An effective way to study grammar is with the help of a list of irregular verbs in English. This tool helps you memorize the correct conjugation of verbs that do not follow traditional rules and would normally pose a problem for those learning this language.
However, to correctly work on the topic of irregular verbs, which are the exception, first you need to learn the rule, which are the regulars. That is precisely the subject of this post!
To improve your writing, understanding or speaking English skills, CCAA has prepared a complete content about irregular verbs. Keep reading and find out more about these terms!
What are regular and irregular verbs?
You may already know that, just like in Portuguese, verbs in English are those words that express an action, state or the change of it. Without a term of this type, there simply is no sentence. However, in addition to separating this group of words by what it represents, we can classify it according to its form when conjugated.
The general conjugation rule says that: when a verb in the infinitive – the most basic, without conjugation – is inflected to the Simple Past or Past Participle, it must receive the particles “-ed” or “-d” at the end of the word. Any verb that follows this rule is considered regular.
A good example is the verbs “to save” which becomes “saved” or “to like” which becomes “liked”.
Already Irregular verbs are those that do not follow this rule when conjugating., varying in form with each new term. As is the case of “to burn” which conjugated is “burnt” instead of “burned”, as would be expected. These are the cases that require more attention, as each new word will have its own way of being inflected. Some words are not even recognizable, such as “to go”, which in Simple Past is conjugated as “went”.
If you want to better understand English verb tenses, we have a post complete on the subject here at blog!
Why is it important to know the list of irregular verbs?
Learning grammar rules is essential for anyone who wants to take a step forward in their performance in the English language. This knowledge will allow you to form coherent and increasingly complex sentences. In addition, it will be much easier to understand dialogues from native speakers or those lines from films and series that you like.
Knowing what irregular verbs are and how they are formed will also help you memorize how verb tenses work, which are a challenge for many students. After all, many of these terms have different forms when conjugated in Simple Past and in the Past Participle.
How do you know if a verb is irregular or not?
Unfortunately, there is no grammatical rule that allows someone learning English to identify right away which verbs are regular or not. To be able to memorize this information, you will have to study the list of irregular verbs, practice speaking and also listening.
There are even English conversation courses that help those who want to improve their vocabulary and reduce mistakes when conjugating each verb. This way, in addition to memorizing the correct way to inflect each term, it is possible to practice the correct pronunciation in each verb tense.
List of Irregular Verbs in English – Increase Your Vocabulary!
We have put together a list of 60 irregular verbs in English with their conjugations in Simple Past and also in the Past Participle. We choose words that are common in everyday life, in film dialogues or in informal conversations.. Use this material to study and learn even more terms for your vocabulary.
Also check out the post “Most used words in English: check out the list!”
So, #VamosTalk?
Infinitive (Infinitive) | Simple Past (Past simple) | Past Participle (Past participle) | Meaning |
To arise | Arose | Arisen | Get up |
To awake | Awoke | Awoken | To wake up |
To be | Was/ were | Been | To be or to be |
To become | Became | Become | Become |
To bid | Bad | Bidden | Offer |
To bite | Bit | Bitten | Bite |
To bleed | Bled | Bled | Bleed |
To break | Broke | Broken | To break |
To bring | Broughted | Broughted | To bring |
To build | Built | Built | Build |
To burn | Burnt | Burnt | Burn |
To buy | Bought | Bought | Buy |
To cast | Cast | Cast | Throw |
To catch | Caught | Caught | To take |
To choose | Chose | Chosen | To choose |
To come | Came | Come | Come |
To cut | Cut | Cut | Cut |
All of the | Did | Done | To do |
To draw | Drew | Drawn | To design |
To drink | Drank | Drunk | To drink |
To drive | Drive | Driven | Drive |
To eat | Until | Eaten | Eat |
To fall | Fell | Fallen | To fall |
To feel | Felt | Felt | To feel |
To fight | Fought | Fought | To fight |
To find | Found | Found | To think |
To forget | Forgot | Forgotten | To forget |
To freeze | Froze | Frozen | Freeze |
To go | Went | Gone | Go |
To know | Know | Known | To know |
To learn | Learned/Learnt | Learned/Learnt | Learn |
To leave | Left | Left | Leave |
To lose | Lost | Lost | Lose |
To make | Made | Made | To do |
To mean | Meant | Meant | Mean |
To meet | Met | Met | Find yourself |
To pay | Paid | Paid | Pay |
To put | Put | Put | To place |
To quit | Quit | Quit | To give up |
To read | Read | Read | To read |
To ride | Rode | Ridden | Ride |
To run | Ran | Run | Run |
To say | Said | Said | To say |
To see | Saw | Seen | See |
To send | Sent | Sent | Send |
To shake | Shook | Shaken | Shake |
To shine | Shone | Shone | Shine |
To shoot | Shot | Shot | Shoot |
To sing | Blood | Sung | Sing |
To sit | Sat | Sat | To sit |
To sleep | Slept | Slept | Sleep |
To speak | Spoke | Spoken | To speak |
To spend | Spent | Spent | To spend |
To strike | Struck | Struck | To knock |
To swear | swor | sworn | Swear |
To swim | Swam | Swum | Swim |
To swing | Swung | Swung | Swing |
To take | Took | Taken | To take |
To tell | Told | Told | To say |
To wear | Wore | Worn | Dress up |
As you can see, irregular words often do not change their spelling when conjugated, other times they even change when leaving the infinitive, but maintain the form in the other two verb tenses.
Consult this list of irregular verbs in English regularly and keep the inflections of each word fresh in your mind. With the CCAA, you will always have the best tips and materials to become fluent in this important language. Follow our posts and learn even more!