Table of Contents
Past tense verbs refer to what has already happened. Many of them have irregular forms.
This post contains more than 180 verbs with an irregular past tense, an irregular past participle, or both.
Have I mentioned that English is a very complicated language?
You may also view the list divided into families of irregularities, which groups verbs together by the relationship of their simple past forms to their past participles.
This list is alphabeticized by its present tense name (infinitive minus “to”).
If you would like to contribute more obnoxious verbs, please send them to me from the Contact Me page.
Acceptable alternate forms are added after a slash (“/”).
The list is in this format:
verb name >> simple past tense >> past participle.
Verb >> simple past >> past participle
A
- Alight >> alighted/alit >> alighted/alit
- Arise >> arose >> arisen
- Awake >> awoke >> awoken
B
- Be >> was/ were >> been
- Bear >> bore >> born(e)
- As in to bear a burden
- Beat >> beat >> beaten
- Become >> became >> become
- Begin >> began >> begun
- Bend >> bent >> bent
- Bereave >> bereaved/bereft >> bereaved/bereft
- Bet >> bet >> bet
- Bid >> bade/bid >> bidden/bid/bade
- Bind >> bound >> bound
- Bite >> bit >> bitten
- Bleed >> bled >> bled
- Bless >> blessed/blest >> blessed/blessed
- Blow >> blew >> blown
- Break >> broke >> broken
- Breed >> bred >> bred
- Bring >> brought >> brought
- Bring >> brought >> brought
- Broadcast >> broadcast >> broadcast
- Build >> built >> built
- Burn >> burnt/burned >> burnt/burned
- Burst >> burst >> burst
- Bust >> bust/busted >> bust/busted
- Buy >> bought >> bought
C
- Catch >> caught >> caught
- Choose >> chose >> chosen
- Cling >> clung >> clung
- Clothe >> clothed/clad >> clothed/clad
- Come >> came >> come
- Cost >> cost >> cost
- Creep >> crept >> crept
- Crow >> crowed >> crew/crowed
- Cut >> cut >> cut
D
- Deal >> dealt >> dealt
- Dig >> dug >> dug
- Do >> did >> done
- Draw >> drew >> drawn
- Dream >> dreamt/dreamed >> dreamt/dreamed
- Drink >> drank >> drunk
- Drive >> drove >> driven
- Dwell >> dwelt/dwelled >> dwelt/dwelled
E
- Eat >> ate >> eaten
F
- Fall >> fell >> fallen
- Feed >> fed >> fed
- Feel >> felt >> felt
- Fight >> fought >> fought
- Find >> found >> found
- Flee >> fled >> fled
- Fling >> flung >> flung
- Fly >> flew >> flown
- Forbid >> forbade >> forbidden
- Forecast >> forecast/forecasted >> forecast/forecasted
- Forget >> forgot >> forgotten
- Forgive >> forgave >> forgiven
- Freeze >> froze >> frozen
G
- Get >> got >> got
- Give >> gave >> given
- Go >> went >> gone
- Grind >> ground >> ground
- Grip >> gripped/gript >> gripped/gript
- Grow >> grew >> grown
H
- Hang >> hung >> hung (a thing)
- Hang >> hanged >> hanged (a person)
- Have >> had >> had
- Hear >> heard >> heard
- Heave >> heaved/hove >> heaved/hove
- Hide >> hid >> hidden/hid
- Hit >> hit >> hit
- Hold >> held >> held
- Hurt >> hurt >> hurt
K
- Keep >> kept >> kept
- Kneel >> knelt >> knelt
- Knit >> knitted/knit >> knitted/knit
- Know >> knew >> known
L
- Lay (an egg) >> laid >> laid
- Lead >> led >> led
- Lean >> leant/ leaned >> leant/ leaned
- Leap >> leapt /leaped >> leapt/leaped
- Learn >> learnt/ learned >> learnt/ learned
- Leave >> left >> left
- Lend >> lent >> lent
- Let >> let >> let
- Lie (in bed) >> lay >> lain
- Lie (not to tell the truth) >> lied >> lied
- Light >> lit/ lighted >> lit/ lighted
- Lose >> lost >> lost
M
- Make >> made >> made
- Mean >> meant >> meant
- Meet >> met >> met
- Melt >> melted >> molten/melted
- Mow >> mowed >> mown/mowed
O
- Overtake >> overtook >> overtaken
P
- Pay >> paid >> paid
- Pen >> pent/penned >> pent/penned
- Plead >> pled/pleaded >> pled/pleaded
- Put >> put >> put
Q
Quit >> quit/quitted >> quit/quitted
- Quit >> quit/quitted >> quit/quitted
R
- Read (now) >> read (yesterday) >> read (have read)
- Rend >> rent >> rent
- Rid >> rid/ridded >> rid/ridded
- Ride >> rode >> ridden
- Ring >> rang >> rung
- Rise >> rose >> risen
- Run >> ran >> run
S
- Saw >> sawed >> sawn/ sawed
- Say >> said >> said
- See >> saw >> seen
- Seek >> sought >> sought
- Sell >> sold >> sold
- Send >> sent >> sent
- Set >> set >> set
- Sew >> sewed >> sewn/ sewed
- Shake >> shook >> shaken
- Shear >> sheared >> short/sheared
- Shed >> shed >> shed
- Shine >> shone >> shone
- Shoe >> shod/shoed >> shod/shoed
- Shoot >> shot >> shot
- Show >> showed >> shown
- Shred >> shred/shredded >> shred/shredded
- Shrink >> shrank >> shrunk
- Shut >> shut >> shut
- Sing >> sang >> sung
- Sink >> sank >> sunk
- Sit >> sat >> sat
- Sleep >> slept >> slept
- Slide >> slid >> slid
- Sling >> slung >> slung
- Slink >> slunk >> slunk
- Slit >> slit >> slit
- Smell >> smelt/smelled >> smelt/smelled
- Sow >> sowed >> sown/ sowed
- Speak >> spoke >> spoken
- Speed >> sped >> sped
- Spell >> spelt/ spelled spelt/ spelled
- Spend >> spent >> spent
- Spill >> spilt/ spilled >> spilt/ spilled
- Spin >> spun >> spun
- Spit >> spat >> spat
- Split >> split >> split
- Spoil >> spoilt/spoiled >> spoilt/spoiled
- Spread >> spread >> spread
- Spring >> sprang >> sprung
- Stand >> stood >> stood
- Steal >> stole >> stolen
- Stick >> stuck >> stuck
- Sting >> stung >> stung
- Stink >> stank/stunk >> stunk
- Stride >> strode >> stridden
- Strike >> struck >> struck
- String >> stung >> strung
- Strive >> strove >> striven
- Swear >> swore >> sworn
- Sweat >> sweat/sweated >> sweat/sweated
- Sweep >> swept >> swept
- Swell >> swelled >> swollen/ swelled
- Swim >> swam >> swum
- Swing >> swung >> swung
T
Take >> took >> taken
Teach >> taught >> taught
Tear >> tore >> torn
Tell >> told >> told
Think >> thought >> thought
Throw >> threw >> thrown
Thrust >> thrust >> thrust
Tread >> trod >> trodden
U
Understand >> understood >> understood
Undo >> undid >> undone
W
Wake >> woke >> woken
Wear >> wore >> worn
Weave >> wove >> woven
Wed >> wed/wedded >> wed/wedded
Weep >> wept >> wept
Wet >> wet/wetted >> wet/wetted
Win >> won >> won
Wind >> wound >> wound
Wring >> wrung >> wrung
Withdraw >> withdrew >> withdrawn
Write >> wrote >> written
Credit: Photo by Rémi Jacquaint on Unsplash