How to Study Irregular Verbs
Most verbs in English are regular verbs, meaning that they add the ed ending to form both the simple past and the past participle forms, which are identical, such as play-played-played. However, there is a considerable number of irregular verbs (about 450, but only about 200 are in common use) that form their simple past and past participle forms with a vowel change, such as in see-saw-seen (see table below). Some irregular verbs do not change form at all (let-let-let). Irregular verbs originate mostly from Old English, while any new verb coined in later periods tends to be regular. Still, the ten most used verbs in English are irregular. Sebagian besar kata kerja dalam bahasa Inggris merupakan kata kerja yang teratur (regular verb)
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“If a man empties his purse into his head, no man can take it away from him. An investment in knowledge
always pays the best interest” –
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— Benjamin Franklin
Another distinction is between weak and strong verbs. In weak verbs, the simple past and past participle forms are identical, bearing a d or t ending (buy-bought-bought). In strong verbs the simple past and past participle are usually distinct, with the past participle having an en ending (speak-spoke-spoken). The classification of verbs to weak and strong in Modern English is less important for learners, so you can suffice with the regular-irregular distinction.
A user-friendly way to study English irregular verbs:
Regardless of the linguistic distinctions and classifications, which tend to be too complicated for learners, we suggest that you use the following tables, clustering together irregular verbs with similar change patterns in small groups. This kind of clustering aids your memory, which will strengthen with practice. Read through the tables and make note of the verbs you find useful for your purposes. You could also read the table headings if it helps you, or simply focus on the verbs themselves. You may consider creating flash cards with the different groups and study them, as explained on our vocabulary strategies pages. Remember that for looking up irregulars verbs after you have learned them, you have an alphabetical list in any dictionary for easy referencing.
You may notice that in some verb parts there are two correct forms. A general rule of thumb here is that the regular verb option (with ed, no vowel change) is more commonly used in American English, whereas the irregular option (vowel change) is still in use in British English. Moreover, there may also be finer nuances in meaning pertaining to the usage of the former or the latter. In any case, consult your dictionary if you are not sure about the exact usage.
The following irregular verb tables are sorted according to V1,V2, and V3 forms. Here is a quick reminder for these verb forms:
• Uses of the 3 main verb forms:
V1=base form • Present Simple
• “Future Simple” • I write in English every day.
• I will write an English essay tomorrow.
V2=Past Simple • Past Simple only! • Yesterday, I wrote 2 poems in English.
V3=Past participle • perfect tenses
• passive forms
• passive adjective • I have already written my English paper.
• This novel was written by Charles Dickens.
• This story is well-written.
Category 1: irregular ending with no vowel change, V2=V3
group 1: d ending changes to t, ent changes to end
bend bent bent
build built built
lend lent lent
send sent sent
spend spent spent
group 2: the verbs have and make
have \ has had had
make made made
group 3: regular (V2, V3) in US English, irregular in UK English
learn learned \ learnt learned \ learnt
burn burned \ burnt burned \ burnt
dwell dwelled \ dwelt dwelled \ dwelt
smell smelled \ smelt smelled \ smelt
spell spelled \ spelt spelled \ spelt
spill spilled \ spilt spilled \ spilt
spoil spoiled \ spoilt spoiled \ spoilt
group 4: ay ending changes to aid
*said is pronounced /sed/
lay
(the table,
clothes, eggs) laid laid
pay paid paid
say *said
(/sed/) *said
(/sed/)
Category 2: Vowel change, irregular ending, V2=V3
group 5: vowel change , d or t ending
creep crept crept
feed fed fed
feel felt felt
keep kept kept
kneel knelt \ kneeled knelt \ kneeled
meet met met
sleep slept slept
sweep swept swept
weep wept wept
*leave left left
group 6: different pronunciation of the same vowel
d or t ending
deal dealt dealt
dream dreamed \ dreamt dreamed \ dreamt
lean leaned \ leant leaned \ leant
leap leapt leapt
mean meant meant
read read (/red/) read (/red/)
hear heard heard
group 7: ell turns to old
sell sold sold
tell told told
group 8: vowel change with ought (or *aught) ending
d or t ending
bring brought brought
buy bought bought
fight fought fought
seek sought sought
think thought thought
*catch caught caught
*teach taught taught
Category 3: Verbs with the same form V1=V2=V3
group 9: Verbs that do not change
d or t ending
bet bet bet
bid (to offer) bid bid
broadcast broadcast \
broadcasted broadcast \
broadcasted
burst burst burst
cost cost cost
cut cut cut
fit fit
(was the right size)
fitted
(tailored, changed size) fit
(was the right size)
fitted
(tailored, changed size)
hit hit hit
hurt hurt hurt
let let let
put put put
set set set
shut shut shut
spread spread spread
quit quit quit
Category 4: Vowel change, V3 ending with (e)n
group 10: V2 and V3 with long /o / sound
break broke broken
choose chose chosen
freeze froze frozen
speak spoke spoken
steal stole stolen
awake awoke \ awaked awoken \ awaked
wake woke \ waked woken \ waked
weave wove woven
group 11: V2 long o sound, V3 shirt /i/ sound
arise arose arisen
rise rose risen
*ride rode *ridden
drive drove driven
*write wrote *written
group 12: The following verbs:
*bite bit *bitten
*hide hid *hidden
eat ate eaten
give gave given
forgive forgave forgiven
forbid * forbad(e) forbidden
* bid
( to command, farewell) bade *bidden
* forget forgot *forgotten
get got * gotten (AmE) \ got (BrE)
shake shook shaken
take took taken
see saw seen
beat beat beaten
fall fell fallen
lie
( down to rest) lay lain
Pay attention!
Do not confuse lie (tell a lie, regular), lie (down to rest, irregular), and lay (the table, irregular).
*lie
(tell a lie) lied lied
lie
(down to rest) lay lain
lay
(the table, eggs) laid laid
group 13: the ear-ore-orn pattern
bear bore born
swear swore sworn
tear tore torn
wear wore worn
group 14: V1 with ow, V2 with ew, V3 with own
blow blew blown
grow grew grown
know knew known
throw threw thrown
fly flew flown
draw drew *drawn
Category 5: regular V2, regular or irregular V3
group 15
show showed showed \ shown
sow sowed sowed \ sown
mow mowed mowed \ mown
swell swelled swelled \ swollen
sew sewed sewed \ sewn
*shine
(the shoes) shined shined
*shine
(brightly) shone shone
Category 6: vowel change, no ending, V2=V3
group 16: vowel change pattern, no ending
dig dug dug
stick stuck stuck
spin spun spun
sting stung stung
strike struck struck
swing swung swung
*hang
(a man) hanged hanged
*hang
(a picture) hung hung
slide slid slid
light lighted \ lit lighted \ lit
shoot shot shot
group 17: vowel change pattern i – ou – ou
bind bound bound
find found found
grind ground ground
wind wound wound
group 18: vowel change ee – e – e
bleed bled bled
feed fed fed
flee fled fled
*lead led led
*speed speeded \ sped speeded \ sped
Category 7: The craziest verbs!
group 19: vowel change pattern i – a – u
begin began begun
drink drank drunk
ring rang rung
shrink shrank shrunk
sing sang sung
sink sank sunk
spin span \ spun spun
spring sprang sprung
swim swam swum
group 20: vowel change, V1=V3
come came come
become became become
run ran run
group 21: miscellaneous
the verb to be
am
is
are was
was
were been
go went gone
*dive
(jumped head first) dove dived
*dive
(scuba-diving) dived dived
do did done
can could
may might
hold held held
stand stood stood
understand understood understood
sit sat sat
babysit babysat babysat
win won won
lose lost lost
Summary
This has been a review about the irregular verbs in English grammar. As these verbs are highly used in both spoken and written language, you should master their usage rather early on as you progress with your English writing. Reviewing the irregular verbs is not enough to make you use them correctly. The more you notice them up in your reading, and more importantly, use them properly in your writing, the better you will use them.
The Grammar Rules for Clauses in English
1. A clause is a group of words that contains both a subject and a predicate but cannot always be considered as a full grammatical sentence. Clauses can be either independent clauses (also called main clauses) or dependent clauses (also called subordinate clauses).
2. An independent clause (or main clause) contains both a subject and predicate, can stand alone as a sentence (a simple sentence), or be a part of a multi-clause sentence. Coordinating conjunctions (and, but, for, nor, or, so, yet) are used to connect elements of equal weight such as two independent clauses, using a comma before the conjunction.
We visited Paris last September.
[independent clause functioning as a full sentence]
We visited Paris in September, and then we visited Berlin in October.
[two independent clauses connected by the coordinating conjunction and preceded with a comma]
3. A dependent clause (or subordinate clause) contains both a subject and a verb but cannot stand alone as a sentence. It must always be a part of a sentence, on which it depends for meaning. Reading a dependent clause on its own leaves the reader wondering where the rest of the information is. The following sections describe the different kinds of dependent clauses.
4. An adverb clause or adverbial clause (also called a subordinate clause) is a type of dependent clause which starts with a subordinating conjunction (e.g. because, although, when, if, until, as if etc.). It indicates a dependent relationship with information elsewhere in the independent clause that it modifies. Similarly to adverbs, adverb clauses usually answer questions such as: Why? How? When? Under what circumstances? When the adverb clause is written before the independent clause, separate the two with a comma.
In the following example pairs, see how the same information is given using a word, phrase or a clause.
We ate dinner at the hotel bistro.
[the adverbial phrase modifies the verb ate; it answers the question where?]
We ate dinner where all the locals usually go to.
[The adverb clause modifies the verb ate; it answers the question where?]
We wanted to go to the Louvre early.
[The adverb modifies the verb phrase wanted to go; it explains when?]
We wanted to go to the Louvre as early as we could.
[The adverb clause modifies the verb phrase wanted to go; it explains when?]
We visited Paris last September due to a business meeting.
[The adverbial phrase explains why?]
We visited Paris last September because we wanted to see the Mona Lisa at the Louvre museum.
[The adverb clause modifies the entire independent clause; it explains why?]
5. An adjective clause (also called a relative clause), just like an adjective, modifies the noun or pronoun preceding it (also called the antecedent). It starts with a relative pronoun (e.g. who, which, that, where, when, whose, whom, whoever etc.) which is also the subject of the clause.
In the following example pairs ,see how the same information is given using a word, phrase or a clause.
This is a great museum.
[the adjective amazing modifies the noun museum]
This is a museum that we visited last year.
[The adjective clause modifies the noun museum; that is a relative pronoun referring to the antecedent museum]
In Paris, we met good friends.
[the adjective good modifies the noun friends]
In Paris, we met friends whom we haven’t seen for years.
[the adjective clause modifies the noun friends; whom is a relative pronoun referring to the antecedent friends]
6. Use who, whom, whoever and whomever when the adjective clause refers to a person or an animal with a name. Use which or that when the adjective clause refers to a non-person (thing) or an animal that is not a pet.
The French lady who was our tour guide turned out to be a distant relative of ours.
[the French lady is a person; who is used]
Our hotel, which was built in 1830, had an excellent bistro.
[our hotel is a thing; which is used]
7. When an adjective clause is non-restrictive (gives an extra piece of information not essential to the overall meaning of the sentence), separate it with commas from the rest of the sentence. Do not use that with non-restrictive adjective clauses.
The hotel that was built in 1830 has an excellent bistro
[The adjective clause is restrictive; only the hotel built in 1830 has an excellent bistro. The adjective clause is essential to the meaning of the sentence]
The hotel , which was built in 1830, had an excellent bistro.
[The adjective clause is non-restrictive; there may be more hotels with excellent bistros. The adjective clause merely adds extra information]
8. A noun clause functions as a noun, meaning that it can be a subject, object or complement in a sentence. It starts with the same words that begin adjective clauses: that, who, which, when, where, whether, why, how.
The Louvre museum was amazing!
[The Louvre museum = noun phrase as subject of sentence]
What we saw at the Louvre Museum was amazing.
[What we saw at the Louvre Museum = noun clause as subject of sentence]
We loved what we saw at the Louvre museum.
[what we saw at the Louvre museum = noun clause as object of the verb like]
The best thing we liked was what we saw at the Louvre museum.
[what we saw at the Louvre museum = noun phrase as complement of the verb was]
9. Do not confuse between adjective and noun clauses, as they begin with the same words. A word starting an adjective clause has an antecedent to which it refers, whereas a word starting a noun clause does not.
Our French friends know that we saw the new exhibition at the Louvre.
[that we saw the new exhibition at the Louvre = noun clause as object of the verb know]
The new exhibition that we saw at the Louvre was amazing.
[that we saw at the Louvre = adjective clause referring to the antecedent exhibition]
10. An elliptical clause may seem incorrect as it may be missing essential sentence elements, but it is actually accepted grammatically. As these clauses must appear together with complete clauses which contain the missing words, repetition is avoided by leaving the same words (or relative pronoun) out in the elliptical clause. This conciseness actually adds to the flow of the text and promotes writing that is more elegant.
In the following examples, the omitted words are given in parenthesis.
The Louvre museum was one of the sites (that) we did not want to miss.
[The relative pronoun that is omitted from the adjective clause]
After (we visited) the Louvre, we went out to dinner at a French bistro.
[subject and verb omitted from adverb clause]
The French make better croissants than the American (make or do).
[second half of comparison omitted]
Though (they) sometimes (appear) impatient and somewhat assertive, most French people are actually kind and warm-hearted.
[subject and verb omitted from adverb clause]
Stative Verbs
Stative verbs are verbs that describe a state or situation, not an action.
They are used in the Present Simple even if they describe a situation that is true at the moment of speaking or writing.
Stative Verbs – usually not with progressive verb tenses
internal mental state external states
thought emotion senses state, relation,
possession
believe
consider
depend
doubt
forget
guess
hope
imagine
know
mean
prefer
realize
remember
seem
suppose
think
understand desire
dislike
doubt
fear
hate
like
love
need
satisfy
want
wish feel
hear
see
smell
sound
taste belong to
consist of
contain
cost
equal
have
include
measure
need
owe
own
possess
require
weigh
Pay Attention!
When stative verbs are used with progressive verb forms, they may change to dynamic verbs, sometimes with a very different meaning.
My friend has 3 cats and 2 dogs.
[has (Present Simple form of have) as stative verb meaning possession]
She is having lunch with her husband today.
[is having (Present Progressive form of have) as dynamic verb meaning to eat]
Don feels that the boss’ new plans are not conducive to the company’s progress.
[feels (Present Simple form of feel) as stative verb meaning to hold an opinion]
He is not feeling so good today.
[is not feeling (Present Progressive form of feel) as dynamic verb meaning physical bodily sensation]
