Let’s face it; Verbs aren’t easy. And when their tenses don’t have an -s, -ed, and -ing ending, it gets even harder. To make it simpler, here’s a list of 181 irregular verbs that may help you.
| Word – Definition | Base Form | Past Simple | Past Participle |
| Abide – To accept or act in accordance with rules, decisions, or recommendations. | Abide | abode/abided | abode/abided |
| Alight – To come down from something, especially a vehicle. | Alight | alit/alighted | alit/alighted |
| Arise – To originate or come into being. | Arise | arose | arisen |
| Awake – To stop sleeping; to wake up. | Awake | awoke | awoken |
| Be – To exist; to occur; to become. | Be | was/were | been |
| Bear – To carry or support; to endure. | Bear | bore | borne/born |
| Beat – To defeat or do better than. | Beat | beat | beaten |
| Become – To begin to be. | Become | became | become |
| Begin – To start; to come into being. | Begin | began | begun |
| Bend – To shape something curved or angled. | Bend | bent | bent |
| Beseech – To ask urgently and fervently to do something. | Beseech | besought/beseeched | besought/beseeched |
| Beset – To surround or harass; to trouble. | Beset | beset | beset |
| Bestride – To stand astride over; to dominate. | Bestride | bestrode | bestridden |
| Bet – To risk something on the outcome of an event. | Bet | bet | bet |
| Betake – To cause oneself to go to. | Betake | betook | betaken |
| Beware – To be cautious and alert to risks or dangers. | Beware | bewared | bewared |
| Bid (to offer) – To offer a certain price for something, especially at an auction. | Bid (to offer) | bid | bid |
| Bind – To tie or fasten something tightly. | Bind | bound | bound |
| Bleed – To lose blood from the body. | Bleed | bled | bled |
| Blight – To spoil, harm, or destroy. | Blight | blighted/blit | blighted/blit |
| Blow – To produce air from the mouth. | Blow | blew | blown |
| Break – To separate into pieces as a result of a blow, shock, or strain. | Break | broke | broken |
| Breed – To cause animals to produce offspring. | Breed | bred | bred |
| Bring – To carry someone or something to a place. | Bring | brought | brought |
| Build – To construct by assembling parts. | Build | built | built |
| Burst – To break open or apart suddenly. | Burst | burst | burst |
| Buy – To obtain in exchange for payment. | Buy | bought | bought |
| Cast – To throw something forcefully in a specific direction. | Cast | cast | cast |
| Choose – To select from a number of possibilities. | Choose | chose | chosen |
| Clad – To clothe. | Clad | clad/clothed | clad/clothed |
| Cleave (to adhere) – To stick fast to or become very strongly involved with. | Cleave (to adhere) | cleaved | cleaved |
| Cleave (to split) – To split or sever something. | Cleave (to split) | clove/cleft | cloven/cleft |
| Cling – To hold on tightly to. | Cling | clung | clung |
| Clothe – To dress; to provide with clothes. | Clothe | clad/clothed | clad/clothed |
| Come – To move or travel towards the speaker or with the speaker. | Come | came | come |
| Cost – To have a particular price. | Cost | cost | cost |
| Creep – To move slowly and carefully, especially to avoid being heard or noticed. | Creep | crept | crept |
| Crow – To express triumph or joy, especially in a loud voice. | Crow | crew/crowed | crowed |
| Dare – To have the courage to do something. | Dare | dared/durst | dared |
| Deal – To distribute cards in a game; to trade or conduct business. | Deal | dealt | dealt |
| Dig – To break up and move soil using a tool, a machine, or hands. | Dig | dug | dug |
| Dive – To jump into water head-first. | Dive | dove/dived | dived |
| Do – To perform an action. | Do | did | done |
| Draw – To produce a picture or diagram by making lines and marks on paper. | Draw | drew | drawn |
| Drink – To take liquid into the mouth and swallow. | Drink | drank | drunk |
| Drive – To operate and control the direction and speed of a motor vehicle. | Drive | drove | driven |
| Dwell – To live or reside. | Dwell | dwelt/dwelled | dwelt/dwelled |
| Eat – To take into the mouth and swallow for nourishment. | Eat | ate | eaten |
| Enwind – To wrap or encircle with or as if with tendrils. | Enwind | enwound | enwound |
| Fall – To move downward, typically rapidly and freely without control. | Fall | fell | fallen |
| Fare – To perform in a specified way in a particular situation or over a particular period. | Fare | fared | fared |
| Feel – To be aware of through touching or being touched. | Feel | felt | felt |
| Find – To discover or perceive by chance or unexpectedly. | Find | found | found |
| Flee – To run away from a place or situation of danger. | Flee | fled | fled |
| Fling – To throw or hurl forcefully. | Fling | flung | flung |
| Fly – To move through the air under control. | Fly | flew | flown |
| Forbid – To refuse to allow something. | Forbid | forbade | forbidden |
| Forget – To fail to remember. | Forget | forgot | forgotten |
| Forgive – To stop feeling angry or resentful toward someone for an offense, flaw, or mistake. | Forgive | forgave | forgiven |
| Forsake – To abandon or leave. | Forsake | forsook | forsaken |
| Freeze – To turn or be turned into ice or another solid as a result of extreme cold. | Freeze | froze | frozen |
| Get – To come to have or hold something. | Get | got | gotten/got (American/British) |
| Gild – To cover thinly with gold. | Gild | gilt/gilded | gilt/gilded |
| Gird – To encircle with a belt or band. | Gird | girt/girded | girt/girded |
| Give – To present voluntarily and without expecting compensation. | Give | gave | given |
| Go – To move from one place to another. | Go | went | gone |
| Grind – To reduce something to small particles or powder by crushing it. | Grind | ground | ground |
| Grow – To increase in size or amount. | Grow | grew | grown |
| Hang (suspend) – To fasten or support something at the top leaving the other parts free to move. | Hang (suspend) | hung | hung |
| Have – To possess, own, or hold. | Have | had | had |
| Hear – To perceive with the ear the sound made by someone or something. | Hear | heard | heard |
| Hew – To chop or cut something, especially wood, with a tool. | Hew | hewed | hewn/hewed |
| Hide – To put or keep out of sight. | Hide | hid | hidden |
| Hit – To bring one’s hand or a tool or weapon into contact with someone or something quickly and forcefully. | Hit | hit | hit |
| Hold – To grasp, carry, or support with one’s arms or hands. | Hold | held | held |
| Inlay – To decorate an object by embedding pieces of a different material in it, flush with its surface. | Inlay | inlaid | inlaid |
| Keep – To have or retain possession of. | Keep | kept | kept |
| Kneel – To be in or assume a position in which the body is supported by a knee or the knees, as when praying or showing submission. | Kneel | knelt/kneeled | knelt/kneeled |
| Knit – To make by interlocking loops of yarn with knitting needles. | Knit | knit/knitted | knit/knitted |
| Know – To be aware of through observation, inquiry, or information. | Know | knew | known |
| Lade – To load a ship or other vehicle. | Lade | laded | laden/laded |
| Lay – To put down, especially gently or carefully. | Lay | laid | laid |
| Lead – To cause someone or something to go with one by holding them by the hand, a halter, a rope, etc. while moving forward. | Lead | led | led |
| Leap – To jump or spring a long way, to a great height, or with great force. | Leap | leapt/leaped | leapt/leaped |
| Leave – To go away from. | Leave | left | left |
| Lend – To grant the use of something on the understanding that it shall be returned. | Lend | lent | lent |
| Let – To allow or permit. | Let | let | let |
| Lie (recline) – To be in or assume a horizontal or resting position on a supporting surface. | Lie (recline) | lay | lain |
| Light – To ignite. | Light | lit/lighted | lit/lighted |
| Lose – To be deprived of or cease to have or retain something. | Lose | lost | lost |
| Make – To create or construct something. | Make | made | made |
| Mean – To intend to convey, indicate, or refer to a particular thing or notion. | Mean | meant | meant |
| Meet – To come into the presence or company of someone by chance or arrangement. | Meet | met | met |
| Mislead – To cause someone to believe something that is not true. | Mislead | misled | misled |
| Mow – To cut down grass or other plants with a machine or tool. | Mow | mowed | mown/mowed |
| Outbid – To offer a higher price than others for something, especially at an auction. | Outbid | outbid | outbid |
| Outdo – To be more successful or better than others. | Outdo | outdid | outdone |
| Outgrow – To grow too big for something. | Outgrow | outgrew | outgrown |
| Outrun – To run or move faster than someone or something. | Outrun | outran | outrun |
| Outspeak – To exceed in speaking. | Outspeak | outspoke | outspoken |
| Overcome – To succeed in dealing with a problem or difficulty. | Overcome | overcame | overcome |
| Overdo – To do something to an excessive degree. | Overdo | overdid | overdone |
| Overtake – To catch up with and pass while traveling in the same direction. | Overtake | overtook | overtaken |
| Overthrow – To remove forcibly from power. | Overthrow | overthrew | overthrown |
| Pay – To give someone money that is due for work done, goods received, or a debt incurred. | Pay | paid | paid |
| Plead – To make an emotional appeal. | Plead | pled/pleaded | pled/pleaded |
| Prove – To demonstrate the truth or existence of something by evidence or argument. | Prove | proved | proven/proved |
| Put – To move to or place in a particular position. | Put | put | put |
| Quit – To leave or stop doing something. | Quit | quit | quit |
| Read – To look at and comprehend the meaning of written or printed matter by interpreting the characters or symbols of which it is composed. | Read | read (pronounced as "red") | read (pronounced as "red") |
| Rend – To tear something into two or more pieces. | Rend | rent | rent |
| Repay – To pay back money that is owed. | Repay | repaid | repaid |
| Resell – To sell something that one has bought to someone else. | Resell | resold | resold |
| Resit – To take an examination again after failing it previously. | Resit | resat | resat |
| Ride – To sit on and control the movement of an animal or vehicle. | Ride | rode | ridden |
| Ring – To surround something, forming a circle around it. | Ring | rang | rung |
| Rise – To move from a lower position to a higher one; to get up. | Rise | rose | risen |
| Rive – To split or tear apart violently. | Rive | rived | riven/rived |
| Run – To move at a speed faster than a walk, never having both or all the feet on the ground at the same time. | Run | ran | run |
| Saw – To cut something with a saw. | Saw | sawed | sawn/sawed |
| Say – To utter words so as to convey information, an opinion, a feeling or intention, or an instruction. | Say | said | said |
| See – To perceive with the eyes. | See | saw | seen |
| Seek – To attempt to find something. | Seek | sought | sought |
| Sell – To give or hand over something in exchange for money. | Sell | sold | sold |
| Send – To cause to go or be taken to a particular destination. | Send | sent | sent |
| Sew – To join, fasten, or repair something by making stitches with a needle and thread or a sewing machine. | Sew | sewed | sewn/sewed |
| Shear – To cut the wool off a sheep or other animal. | Shear | sheared | shorn/sheared |
| Shed – To allow skin, shells, etc., to come off or to fall off. | Shed | shed | shed |
| Show – To make visible or allow to be seen. | Show | showed | shown |
| Shrink – To become or make smaller in size or amount. | Shrink | shrank | shrunk |
| Shut – To move into position to close an opening. | Shut | shut | shut |
| Sing – To make musical sounds with the voice. | Sing | sang | sung |
| Sit – To adopt a position in which one’s weight is supported by one’s buttocks rather than one’s feet and one’s back is upright. | Sit | sat | sat |
| Slay – To kill someone or something in a violent way. | Slay | slew | slain |
| Sleep – To rest in a state of reduced consciousness. | Sleep | slept | slept |
| Slide – To move smoothly along a surface while maintaining continuous contact with it. | Slide | slid | slid/slid |
| Slink – To move in a way that does not attract attention, especially because of guilt or a desire to avoid detection. | Slink | slunk | slunk |
| Smite – To strike with a firm blow. | Smite | smote | smitten |
| Sow – To plant (seed) by scattering it on or in the earth. | Sow | sowed | sown/sowed |
| Speak – To say something in order to convey information, an opinion, or a feeling. | Speak | spoke | spoken |
| Speed – To move quickly. | Speed | sped/speeded | sped/speeded |
| Spend – To use up or pay out money. | Spend | spent | spent |
| Spill – To cause or allow liquid to flow over the edge of its container. | Spill | spilt/spilled | spilt/spilled |
| Spin – To turn or cause to turn around rapidly. | Spin | spun | spun |
| Spit – To eject saliva forcibly from one’s mouth, sometimes as a gesture of disdain or anger. | Spit | spat/spit | spat/spit |
| Split – To break or cause to break forcibly into parts, especially into halves or along the grain. | Split | split | split |
| Spoil – To diminish or destroy the value or quality of. | Spoil | spoiled/spoilt | spoiled/spoilt |
| Spread – To extend over a large or increasing area. | Spread | spread | spread |
| Spring – To move or jump suddenly or rapidly upward or forward. | Spring | sprang/sprung | sprung |
| Stand – To have or maintain an upright position, supported by one’s feet. | Stand | stood | stood |
| Stave – To avert or delay something bad or dangerous. | Stave | stove/staved | stove/staved |
| Steal – To take another person’s property without permission or legal right and without intending to return it. | Steal | stole | stolen |
| Stick – To cause something to become fixed in a particular place or position. | Stick | stuck | stuck |
| Sting – To cause sharp but usually temporary pain. | Sting | stung | stung |
| Stink – To emit a strong unpleasant smell. | Stink | stank | stunk |
| Stride – To walk with long, decisive steps in a specified direction. | Stride | strode | stridden |
| Strike – To hit forcibly and deliberately with one’s hand or a weapon or other implement. | Strike | struck | struck/stricken |
| Strive – To make great efforts to achieve or obtain something. | Strive | strove | striven |
| Swear – To make a solemn statement or promise undertaking to do something or affirming that something is the case. | Swear | swore | sworn |
| Sweep – To clean or clear a surface by brushing away dirt or litter. | Sweep | swept | swept |
| Swim – To propel oneself through water by means of the limbs, fins, or tail. | Swim | swam | swum |
| Swing – To move or cause to move back and forth or from side to side while or as if suspended. | Swing | swung | swung |
| Take – To lay hold of something with one’s hands; to reach for and hold. | Take | took | taken |
| Teach – To show or explain to someone how to do something. | Teach | taught | taught |
| Tear – To pull or rip something apart or to pieces with force. | Tear | tore | torn |
| Tell – To communicate information to someone in spoken or written words. | Tell | told | told |
| Think – To have a particular opinion, belief, or idea about someone or something. | Think | thought | thought |
| Thrive – To grow or develop well or vigorously. | Thrive | throve/thrived | thriven/thrived |
| Throw – To propel something with force through the air by a movement of the arm and hand. | Throw | threw | thrown |
| Tread – To walk in a specified way. | Tread | trod | trodden/trod |
| Understand – To be aware of the meaning of. | Understand | understood | understood |
| Wake – To emerge or cause to emerge from sleep. | Wake | woke | woken |
| Wear – To have on one’s body or a part of one’s body as clothing, decoration, protection, or for some other purpose. | Wear | wore | worn |
| Weave – To form by interlacing long threads or yarn. | Weave | wove | woven |
| Weep – To shed tears. | Weep | wept | wept |
| Win – To achieve victory in a contest or competition. | Win | won | won |
| Wind – To cause to move in or as if in a circular course. | Wind | wound | wound |
| Withdraw – To remove or take away something from a particular place or position. | Withdraw | withdrew | withdrawn |
| Wring – To squeeze and twist something to force liquid from it. | Wring | wrung | wrung |
| Write – To mark coherent words on paper or another surface. | Write | wrote | written |