Irregular Past Tense Verbs: 100+ Common Verbs With Examples
English would be a lot easier to learn if every verb followed the same rule — add "-ed" and you're done. Unfortunately, some of the most commonly used verbs in the language completely ignore that rule. Irregular past tense verbs don't follow a predictable pattern, which means they mostly have to be memorized rather than calculated.
The good news: most irregular verbs fall into smaller patterns once you group them correctly, which makes memorizing them far more manageable than tackling all 100+ as one random list.
Regular vs. Irregular Verbs: A Quick Reminder
| Type | Rule | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Regular | Add -ed to the base verb | walk → walked |
| Irregular | No fixed rule — the verb changes form | go → went (not "goed") |
100+ Common Irregular Verbs, Grouped by Pattern
Group 1: All Three Forms Are the Same
| Base | Past Simple | Past Participle |
|---|---|---|
| cut | cut | cut |
| hit | hit | hit |
| put | put | put |
| set | set | set |
| hurt | hurt | hurt |
| let | let | let |
| cost | cost | cost |
| shut | shut | shut |
Group 2: Past Simple and Past Participle Are the Same
| Base | Past Simple | Past Participle |
|---|---|---|
| buy | bought | bought |
| bring | brought | brought |
| think | thought | thought |
| catch | caught | caught |
| teach | taught | taught |
| find | found | found |
| have | had | had |
| make | made | made |
| say | said | said |
| sell | sold | sold |
| tell | told | told |
| send | sent | sent |
| spend | spent | spent |
| build | built | built |
| lend | lent | lent |
| meet | met | met |
| lose | lost | lost |
| keep | kept | kept |
| sleep | slept | slept |
| feel | felt | felt |
| leave | left | left |
| hold | held | held |
| sit | sat | sat |
| stand | stood | stood |
| understand | understood | understood |
| win | won | won |
| read | read | read |
| pay | paid | paid |
Group 3: All Three Forms Are Different
| Base | Past Simple | Past Participle |
|---|---|---|
| go | went | gone |
| be | was/were | been |
| do | did | done |
| eat | ate | eaten |
| see | saw | seen |
| give | gave | given |
| take | took | taken |
| write | wrote | written |
| speak | spoke | spoken |
| break | broke | broken |
| choose | chose | chosen |
| drive | drove | driven |
| rise | rose | risen |
| fall | fell | fallen |
| begin | began | begun |
| drink | drank | drunk |
| sing | sang | sung |
| swim | swam | swum |
| ring | rang | rung |
| run | ran | run |
| come | came | come |
| become | became | become |
| know | knew | known |
| grow | grew | grown |
| throw | threw | thrown |
| fly | flew | flown |
| show | showed | shown |
| wear | wore | worn |
| tear | tore | torn |
| swear | swore | sworn |
| steal | stole | stolen |
| freeze | froze | frozen |
| forget | forgot | forgotten |
| forgive | forgave | forgiven |
| hide | hid | hidden |
| ride | rode | ridden |
| bite | bit | bitten |
| lie (recline) | lay | lain |
Why the Past Simple and Past Participle Are Both Worth Learning Together
Most irregular verb lists only teach the past simple ("went," "ate," "saw"), but the past participle matters just as much — it's what you need for the present perfect and passive voice. If your students are working on that tense already, our present perfect exercises guide uses these exact past participle forms constantly ("I have eaten," "she has written").
A Teaching Tip: Group by Sound Pattern, Not Alphabet
Alphabetical irregular verb lists are the least effective way to memorize them, because there's no pattern connecting "buy" to "build" just because they're near each other in the alphabet. Grouping by sound pattern — like the -ought/-aught group (bought, brought, caught, taught) or the -ew/-own group (grew/grown, threw/thrown, flew/flown) — gives students a rhythm to latch onto, which sticks far better than rote memorization.
Try This: Practice Exercise
Fill in the correct past simple form of the verb in parentheses.
- Yesterday, she (go) ___ to the market.
- He (eat) ___ breakfast before leaving.
- They (buy) ___ a new car last month.
- I (write) ___ a letter to my grandmother.
- We (see) ___ a great movie last weekend.
Answer key: 1. went 2. ate 3. bought 4. wrote 5. saw
Related Grammar Guides
Irregular verbs show up constantly outside of simple past narration. Our guide to participle phrases uses many of the past participles from this list, and our present tense verbs guide is a useful companion if you're teaching present and past forms side by side.
FAQ
How many irregular verbs are there in English?
Estimates vary, but there are roughly 150–200 commonly used irregular verbs, though the 100+ most frequent ones (covered above) account for the vast majority of everyday usage.
Is there a trick to memorizing irregular verbs?
Grouping verbs by their sound pattern (like buy/bought, bring/brought, catch/caught) is far more effective than memorizing them alphabetically or all at once.
What's the difference between the past simple and the past participle?
The past simple is used alone to talk about a finished past action ("I ate"). The past participle is used with helping verbs like "have" or "was/were" ("I have eaten," "it was eaten").
Are irregular verbs the same in British and American English?
Mostly yes, though a few differ — "learned/learnt," "burned/burnt," and "dreamed/dreamt" are regular in American English but often irregular in British English.
Browse more grammar guides in the Worksheets section of English by Teacher Yassine, or return to the homepage.
External reference: Cambridge Dictionary: Table of irregular verbs.