List of Irregular Verbs

What is an irregular verb?

An irregular verb is one which does not follow the normal pattern of “base form + ed” in the past tense form and past participle form.

Regular verbs do follow this pattern, for example:

Irregular verbs are formed differently, for example:

What are some common irregular verbs in English?

Here’s a list of some of the more common irregular verbs.

The past tense form (so-called because of its use with this tense) is also referred to as verb 2. This is because it also has other functions, such as in unreal conditionals and to talk about wishes in the present. Referring to it as the “past tense form” can therefore cause confusion, and in the table below we refer to it as verb 2.

The past participle form also has different functions, for example:

– forming the perfect aspect: I have already eaten / He had arrived
– forming the passive voice: 1000 widgets are produced in the factory every day
– modifying nouns: You can spend the enclosed money on whatever you like

For this reason, the past participle form is also referred to as verb 3, and that’s what we use in the table below.