ABC
Irregular verbs with three different forms
The three forms are different, like begin, began, begun. Learners often call this the ABC pattern. Here are the 70 verbs in the Irregular Verbs app that follow it, with their meaning and CEFR level. Learning verbs in groups like this can make their forms easier to remember.
| Base form | Past simple | Past participle | Meaning | Level |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| be | was or were | been | Exist. | A1 |
| begin | began | begun | Start; perform or undergo the first part of (an action or activity). | A1 |
| choose | chose | chosen | Pick out or select (someone or something) as being the best or most appropriate of two or more alternatives. | A1 |
| do | did | done | Perform (an action, the precise nature of which is often unspecified). | A1 |
| draw | drew | drawn | Produce (a picture or diagram) by making lines and marks, especially with a pen or pencil, on paper. | A1 |
| drink | drank | drunk | Take (a liquid) into the mouth and swallow. | A1 |
| drive | drove | driven | Operate and control the direction and speed of a motor vehicle. | A1 |
| eat | ate | eaten | Put (food) into the mouth and chew and swallow it. | A1 |
| fly | flew | flown | Move through the air. | A1 |
| give | gave | given | Freely transfer the possession of (something) to (someone); hand over to. | A1 |
| go | went | gone | Move from one place to another; travel. | A1 |
| know | knew | known | Be aware of through observation, inquiry, or information. | A1 |
| see | saw | seen | Perceive with the eyes; discern visually. | A1 |
| sing | sang | sung | Make musical sounds with the voice, especially words with a set tune. | A1 |
| speak | spoke | spoken | Say something in order to convey information, an opinion, or a feeling. | A1 |
| take | took | taken | Lay hold of (something) with one's hands; reach for and hold. | A1 |
| write | wrote | written | Mark (letters, words, or other symbols) on a surface, typically paper, with a pen, pencil, or similar implement. | A1 |
| break | broke | broken | Separate or cause to separate into pieces as a result of a blow, shock, or strain. | A2 |
| fall | fell | fallen | (Of a person) lose one's balance and collapse. | A2 |
| forget | forgot | forgotten | Fail to remember. | A2 |
| grow | grew | grown | Become larger or greater over a period of time; increase. | A2 |
| ride | rode | ridden | Sit on and control the movement of (an animal, especially a horse), typically as a recreation or sport. | A2 |
| show | showed | shown | Allow or cause (something) to be visible. | A2 |
| steal | stole | stolen | Take (another person's property) without permission or legal right and without intending to return it. | A2 |
| 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 |
| throw | threw | thrown | Propel (something) with force through the air by a movement of the arm and hand. | A2 |
| wake | woke | woken | Emerge or cause to emerge from a state of sleep; stop sleeping. | A2 |
| wear | wore | worn | Have on one's body or a part of one's body as clothing, decoration, protection, or for some other purpose. | A2 |
| beat | beat | beaten | Strike (a person or an animal) repeatedly and violently so as to hurt or injure them, typically with an implement such as a club or whip. | B1 |
| bite | bit | bitten | (Of a person or animal) use the teeth to cut into or through something. | B1 |
| blow | blew | blown | (Of wind) move creating an air current. | B1 |
| dive | dove | dived | Plunge head first into water. | B1 |
| forgive | forgave | forgiven | Stop feeling angry or resentful toward (someone) for an offense, flaw, or mistake. | B1 |
| freeze | froze | frozen | Store (something) at a very low temperature in order to preserve it. | B1 |
| hide | hid | hidden | Put or keep out of sight; conceal from the view or notice of others. | B1 |
| lie | lay | lain | (Of a person or animal) be in or assume a horizontal or resting position on a supporting surface. | B1 |
| mistake | mistook | mistaken | Be wrong about. | B1 |
| ring | rang | rung | (Of a bell, phone, or alarm) make a clear, resonant sound. | B1 |
| rise | rose | risen | Move from a lower position to a higher one; come or go up. | B1 |
| sew | sewed | sewn | Join, fasten, or repair (something) by making stitches with a needle and thread or a sewing machine. | B1 |
| shake | shook | shaken | (Of a structure or area of land) tremble or vibrate. | B1 |
| sink | sank | sunk | Go down below the surface of something, especially of a liquid; become submerged. | B1 |
| tear | tore | torn | Pull or rip (something) apart or to pieces with force. | B1 |
| forbid | forbade | forbidden | Refuse to allow (something). | B2 |
| shave | shaved | shaven | Cut the hair off one's face with a razor. | B2 |
| shrink | shrank | shrunk | Become or make smaller in size or amount. | B2 |
| swear | swore | sworn | Make a solemn statement or promise undertaking to do something or affirming that something is the case. | B2 |
| swell | swelled | swollen | (Especially of a part of the body) become larger or rounder in size, typically as a result of an accumulation of fluid. | B2 |
| arise | arose | arisen | (Of a problem, opportunity, or situation) emerge; become apparent. | C1 |
| awake | awoke | awoken | Stop sleeping; wake from sleep. | C1 |
| bear | bore | born or borne | Carry the weight of; support. | C1 |
| smite | smote | smitten | Strike with a firm blow. | C1 |
| sow | sowed | sown | plant (seed) by scattering it on or in the earth. | C1 |
| stink | stank | stunk | Have a strong unpleasant smell. | C1 |
| strew | strewed | strewn | Scatter or spread (things) untidily over a surface or area. | C1 |
| stride | strode | stridden | Walk with long, decisive steps in a specified direction. | C1 |
| thrive | throve | thriven | (Of a child, animal, or plant) grow or develop well or vigorously. | C1 |
| undergo | underwent | undergone | Experience or be subjected to (something, typically something unpleasant, painful, or arduous). | C1 |
| undertake | undertook | undertaken | Commit oneself to and begin (an enterprise or responsibility); take on. | C1 |
| weave | wove | woven | Form (fabric or a fabric item) by interlacing long threads passing in one direction with others at a right angle to them. | C1 |
| withdraw | withdrew | withdrawn | Remove or take away (something) from a particular place or position. | C1 |
| beget | begot | begotten | (Typically of a man, sometimes of a man and a woman) bring (a child) into existence by the process of reproduction. | C2 |
| forsake | forsook | forsaken | Abandon (someone or something). | C2 |
| rive | rived | riven | Split or tear apart violently. | C2 |
| saw | sawed | sawn | Cut (something) using a saw. | C2 |
| shear | sheared | shorn | Cut the wool off (a sheep or other animal). | C2 |
| slay | slew | slain | Kill (a person or animal) in a violent way. | C2 |
| spring | sprang | sprung | Move or jump suddenly or rapidly upward or forward. | C2 |
| strive | strove | striven | Make great efforts to achieve or obtain something. | C2 |
| tread | trod | trodden | Walk in a specified way. | C2 |