Irregular verbs are an essential part of learning the English language, as they are widely used in everyday conversations, writing, reading, and academic communication.
Unlike regular verbs, irregular verbs do not follow a fixed pattern when changing from the base form to the past simple and past participle forms.
Learning these verbs helps learners understand English sentence structures more accurately and use different tenses with greater confidence.
For English language learners, mastering irregular verbs can significantly improve their grammar, vocabulary, reading comprehension, speaking, and writing skills.
Since many of these verbs are among the most frequently used words in English, recognizing their different forms makes it easier for learners to understand conversations, texts, stories, and educational materials.
Regular practice and repeated exposure to irregular verbs can also help learners remember their forms and use them naturally in different contexts.
Irregular verbs are also highly important for English teachers because they provide a fundamental part of grammar instruction at different learning levels.
Teachers can use lists of common irregular verbs to introduce past forms, practice sentence construction, develop vocabulary, and create interactive activities and exercises.
Having a clear and organized reference can make it easier for both teachers and learners to review these verbs and distinguish between the base form, past simple, and past participle.
The Most Common Irregular Verbs in English
The following table presents the 150 most commonly used irregular verbs in English, along with their three main forms:
| # | V1 (Base Form) | V2 (Past Simple) | V3 (Past Participle) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | arise | arose | arisen |
| 2 | awake | awoke | awoken |
| 3 | be | was/were | been |
| 4 | bear | bore | borne |
| 5 | beat | beat | beaten |
| 6 | become | became | become |
| 7 | begin | began | begun |
| 8 | bend | bent | bent |
| 9 | bet | bet | bet |
| 10 | bind | bound | bound |
| 11 | bite | bit | bitten |
| 12 | bleed | bled | bled |
| 13 | blow | blew | blown |
| 14 | break | broke | broken |
| 15 | breed | bred | bred |
| 16 | bring | brought | brought |
| 17 | build | built | built |
| 18 | burn | burnt | burnt |
| 19 | burst | burst | burst |
| 20 | buy | bought | bought |
| 21 | catch | caught | caught |
| 22 | choose | chose | chosen |
| 23 | come | came | come |
| 24 | cost | cost | cost |
| 25 | creep | crept | crept |
| 26 | cut | cut | cut |
| 27 | deal | dealt | dealt |
| 28 | dig | dug | dug |
| 29 | do | did | done |
| 30 | draw | drew | drawn |
| 31 | dream | dreamt | dreamt |
| 32 | drink | drank | drunk |
| 33 | drive | drove | driven |
| 34 | eat | ate | eaten |
| 35 | fall | fell | fallen |
| 36 | feed | fed | fed |
| 37 | feel | felt | felt |
| 38 | fight | fought | fought |
| 39 | find | found | found |
| 40 | flee | fled | fled |
| 41 | fly | flew | flown |
| 42 | forbid | forbade | forbidden |
| 43 | forget | forgot | forgotten |
| 44 | forgive | forgave | forgiven |
| 45 | freeze | froze | frozen |
| 46 | get | got | got/gotten |
| 47 | give | gave | given |
| 48 | go | went | gone |
| 49 | grow | grew | grown |
| 50 | hang | hung | hung |
| 51 | have | had | had |
| 52 | hear | heard | heard |
| 53 | hide | hid | hidden |
| 54 | hit | hit | hit |
| 55 | hold | held | held |
| 56 | hurt | hurt | hurt |
| 57 | keep | kept | kept |
| 58 | know | knew | known |
| 59 | lay | laid | laid |
| 60 | lead | led | led |
| 61 | leave | left | left |
| 62 | lend | lent | lent |
| 63 | let | let | let |
| 64 | lie | lay | lain |
| 65 | lose | lost | lost |
| 66 | make | made | made |
| 67 | mean | meant | meant |
| 68 | meet | met | met |
| 69 | pay | paid | paid |
| 70 | put | put | put |
| 71 | read | read | read |
| 72 | ride | rode | ridden |
| 73 | ring | rang | rung |
| 74 | rise | rose | risen |
| 75 | run | ran | run |
| 76 | say | said | said |
| 77 | see | saw | seen |
| 78 | seek | sought | sought |
| 79 | sell | sold | sold |
| 80 | send | sent | sent |
| 81 | set | set | set |
| 82 | shake | shook | shaken |
| 83 | shine | shone | shone |
| 84 | shoot | shot | shot |
| 85 | show | showed | shown |
| 86 | shut | shut | shut |
| 87 | sing | sang | sung |
| 88 | sink | sank | sunk |
| 89 | sit | sat | sat |
| 90 | sleep | slept | slept |
| 91 | slide | slid | slid |
| 92 | speak | spoke | spoken |
| 93 | spend | spent | spent |
| 94 | spin | spun | spun |
| 95 | spit | spat | spat |
| 96 | split | split | split |
| 97 | spread | spread | spread |
| 98 | stand | stood | stood |
| 99 | steal | stole | stolen |
| 100 | stick | stuck | stuck |
| 101 | sting | stung | stung |
| 102 | stink | stank | stunk |
| 103 | strike | struck | struck |
| 104 | swear | swore | sworn |
| 105 | sweep | swept | swept |
| 106 | swim | swam | swum |
| 107 | swing | swung | swung |
| 108 | take | took | taken |
| 109 | teach | taught | taught |
| 110 | tear | tore | torn |
| 111 | tell | told | told |
| 112 | think | thought | thought |
| 113 | throw | threw | thrown |
| 114 | understand | understood | understood |
| 115 | wake | woke | woken |
| 116 | wear | wore | worn |
| 117 | weep | wept | wept |
| 118 | win | won | won |
| 119 | wind | wound | wound |
| 120 | withdraw | withdrew | withdrawn |
| 121 | withstand | withstood | withstood |
| 122 | write | wrote | written |
| 123 | wring | wrung | wrung |
| 124 | weave | wove | woven |
| 125 | wed | wed | wed |
| 126 | broadcast | broadcast | broadcast |
| 127 | cast | cast | cast |
| 128 | cling | clung | clung |
| 129 | clothe | clothed | clad |
| 130 | dive | dove | dived |
| 131 | dwell | dwelt | dwelt |
| 132 | grind | ground | ground |
| 133 | kneel | knelt | knelt |
| 134 | leap | leapt | leapt |
| 135 | light | lit | lit |
| 136 | prove | proved | proven |
| 137 | quit | quit | quit |
| 138 | rid | rid | rid |
| 139 | saw | sawed | sawn |
| 140 | sew | sewed | sewn |
| 141 | shave | shaved | shaven |
| 142 | shrink | shrank | shrunk |
| 143 | slide | slid | slid |
| 144 | smell | smelt | smelt |
| 145 | speed | sped | sped |
| 146 | spell | spelt | spelt |
| 147 | spill | spilt | spilt |
| 148 | spoil | spoilt | spoilt |
| 149 | tread | trod | trodden |
| 150 | undertake | undertook | undertaken |
Conclusion
Learning irregular verbs is an important step toward improving your English grammar and communicating more confidently. By reviewing and practicing these common verbs regularly, you can gradually strengthen your vocabulary, understand different sentence structures, and use English more naturally in both speaking and writing.
Take advantage of this useful list by saving it, reviewing a few verbs each day, and practicing them in simple sentences. Consistent practice can make memorizing irregular verbs much easier and help you build a stronger foundation in English.
We hope this guide has been helpful and made learning irregular verbs easier for you. Follow our website for more useful English lessons, vocabulary resources, grammar guides, and learning materials, and take advantage of the educational resources we continue to provide to help you improve your English skills.