Past Tense - Irregular Verbs

In English grammar, a verb is a word that describes an action, state, or occurrence. When we talk about the past, verbs change their form. Most verbs are regular, meaning they follow a predictable pattern: add “-ed” to the base form to create the past tense (e.g., walk becomes walked, play becomes played).
Learn about Spelling Rules for Regular Verbs

However, many of the most common verbs in English are irregular. This means they do not follow this rule. Their past tense and past participle forms are unique and must be memorized.

Common Irregular Verbs (Past Tense and Past Participle)
The past tense is used for the simple past, while the past participle is used with auxiliary verbs like “have,” “has,” or “had” to form perfect tenses.

The following table gives some of the most common irregular verbs and their past forms. Scroll down the page for more examples.

 

How Irregular Verbs Change
Irregular verbs can change in a few different ways:
The verb changes completely:
Base Form: go
Past Tense: went
Past Participle: gone

The verb changes its vowel sound:
Base Form: sing
Past Tense: sang
Past Participle: sung
(Other examples: drink / drank / drunk, begin / began / begun)

The verb changes to end in “-t”:
Base Form: build
Past Tense: built
Past Participle: built
(Other examples: send / sent, lend / lent)

The verb stays the same in all three forms:
Base Form: cut
Past Tense: cut
Past Participle: cut
(Other examples: put, hit, read)

Learn about Irregular Verbs grouped by Patterns

Videos

Irregular Verbs - The Past Tense
An English teacher shows the simple and past tense forms of irregular verbs.

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Irregular Verbs - Past Tense and Past Participles
This video shows irregular verbs in the simple form, the past tense, and as past participles.

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The Simple Past: Part 1,
Forming the Simple Past

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