English irregular verbs

Regular verbs in English have four forms:

• the base, which is equivalent to the infinitive without 'to' and most forms of the present tense (for example, wâit, to wâit, Î wâit) (The accents, which are not part of the language, are included to show stress and pronunciation: see English spellings for a table and English phonemes for the IPA. There is also a key at the foot of this page. Words in italics suggest meaning, and an equals sign is placed between homophones)
• the -s form, which is used for the third person singular of the present tense (hê wâits, shê wâits)
• the -íng form, used for the present participle and gerund (Î'm wâiting, wâiting ís bŏring; in most cases the base sheds any final e: compare sínging sing with síngeing singe, pronounced *sínjing)
• the past form, which is used both for the past tense and the past participle, and which consists of adding -ed to the base (from wâit, I wâited, shê has wâited, *wâitid; from loòk, loòked *lùkt; from sêem, sêemed *sêemd), or, in the case of verbs ending in -e, -d only (from fâde, fâded *fâidid)

Irregular verbs also have these forms, and form the -s and -ing forms regularly: béar, béars, béaring. But the past tense and/or past participle are not formed regularly: to béar, has the principal parts béar, bŏre, bŏrn/bŏrne, which means that there is no form *beared; instead, an example of the past tense is shê bŏre hím and of the past passive hê was bŏrn.

A number of verbs that are irregular in British English are regular in American English, such as spéll: both past forms are spélt in BrE, but the regular form spélled is usual in AmE; both variants are listed here. Contrariwise, dîve usually has past tense dôve in AmE, but this form is not used in BrE.

A number of irregular verbs also have associated passive adjectives, as for example súnken, from sínk, sánk, súnk (súnken chêeks) and as in såwn-óff shótgun and neŵ-môwn låwns. These are included here in cases where their form is different from that of the past participle (regular verbs with this feature are also included, and these forms are sometimes used in place of the regular past participle). Not all the forms listed are in common use: for example, people are still described as being behôlden to others, but the verb itself, behôld, meaning 'look at', is nowadays only used poetically or in jest.

Table of irregular verbs

Prefixed verbs are not included if they conjugate exactly like the root verb: for example, brŏadcast conjugates exactly like cāst.

Too irregular to fit conveniently in the table is the verb bê:

• Present tense indicative: Î ám, hê/shê/ít ís (*íz), wè/yoû/thèy àre
• Present tense subjunctive bê (mainly AmE)
• Present participle (formed regularly): bêíng
• Past tense: singular indicative ẁas (*wóz); plural and subjunctive wëre
• Past participle bêen (or = bín rubbish)

base	past tense	past participle	adjective
béar birth	bŏre	bŏrn	bïrth
béar suffer, carry	bŏre	bŏrne
bêat	bêat	bêaten
begín	begán	begún
behôld	behéld	behéld	behôlden
bénd	bént	bént
berêave	berêaved	berêaved	beréft
besêech	besŏught	besŏught
bíd for	bíd	bíd
bíd question, farewell	báde (= bád wrong)	bídden
bînd	bòund	bòund
bîte	bít	bítten
blêed	bléd	bléd
bléss	bléssed	bléssed = blést	bléssed, pronounced *bléssíd
blôw	bleŵ (= blûe colour)	blôwn
breâk	brôke	brôken
brêed	bréd	bréd
bríng	brŏught	brŏught
buíld	buílt	buílt
bürn	bürnt, bürned	bürnt, bürned
bürst	bürst	bürst
buŷ	bŏught	bŏught
cāst	cāst	cāst
cátch (-s form cátches)	cåught	cåught
chîde	chîded, chíd	chîded	chídden
choôse	chôse	chôsen
clêave	clôve	clôven	clôven hoof, cléft palate
clíng	clúng	clúng
clôthe	clôthed	clôthed	clád
còme	câme	còme
cóst intransitive	cóst	cóst
crêep	crépt	crépt
cút	cút	cút
dêal	déalt	déalt
dîe (-ing form dŷing)	dîed	dîed	déad
díg	dúg	dúg
dîve	dîved (AmE also has dôve, cf. dòve bird)	dîved
do (*doô; -s form dòes *dúzz)	díd	dòne (= dún colour)
dråw	dreŵ	dråwn
drêam	dréamt, drêamed	dréamt, drêamed
drínk	dránk	drúnk	drúnken
drîve	drôve	dríven
dwéll	dwélt	dwélt
êat	âte AmE, BrE *ét	êaten
fåll	féll	fållen
fêed	féd	féd
fêel	félt	félt
fîght	fŏught	fŏught
fînd discover	fòund	fòund
fít	fítted, fít	fítted, fít	fítted
flêe	fléd	fléd
flíng	flúng	flúng
flŷ (-s form flîes)	fleŵ	flôwn
forbéar	forbŏre	forbŏrne
forbíd	forbáde, forbâde, forbád	forbídden
forsâke	forsoòk	forsâken
frêeze	frôze	frôzen
gét	gót	gót BrE, AmE gótten
gíld	gílded	gílded	gílt
gíve	gâve	gíven
gô (-s form gôes)	wént	góne
grînd	gròund	gròund
grôw	greŵ	grôwn
háng	húng	húng (except for hánged dead)
háve (-s form hás)	hád	hád
hêar	hëard	hëard
hêave	hêaved, hôve	hêaved, hôve
heŵ	heŵed	heŵed	heŵn
hîde	híd	hídden
hít	hít	hít
hôld	héld	héld
hürt	hürt	hürt
kêep	képt	képt
knêel down (= Nêil person)	knélt (*nélt)	knélt
knôw knowledge (= nô not)	kneŵ ( = neŵ fresh)	knôwn
lây put cf. lîe	lâid	lâid
lêad	léd	léd
lêan	léant, lêaned	léant, lêaned
lêap	léapt, lêaped	léapt, lêaped
lëarn	lëarnt, lëarned	lëarnt, lëarned
lêave	léft	léft
lénd	lént	lént
lét	lét	lét
lîe down	lây	lâin
lîght	lít, lîghted	lít, lîghted
lose (*loôz, cf. loôse insecure *loôss)	lóst	lóst	lóss
mâke	mâde	mâde
mêan	méant	méant
mêet	mét	mét
môw	môwed	môwed	môwn
pāss	pāssed	pāssed =	pāst
pây	pâid	pâid
pén	pénned	pénned	pént
plêad	BrE plêaded, AmE pléd	BrE plêaded, AmE pléd
prècìs (*prâycêe)	prècis’d (*prâycêed)	prècis’d
prove (oô)	proved (oô)	proved (oô), prôven (or oô)	prôven (or oô)
pùt	pùt	pùt
quít	quít, quítted	quít, quítted
rêad	réad (= réd colour)	réad
rénd	rént	rént
rîde	rôde (= rôad street)	rídden
ríng	ráng	rúng
rîse	rôse	rísen
rîve	rôve	ríven
rót	rótted	rótted	rótten
rún	rán	rún
såw	såwed	såwed, såwn	såwn
sây	said (é)	said (é)
sêe	såw	sêen
sêek	sŏught (= BrE sŏrt)	sŏught
séll	sôld	sôld
sénd	sént	sént
sét	sét	sét
sew (ô) needle	sewed (ô)	sewed, sewn (ô)
shâke	shoòk	shâken
shâve	shâved	shâved	shâven
shêar	shêared	shêared	shŏrn
shéd	shéd	shéd
shîne	shóne	shóne
shoe (= shoô away)	shód	shód
shoôt	shót	shót
shôw	shôwed	shôwn
shrínk	shránk	shrúnk
shrîve	shrôve	shríven	shríft
shút	shút	shút
síng	sáng	súng	sóng
sínk	sánk	súnk
sít	sát	sát
slây	sleŵ	slâin
slêep	slépt	slépt
slîde	slíd	slíd
slíng	slúng	slúng
slínk	slúnk	slúnk
slít	slít	slít
sméll	smélt, smélled	smélt, smélled
smîte	smôte	smítten
snêak	snêaked (AmE also has snúck)	snêaked
sôw seed	sôwed	sôwn, sôwed
spêak	spôke	spôken	spêech
spêed	spêd, spêeded	spéd, spêeded
spéll	spélt, spélled	spélt, spélled
spénd	spént	spént
spíll	spílt, spílled	spílt, spílled
spín	spún, spán	spún
spít	spát	spát
splít	splít	splít
spŏil	spŏilt, spŏiled	spŏilt, spŏiled
spréad	spréad	spréad
spríng	spráng	sprúng
stánd	stoòd	stoòd
stêal	stôle	stôlen
stíck	stúck	stúck
stíng	stúng	stúng
stínk	stánk	stúnk
streŵ	streŵed	streŵn
stríng	strúng	strúng
strîve	strôve	stríven
swéar	swŏre	swŏrn
swêep	swépt	swépt
swéll	swélled	swélled, swôllen
swím	swám	swúm
swíng	swúng	swúng
tâke	toòk	tâken
têach	tåught	tåught
téar	tŏre	tŏrn
téll	tôld	tôld
thínk	thŏught	thŏught
thrôw	threŵ	thrôwn
thrúst	thrúst	thrúst
tréad	tród	tródden, tród
wâke	wôke	wôken
wéar	wŏre	wŏrn
wêave transitive	wôve	wôven
wêep	wépt	wépt
wín	wòn	wòn
wînd round (cf. wínd blow)	wòund (cf. woûnd injury)	wòund
wrêak make (= rêek smell)	wrêak	wrêaked, wrŏught	wrŏught
wríng	wrúng	wrúng
wrîte	wrôte	wrítten

Notes

• The accents show stress and pronunciation (see English spellings): A: sát, mâde, pàrk, cāst (cást/càst), åll, ãir; E: ére, êar, vèin, fërn; I: sít, mîne, skì, bïrd; O: sóng, môde, lòve, wörd, ŏr; OO: moôn, foòt; U: sún, mûse, fùll, pürr; W: neŵ, ẁant; Y: gým, mŷ, keỳ, mÿrrh.