Stuck on why went isn’t “goed”? This irregular verbs list gives you the forms that matter most, grouped by pattern, so you can learn a few at a time instead of memorising everything at once.
This page is one part of a bigger study plan, so see our guide on how to learn english for the full picture.
| Item | Value |
|---|---|
| Common estimate of irregular verbs in English | around 200 verbs |
| Types of irregular verb | four |
| Higher estimate, depending on how you count | 400-600 verbs |
| Irregular verbs behind most everyday conversation | 50-100 verbs |
| Verbs to learn first | the 20-30 most common |
These figures come from Berlitz and Migaku. Estimates differ between sources and can change, so check the source before you rely on them.
What makes a verb irregular, and how many are there?
According to Purdue OWL, a verb has three main parts: the root form, the simple past and the past participle. Regular verbs add an -ed ending for both past forms. Irregular verbs skip that pattern and take a different one.
So walk becomes walked in both past forms, but go becomes went and gone. Each irregular verb has to be learnt as a set of three forms.
The total depends on who is counting. Berlitz says there are around 200, many of them rarely used, while Magoosh says there are over 200. Migaku gives a range of 400-600, depending on how you count them.
The practical number is much smaller. Migaku says most everyday conversation relies on the same 50-100 irregular verbs, so you do not need the full count to speak well.
There is also some reassuring news from Wikipedia: English irregular verbs are now a closed group. Newly formed verbs are always regular, so the list will not keep growing under you.
Irregular verbs list: four patterns
Both Berlitz and Magoosh sort irregular verbs into four types. The tables below follow that grouping, using common verbs from the Magoosh lists, so you can scan from the easiest group to the hardest.
Same in all three forms
These are the easiest: the base form never changes.
| Base form | Simple past | Past participle |
|---|---|---|
| cost | cost | cost |
| cut | cut | cut |
| hit | hit | hit |
| hurt | hurt | hurt |
| let | let | let |
| put | put | put |
| quit | quit | quit |
| set | set | set |
| shut | shut | shut |
Each of these verbs appears in the Magoosh list of verbs that keep one form throughout.
Same simple past and past participle
Here the base form changes once, and you then reuse that form for both past tenses.
| Base form | Simple past | Past participle |
|---|---|---|
| build | built | built |
| bring | brought | brought |
| buy | bought | bought |
| catch | caught | caught |
| teach | taught | taught |
| tell | told | told |
| think | thought | thought |
| hold | held | held |
| keep | kept | kept |
Each of these verbs appears in the Magoosh list of verbs whose past forms match.
Past participle matches the base form
This is the shortest group, and its main members are become, come and run.
| Base form | Simple past | Past participle |
|---|---|---|
| become | became | become |
| come | came | come |
| run | ran | run |
Each of these verbs appears in the Magoosh list of verbs whose participle matches the base form.
All three forms different
This group needs the most practice, because each verb has its own distinct set of forms.
| Base form | Simple past | Past participle |
|---|---|---|
| begin | began | begun |
| break | broke | broken |
| choose | chose | chosen |
| drink | drank | drunk |
| eat | ate | eaten |
| go | went | gone |
| see | saw | seen |
| speak | spoke | spoken |
| take | took | taken |
| write | wrote | written |
Each of these verbs appears in the Magoosh list of verbs whose three forms all differ.
Patterns that help you predict forms
Wikipedia notes that past forms follow certain patterns, even when there is no single rule. Spotting them lets you guess a new verb instead of memorising it from scratch.
- Ending in -t: build, bend and send give built, bent and sent.
- A vowel change: sit, win and hold.
- A consonant change: teach and seek give taught and sought.
- An -n suffix on the participle: drive, show and rise give driven, shown and risen.
Migaku adds two vowel-change families worth learning as a block. Sing, ring, swim, begin and drink give sang/sung, rang/rung, swam/swum, began/begun and drank/drunk. Break, speak, steal and choose give broke/broken, spoke/spoken, stole/stolen and chose/chosen.
Verbs with two accepted forms
Some verbs have both a regular and an irregular form, and the choice often depends on where you are. Wikipedia says American and Canadian English normally use the regular form for spell, learn and spill, while British, Australian, New Zealand and South African English tend to favour the irregular form. For dive and sneak, the opposite is true: dived versus dove, and sneaked versus snuck.
A few other cases catch learners out:
- Burn, dream, learn and smell can be burned or burnt, dreamed or dreamt, and so on. Grammar.cl says the second form is more common in British English.
- Get gives got in British English and gotten in American English, according to the same page.
- Hang uses hung for most meanings but hanged for the execution sense.
- Lie uses lay and lain for resting, but is regular (lied) for not telling the truth.
- Read is written the same in all three forms, but the pronunciation differs between them.
Read is a reminder that spelling does not always show sound, so our guide on how to improve english pronunciation is a useful next stop.
Using the forms in sentences
The simple past and the past participle do different jobs. As StoryLearning puts it, you use the past simple to talk about finished actions in the past.
Migaku says the past participle shows up in two main situations: perfect tenses (have, has or had plus the participle) and the passive voice (be plus the participle).
- Simple past: I saw that movie already.
- Perfect tense: We’ve seen this show before.
- Simple past: He broke his phone last week.
- Passive voice: The window was broken during the storm.
How to learn irregular verbs without burning out
There is no magic trick, but a steady routine works. Try these steps in order:
- Start with the top 20-30 most common verbs, as Migaku suggests.
- Add only a few new verbs each day and a limited number each week, which is the advice from Magoosh.
- Study verbs that follow similar patterns together, such as the groups above.
- Write your own sentences, because a bare list does not stick as well as examples you create.
- Make flashcards. Magoosh mentions free programs such as Quizlet and Anki for this.
- Read as much as you can, since reading shows you irregular verbs in use.
Once the forms feel familiar, common phrasal verbs are a natural next step, because they pair many everyday verbs with small words.
Frequently asked questions
Why does English have irregular verbs?
Show answer
According to Migaku, they are remnants of old Germanic verb patterns that broke down and simplified over time. The most frequently used ones stuck around because people never forgot them.
Will new verbs ever become irregular?
Show answer
Not in modern English. Wikipedia describes irregular verbs as a closed group, so newly formed verbs are always regular.
Is it “got” or “gotten”?
Show answer
It depends on the variety of English. Grammar.cl lists got for British English and gotten for American English as the past participle of get.
