English Irregular Verbs Reference

Level: A2. Most English verbs form the past with -ed (walk → walked), but the most common verbs are irregular: you have to learn their forms. The good news is that they fall into a few clear patterns. This reference lists the everyday irregular verbs by pattern, with the three forms every verb has.

By the end of this page you can…

…name the three forms of the common English irregular verbs (base, past simple, past participle), group them by pattern to learn them faster, and use the right form after ‘have’ and in the past.

How this list was chosen

These are the common irregular verbs an A2–B1 learner meets first, selected from the English frequency list (hermitdave/FrequencyWords) and grouped by the shape of their forms rather than alphabetically, so each group teaches one pattern. Forms are checked against standard references; the groups below cover the verbs you will actually use in everyday speaking and writing.

Group 1: no change (base = past = participle)

These verbs keep the same form for all three. Many end in -t or -d.

Base	Past simple	Past participle	Example (past)
cut	cut	cut	I cut my finger.
put	put	put	She put it down.
let	let	let	They let us in.
set	set	set	He set the table.
hit	hit	hit	The ball hit the wall.
cost	cost	cost	It cost ten pounds.
hurt	hurt	hurt	My leg hurt a lot.
shut	shut	shut	We shut the door.
read	read	read	I read it yesterday.

Group 2: past = past participle (two forms the same)

The past simple and the past participle share one form; only the base differs.

Base	Past simple	Past participle	Example (participle)
buy	bought	bought	I have bought it.
bring	brought	brought	She has brought lunch.
think	thought	thought	We have thought about it.
catch	caught	caught	He has caught a cold.
teach	taught	taught	They have taught me.
find	found	found	I have found my keys.
make	made	made	She has made a cake.
say	said	said	He has said yes.
pay	paid	paid	We have paid the bill.
have	had	had	I have had enough.
hear	heard	heard	I have heard the news.
feel	felt	felt	She has felt better.
keep	kept	kept	We have kept it safe.
leave	left	left	They have left already.
meet	met	met	I have met her before.
sit	sat	sat	He has sat there all day.
tell	told	told	You have told me twice.
sell	sold	sold	We have sold the car.
win	won	won	They have won the match.
spend	spent	spent	I have spent it all.
build	built	built	They have built a house.
sleep	slept	slept	The baby has slept well.

Group 3: three different forms

The base, past simple and past participle are all different. Many participles end in -en or -n.

Base	Past simple	Past participle	Example (participle)
be	was / were	been	I have been busy.
go	went	gone	She has gone home.
do	did	done	We have done it.
eat	ate	eaten	I have eaten lunch.
give	gave	given	He has given up.
take	took	taken	They have taken the bus.
see	saw	seen	I have seen that film.
write	wrote	written	She has written a letter.
speak	spoke	spoken	We have spoken already.
break	broke	broken	He has broken the glass.
choose	chose	chosen	I have chosen a seat.
drive	drove	driven	She has driven to work.
drink	drank	drunk	They have drunk the water.
begin	began	begun	The film has begun.
know	knew	known	I have known him for years.
grow	grew	grown	The plant has grown tall.
fly	flew	flown	We have flown to Rome.
throw	threw	thrown	He has thrown the ball.
wear	wore	worn	She has worn that dress.
fall	fell	fallen	A tree has fallen.
ring	rang	rung	The bell has rung.
sing	sang	sung	They have sung together.
swim	swam	swum	I have swum here before.
ride	rode	ridden	He has ridden a horse.
forget	forgot	forgotten	I have forgotten the name.

Group 4: base = past participle (only the past differs)

A small set returns to the base form for the participle.

Base	Past simple	Past participle	Example (participle)
come	came	come	She has come back.
become	became	become	He has become a doctor.
run	ran	run	I have run a marathon.

Example sentences

Play each line. Notice the past simple for finished actions and the participle after have/has.

I cut the bread and put it on the plate.

No-change verbs: cut, put (past).
The trip cost a lot, but it was worth it.

cost stays the same in the past.
She bought a ticket and caught the train.

Group 2 past forms: bought, caught.
We have already paid the bill.

Participle after have: paid.
They told me the news and I felt happy.

told, felt as past simple.
He has kept every letter she wrote.

kept (participle) and wrote (past).
I went to the market and bought some fruit.

went (past simple of go).
She has gone to the station already.

gone is the participle, after has.
We ate dinner and then watched a film.

ate is the past simple of eat.
I have eaten too much cake today.

eaten is the participle, after have.
He drank his coffee and left for work.

drank (past), left (past).
They have drunk all the juice.

drunk is the participle.
The children sang a song and rang the bell.

sang, rang as past simple.
I have known her since school.

known is the participle (present perfect).
She has become a teacher this year.

become: base = participle.
We have run out of milk.

run as participle in a phrase.

Common mistakes

Typical errors learners make with irregular forms.

✗ I goed home. → ✓ I went home. — go is irregular: the past simple is went, not goed.
✗ She has ate lunch. → ✓ She has eaten lunch. — After has, use the participle eaten, not the past simple ate.
✗ He catched the ball. → ✓ He caught the ball. — catch → caught, not catched.
✗ They have went to Spain. → ✓ They have gone to Spain. — The participle of go is gone.
✗ I have buyed a new phone. → ✓ I have bought a new phone. — buy → bought for both past forms.

Recap cheat-sheet

The patterns to remember before the quiz.

Cheat sheet: English irregular verb patterns with examples

Quick recap before the quiz.

Pattern	Example
no change	cut, cut, cut
past = participle	buy, bought, bought
all three differ	go, went, gone
base = participle	come, came, come

Practice

Irregular verbs practice

Try each one, then press Check. No sign-up, nothing is sent anywhere — it all runs in your browser.

1 Match each base verb to its past simple.

go Match for go
buy Match for buy
eat Match for eat
see Match for see

Show answer

go → went
buy → bought
eat → ate
see → saw

These past-simple forms are irregular and must be learned.

2 Past participle after 'have': She has ____ her homework. (do)

Hint: base do, past did, participle ___

Show answer

done — The participle of do is done: she has done her homework.

3 Past simple: Yesterday I ____ to the beach. (go)

Hint: go is irregular

Show answer

went — The past simple of go is went.

4 Choose the correct sentence. I have saw the film. I have seen the film. I have seed the film. I have see the film.

Show answer

I have seen the film. — After have, use the participle seen, not the past simple saw.

5 Which verb never changes its form? eat cut go buy

Show answer

cut — cut/cut/cut keeps the same form for all three parts.

6 Put the words in order.

Show answer

I have already eaten — Present perfect: have + participle (eaten).

Quiz

Previous set: British vs American English
Grammar that helps: Past simple: irregular verbs, Present perfect for experience, Passive: present and past
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English Irregular Verbs Reference

By the end of this page you can…

How this list was chosen

Group 1: no change (base = past = participle)

Group 2: past = past participle (two forms the same)

Group 3: three different forms

Group 4: base = past participle (only the past differs)

Example sentences

Common mistakes

Recap cheat-sheet

Practice

Irregular verbs practice

Quiz

Irregular verbs quiz

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