Guide
How to learn English irregular verbs: a practical method
There is no rule that tells you the past of go is went. But you don't have to learn irregular verbs one random word at a time. Here is a method that works with the way these verbs are built.
Start with the verbs you will use most
You don't need every irregular verb at once. The Irregular Verbs app has 186 verbs, each marked with a CEFR level from A1 (beginner) to C2 (proficient). Begin with the 70 A1 and A2 verbs: be, have, do, go, get, make, say, see, take and the rest. They come up in almost every conversation, so you practise them every time you speak or read.
When those feel easy, move on to the B1 verbs, then the higher levels. C2 verbs such as smite or beget belong mostly to literature and formal writing, so they can wait.
Learn them in groups, not alphabetically
An alphabetical list puts begin next to bend, two verbs that change in completely different ways. Group the verbs by how their forms change instead. Most irregular verbs fit one of four patterns:
- AAA: all three forms are the same, like cut, cut, cut or put, put, put.
- ABB: the past simple and the past participle are the same, like bring, brought, brought. This is the largest group in the app.
- ABA: the past participle is the same as the base form, like come, came, come. Only a few verbs do this.
- ABC: all three forms are different, like begin, began, begun.
Inside each group, look for smaller families that change in the same way. Many verbs with i in the base form change it to a in the past simple and to u in the past participle:
| Base form | Past simple | Past participle | Meaning | Level |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| sing | sang | sung | Make musical sounds with the voice, especially words with a set tune. | A1 |
| ring | rang | rung | (Of a bell, phone, or alarm) make a clear, resonant sound. | B1 |
| drink | drank | drunk | Take (a liquid) into the mouth and swallow. | A1 |
| swim | swam | swum | Propel the body through water by using the limbs, or (in the case of a fish or other aquatic animal) by using fins, tail, or other bodily movement. | A2 |
| sink | sank | sunk | Go down below the surface of something, especially of a liquid; become submerged. | B1 |
Another family ends in -ought or -aught in both past forms:
| Base form | Past simple | Past participle | Meaning | Level |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| bring | brought | brought | Take or go with (someone or something) to a place. | A2 |
| buy | bought | bought | Obtain in exchange for payment. | A1 |
| think | thought | thought | Have a particular opinion, belief, or idea about someone or something. | A1 |
| fight | fought | fought | Take part in a violent struggle involving the exchange of physical blows or the use of weapons. | B1 |
| catch | caught | caught | Intercept and hold (something which has been thrown, propelled, or dropped). | A2 |
| teach | taught | taught | Show or explain to (someone) how to do something. | A1 |
Once you know one verb in a family, the others take much less effort.
Always say the three forms together
Learn go, went, gone as one unit, like a short chant, rather than go on its own. When you need the past participle later, the rhythm brings it back. Say the forms out loud too: hearing them helps, especially with verbs whose spelling and sound don't match, like buy, bought, bought.
Put every verb in a sentence
A form you have only seen in a list is hard to use in conversation. For each new verb, read an example, then write two sentences of your own: one with the past simple and one with the past participle.
- I began the course in May. I have begun three courses this year.
- She wrote a letter. She has written to him every week.
Every verb page on this site has the app's own example sentence and the verb's meaning in your language, so you can check what a verb means before you use it.
Test yourself a little every day
Recognising a form is easier than producing it. Cover the last two columns of a list and say them from memory, or ask a friend to read you base forms. Short, regular sessions let you come back to each verb before you forget it.
The Irregular Verbs app is built for this: browse the list, study with flashcards and test yourself on the three forms, in a few minutes a day.
Watch out for the usual mistakes
- Using the past participle on its own: I seen it should be I saw it or I have seen it. See past simple vs past participle.
- Adding -ed to an irregular verb: buyed should be bought, and teached should be taught.
- Mixing up similar verbs: lie, lay, lain (be in a resting position) and lay, laid, laid (put something down).