Over 100 Irregular English Verbs: 5 Types of Irregular Verbs

Irregular English verbs are verbs that do not follow the regular pattern of forming the past simple and past participle by adding -ed to the end of the infinitive.

Contrary to irregular verbs, regular verbs form their past simple and past participle by adding -ed, ied, or -d to the base form. For example, play — played, study — studied, like — liked.

Irregular verbs in English can be classified into four categories based on how their past simple and past participle are formed.

This post will contain different lists of irregular English verbs. Specifically, it contains over 100 irregular English verbs.

Irregular English Verbs

How many irregular verbs in English are there?

Different sources state that English has about 200 irregular verbs. However, most grammar coursebooks list about 100 commonly used irregular verbs.

Below are 5 lists of irregular verbs in English. Putting irregular verbs in groups or categories based on common patterns of forming the past simple and the past participle can surely make it easier for you to learn and remember them.

Irregular verbs in English list 1

This list of irregular verbs in English contains verbs whose past simple and past participle are the same.

Infinitive (base form)	Past Simple	Past Participle
bring	brought	brought
build	built	built
burn	burnt/ burned	burnt/ burned
buy	bought	bought
catch	caught	caught
cling	clung	clung
deal	dealt	dealt
dream	dreamt/ dreamed	dreamt/ dreamed
dig	dug	dug
feed	fed	fed
feel	felt	felt
fight	fought	fought
find	found	found
fling	flung	flung
get	got	got/ gotten
have	had	had
hang	hung/ hanged	hung/ hanged
hear	heard	heard
hold	held	held
keep	kept	kept
learn	learnt/ learned	learnt/ learned
leave	left	left
lend	lent	lent
light	lit	lt
lose	lost	lost
make	made	made
mean	meant	meant
meet	met	met
pay	paid	paid
say	said	said
seek	sought	sought
sell	sold	sold
send	sent	sent
shine	shone	shone
shoot	shot	shot
sit	sat	sat
sleep	slept	slept
sling	slunk	slunk
slink	slunk	slunk
smell	smelt/ smelled	smelt/ smelled
spell	spelt	spelt
spend	spent	spent
spill	spilt/ spilled	spilt/ spilled
spoil	spoilt/ spoiled	spoilt/ spoiled
stand	stood	stood
stick	stuck	stuck
sting	stung	stung
strike	struck	struck
sweep	swept	swept
swing	swung	swung
teach	taught	taught
tell	told	told
think	thought	thought
understand	understood	understood
weep	wept	wept
win	won	won
wring	wrung	wrung

Irregular verbs in English list 2

The three forms of following irregular verbs in English are the same. That is, the base form, the past simple, and the past participle are the same.

Base Form	Past Simple	Past Participle
bid	bid	bid
bet	bet	bet
broadcast	broadcast	broadcast
burst	burst	burst
cast	cast	cast
cost	cost	cost
cut	cut	cut
fit	fit	fit
hit	hit	hit
hurt	hurt	hurt
let	let	let
misread	misread	misread
outbid	outbid	outbid
put	put	put
quit	quit/ quited	quit/ quited
read	read	read
set	set	set
shed	shed	shed
shut	shut	shut
split	split	split
spread	spread	spread
thrust	thrust	thrust
upset	upset	upset
wed	wed/ wedded	wed/ wedded

Irregular verbs in English list 3

The table below shows irregular verbs whose base form and past participle are the same.

Infinitive (base form)	Past Simple	Past Participle
become	became	become
come	came	come
overcome	overcame	overcome
run	ran	run

The base form and past participle of the following verbs are the same: become, come, overcome, and run.

Irregular verbs in English list 4

The three forms of the following verbs are different. That is, the base form, the past simple and the past participle are different.

Base form (infinitive)	Pat Simple	Past Participle
be	was/ were	been
begin	began	begun
bite	bit	bitten
break	broke	broken
can	could	been able
do	did	done
draw	drew	drawn
drink	drank	drunk
drive	drove	driven
eat	ate	eaten
fall	fell	fallen
fly	flew	flown
forbid	forbade	forbidden
forget	forgot	forgotten
forgive	forgave	forgiven
freeze	froze	frozen
give	gave	given
go	went	gone
grow	grew	grown
lie	lay	lain
ring	rang	rung
rise	rose	risen
speak	spoke	spoken
steal	stole	stolen
stink	stank	stunk
swim	swam	swum
take	took	taken
wake	woke	woken
wear	wore	worn
weave	wove	woven
write	wrote	written

Irregular Verbs in English List 5

The infinitive and the past simple of the verb ‘beat’ are the same.

Base Form (infinitive)	Past Simple	Past Participle
beat	beat	beaten

Mastering irregular verbs can help you communicate effectively in English. Yet, what strategies and techniques can you use to learn and remember irregular verbs?

Irregular Verbs Examples Sentences

It’s time to begin our class.
The crazy man flung a stone through the window.
He dropped the vase and it broke.
The naughty children are flinging (= slinging) stones at the street lamps.
Our arms swing as we walk.
The thieves stole the money and the jewelry and slunk out of the house.
When my father came home, I had already left.
I had done my homework when my dad came from work.
Please hang your coat on this hook.
My cute cat is running after a small mouse.
How about going to the beach? I want to swim.
I speak 3 languages.
When I was in China, I had to communicate in Chinese.
We have begun a new project.
Prices have recently risen.
They are weaving a carpet.
Someone has stolen my bike.
Water freezes when the temperature falls below 0 Celsius.
I want to learn a new language. What do you think is the most important language in the whole world nowadays?
I can’t bear beer.
I swear to tell the truth.
Yesterday, I wore a woolly coat because it was too cold.
The thief stole the watch and fled.
The two cars sped (= speeded) down the road.
I can smell a very nice smell.
Birds breed in spring.
Think before you leap.
When we arrived, the train had already left.
Last night, I dreamt that I was flying over the city.
The cat crept silently towards the rat.
The wind blew my cap off.
I left no stone unturned to find my car key but in vain. I could not drive back home. I spent the night with some friends.
He has bought a new car.
I bought a new laptop last weekend.
The two thieves were fighting over the money they stole.

How to Learn Irregular Verbs in English

Here are some easy ways to learn irregular verbs in English:

Put irregular verbs in categories as in this article. You can use the way irregular verbs are classified above.
Use flashcards: Flashcards are a classic and effective tool for memorizing irregular verbs. Here is how you can use this tool: Write the base form of the verb on one side of the card and the past tense and past participle forms on the other side. Practice flipping the cards back and forth until you can remember the correct forms quickly.
Start with the most common irregular English verbs.
Use a notebook to note down the verbs that you have learnt in sentences.
Spaced repetition: This technique involves reviewing and recalling irregular verbs at increasing intervals in order to enhance long-term retention.

The tips above can help you memorize irregular verbs easily.