How To Use: Irregular Verbs In English (More Than 500 Words To Learn, Verb Forms, Phrasal Verbs, Examples (2026 Guide)

Irregular verbs are one of the most confusing parts of English Grammar because they do not follow standard rules. But learning them becomes easy when you understand patterns, groups, and simple tricks. In this complete guide, you will learn every important irregular verb, full Verb 1st / Verb 2nd / Verb 3rd form list, rules, meanings, and examples so that you speak and write English confidently.

Table of Contents

What Are Irregular Verbs? Simple Definition for Easy Understanding

Irregular verbs are verbs that do not follow the regular “+ed” rule when changing forms.
They have different V2 (past) and V3 (past participle) forms.

Simple Definition:

Irregular verbs are verbs whose past and past participle forms change completely or change partially instead of adding -ed.

Example:

• go → went → gone
• eat → ate → eaten
• write → wrote → written
• Work → worked → worked [This is regular verb “+ed.”]

These verbs must be memorized, but with patterns and groups, you can learn them faster.

Why Do Irregular Verbs Exist in English? (Simple Explanation)

English comes from different languages like Latin, Old English, French, German, etc.
So older forms of verbs never changed into the simple -ed pattern.
These old verbs are now called irregular verbs.

Difference Between Irregular Verbs & Regular Verbs (Quick Comparison Table)

Type	Rule	Example
Regular Verbs	Add -ed to make past/P.P.	work → worked, paint → painted
Irregular Verbs	Forms change completely or partially	see → saw → seen

Types of Irregular Verbs (Easy Patterns That Save Your Time)

Irregular verbs follow these common patterns:

Same Verb 1st form, Verb 2nd form, Verb 3rd form Pattern

Examples:

• put → put → put
• cut → cut → cut
• hit → hit → hit

Crazy Hack: If the verb is short (3 letters), often all forms remain the same.

Same Verb 2nd form and Verb 3rd form Pattern

Examples:

tell → told → told

build → built → built

send → sent → sent

All Forms Are Different (Most Confusing Group)

Examples:

• go → went → gone
• write → wrote → written
• drink → drank → drunk
• speak → spoke → spoken

(This group requires the most practice.)

Vowel Change Pattern (i → a → u)

Examples:

• begin → began → begun
• ring → rang → rung
• sing → sang → sung

This is one of the most helpful memory tricks.

How to Learn Irregular Verbs Fast (Smart Tips)

Group similar verbs ✔

Example: sing, ring, bring, swim

Learn with real-life sentences ✔

Example: I have eaten, He has gone, They have spoken

Practice every day ✔

Short practice builds long-term memory.

Do not memorize all 200 at once ✔

Learn 10–15 per day.

Irregular Verbs Usage in Tenses (With Examples)

Irregular verbs appear in many tenses:

Past Indefinite Tense (Uses V2)

• She went home.
• I ate an apple.

Present Perfect Tense (Uses V3)

• She has gone home.
• I have eaten an apple.

Past Perfect Tense (Uses V3)

• I had written the letter.

Passive Voice (Uses V3)

• The book was written by John.

Common Mistakes Students Make (Avoid These Absolutely)

• Using Verb 2nd form instead of Verb 3rd form ❌
  • Correct: I have eaten
  • Wrong: I have ate

• Using regular verb rules on irregular verbs ❌
  • Correct: I saw
  • Wrong: I seed

• Learning without sentence practice ❌
  • Always practice with examples.

Learn Irregular Verbs with Pronunciation Audio, Word Meaning, & Examples: View Full List of 671 Verbs & Phrasal Verbs

Irregular Verb Forms: FAQs (Most Searched Questions)

Practice Word Power By Taking Irregular Verbs Test With All English Grammar Sentences

These exercises contain Advanced English Sentences but all you need to do is to fill Irregular Verbs. You will get explanations of correct and incorrect options too, you will learn why this is correct and incorrect.

• One: Exercise 1
• Two: Exercise 2
• Three: Exercise 3
• Four: Exercise 4
• Five: Exercise 5
• Six: Exercise 6
• Seven: Exercise 7
• Eight: Exercise 8
• Nine: Exercise 9
• Ten: Exercise 10

There are more Advanced Vocabularies on this website. Dig in!

Practice in Comment Section: I assure our Team will correct your grammatical mistakes and help builder Word Power.