Irregular Verbs in English
irregular verbs
These are often the most difficult verbs for a student to master. Native English speakers think they’re easy, but people who learn English as a second language will tell you that they are not easy.
At the very least, you must know the basic meanings of irregular verbs and how they change from one verb tense to another. The videos included here may help you with that.
Let’s begin with the four principal parts of a verb:
The Four Principal Parts of a Verb
There are four principal parts to a verb: the simple form, the past tense form, the past participle, and the present participle. You must know the differences among these four forms in order to master the use of verbs, regular and irregular. Here’s a list of irregular verbs in these four forms: Irregular Verbs List A – Z.
This next video shows what the four principal parts of a verb look like for irregular verbs. This is very important to know in order to use verbs correctly in all types of verb tenses.
When regular verbs appear in the past tense or as past participles, they have an “ed” ending: worked, lived, decided, etc.
However, irregular verbs appear in ways that are not always predictable. That’s why you must memorize the way that they change. Below are some common irregular verbs.
Simple
be
do
go
get
have
put
run
set
write
Past
was / were
did
went
got
had
put
ran
set
wrote
Past Participle
been
done
gone
gotten
had
put
run
set
written
Present Participle
being
doing
going
getting
having
putting
running
setting
writing
This next video shows irregular verbs from M – Z.
Click here: Irregular Verbs List A – Z for a printable PDF of irregular verbs.
Click here to return to the Verbs page.