English Irregular Verbs

verbs with no changes verbs with one change verbs with two changes
bet bet bet Changing the vowel to /ɔː/ Vowel changes from /ɪ/ to /æ/ to /ʌ/
bid bid bid bring brought brought begin began begun
burst burst burst buy bought bought drink drank drunk
cast cast cast catch caught caught ring rang rung
cost cost cost fight fought fought sing sang sung
cut cut cut seek sought sought sink sank sunk
hit hit hit teach taught taught shrink shrank shrunk
hurt hurt hurt think thought thought spring sprang sprung
let let let Changing /ɪ/ to /ʌ/ x2 stink stank stunk
put put put cling clung clung swim swam swum
quit quit quit dig dug dug Vowel changes from /aɪ/ to /əʊ/ to /ɪ/
set set set fling flung flung arise arose arisen
shed shed shed hang hung hung drive drove driven
shut shut shut sling slung slung ride rode ridden
slit slit slit spin spun spun rise rose risen
split split split stick stuck stuck write wrote written
spread spread spread sting stung stung Vowel changes to /uː/ then /əʊ/
thrust thrust thrust strike struck struck blow blew blown
upset upset upset swing swung swung fly flew flown
verbs with one change Changing final sound to /d/ grow grew grown
Ending in /d/, changing to /t/ have had had know knew known
bend bent bent hear heard heard throw threw thrown
build built built lay laid laid Vowel changes from /aɪ/ to /ɪ/ + /n/
lend lent lent make made made bite bit bitten
send sent sent pay paid paid hide hid hidden
spend spent spent say said said Vowel only changes in past form + /n/
Adding /t/ sell sold sold bid bade bidden
*burn burnt burnt tell told told draw drew drawn
*learn learnt learnt Changing /ɪ/ to /æ/ eat ate eaten
*smell smelt smelt sit sat sat fall fell fallen
*spell spelt spelt spit spat spat forbid forbade forbidden
*spill spilt spilt Changing from /uː/ to /ɒ/ give gave given
*spoil spoilt spoilt lose lost lost see saw seen
Changing /iː/ to /e/ shoot shot shot Only past participle is irregular
bleed bled bled Changing past only *mow mowed mown
breed bred bred become became become *prove proved proven
feed fed fed come came come *saw sawed sawn
flee fled fled run ran run *sew sewed sewn
lead led led Other single changes *show showed shown
meet met met beat beat beaten *swell swelled swollen
read/ı:/ read/e/ read/e/ get got ‡got(ten) Other changes
speed sped sped hold held held *(a)wake (a)woke (a)woken
sweep swept swept *light lit lit be was been
Changing /i/ː to /e/ and adding /t/ *shine shone shone bear bore borne
*creep crept crept stand stood stood dive †dove dived
*deal dealt dealt win won won do did done
*dream dreamt dreamt verbs with two changes forget forgot forgotten
feel felt felt Vowel changes to /əʊ/ x2 + /n/ go went gone
keep kept kept break broke broken lie lay lain
*kneel knelt knelt choose chose chosen tread trod trodden
*lean leant leant freeze froze frozen weave wove woven
*leap leapt leapt speak spoke spoken
leave left left steal stole stolen * = verbs which are often regular
mean meant meant wake woke woken † dove is AmE
sleep slept slept Vowel changes from /ɪə/ to /ɔː/ + /n/ ΐŐŽƩĞŶŝƐŶŽƚĐŽŶĮŶĞĚƚŽŵ
weep wept wept tear tore torn lie is regular in the sense of telling an
Changing /aɪ/ to /aʊ/ swear swore sworn untruth
bind bound bound wear wore worn All verbs simply adding /t/ or in which
find found found Vowel changes from /eɪ/ to /ʊ/ to /eɪ/ only the past participle is irregular may
be used regularly.
grind ground ground shake shook shaken
wind wound wound take took taken

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Some notes
be
has tense forms derived from different Old English verbs which accounts for was and were
etc. as well as am, are, is. This is known as suppletion; the derivations are different so the
words look unconnected. The verb is, in fact, a conglomeration of a number of verbs used in
various dialects of Old English.
bear
the past participle is spelled born when it is used in the passive or to refer to birth:
I was born in 1989
The request will be born in mind
cost
is often regular when it means calculate a price as in, e.g.:
She costed the work at over £100
dive
is regular in British English but irregular in American English (the past is dove)
fit
is irregular and unchanging in AmE so slots into the first section of the chart after hurt.
However, there is some evidence that when the verb is used transitively to mean make to
measure, as in, e.g.:
The tailor fitted her for a new dress
it is often used as a regular verb as it is in BrE.
go
has a past tense form derived from different Old English verbs which accounts for went
(previously the past of wend). This is another case of suppletion.
hang
is regular when it means execute but irregular in other senses:
I hung the picture on the wall
He was hanged in 1834
lie
is regular when the sense is tell an untruth as in, e.g.:
She lied about the money
pay
as in
They payed out a rope
is regular
plead
is regular in BrE but usually irregular in AmE (pled, pled). It may also be used irregularly in
most varieties when the legal sense is being applied.
shine
is irregular when it refers to light but regular when it means polish:
The sun shone
I shined my shoes
When the use is metaphorical, either form is used:
His eyes shined / shone with pleasure

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sneak
is regular but the past form snuck is attested from the late 19th century and making a
comeback
strike
actually mutates from /aɪ/ to /ʌ/ but is included in the group that mutates from /ɪ/ to /ʌ/
wrought
was originally the past tense of work (which is now regular in English). It still exists as a
participle adjective in, e.g., wrought iron. The past forms of wreak are in principle regular
(wreaked, wreaked) but it has become common to see wrought used as the past of that verb,
perhaps by analogy to teach and seek.
wake, awake, waken and awaken
all mean the same and can be used with and without a direct object. The last three are more
literary and rarer and the first two are often regular in American English.
some past participle adjectives
come from earlier forms: beholden, bereft, clad, cloven, drunken, forlorn, forsaken, graven,
laden, misbegotten, misshapen, shod, shrunken, smitten, strewn, stricken, sunken, swollen,
wrought
run, become and come
are slightly odd in having only one change but to the past form not the participle
the verbs read, mean, leap, deal, dream and lean
mutate the vowel in the past forms, from /iː/ to /e/, with no spelling change but the similarly
spelled hear mutates from /ɪə/ to /ɜː/
verbs that have regular -ed ending and irregular -t endings
(such as learn, dream, smell etc.) are more often used in the regular form in American than
British English
gotten
is the Old English form of the past participle of get which American English has retained in
certain senses

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