Irregular Verbs in English: 50 Most Common with Examples & Easy Guide

Introduction

Learning English grammar can sometimes feel tricky, especially when it comes to verbs. Normally, we add -ed to make the past tense (play → played, work → worked). But some verbs don’t follow this rule. These are called irregular verbs.

For example:

Go → Went → Gone (not goed)
at → Ate → Eaten (not eated)

If you want to speak and write fluent English, mastering irregular verbs is a must. In this guide, you’ll learn the 50 most common irregular verbs in English, with examples to help you remember them better.

50 Most Common Irregular Verbs in English

Here’ is a complete table of the most used irregular verbs.

Base Form	Past Simple	Past Participle	Example Sentence
Go	Went	Gone	I have gone to school.
Eat	Ate	Eaten	She has eaten lunch.
Drink	Drank	Drunk	He has drunk water.
Come	Came	Come	They came early.
Take	Took	Taken	She has taken my pen.
Write	Wrote	Written	He has written a letter.
Read	Read	Read	I read the book yesterday.
See	Saw	Seen	I have seen that movie.
Buy	Bought	Bought	She bought a dress.
Bring	Brought	Brought	He brought gifts.
Make	Made	Made	I made a cake.
Build	Built	Built	They built a house.
Break	Broke	Broken	The glass is broken.
Choose	Chose	Chosen	She has chosen wisely.
Begin	Began	Begun	He began his work early.
Drive	Drove	Driven	She has driven the car.
Draw	Drew	Drawn	He has drawn a picture.
Fly	Flew	Flown	The bird has flown away.
Forget	Forgot	Forgotten	I have forgotten his name.
Get	Got	Got/Gotten	He has got a new bike.
Give	Gave	Given	She has given a gift.
Have	Had	Had	I had dinner already.
Hold	Held	Held	He held my hand.
Keep	Kept	Kept	She kept her promise.
Know	Knew	Known	I have known him for years.
Leave	Left	Left	She left early.
Lose	Lost	Lost	I lost my phone.
Meet	Met	Met	They met yesterday.
Pay	Paid	Paid	I paid the bill.
Put	Put	Put	He put the book on the table.
Run	Ran	Run	She has run a marathon.
Say	Said	Said	He said hello.
Sell	Sold	Sold	She sold her car.
Send	Sent	Sent	He sent a letter.
Sit	Sat	Sat	She sat on the chair.
Sleep	Slept	Slept	He slept well.
Speak	Spoke	Spoken	She has spoken to him.
Stand	Stood	Stood	He stood in line.
Swim	Swam	Swum	She has swum in the pool.
Teach	Taught	Taught	He taught us English.
Tell	Told	Told	She told me the truth.
Think	Thought	Thought	I thought about it.
Understand	Understood	Understood	She understood the lesson.
Wear	Wore	Worn	He has worn that shirt before.
Win	Won	Won	She won the prize.
Write	Wrote	Written	He has written an essay.
Rise	Rose	Risen	The sun has risen.
Fall	Fell	Fallen	He has fallen asleep.
Sing	Sang	Sung	She has sung beautifully.

How to Learn Irregular Verbs Fast

Learning irregular verbs doesn’t have to be difficult. If you use smart tricks, it becomes much easier. Here are some simple ways:

1. Group Similar Verbs

Many irregular verbs follow small patterns. If you learn them together, you will remember faster.

Sing → Sang → Sung
Drink → Drank → Drunk
Begin → Began → Begun

All of these verbs change the middle sound. You can make groups like:

-ink → -ank → -unk (drink, sink, shrink)
-ing → -ang → -ung (sing, ring, spring)

2. Practice with 5 Sentences Every Day

Don’t just read the list—use the verbs in sentences.
Example (verbs: go, eat, write, come, take):

I went to school yesterday.
She has eaten her lunch.
He has written a letter.
They came to the party.
She has taken my bag.

If you do this every day, you will learn quickly.

3. Learn from Songs and Movies

English songs and movies often use irregular verbs. For example:

“I saw you yesterday.”
“She went away.”

Watch a movie with subtitles, note 5 verbs, and make your own sentences.

4. Read Simple Stories

Children’s storybooks and short articles are full of irregular verbs.
Example:

“The boy ran fast.”
“She made a cake.”

Reading shows you how verbs are used in real life.

5. Make It Fun

Learning doesn’t have to be boring. Try games like:

Verb Bingo → cross out verbs when you hear them.
Verb Challenge → see how many sentences you can make in 2 minutes.

If you follow these steps—group, practice, use apps, listen, read, and play—you will learn irregular verbs much faster.

Conclusion

Irregular verbs in English may seem difficult at first, but once you learn the 50 most common ones, you’ll see a huge improvement in your speaking and writing.

Start small, practice daily, and soon irregular verbs will feel natural.

Resources

According to Cambridge Dictionary, irregular verbs don’t follow the normal -ed rule.

Check the British Council guide for more practice exercises.

Here is a full Oxford English Dictionary list of irregular verbs.