Irregular verbs list

72 common verbs, grouped by how they sound, with the songs to learn them.

Learning irregular verbs from A to Z is slow. Learning them in families that sound alike is fast: once you know think, thought, thought, then bring, brought, brought comes free. Every family below is sung in a Grammar on Repeat song, so you can hear it, sing it and remember it.

Base formPast simplePast participle

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B1 Irregular Verbs

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36 Verbs Grouped by Sound

The -OUGHT family

Past and participle sound the same: -ought / -aught

A · B · B

The -OUGHT family: base form, past simple and past participle
Base	Past	Participle
buy	bought	bought
bring	brought	brought
think	thought	thought
teach	taught	taught
catch	caught	caught
fight	fought	fought

The -T family

Past = participle, and it ends in -t

A · B · B

The -T family: base form, past simple and past participle
Base	Past	Participle
keep	kept	kept
sleep	slept	slept
feel	felt	felt
leave	left	left
meet	met	met
send	sent	sent
spend	spent	spent

I → A → U

Only the vowel changes: i → a → u

A · B · C

I → A → U: base form, past simple and past participle
Base	Past	Participle
begin	began	begun
drink	drank	drunk
sing	sang	sung
swim	swam	swum
ring	rang	rung
sink	sank	sunk

The -EN family

The participle ends in -en

A · B · C

The -EN family: base form, past simple and past participle
Base	Past	Participle
break	broke	broken
speak	spoke	spoken
choose	chose	chosen
freeze	froze	frozen
write	wrote	written
drive	drove	driven
eat	ate	eaten
give	gave	given

Same · same · same

Nothing changes. The easy bit!

A · A · A

Same · same · same: base form, past simple and past participle
Base	Past	Participle
cut	cut	cut
put	put	put
shut	shut	shut
let	let	let
cost	cost	cost
hit	hit	hit

The rebels

No pattern here: learn them by heart

A · B · C

The rebels: base form, past simple and past participle
Base	Past	Participle
go	went	gone
do	did	done
see	saw	seen

B1 Irregular Verbs Part 2

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36 More Verbs by Sound

The -D family

Past and participle are the same, and they end in -d

A · B · B

The -D family: base form, past simple and past participle
Base	Past	Participle
say	said	said
pay	paid	paid
tell	told	told
sell	sold	sold
hear	heard	heard
make	made	made
find	found	found

-EW, then -OWN

The past ends in -ew, the participle in -own

A · B · C

-EW, then -OWN: base form, past simple and past participle
Base	Past	Participle
know	knew	known
grow	grew	grown
throw	threw	thrown
blow	blew	blown
fly	flew	flown
draw	drew	drawn

The vowel turns into U

dig → dug: past and participle sing a U (won too)

A · B · B

The vowel turns into U: base form, past simple and past participle
Base	Past	Participle
dig	dug	dug
hang	hung	hung
stick	stuck	stuck
swing	swung	swung
win	won	won
spin	spun	spun

The -EN family, part 2

The participle ends in -en

A · B · C

The -EN family, part 2: base form, past simple and past participle
Base	Past	Participle
take	took	taken
fall	fell	fallen
forget	forgot	forgotten
hide	hid	hidden
ride	rode	ridden
wake	woke	woken
steal	stole	stolen
bite	bit	bitten

Same · same · same

Nothing changes, except the sound of read: reed → red → red

A · A · A

Same · same · same: base form, past simple and past participle
Base	Past	Participle
read	read	read
set	set	set
hurt	hurt	hurt
quit	quit	quit
bet	bet	bet
spread	spread	spread

The rebels

No pattern here: learn them by heart

A · B · C

The rebels: base form, past simple and past participle
Base	Past	Participle
come	came	come
run	ran	run
be	was	been

All 72 verbs from A to Z

Irregular verbs from A to Z, with their sound family
Base form	Past simple	Past participle	Sound family
be	was	been	The rebels
begin	began	begun	I → A → U
bet	bet	bet	Same · same · same
bite	bit	bitten	The -EN family, part 2
blow	blew	blown	-EW, then -OWN
break	broke	broken	The -EN family
bring	brought	brought	The -OUGHT family
buy	bought	bought	The -OUGHT family
catch	caught	caught	The -OUGHT family
choose	chose	chosen	The -EN family
come	came	come	The rebels
cost	cost	cost	Same · same · same
cut	cut	cut	Same · same · same
dig	dug	dug	The vowel turns into U
do	did	done	The rebels
draw	drew	drawn	-EW, then -OWN
drink	drank	drunk	I → A → U
drive	drove	driven	The -EN family
eat	ate	eaten	The -EN family
fall	fell	fallen	The -EN family, part 2
feel	felt	felt	The -T family
fight	fought	fought	The -OUGHT family
find	found	found	The -D family
fly	flew	flown	-EW, then -OWN
forget	forgot	forgotten	The -EN family, part 2
freeze	froze	frozen	The -EN family
give	gave	given	The -EN family
go	went	gone	The rebels
grow	grew	grown	-EW, then -OWN
hang	hung	hung	The vowel turns into U
hear	heard	heard	The -D family
hide	hid	hidden	The -EN family, part 2
hit	hit	hit	Same · same · same
hurt	hurt	hurt	Same · same · same
keep	kept	kept	The -T family
know	knew	known	-EW, then -OWN
leave	left	left	The -T family
let	let	let	Same · same · same
make	made	made	The -D family
meet	met	met	The -T family
pay	paid	paid	The -D family
put	put	put	Same · same · same
quit	quit	quit	Same · same · same
read	read	read	Same · same · same
ride	rode	ridden	The -EN family, part 2
ring	rang	rung	I → A → U
run	ran	run	The rebels
say	said	said	The -D family
see	saw	seen	The rebels
sell	sold	sold	The -D family
send	sent	sent	The -T family
set	set	set	Same · same · same
shut	shut	shut	Same · same · same
sing	sang	sung	I → A → U
sink	sank	sunk	I → A → U
sleep	slept	slept	The -T family
speak	spoke	spoken	The -EN family
spend	spent	spent	The -T family
spin	spun	spun	The vowel turns into U
spread	spread	spread	Same · same · same
steal	stole	stolen	The -EN family, part 2
stick	stuck	stuck	The vowel turns into U
swim	swam	swum	I → A → U
swing	swung	swung	The vowel turns into U
take	took	taken	The -EN family, part 2
teach	taught	taught	The -OUGHT family
tell	told	told	The -D family
think	thought	thought	The -OUGHT family
throw	threw	thrown	-EW, then -OWN
wake	woke	woken	The -EN family, part 2
win	won	won	The vowel turns into U
write	wrote	written	The -EN family

Irregular verbs: quick answers

What is an irregular verb?

A verb whose past simple and past participle don't end in -ed. Regular: work, worked, worked. Irregular: go, went, gone.

What's the difference between the past simple and the past participle?

The past simple stands alone: I went. The past participle comes after have or be: I have gone (present perfect), it was broken (passive).

How many irregular verbs are there in English?

Around 200, but a much smaller group covers most of what you read and hear. This list has the common ones from our songs, and it grows with every new verb song.

What's the fastest way to learn irregular verbs?

Learn them in families that sound alike (think, thought, thought; teach, taught, taught) instead of from A to Z, and say them out loud in rhythm. That's exactly what the songs do.

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B1 Irregular Verbs

B1 Irregular Verbs Part 2

All 72 verbs from A to Z

Irregular verbs: quick answers

Put English grammar on repeat.