Irregular Verbs in English: Complete List with Examples

Irregular verbs can be tricky because they don’t follow the normal rules. Instead of just adding -ed, they change completely, like go – went – gone or eat – ate – eaten. This page gives you a full list of irregular verbs with examples, so you can learn them quickly and use them with confidence.

What Are Irregular Verbs?

An irregular verb is a verb that doesn’t follow the usual pattern of adding -ed in the past simple or past participle. Some irregular verbs stay the same in all forms, while others change completely. That’s why it’s important to learn them (there are around 200 in total!).

To make it easier, remember that irregular verbs are split into three forms: infinitive, past tense, and past participle. When you think about it, 200 verbs in three forms means about 600 words to learn. Quite a challenge, right?

I don’t want to worry you, so let’s start with the good news. Some irregular verbs aren’t used very often, so you won’t need to focus too much on them.

Even better, many irregular verbs actually follow the same patterns, which makes them easier to remember.

And the best news? You’ve found this page! I’ve broken everything down and created learning materials to help make irregular verbs simple.

Irregular Verbs and Their Past Tense Forms

As mentioned above, some irregular verbs share the same pattern. This means that the infinitive, past simple, or past participle have similar spellings or pronunciations.

To make learning easier, I’ve grouped these verbs into tables based on their patterns. Take a look, and don’t forget to practise saying them out loud!

Irregular Verbs Ending in D That Change to T

Some irregular verbs ending in the letter ‘d’ change to ‘t’ in the past tense and past participle. For example:

bend – bent – bent
build – built – built
lend – lent – lent
send – sent – sent
spend – spent – spent.

These verbs follow the same spelling change, which makes them easier to learn and remember.

Irregular verbs list with d ending changing to t – bend, build, lend, send, spend – with past simple and past participle forms.

Irregular Verbs Ending in AY That Change to AID

Irregular verbs ending in ‘ay’ follow a clear pattern where the past tense changes to ‘aid’. Spotting this rule makes them easier to learn, since you don’t need to memorise each verb separately. Instead, you can group them together and study how the same change happens every time. Common examples are:

lay → laid → laid
mislay → mislaid → mislaid
pay → paid → paid
say → said → said.

irregular verb ending patterns - ay to aid

Irregular Verbs: ear-ore-orn Pattern

Irregular verbs ending in ‘ear’ follow a clear pattern where the past tense changes to ‘ore’ and the past participle changes to ‘orn’. Spotting this rule makes them easier to learn, as you don’t need to memorise each verb individually. Instead, you can group them together and see how the same change applies every time.

Common examples are:

bear → bore → born
tear → tore → torn
swear → swore → sworn
wear → wore → worn

irregular verb ending patterns - ear-ore-orn

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Irregular Verbs: ew-own Pattern

Irregular verbs ending in ‘ow’ follow a clear pattern where the past tense changes to ‘ew’ and the past participle changes to ‘own’.

Common examples are:

blow → blew → blown
grow → grew → grown
know → knew → known
throw → threw → thrown
fly → flew → flown

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Irregular Verbs: ind-ound Pattern

Irregular verbs ending in ‘ind’ follow a clear pattern where the past tense and the past participle both change to ‘ound’.

Common examples are:

bind → bound → bound
find → found → found
grind → ground → ground
wind → wound → wound

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Irregular Verbs: ee-e-e Pattern

Irregular verbs with a double ‘e’ follow a clear pattern where the past tense and the past participle both change to a single ‘e’.

Common examples are:

bleed → bled → bled
breed → bred → bred
feed → fed → fed
meet → met → met
speed → sped → sped

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Irregular Verbs with the Same Infinitive and Past Participle

Irregular verbs with the same infinitive and past participle have a simple pattern: the past participle is identical to the infinitive, though the past tense may change.

Here’s the common ones for you to learn:

become → became → become
come → came → come
run → ran → run
overcome → overcame → overcome

Chart showing irregular verbs become, come, run, and overcome with past tense and past participle forms

Irregular Verbs: ell-old Pattern

Irregular verbs ending in “ell” follow a clear pattern where the past tense and the past participle both change to “old”.

Common examples are:

sell → sold → sold
tell → told → told

Irregular verbs ell-old pattern chart with examples sell-sold-sold and tell-told-told

Irregular Verbs with “ea” Changing Pronunciation

Irregular verbs with “ea” often change their pronunciation in the past tense and past participle, especially when ending in “d” or “t.” The spelling may stay similar, but the sound changes.