Irregular verbs: A glimpse into the history of English

Irregular verbs are verbs that don’t follow the standard pattern of adding “-ed” to form their past simple and past participle. Instead, they undergo various changes in their spelling, pronunciation, or both.

Origin of Irregular Verbs

The majority of irregular verbs in English have their roots in Old English, the language spoken in England from roughly 450 to 1150 AD. Old English had a more complex verb system than modern English, with different classes of verbs following distinct patterns of conjugation.

As English evolved over time, many of these old patterns were simplified or replaced by the regular “-ed” ending. However, some verbs resisted this change and retained their unique forms, becoming the irregular verbs we know today.

Common Patterns in Irregular Verbs

While irregular verbs may seem random, they often share certain patterns that reflect their historical origins:

• Vowel changes: Many irregular verbs change their vowel sound in the past tense or past participle (e.g., sing - sang - sung, drink - drank - drunk).

• Consonant changes: Some irregular verbs undergo changes in their consonants (e.g., teach - taught, make - made).

• No change: A few irregular verbs maintain the same form in all tenses (e.g., put - put - put, cut - cut - cut).

• Mixed changes: Some irregular verbs combine vowel and consonant changes (e.g., seek - sought, teach - taught).

Why Do Irregular Verbs Persist?

Irregular verbs have survived for various reasons:

• Frequency of use: Many irregular verbs are among the most common verbs in the language, and their frequent use reinforces their unique forms.

• Historical significance: Irregular verbs represent a connection to the historical development of the English language.

• Cultural preservation: Irregular verbs are often used in idioms, proverbs, and other cultural expressions, contributing to the richness and diversity of the language.

Learning Irregular Verbs

While irregular verbs may seem daunting to learners, there are several strategies for mastering them:

• Memorization: Unfortunately, there’s no way around it; some memorization is required. Flashcards, mnemonic devices, and practice exercises can help.

• Recognizing patterns: Grouping irregular verbs by their patterns can make them easier to remember.

• Exposure and practice: Reading, listening to, and speaking English regularly will expose you to irregular verbs in context, helping you internalize their usage.

While irregular verbs can be a challenge, they are an integral part of the English language and a window into its rich history.

Irregular verb list

”to” Infinitive	Simple Present	Simple Past	Past Participle	Present Participle
to be	am, is, are	was, were	been	being
to arise	arises	arose	arisen	arising
to awake	awakes	awoke	awoken	awaking
to bear	bears	bore	borne	bearing
to beat	beats	beat	beaten	beating
to become	becomes	became	become	becoming
to begin	begins	began	begun	beginning
to bend	bends	bent	bent	bending
to bet	bets	bet	bet	betting
to bind	binds	bound	bound	binding
to bite	bites	bit	bitten	biting
to bleed	bleeds	bled	bled	bleeding
to blow	blows	blew	blown	blowing
to break	breaks	broke	broken	breaking
to bring	brings	brought	brought	bringing
to broadcast	broadcasts	broadcast	broadcast	broadcasting
to build	builds	built	built	building
to burn	burns	burned/burnt	burned/burnt	burning
to burst	bursts	burst	burst	bursting
to buy	buys	bought	bought	buying
to cast	casts	cast	cast	casting
to catch	catches	caught	caught	catching
to choose	chooses	chose	chosen	choosing
to cling	clings	clung	clung	clinging
to come	comes	came	come	coming
to cost	costs	cost	cost	costing
to creep	creeps	crept	crept	creeping
to cut	cuts	cut	cut	cutting
to deal	deals	dealt	dealt	dealing
to dig	digs	dug	dug	digging
to do	does	did	done	doing
to draw	draws	drew	drawn	drawing
to dream	dreams	dreamed/dreamt	dreamed/dreamt	dreaming
to drink	drinks	drank	drunk	drinking
to drive	drives	drove	driven	driving
to eat	eats	ate	eaten	eating
to fall	falls	fell	fallen	falling
to feed	feeds	fed	fed	feeding
to feel	feels	felt	felt	feeling
to fight	fights	fought	fought	fighting
to find	finds	found	found	finding
to flee	flees	fled	fled	fleeing
to fling	flings	flung	flung	flinging
to fly	flies	flew	flown	flying
to forbid	forbids	forbade	forbidden	forbidding
to forget	forgets	forgot	forgotten	forgetting
to forgive	forgives	forgave	forgiven	forgiving
to forsake	forsakes	forsook	forsaken	forsaking
to freeze	freezes	froze	frozen	freezing
to get	gets	got	gotten	getting
to give	gives	gave	given	giving
to go	goes	went	gone	going
to grind	grinds	ground	ground	grinding
to grow	grows	grew	grown	growing
to hang	hangs	hung	hung	hanging
to have	has	had	had	having
to hear	hears	heard	heard	hearing
to hide	hides	hid	hidden	hiding
to hit	hits	hit	hit	hitting
to hold	holds	held	held	holding
to hurt	hurts	hurt	hurt	hurting
to keep	keeps	kept	kept	keeping
to kneel	kneels	knelt	knelt	kneeling
to know	knows	knew	known	knowing
to lay	lays	laid	laid	laying
to lead	leads	led	led	leading
to leave	leaves	left	left	leaving
to lend	lends	lent	lent	lending
to let	lets	let	let	letting

(Continuing the table of irregular verbs in English)

“to” Infinitive	Simple Present	Simple Past	Past Participle	Present Participle
to lie (down)	lies	lay	lain	lying
to light	lights	lit	lit	lighting
to lose	loses	lost	lost	losing
to make	makes	made	made	making
to mean	means	meant	meant	meaning
to meet	meets	met	met	meeting
to mistake	mistakes	mistook	mistaken	mistaking
to mow	mows	mowed	mowed/mown	mowing
to overcome	overcomes	overcame	overcome	overcoming
to pay	pays	paid	paid	paying
to prove	proves	proved	proved/proven	proving
to put	puts	put	put	putting
to quit	quits	quit	quit	quitting
to read	reads	read	read	reading
to ride	rides	rode	ridden	riding
to ring	rings	rang	rung	ringing
to rise	rises	rose	risen	rising
to run	runs	ran	run	running
to saw	saws	sawed	sawed/sawn	sawing
to say	says	said	said	saying
to see	sees	saw	seen	seeing
to seek	seeks	sought	sought	seeking
to sell	sells	sold	sold	selling
to send	sends	sent	sent	sending
to set	sets	set	set	setting
to sew	sews	sewed	sewed/sewn	sewing
to shake	shakes	shook	shaken	shaking
to shave	shaves	shaved	shaved/shaven	shaving
to shear	shears	sheared	sheared/shorn	shearing
to shed	sheds	shed	shed	shedding
to shine	shines	shone	shone	shining
to shoot	shoots	shot	shot	shooting
to show	shows	showed	showed/shown	showing
to shrink	shrinks	shrank	shrunk	shrinking
to shut	shuts	shut	shut	shutting
to sing	sings	sang	sung	singing
to sink	sinks	sank	sunk	sinking
to sit	sits	sat	sat	sitting
to sleep	sleeps	slept	slept	sleeping
to slide	slides	slid	slid	sliding
to sling	slings	slung	slung	slinging
to slink	slinks	slunk	slunk	slinking
to speak	speaks	spoke	spoken	speaking
to spend	spends	spent	spent	spending
to spin	spins	spun	spun	spinning
to spit	spits	spat	spat	spitting
to split	splits	split	split	splitting
to spread	spreads	spread	spread	spreading
to spring	springs	sprang	sprung	springing
to stand	stands	stood	stood	standing
to steal	steals	stole	stolen	stealing
to stick	sticks	stuck	stuck	sticking
to sting	stings	stung	stung	stinging
to stink	stinks	stank/stunk	stunk	stinking
to strike	strikes	struck	struck	striking
to string	strings	strung	strung	stringing
to strive	strives	strove	striven	striving
to swear	swears	swore	sworn	swearing
to sweep	sweeps	swept	swept	sweeping
to swim	swims	swam	swum	swimming
to swing	swings	swung	swung	swinging
to take	takes	took	taken	taking
to teach	teaches	taught	taught	teaching
to tear	tears	tore	torn	tearing
to tell	tells	told	told	telling

(Continuing the table of irregular verbs in English)

“to” Infinitive	Simple Present	Simple Past	Past Participle	Present Participle
to think	thinks	thought	thought	thinking
to throw	throws	threw	thrown	throwing
to thrust	thrusts	thrust	thrust	thrusting
to tread	treads	trod	trodden	treading
to understand	understands	understood	understood	understanding
to undertake	undertakes	undertook	undertaken	undertaking
to upset	upsets	upset	upset	upsetting
to wake	wakes	woke	woken	waking
to wear	wears	wore	worn	wearing
to weave	weaves	wove	woven	weaving
to weep	weeps	wept	wept	weeping
to wet	wets	wet	wet	wetting
to win	wins	won	won	winning
to wind	winds	wound	wound	winding
to withdraw	withdraws	withdrew	withdrawn	withdrawing
to wring	wrings	wrung	wrung	wringing
to write	writes	wrote	written	writing