The Easiest Guide To Conjugate 67 Irregular Verbs in English

Usually, you can conjugate English verbs into past tense by adding -d or -ed.…

Usually, you can conjugate English verbs into past tense by adding -d or -ed. However, that only works for regular verbs (verbs that conjugate by a certain rule). Most verbs in English are regular, but approximately 200 are irregular verbs and don’t follow the normal rules. Since they’re so common, irregular verbs can make learning English a challenge. That’s why learning irregular verbs in English early will help you become fluent faster!

The charts in this guide will introduce you to the most common irregular verbs in English, how to conjugate them into past tense, and some tips for memorizing them. The best way to remember them forever is to use English often and take advantage of tools like Rosetta Stone’s Dynamic Immersion method.

Types of irregular verbs in English

Irregular verbs are verbs (one of the parts of speech in English) that have unique rules, but you can divide them into types to help you learn them. Irregular verbs follow one of these five patterns:

1. verbs that are the same in their base, simple past, and past participle forms
   • cut, cut, cut
2. verbs that are the same in their base and past participle forms, but have a different simple past form
   • come, came, come
3. verbs that are the same in their base and simple past forms, but have a different past participle form
   • beat, beat, beaten
4. verbs that are the same in the simple past and past participle forms, but have a different base form
   • find, found, found
5. verbs that are different in their base, simple past, and past participle forms
   • drink, drank, drunk

Knowing which type a verb is takes practice. Over time, you’ll start to recognize patterns that will help you categorize them.

What is the difference between simple past and past participle?

The simple past tense is for talking about things that happened in the past. The past participle is for talking about past events or things in the past that are already finished (especially for perfect forms of English verb tenses and passive voice).

Here’s an example of the verb break in simple past tense:

• I broke my leg.
  

Now, compare that to the same verb as a past participle:

• This is where your bone was broken.
  

Irregular verbs in American English vs. British English

Some words with the same meaning in American English and British English have different spellings. That also means that some verb conjugations will have different spellings. The verbs in this guide will help you learn English (American), but remember that some verbs that are regular in American English are irregular in British English. 

The reverse is also true. Some verbs that are irregular in American English are regular in British English! Depending on where you live, you may need to pay attention to these differences between English-speaking countries.

List of 67 irregular verbs in English

English has about 200 irregular verbs, but you don’t have to memorize them all at once. This list of irregular verbs in English shows you the base form and pronunciation of 67 common irregular verbs.

You might also hear these verbs called infinitive verbs. However, an infinitive verb needs the word to before the verb like this: to be, to eat, or to swim. The base form of the verb means it’s in the original form before conjugation and without needing the word to.

Are there rules for irregular verbs in English?

There are some rules or patterns you can learn, even though the word “irregular” means that something is not normal. In the case of irregular English verbs (past tense), their conjugation rules don’t follow a strict set of rules. That can make learning them difficult. However, it will be easier if you divide them by type and learn them separately. These charts use the list of irregular verbs and categorizes them by their irregular verb type.

1. Irregular verbs that stay the same in three tenses

Some irregular verbs are very easy to conjugate because they have the same simple past and past participle forms as the base form. They also sound the same when you pronounce them. What a relief!

These verbs can cause confusion about whether something is in present tense or past tense because they use the same word. Pay attention to the conversation to know which it is!

For example, the word cost in this example is in the present tense.

• I need to buy two tickets.
  
  • The tickets cost sixty euros.
    

By comparison, the word hurt in this sentence is in the past tense. The word fell is a good hint, because that’s the simple past form of fall.

• I fell and I hurt my arm.
  

2. Irregular verbs that have a different simple past form

A small handful of verbs have the same base form and past participle form, but they have a different simple past form. The list of common irregular verbs like this is short, so it’s easy to remember.

Look at the difference between the base form, simple past, and past participle in these sentences:

• She would like to become a doctor. (base form)
  

• She became a grandmother last year. (simple past)
  

• You’ve just become a brother. (past participle)
  

3. Irregular verbs that have a different past participle form

Luckily, there are only a few English verbs that share the base form and simple past form but have a different past participle. If you notice any verbs that follow this pattern, write them down. 

• We beat the other teams! (base form)
• We had beaten all the teams after the championship. (past participle)

4. Irregular verbs that have the same simple past and past participle forms

The list is a long list of irregular verbs where the simple past and past participle forms are the same. To help you remember them, separate the ones that follow a pattern.

For example, consider learning these verbs separately because their past conjugations all end in -ought:

To know if the word is in the simple past or past participle form, look for auxiliary (helping) verbs like had. You know this use of bought is in the simple past because it’s the only verb.

• She bought a book.
  

In this sentence, had goes before bought, so you know the sentence is in the past participle and not the simple past.

• I told her I had bought some flower seeds in Moscow.
  

For the rest of the verbs in this category, you’ll notice some patterns. Most of them end in -d or -t after slightly changing the first half of the word in the conjugation.

*Although the simple past and past participle forms of the base form read are also spelled read, they are pronounced differently. The base form is pronounced “reed” and the simple past and past participle forms are pronounced “red.”

5. Irregular verbs that have all different forms

Since there are so many irregular verbs of this type, focus on their similarities to remember them. We’ve separated them into groups to make it easier to learn these irregular verbs in English.

Be, do, and go irregular verbs

The verbs be, do, and go are unusual even within irregular verbs. The good news is that they’re extremely common, so you’ll get used to them quickly as you learn how to speak English.

Irregular verbs ending in -in, -ing, -ink, and -im

This set of verbs follows a general pattern based on how the word ends.

Base form 

• –in
• -ing
• -ink
• -im 

Simple past 

• –an
• -ang
• -ank
• -am

Past participle

• –un
• -unk
• -ung
• -um

Irregular verbs ending in -aw and -ow

These irregular verbs also follow a pattern.

Base form 

• –aw
• -ow

Simple past 

• –ew

Past participle 

• –awn
• -own

Irregular verbs ending in -ide, -ise-, and -ite

The verbs in this chart follow this pattern:

Base form 

• –ide
• -ise-
• -ite 

Simple past 

• –ode
• -ose
• -ote
• -id
• -it

Past participle 

• –idden
• -isen
• -itten

Other irregular verbs that change to -n or -en

Other verbs in this category have some similar patterns (notice the similarity between the conjugations of shake and take), but their groups are smaller. Still, you’ll see that all of the past participles in this chart end in -n or -en.

Key takeaways about irregular verbs in English

There are a lot of irregular verbs to remember, but you don’t have to memorize them right away! As you continue adding English words to your vocabulary, keep a dictionary nearby. Online sites like Dictionary.com, will show you how to conjugate a verb if you search for the base form (try looking up the word swim). In the meantime, remember these key takeaways about irregular verbs in English.

• English has about 200 irregular verbs that don’t follow normal rules for verb conjugation in English.
• The irregular verb forms to remember are the simple past and past participle forms.
• You can categorize English irregular verbs based on what their simple past and past participle forms look like.

The best way to memorize irregular verbs is to practice using them (which you can do with the Rosetta Stone App).

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