List of English irregular verbs
Encyclopedia
This is a list of irregular verb
s in the English language
. The citation form (the infinitive
) comes first (with a link to the Wiktionary article on the verb), together with the present tense
forms when they are different, then the preterite
or simple past, and finally the past participle. The right hand column notes whether they are weak
or strong
and whether they belong to a subclass, and links to discussions elsewhere. Typical irregularities in weak verbs are the assimilation
of dentals (bended → bent) and vowel reduction
(*keeped → kept).
Some of these verbs are irregular in British
or American English
only; in many cases, such as spell (spelt vs. spelled), learn (learnt vs. learned), and spill (spilt vs. spilled), American English uses the regular form, while British English tends to favor the irregular. In other cases, the opposite is true (dived and sneaked in Britain, also dove and snuck in America); Australian English
, New Zealand English
, and South African English
tend to follow the British practice, while Canadian English
often sides with the American usage. See further at American and British English differences
. In this table, the preferred or more common usage is generally listed first, though for some words, the usage is nearly equal for the two choices.
There are no English verbs with an irregular present participle.
Verbs marked † have an irregular present tense (see #Present tense irregular verbs)
verbs is very short. Excepting modal verb
s like "shall", "will", and "can" that do not inflect at all in the present tense, there are only four (only two if pronunciation is ignored):
Irregular verb
In contrast to regular verbs, irregular verbs are those verbs that fall outside the standard patterns of conjugation in the languages in which they occur. The idea of an irregular verb is important in second language acquisition, where the verb paradigms of a foreign language are learned...
s in the English language
English language
English is a West Germanic language that arose in the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms of England and spread into what was to become south-east Scotland under the influence of the Anglian medieval kingdom of Northumbria...
. The citation form (the infinitive
Infinitive
In grammar, infinitive is the name for certain verb forms that exist in many languages. In the usual description of English, the infinitive of a verb is its basic form with or without the particle to: therefore, do and to do, be and to be, and so on are infinitives...
) comes first (with a link to the Wiktionary article on the verb), together with the present tense
Present tense
The present tense is a grammatical tense that locates a situation or event in present time. This linguistic definition refers to a concept that indicates a feature of the meaning of a verb...
forms when they are different, then the preterite
Preterite
The preterite is the grammatical tense expressing actions that took place or were completed in the past...
or simple past, and finally the past participle. The right hand column notes whether they are weak
Germanic weak verb
In Germanic languages, including English, weak verbs are by far the largest group of verbs, which are therefore often regarded as the norm, though historically they are not the oldest or most original group.-General description:...
or strong
Germanic strong verb
In the Germanic languages, a strong verb is one which marks its past tense by means of ablaut. In English, these are verbs like sing, sang, sung...
and whether they belong to a subclass, and links to discussions elsewhere. Typical irregularities in weak verbs are the assimilation
Assimilation (linguistics)
Assimilation is a common phonological process by which the sound of the ending of one word blends into the sound of the beginning of the following word. This occurs when the parts of the mouth and vocal cords start to form the beginning sounds of the next word before the last sound has been...
of dentals (bended → bent) and vowel reduction
Vowel reduction
In phonetics, vowel reduction is any of various changes in the acoustic quality of vowels, which are related to changes in stress, sonority, duration, loudness, articulation, or position in the word , and which are perceived as "weakening"...
(*keeped → kept).
Some of these verbs are irregular in British
British English
British English, or English , is the broad term used to distinguish the forms of the English language used in the United Kingdom from forms used elsewhere...
or American English
American English
American English is a set of dialects of the English language used mostly in the United States. Approximately two-thirds of the world's native speakers of English live in the United States....
only; in many cases, such as spell (spelt vs. spelled), learn (learnt vs. learned), and spill (spilt vs. spilled), American English uses the regular form, while British English tends to favor the irregular. In other cases, the opposite is true (dived and sneaked in Britain, also dove and snuck in America); Australian English
Australian English
Australian English is the name given to the group of dialects spoken in Australia that form a major variety of the English language....
, New Zealand English
New Zealand English
New Zealand English is the dialect of the English language used in New Zealand.The English language was established in New Zealand by colonists during the 19th century. It is one of "the newest native-speaker variet[ies] of the English language in existence, a variety which has developed and...
, and South African English
South African English
The term South African English is applied to the first-language dialects of English spoken by South Africans, with the L1 English variety spoken by Zimbabweans, Zambians and Namibians, being recognised as offshoots.There is some social and regional variation within South African English...
tend to follow the British practice, while Canadian English
Canadian English
Canadian English is the variety of English spoken in Canada. English is the first language, or "mother tongue", of approximately 24 million Canadians , and more than 28 million are fluent in the language...
often sides with the American usage. See further at American and British English differences
American and British English differences
This is one of a series of articles about the differences between British English and American English, which, for the purposes of these articles, are defined as follows:...
. In this table, the preferred or more common usage is generally listed first, though for some words, the usage is nearly equal for the two choices.
There are no English verbs with an irregular present participle.
All irregular verbs
This table includes selected archaic forms (marked *).Verbs marked † have an irregular present tense (see #Present tense irregular verbs)
| Verb forms | Verb class and notes |
|---|---|
| awake – awoke – awoken | Strong, class 6 |
| be † was – been | Suppletive. See: Indo-European copula Indo-European copula A feature common to all Indo-European languages is the presence of a verb corresponding to the English verb to be. Though in some languages, such as Russian, it is vestigial, it is present nonetheless in atrophied forms or derivatives.-General features:... . |
| bear – bore – born/borne
|
Strong, class 4 |
| beat – beat – beaten/beat browbeat – browbeat – browbeaten | Strong, class 7 |
| become – became – become misbecome – misbecame – misbecome | Strong, class 4 |
| beget – begot/*begat – begotten/begot misbeget – misbegot – misbegotten/misbegot | Strong, class 5 |
| begin – began – begun | Strong, class 3 |
| bend – bent/bended – bent/bended overbend – overbent – overbent unbend – unbent – unbent | Weak Germanic weak verb In Germanic languages, including English, weak verbs are by far the largest group of verbs, which are therefore often regarded as the norm, though historically they are not the oldest or most original group.-General description:... with assimilation of dentals |
| beseech – beseeched/besought – beseeched/besought | Weak Germanic weak verb In Germanic languages, including English, weak verbs are by far the largest group of verbs, which are therefore often regarded as the norm, though historically they are not the oldest or most original group.-General description:... with Rückumlaut and Germanic spirant law Germanic spirant law In linguistics, the Germanic spirant law or Primärberührung is a specific historical instance of dissimilation that occurred as part of an exception of Grimm's law in the ancestor of the Germanic languages.-General description:... |
| bet – bet/betted – bet/betted underbet – underbet – underbet | Weak Germanic weak verb In Germanic languages, including English, weak verbs are by far the largest group of verbs, which are therefore often regarded as the norm, though historically they are not the oldest or most original group.-General description:... with assimilation of dentals |
| bid (in playing cards, auctions, etc.) – bid – bid outbid – outbid – outbid overbid – overbid – overbid rebid – rebid – rebid underbid – underbid – underbid | Weak Germanic weak verb In Germanic languages, including English, weak verbs are by far the largest group of verbs, which are therefore often regarded as the norm, though historically they are not the oldest or most original group.-General description:... with assimilation of dentals |
| bid (meaning to request or say) – bade/bid/bidded – bidden/bid/bidded | Strong, class 5 |
| bide – bided/bode – bided/bidden abide – abided/*abode – abided/*abidden | Strong, class 1 |
| bind – bound – bound unbind – unbound – unbound underbind – underbound – underbound | Strong, class 3 |
| bite – bit – bitten | Strong, class 1 |
| bleed – bled – bled | Weak Germanic weak verb In Germanic languages, including English, weak verbs are by far the largest group of verbs, which are therefore often regarded as the norm, though historically they are not the oldest or most original group.-General description:... with vowel reduction and assimilation of dentals |
| bless – blessed/blest – blessed/blest | Weak Germanic weak verb In Germanic languages, including English, weak verbs are by far the largest group of verbs, which are therefore often regarded as the norm, though historically they are not the oldest or most original group.-General description:... with assimilation of dentals |
| blow – blew – blown overblow – overblew – overblown | Strong, class 7 |
| break – broke – broken outbreak – outbroke – outbroken rebreak – rebroke – rebroken | Strong, class 4 |
| breed – bred – bred inbreed – inbred – inbred interbreed – interbred – interbred overbreed – overbred – overbred | Weak Germanic weak verb In Germanic languages, including English, weak verbs are by far the largest group of verbs, which are therefore often regarded as the norm, though historically they are not the oldest or most original group.-General description:... with vowel reduction and assimilation of dentals |
| bring – brought – brought | Weak Germanic weak verb In Germanic languages, including English, weak verbs are by far the largest group of verbs, which are therefore often regarded as the norm, though historically they are not the oldest or most original group.-General description:... with Rückumlaut and Germanic spirant law Germanic spirant law In linguistics, the Germanic spirant law or Primärberührung is a specific historical instance of dissimilation that occurred as part of an exception of Grimm's law in the ancestor of the Germanic languages.-General description:... |
| build – built – built overbuild – overbuilt – overbuilt rebuild – rebuilt – rebuilt underbuild – underbuilt – underbuilt | Weak Germanic weak verb In Germanic languages, including English, weak verbs are by far the largest group of verbs, which are therefore often regarded as the norm, though historically they are not the oldest or most original group.-General description:... with assimilation of dentals |
| burn – burned/burnt – burnt/burned | Weak Germanic weak verb In Germanic languages, including English, weak verbs are by far the largest group of verbs, which are therefore often regarded as the norm, though historically they are not the oldest or most original group.-General description:... with assimilation of dentals |
| burst – burst/bursted – burst/bursted/busted | Strong, class 3 |
| buy – bought – bought/*boughten overbuy – overbought – overbought underbuy – underbought – underbought | Weak Germanic weak verb In Germanic languages, including English, weak verbs are by far the largest group of verbs, which are therefore often regarded as the norm, though historically they are not the oldest or most original group.-General description:... with Rückumlaut and Germanic spirant law Germanic spirant law In linguistics, the Germanic spirant law or Primärberührung is a specific historical instance of dissimilation that occurred as part of an exception of Grimm's law in the ancestor of the Germanic languages.-General description:... |
| can (auxiliary verb only) – could – (none) | Preterite-present, defective Defective verb In linguistics, a defective verb is a verb which is missing e.g. a past tense, or cannot be used in some other way that normal verbs come. Formally, it is a verb with an incomplete conjugation. Defective verbs cannot be conjugated in certain tenses, aspects, or moods.-Arabic:In Arabic, defective... |
| cast – cast – cast broadcast – broadcast – broadcast downcast – downcast – downcast forecast – forecast – forecast miscast – miscast – miscast overcast – overcast – overcast podcast – podcast – podcast precast – precast – precast recast – recast – recast simulcast – simulcast – simulcast telecast – telecast – telecast typecast – typecast – typecast undercast – undercast – undercast upcast – upcast – upcast webcast – webcast – webcast | Weak Germanic weak verb In Germanic languages, including English, weak verbs are by far the largest group of verbs, which are therefore often regarded as the norm, though historically they are not the oldest or most original group.-General description:... with assimilation of dentals |
| catch – caught – caught | Weak Germanic weak verb In Germanic languages, including English, weak verbs are by far the largest group of verbs, which are therefore often regarded as the norm, though historically they are not the oldest or most original group.-General description:... – a French loanword conjugated perhaps by analogy with teach-taught |
| choose – chose – chosen mischoose – mischose – mischosen | Strong, class 2 |
| cleave (split apart) – clove – cloven/cleft | Strong, class 2 |
| *cleave (cling to) – cleft/cleaved – cleft/cleaved | Weak Germanic weak verb In Germanic languages, including English, weak verbs are by far the largest group of verbs, which are therefore often regarded as the norm, though historically they are not the oldest or most original group.-General description:... with vowel reduction |
| *clepe – cleped/clept – cleped/clept | Weak Germanic weak verb In Germanic languages, including English, weak verbs are by far the largest group of verbs, which are therefore often regarded as the norm, though historically they are not the oldest or most original group.-General description:... with assimilation of dentals |
| cling – clung – clung | Strong, class 3 |
| clothe – clothed/clad – clothed/clad overclothe – overclothed/overclad – overclothed/overclad unclothe – unclothed/unclad – unclothed/unclad underclothe – underclothed/underclad – underclothed/underclad | Weak Germanic weak verb In Germanic languages, including English, weak verbs are by far the largest group of verbs, which are therefore often regarded as the norm, though historically they are not the oldest or most original group.-General description:... with vowel reduction and assimilation of dentals |
| come – came – come misbecome – misbecame – misbecome overcome – overcame – overcome | Strong, class 4 |
| cost (the intransitive sense) – cost – cost | Weak Germanic weak verb In Germanic languages, including English, weak verbs are by far the largest group of verbs, which are therefore often regarded as the norm, though historically they are not the oldest or most original group.-General description:... with assimilation of dentals |
| creep – crept – crept | Strong, class 2 |
| crow – crowed/crew – crowed | |
| cut – cut – cut clearcut – clearcut – clearcut crosscut – crosscut – crosscut intercut – intercut – intercut recut – recut – recut undercut – undercut – undercut | Weak Germanic weak verb In Germanic languages, including English, weak verbs are by far the largest group of verbs, which are therefore often regarded as the norm, though historically they are not the oldest or most original group.-General description:... with assimilation of dentals |
| deal – dealt – dealt misdeal – misdealt – misdealt redeal – redealt – redealt | Weak Germanic weak verb In Germanic languages, including English, weak verbs are by far the largest group of verbs, which are therefore often regarded as the norm, though historically they are not the oldest or most original group.-General description:... with vowel reduction and assimilation of dentals |
| dig – dug – dug underdig – underdug – underdug | |
| dive – dived/dove – dived | Weak Germanic weak verb In Germanic languages, including English, weak verbs are by far the largest group of verbs, which are therefore often regarded as the norm, though historically they are not the oldest or most original group.-General description:... with a naturally developing strong past tense |
| do † – did – done *fordo – fordid – fordone misdo – misdid – misdone outdo – outdid – outdone overdo – overdid – overdone redo redid – redone undo – undid – undone underdo – underdid – underdone | Reduplication Reduplication Reduplication in linguistics is a morphological process in which the root or stem of a word is repeated exactly or with a slight change.... with past participle springing from OE "gedon" |
| drag – drug/dragged – drug/dragged | Strong, class 6 |
| draw – drew – drawn outdraw – outdrew – outdrawn overdraw – overdrew – overdrawn redraw – redrew – redrawn underdraw – underdrew – underdrawn withdraw – withdrew – withdrawn | Strong, class 6 |
| dream – dreamed/dreamt – dreamed/dreamt | Weak Germanic weak verb In Germanic languages, including English, weak verbs are by far the largest group of verbs, which are therefore often regarded as the norm, though historically they are not the oldest or most original group.-General description:... with vowel reduction and assimilation of dentals |
| dress dressed/*drest dressed/*drest overdress overdressed overdressed underdress underdressed underdressed undress undressed undressed | Weak Germanic weak verb In Germanic languages, including English, weak verbs are by far the largest group of verbs, which are therefore often regarded as the norm, though historically they are not the oldest or most original group.-General description:... with assimilation of dentals |
| drink – drank – drunk/drank outdrink – outdrank – outdrunk overdrink – overdrank – overdrunk | Strong, class 3 |
| drive – drove – driven overdrive – overdrove – overdriven test-drive – test-drove – test-driven | Strong, class 1 |
| dwell – dwelt/dwelled – dwelt/dwelled | Weak Germanic weak verb In Germanic languages, including English, weak verbs are by far the largest group of verbs, which are therefore often regarded as the norm, though historically they are not the oldest or most original group.-General description:... with assimilation of dentals |
| eat – ate – eaten overeat – overate – overeaten undereat – underate – undereaten | Strong, class 5 |
| fall – fell – fallen befall – befell – befallen *misbefall – misbefell – misbefallen *misfall – misfell – misfallen | Strong, class 7 |
| feed – fed – fed breastfeed – breastfed – breastfed force-feed – force-fed – force-fed hand-feed – hand-fed – hand-fed misfeed – misfed – misfed overfeed – overfed – overfed self-feed – self-fed – self-fed spoonfeed – spoonfed – spoonfed underfeed – underfed – underfed | Weak Germanic weak verb In Germanic languages, including English, weak verbs are by far the largest group of verbs, which are therefore often regarded as the norm, though historically they are not the oldest or most original group.-General description:... with vowel reduction and assimilation of dentals |
| feel – felt – felt | Weak Germanic weak verb In Germanic languages, including English, weak verbs are by far the largest group of verbs, which are therefore often regarded as the norm, though historically they are not the oldest or most original group.-General description:... with vowel reduction and assimilation of dentals |
| fight – fought – fought | Strong, class 3 |
| find – found – found refind – refound – refound | Strong, class 3 |
| fit - fit/fitted - fit/fitted misfit - misfit/misfitted - misfit/misfitted | Weak Germanic weak verb In Germanic languages, including English, weak verbs are by far the largest group of verbs, which are therefore often regarded as the norm, though historically they are not the oldest or most original group.-General description:... with assimilation of dentals |
| flee – fled – fled | Strong, class 2 |
| fling – flung – flung | Strong, class 3 |
| fly - flew - flown outfly - outflew - outflown overfly - overflew - overflown test-fly - test-flew - test-flown | Strong, class 2 |
| forbid - forbade/forbid - forbidden | Strong, class 5 |
| forget - forgot - forgotten | Strong, class 5 |
| *forlese - forlore - forlorn | |
| forsake - forsook - forsaken | Strong, class 6 |
| freeze - froze - frozen
|
Strong, class 2 |
| get – got – gotten/got
|
Strong, class 5 |
| gild - gilded/gilt - gilded/gilt | Weak Germanic weak verb In Germanic languages, including English, weak verbs are by far the largest group of verbs, which are therefore often regarded as the norm, though historically they are not the oldest or most original group.-General description:... with assimilation of dentals |
| *gird - girt/girded - girt/girded
|
Weak Germanic weak verb In Germanic languages, including English, weak verbs are by far the largest group of verbs, which are therefore often regarded as the norm, though historically they are not the oldest or most original group.-General description:... with assimilation of dentals |
| give - gave - given
|
Strong, class 5 |
| go - went - gone
|
Suppletive. See: go (verb) Go (verb) Go is an irregular English verb whose basic definition is "to move from one place to another". Be and go are the only English verbs with a suppletive past tense.-Principal parts:... . |
| *grave - grove/graved - graven/graved | Strong, class 6 |
| grind - ground/grinded - ground | Strong, class 3 |
| grow - grew - grown
|
Strong, class 7 |
| hang - hung/hanged - hung/hanged
|
Strong, class 7 weak past tense and present influenced by OE causative "hangian" |
| have † - had - had | Weak Germanic weak verb In Germanic languages, including English, weak verbs are by far the largest group of verbs, which are therefore often regarded as the norm, though historically they are not the oldest or most original group.-General description:... pret. and past participle spring from O.E. haefd |
| hear - heard - heard
|
Weak Germanic weak verb In Germanic languages, including English, weak verbs are by far the largest group of verbs, which are therefore often regarded as the norm, though historically they are not the oldest or most original group.-General description:... with vowel reduction and assimilation of dentals |
| heave – heaved/hove – heaved/hove/hoven
|
|
| hew - hew/hewed - hewn/hewed
|
Strong, class 7 |
| hide - hid - hidden | Weak Germanic weak verb In Germanic languages, including English, weak verbs are by far the largest group of verbs, which are therefore often regarded as the norm, though historically they are not the oldest or most original group.-General description:... vowel reduction and assimilation of dentals |
| hit - hit - hit
|
Weak Germanic weak verb In Germanic languages, including English, weak verbs are by far the largest group of verbs, which are therefore often regarded as the norm, though historically they are not the oldest or most original group.-General description:... with assimilation of dentals |
| hoise – hoist – hoist | |
| hold - held - held
|
Strong, class 7 |
| hurt – hurt – hurt | Weak Germanic weak verb In Germanic languages, including English, weak verbs are by far the largest group of verbs, which are therefore often regarded as the norm, though historically they are not the oldest or most original group.-General description:... with assimilation of dentals |
| keep - kept - kept
|
Weak Germanic weak verb In Germanic languages, including English, weak verbs are by far the largest group of verbs, which are therefore often regarded as the norm, though historically they are not the oldest or most original group.-General description:... with vowel reduction and assimilation of dentals |
| *ken – kenned/kent – kenned/kent
|
|
| kneel – knelt/kneeled – knelt/kneeled | Weak Germanic weak verb In Germanic languages, including English, weak verbs are by far the largest group of verbs, which are therefore often regarded as the norm, though historically they are not the oldest or most original group.-General description:... with vowel reduction and assimilation of dentals |
| knit – knit/knitted – knit/knitted | Weak Germanic weak verb In Germanic languages, including English, weak verbs are by far the largest group of verbs, which are therefore often regarded as the norm, though historically they are not the oldest or most original group.-General description:... with assimilation of dentals |
| know - knew - known
|
Strong, class 7 |
| lade - laded - laden/laded
|
Strong, class 6 |
| laugh - laughed/*laught - laughed/*laught | |
| lay - laid - laid
|
Weak Germanic weak verb In Germanic languages, including English, weak verbs are by far the largest group of verbs, which are therefore often regarded as the norm, though historically they are not the oldest or most original group.-General description:... ; |
| lead – led – led
|
Weak Germanic weak verb In Germanic languages, including English, weak verbs are by far the largest group of verbs, which are therefore often regarded as the norm, though historically they are not the oldest or most original group.-General description:... with vowel reduction and assimilation of dentals |
| lean - leaned/leant - leaned/leant | Weak Germanic weak verb In Germanic languages, including English, weak verbs are by far the largest group of verbs, which are therefore often regarded as the norm, though historically they are not the oldest or most original group.-General description:... with vowel reduction and assimilation of dentals |
| leap – leaped/leapt – leaped/leapt
|
Strong, class 7 |
| learn - learned/learnt - learned/learnt
|
Weak Germanic weak verb In Germanic languages, including English, weak verbs are by far the largest group of verbs, which are therefore often regarded as the norm, though historically they are not the oldest or most original group.-General description:... with assimilation of dentals |
| leave - left - left
|
Weak Germanic weak verb In Germanic languages, including English, weak verbs are by far the largest group of verbs, which are therefore often regarded as the norm, though historically they are not the oldest or most original group.-General description:... with vowel reduction and assimilation of dentals |
| lend – lent – lent
|
Weak Germanic weak verb In Germanic languages, including English, weak verbs are by far the largest group of verbs, which are therefore often regarded as the norm, though historically they are not the oldest or most original group.-General description:... with vowel reduction and assimilation of dentals |
| let (allow) – let – let
|
Strong, class 7 |
| lie (posture) – lay – lain
|
Strong, class 5 |
| light – lit/lighted – lit/lighted
|
Weak Germanic weak verb In Germanic languages, including English, weak verbs are by far the largest group of verbs, which are therefore often regarded as the norm, though historically they are not the oldest or most original group.-General description:... with vowel reduction and assimilation of dentals |
| lose - lost - lost | Strong, class 2 |
| make – made – made
|
Weak Germanic weak verb In Germanic languages, including English, weak verbs are by far the largest group of verbs, which are therefore often regarded as the norm, though historically they are not the oldest or most original group.-General description:... contraction of "maked" |
| may – might – (none) | Preterite-present, defective Defective verb In linguistics, a defective verb is a verb which is missing e.g. a past tense, or cannot be used in some other way that normal verbs come. Formally, it is a verb with an incomplete conjugation. Defective verbs cannot be conjugated in certain tenses, aspects, or moods.-Arabic:In Arabic, defective... |
| mean - meant - meant | Weak Germanic weak verb In Germanic languages, including English, weak verbs are by far the largest group of verbs, which are therefore often regarded as the norm, though historically they are not the oldest or most original group.-General description:... with vowel reduction and assimilation of dentals |
| meet - met - met | Weak Germanic weak verb In Germanic languages, including English, weak verbs are by far the largest group of verbs, which are therefore often regarded as the norm, though historically they are not the oldest or most original group.-General description:... with vowel reduction and assimilation of dentals |
| melt - melted/*molt - melted/*molten | Strong, class 3 |
| mow - mowed - mowed/mown | Strong, class 7 |
| pay - paid - paid
|
Weak Germanic weak verb In Germanic languages, including English, weak verbs are by far the largest group of verbs, which are therefore often regarded as the norm, though historically they are not the oldest or most original group.-General description:... ; irregular only in spelling, but not in pronunciation |
| pen - penned/pent - penned/pent | Weak Germanic weak verb In Germanic languages, including English, weak verbs are by far the largest group of verbs, which are therefore often regarded as the norm, though historically they are not the oldest or most original group.-General description:... with assimilation of dentals |
| plead - pleaded/pled - pleaded/pled | Weak Germanic weak verb In Germanic languages, including English, weak verbs are by far the largest group of verbs, which are therefore often regarded as the norm, though historically they are not the oldest or most original group.-General description:... with vowel reduction and assimilation of dentals |
| prove - proved - proved/proven | borrowed French verb |
| put - put - put
|
Weak Germanic weak verb In Germanic languages, including English, weak verbs are by far the largest group of verbs, which are therefore often regarded as the norm, though historically they are not the oldest or most original group.-General description:... with assimilation of dentals |
| *queath or quethe – quoth – quoth/quethen
|
Strong, class 5 |
| quit – quit – quit | Weak Germanic weak verb In Germanic languages, including English, weak verbs are by far the largest group of verbs, which are therefore often regarded as the norm, though historically they are not the oldest or most original group.-General description:... with assimilation of dentals |
| reach – *raught/reached – *raught/reached | |
| read – read – read lipread – lipread – lipread misread – misread – misread proofread – proofread – proofread reread – reread – reread | Weak Germanic weak verb In Germanic languages, including English, weak verbs are by far the largest group of verbs, which are therefore often regarded as the norm, though historically they are not the oldest or most original group.-General description:... with vowel reduction and assimilation of dentals; irregular in pronunciation |
| *reave – reft – reft bereave – bereaved/bereft – bereaved/bereft | Weak Germanic weak verb In Germanic languages, including English, weak verbs are by far the largest group of verbs, which are therefore often regarded as the norm, though historically they are not the oldest or most original group.-General description:... with vowel reduction and assimilation of dentals |
| rend - rent - rent | Weak Germanic weak verb In Germanic languages, including English, weak verbs are by far the largest group of verbs, which are therefore often regarded as the norm, though historically they are not the oldest or most original group.-General description:... with assimilation of dentals |
| rid - rid/ridded - rid/ridden/ridded | |
| ride – rode – ridden outride – outrode – outridden override – overrode – overridden | Strong, class 1 |
| ring - rang - rung | Strong, class 3 |
| rise - rose - risen arise - arose - arisen uprise - uprose - uprisen | Strong, class 1 |
| *rive - rived/rove - rived/riven | Strong, class 1 |
| run - ran - run *forerun - foreran - forerun outrun - outran - outrun overrun - overran - overrun rerun - reran - rerun underrun - underran - underrun | Strong, class 3 |
| *sake - sook - saken | Strong, class 6 |
| saw - sawed - sawed/sawn | |
| say † – said – said *forsay – forsaid – forsaid *gainsay – gainsaid – gainsaid missay – missaid – missaid *naysay – naysaid – naysaid *withsay – withsaid – withsaid | Weak Germanic weak verb In Germanic languages, including English, weak verbs are by far the largest group of verbs, which are therefore often regarded as the norm, though historically they are not the oldest or most original group.-General description:... |
| see – saw – seen *besee – *besaw – *beseen foresee – foresaw – foreseen missee – missaw – misseen oversee – oversaw – overseen undersee – undersaw – underseen | Strong, class 5 |
| seek – sought – sought beseek – besought – besought | Weak Germanic weak verb In Germanic languages, including English, weak verbs are by far the largest group of verbs, which are therefore often regarded as the norm, though historically they are not the oldest or most original group.-General description:... with Rückumlaut and Germanic spirant law Germanic spirant law In linguistics, the Germanic spirant law or Primärberührung is a specific historical instance of dissimilation that occurred as part of an exception of Grimm's law in the ancestor of the Germanic languages.-General description:... |
| seethe - seethed/*sod - seethed/*sodden | |
| sell – sold – sold
|
Weak Germanic weak verb In Germanic languages, including English, weak verbs are by far the largest group of verbs, which are therefore often regarded as the norm, though historically they are not the oldest or most original group.-General description:... with Rückumlaut |
| send - sent - sent
|
Weak Germanic weak verb In Germanic languages, including English, weak verbs are by far the largest group of verbs, which are therefore often regarded as the norm, though historically they are not the oldest or most original group.-General description:... with assimilation of dentals |
| set – set – set
|
Weak Germanic weak verb In Germanic languages, including English, weak verbs are by far the largest group of verbs, which are therefore often regarded as the norm, though historically they are not the oldest or most original group.-General description:... |
| sew – sewed – sewed/sewn
|
|
| shake - shook - shaken
|
Strong, class 6 |
| shall – should – (none) | Preterite-present; defective Defective verb In linguistics, a defective verb is a verb which is missing e.g. a past tense, or cannot be used in some other way that normal verbs come. Formally, it is a verb with an incomplete conjugation. Defective verbs cannot be conjugated in certain tenses, aspects, or moods.-Arabic:In Arabic, defective... ; see also Shall and will Shall and will Shall and will are both modal verbs in English used to express propositions about the future.-Usage:These modal verbs have been used in the past for a variety of meanings... |
| shape – shaped – shapen/shaped
|
|
| shave - shove/shaved - shaven/shaved | Strong, class 6 |
| shear - shore/sheared - shorn/sheared | Strong, class 4 |
| shed - shed - shed | Strong, class 7 |
| shine - shined/shone - shined/shone
|
Strong, class 1 |
| shit - shit/shat/shitted - shit/shat/shitted | Strong, class 1; |
| *shite - shit/shat - shit/shat/shitten | Strong, class 1 |
| shoe - shoed/shod - shoed/shod/shodden | Weak Germanic weak verb In Germanic languages, including English, weak verbs are by far the largest group of verbs, which are therefore often regarded as the norm, though historically they are not the oldest or most original group.-General description:... with vowel reduction |
| shoot - shot - shot
|
Strong, class 2 |
| show - showed - shown/showed
|
Weak Germanic weak verb In Germanic languages, including English, weak verbs are by far the largest group of verbs, which are therefore often regarded as the norm, though historically they are not the oldest or most original group.-General description:... , with participle shown perhaps by analogy with sow, sown |
| shrink - shrank/shrunk - shrunk/shrunken
|
Strong, class 3 |
| *shrive - shrove - shriven | Strong, class 1 |
| shut - shut - shut | Weak Germanic weak verb In Germanic languages, including English, weak verbs are by far the largest group of verbs, which are therefore often regarded as the norm, though historically they are not the oldest or most original group.-General description:... |
| sing - sang - sung
|
Strong, class 3 |
| sink - sank/sunk - sunk/sunken | Strong, class 3 |
| sit - sat - sat/*sitten
|
Strong, class 5 |
| slay - slew/slayed - slain/slayed | Strong, class 6 |
| sleep – slept – slept
|
Strong, class 7 |
| slide – slid – slid/slidden
|
Strong, class 1 |
| sling - slung/slang - slung | Strong, class 3 |
| slink - slunk - slunk | Strong, class 3 |
| slip - slipped/*slipt - slipped/*slipt
|
|
| slit – slit – slit | Strong, class 1 |
| smell - smelled/smelt - smelled/smelt | Weak Germanic weak verb In Germanic languages, including English, weak verbs are by far the largest group of verbs, which are therefore often regarded as the norm, though historically they are not the oldest or most original group.-General description:... with assimilation of dentals |
| *smite – smote/*smit – smitten | Strong, class 1 |
| sneak – sneaked/*snuck – sneaked/snuck | Weak Germanic weak verb In Germanic languages, including English, weak verbs are by far the largest group of verbs, which are therefore often regarded as the norm, though historically they are not the oldest or most original group.-General description:... with s naturally-developing strong form |
| sow – sowed/sew – sowed/sown | Strong, class 7 |
| speak – spoke/*spake – spoken/spoke
|
Strong, class 5 |
| speed – sped/speeded – sped/speeded | Weak Germanic weak verb In Germanic languages, including English, weak verbs are by far the largest group of verbs, which are therefore often regarded as the norm, though historically they are not the oldest or most original group.-General description:... with vowel reduction and assimilation of dentals |
| spell – spelled/spelt – spelled/spelt
|
Weak Germanic weak verb In Germanic languages, including English, weak verbs are by far the largest group of verbs, which are therefore often regarded as the norm, though historically they are not the oldest or most original group.-General description:... with assimilation of dentals |
| spend – spent – spent
|
Weak Germanic weak verb In Germanic languages, including English, weak verbs are by far the largest group of verbs, which are therefore often regarded as the norm, though historically they are not the oldest or most original group.-General description:... with assimilation of dentals |
| spill - spilled/spilt - spilled/spilt
|
Weak Germanic weak verb In Germanic languages, including English, weak verbs are by far the largest group of verbs, which are therefore often regarded as the norm, though historically they are not the oldest or most original group.-General description:... with assimilation of dentals |
| spin – span/spun – spun | strong, class 3 |
| spit – spit/spat – spit | |
| split – split – split | Weak Germanic weak verb In Germanic languages, including English, weak verbs are by far the largest group of verbs, which are therefore often regarded as the norm, though historically they are not the oldest or most original group.-General description:... with assimilation of dentals |
| spoil - spoiled/spoilt - spoiled/spoilt | Weak Germanic weak verb In Germanic languages, including English, weak verbs are by far the largest group of verbs, which are therefore often regarded as the norm, though historically they are not the oldest or most original group.-General description:... with assimilation of dentals |
| spread - spread - spread
|
Weak Germanic weak verb In Germanic languages, including English, weak verbs are by far the largest group of verbs, which are therefore often regarded as the norm, though historically they are not the oldest or most original group.-General description:... with assimilation of dentals |
| spring – sprang/sprung – sprung
|
Strong, class 3 |
| stand – stood – stood
|
Strong, class 6 |
| stay – stayed/*staid – stayed/*staid | |
| steal – stole – stolen | Strong, class 4 |
| stick – stuck – stuck | |
| sting – stung/stang – stung | Strong, class 3 |
| stink - stank/stunk - stunk | Strong, class 3 |
| stave - stove/staved - stove/staved | |
| strew - strew/strewed - strewn/strewed | |
| stride – strode/strided – stridden/strided
|
Strong, class 1 |
| strike - struck - stricken/struck
|
Strong, class 1 |
| string – strang/strung – strung
|
Weak Germanic weak verb In Germanic languages, including English, weak verbs are by far the largest group of verbs, which are therefore often regarded as the norm, though historically they are not the oldest or most original group.-General description:... with a naturally-developing strong form |
| strive - strove/strived - striven/strived
|
Strong, class 1 |
| swear - swore - sworn
|
Strong, class 6 |
| sweat - sweat/sweated - sweat/sweated | |
| sweep - swept - swept
|
Weak Germanic weak verb In Germanic languages, including English, weak verbs are by far the largest group of verbs, which are therefore often regarded as the norm, though historically they are not the oldest or most original group.-General description:... with vowel reduction and assimilation of dentals |
| swell - swelled/swole - swelled/swollen
|
Strong, class 3 |
| *swelt - swolt/swelted - swolten/swelted | Strong, class 3 |
| swim – swam – swum | Strong, class 3 |
| swing – swung/swang – swung/*swungen
|
Strong, class 3 |
| take – took – taken
|
Strong, class 6 |
| teach – taught – taught | Weak Germanic weak verb In Germanic languages, including English, weak verbs are by far the largest group of verbs, which are therefore often regarded as the norm, though historically they are not the oldest or most original group.-General description:... with Rückumlaut and Germanic spirant law Germanic spirant law In linguistics, the Germanic spirant law or Primärberührung is a specific historical instance of dissimilation that occurred as part of an exception of Grimm's law in the ancestor of the Germanic languages.-General description:... |
| tear – tore – torn
|
Strong, class 4 |
| tell – told – told
|
Weak Germanic weak verb In Germanic languages, including English, weak verbs are by far the largest group of verbs, which are therefore often regarded as the norm, though historically they are not the oldest or most original group.-General description:... with Rückumlaut |
| think – thought – thought
|
Weak Germanic weak verb In Germanic languages, including English, weak verbs are by far the largest group of verbs, which are therefore often regarded as the norm, though historically they are not the oldest or most original group.-General description:... with Rückumlaut and Germanic spirant law Germanic spirant law In linguistics, the Germanic spirant law or Primärberührung is a specific historical instance of dissimilation that occurred as part of an exception of Grimm's law in the ancestor of the Germanic languages.-General description:... |
| thrive – thrived/throve – thrived/thriven | Strong, class 1 |
| throw – threw – thrown
|
Strong, class 7 |
| thrust – thrust/thrusted – thrust/thrusted
|
|
| tread – trod – trodden/trod
|
Strong, class 5 |
| wake – woke – woken | Strong, class 6 |
| wax – waxed – waxed/waxen | Strong, class 7 |
| wear – wore – worn
|
Weak Germanic weak verb In Germanic languages, including English, weak verbs are by far the largest group of verbs, which are therefore often regarded as the norm, though historically they are not the oldest or most original group.-General description:... with strong form based on "bear" |
| weave – weaved/wove – woven
|
Strong, class 7 |
| wed – wed/wedded – wed/wedded
|
Weak Germanic weak verb In Germanic languages, including English, weak verbs are by far the largest group of verbs, which are therefore often regarded as the norm, though historically they are not the oldest or most original group.-General description:... with assimilation of dentals |
| weep – wept – wept
|
Strong, class 7 |
| wend – wended/*went – wended/*went | weak Germanic weak verb In Germanic languages, including English, weak verbs are by far the largest group of verbs, which are therefore often regarded as the norm, though historically they are not the oldest or most original group.-General description:... with assimilation of dentals |
| wet – wet/wetted – wet/wetted
|
Weak Germanic weak verb In Germanic languages, including English, weak verbs are by far the largest group of verbs, which are therefore often regarded as the norm, though historically they are not the oldest or most original group.-General description:... with assimilation of dentals |
| will (auxiliary verb only) – would – (none) | Preterite-present, defective Defective verb In linguistics, a defective verb is a verb which is missing e.g. a past tense, or cannot be used in some other way that normal verbs come. Formally, it is a verb with an incomplete conjugation. Defective verbs cannot be conjugated in certain tenses, aspects, or moods.-Arabic:In Arabic, defective... ; see also Shall and will Shall and will Shall and will are both modal verbs in English used to express propositions about the future.-Usage:These modal verbs have been used in the past for a variety of meanings... |
| win – won – won | Strong, class 3 |
| wind – wound – wound
|
Strong, class 3 |
| work - worked/*wrought - worked/*wrought
|
Weak Germanic weak verb In Germanic languages, including English, weak verbs are by far the largest group of verbs, which are therefore often regarded as the norm, though historically they are not the oldest or most original group.-General description:... with Rückumlaut and metathesis of r and o |
| *worth - *worth/*worthed - *worth/*worthed/*worthen | Strong, class 3 |
| wreak – wreaked/wrack – wreaked/wreaken/*wroken | |
| wring – wrang/wrung – wrung | Strong, class 3 |
| write - wrote/*writ - written
|
Strong, class 1 |
| writhe – writhed/*wrothe – writhed/*writhen | Strong, class 1 |
Present tense irregular verbs
Though the list of verbs irregular in the preterite or past participle is long, the list of irregular present tensePresent tense
The present tense is a grammatical tense that locates a situation or event in present time. This linguistic definition refers to a concept that indicates a feature of the meaning of a verb...
verbs is very short. Excepting modal verb
Modal verb
A modal verb is a type of auxiliary verb that is used to indicate modality -- that is, likelihood, ability, permission, and obligation...
s like "shall", "will", and "can" that do not inflect at all in the present tense, there are only four (only two if pronunciation is ignored):
- have: I have, you have, he has, we have, they have.
- say (and compounds such as "gainsay" and "naysay"): I say, you say, he says, we say, they say where "says" is pronounced ˈsɛz in contrast to ˈseɪ, the pronunciation of the infinitive and the other present tense forms.
- do (and compounds such as "undo" and "redo"): I do, you do, he does, we do, they do where "does" is pronounced ˈdʌz in contrast to ˈduː, the pronunciation of the infinitive and the other present tense forms.
- be: I am, you are, he is, we are, they are; in addition, the preterite forms are irregular: I was, you were, he was, we were, they were.
Verbs with preterite identical to present
These verbs from the list above are spelled the same in the simple past as in the present tense (excluding compounds such as set, beset, inset, upset etc.): beat, bet, burst, cast, cost, cut, hit, hurt, let, put, quit, read, set, shed, shut, slit, split, spread. (Note that of all the preceding, only "read" is pronounced differently in the past tense from the present tense.) In addition, the following verbs optionally have a past tense the same as the present tense: bid, fit, knit, rid, shit, spit, sweat, thrust, wed, wet. Furthermore, all these verbs that have mandatory or optional past tense the same as present tense also have a (sometimes optional) past participle that is identical to the present tense.Multisyllable irregular verbs not directly based on single-syllable irregular verbs
There are only three multisyllable irregular verbs whose meaning cannot be analyzed on the basis of the meaning of an affix and the meaning of a single-syllable irregular verb to which it is attached. These are begin - began - begun, beseech - besought - besought, and forsake - forsook - forsaken. (Of these, beseech comes from Old English besēcan (“to seek or inquire about”), which was equivalent to be- + seek, but the meaning has since evolved away from that of seek.)Form-changing verbs
There are only two suppletive verbs — verbs that change their form entirely between the infinitive, present, past, and past participle: to go with go - went - gone; and to be with am/is/are - was/were - been.See also
- Wiktionary list of irregular verbs
- Wiktionary English irregular verbs category.
External links
- Mind Our English: Strong and weak by Ralph Berry
- Verbs in English Grammar, wikibookWikibooksWikibooks is a Wiki hosted by the Wikimedia Foundation for the creation of free content textbooks and annotated texts that anyone can edit....
- English Irregular Verb List A comprehensive list of English irregular verbs, including their base form, past simple, past participle, 3rd person singular, and the present participle / gerund.
- TheIrregularVerbs All the irregular verbs of the English language. Conjugation, pronunciation, translation and examples.
- verbbusters Searchable reference of English irregular verbs and cognates, with audio.