe
throw	threw	thrown	throw, throw
understand	understood	understood	to understand
wake	woke up	waked	wake up wake up
wear	wore	worn	use, wear
win	won	won	win, get
write	wrote	written	write down

Examples of English Irregular Verb Sentences

To better understand irregular verbs in English, check out some example sentences below:

• we made this gift for you. (We made this gift for you.)
• he until many pieces of cake. (He ate too many slices of cake.)
• My pencil fell beneath my chair. (My pen fell under my chair).
• I went to Brazil by plane last month. (I went to Brazil by plane last month.)
• The child picked up a pencil and drew the tree. (The child took a pencil and drew a tree.)
• the teacher began the debate by asking a question about culture. (The teacher started the debate with a question about culture.)
• I forgot to put a stamp on the envelope. (I forgot to put a stamp on the envelope.)
• the child hid a toy under a pile of books. (The child hid a toy under a pile of books.)
• she she became nervous and gave the confused speech. (She got nervous and made a confused speech.)
• Joana chose the red dress because it was cheaper. (Joana chose the red dress because it was cheaper.)

Tip about irregular verbs in English

The best way to learn irregular verb forms in English is to practice and exercise. Using these shapes in different situations is more efficient than simply the "memorize" method.

Therefore, referring to the above list when necessary is an interesting way to memorize each person's background. In time, this will become natural.

read more:

• Simple Past
• Past Participate
• Verbal Tenses in English
• Regular and Irregular English Verbs
• Regular and Irregular English Verbs Exercises
• were and were
• Simple Past Exercises

Exercises on Irregular English Verbs

Now that you've learned about irregular verbs, test your knowledge by doing the exercises below:

1. (Fuvest) She didn't tell me the truth. She she __________ to me.

a) lie
b) lain
c) laid
d) lay
e) lied

See Answer

Correct alternative: e) lied

To know which alternative to choose in order to fill the gap, it is necessary to understand both the meaning of the sentence and the meaning of the alternatives. Let's see:

She did not tell me the truth. she she __________ to me. (She didn't tell me the truth. She __________ to me.)

a) WRONG. Lie is the infinitive of the verb to lie (lying) without the I'm, and it's also a flexion of Simple Present of that same verb. To be considered correct, this alternative should be inflected in the Simple Past: lied (he lied), since the two prayers are related and report situations that have already happened.

Furthermore, if the verb were used in the present tense (lie = mind) the meaning of the sentence would be compromised, and not only; the third-person bending of the Simple Present (Simple Gift) requires the addition of -s at the end of the third-person push-ups (she lies).

b) WRONG.The verb to lie it can have several meanings. When it means "to lie down", lain it is your past participle form.

c) WRONG. "Place" is one of the several meanings of the verb to lay. When he has that sense, laid it is your past participle form.

d) WRONG. when the verb to lay means "put", laid it is your past participle form.

e) CORRECT. The verb to lie it can have several meanings. When he means "lying", lied is your way of Simple Past (Simple Past) and Past Participate (Past participle).

This alternative is the only one that has adequate meaning and verb inflection for the sentence.

2. (Unesp) Brazil __________ last year's world soccer championship.

a) win
b) won
c) wins
d) to win
e) winning

See Answer

Correct alternative b) won

In the sentence, through the information last year (last year), it is possible to identify that the action took place in the past and has already been concluded, that is, it started and ended in the past. Therefore, the verb to be used to fill the gap must be inflected in the Simple Past (simple past).

a) WRONG. win is the form of the verb to win (win) in the infinitive without the I'm, and also a bending of Simple Present (simple present) of that tense.

b) CORRECT. Won is the bending of Simple Past of the verb to win (win). Note the sentence filled with this alternative and its respective translation:

Brazil won last year's world soccer championship. (Brazil won the world soccer championship last year.)

c) WRONG. wins is a bending of Simple Present (simple present) of the verb to win (win).

d) WRONG. to win (verb) is the verb in its infinitive form.

e) WRONG. Winning is a bending of Present Continuous of the verb to win (win).

3. (Unesp-1997) John __________ me some money last week.

a) sends
b) send
c) sit
d) sending
e) to send

See Answer

Correct alternative: c) sit

Note that the sentence has information that signals the tense in which the action took place. last week, which means “last week”, indicates that the gap consists of a past action that has already been completed and, therefore, requires the use of the Simple Past (simple past).

a) WRONG. sends is a bending of Simple Present (simple present).

b) WRONG. send is the verb I'm sending (send) in infinitive without the I'm and it can also be a flexion of the Simple Present (simple present)

c) CORRECT. sit is the flexion of Simple Past (simple past). See the sentence filled with this alternative and its respective translation:

John felt me ​​some money last week. (John sent me some money last week.)

d) WRONG. sending is a bending of the Present Continuous of the verb

e) WRONG. to send is the verb in its infinitive form.

4. (Mackenzie-2000) Check the alternative that correctly fills in the gaps I, II and III of the following sentences:

He __________(I) for me 2 months ago.
They __________(II) an attempt to escape.
I __________(III) an important decision last night.

a) did - made - made
b) made - did - made
c) did - made - did
d) made - made - made
e) made - did - did

See Answer

Correct alternative: a) did - made - made

The use of irregular verbs I do(Simple Past: did) and to make (Simple Past: made) usually causes a lot of confusion among Brazilian students of the English language because, in most cases, these verbs have the same translation: do.

Each of them is used in specific situations or fixed phrases. Let's see:

1. He did me in favor 2 months ago. (He did me a favor 2 months ago.)

The English translation of “do a favor” is I'm in favor. In the past it is said did in favor.

2. they made an attempt to escape. (They made an attempt to escape.)

In English, to make an attempt means "make a try." In the past, it is said made an attempt.

3. I made an important decision last night. (I made an important decision last night).

to make the decision means “make a decision”. If we flex the phrase to the form of the past, we have made the decision.

See too: Past Perfect and Present Perfect