Irregular Verbs

The past tense and past participle of regular verbs are formed by adding "ed," "t," or "d" to the present tense. The past tense and past particple of irregular verbs are just that irregular. Non-Standard use of these forms carries a definite stigma for the speaker or writer.

PRESENT TENSE
am/be arise awake bear (to carry) bear (to give birth to) beat become begin bend bet bid (to offer) bind bite bleed blow break breed bring build burst buy catch choose cling come cost creep cut deal do dig dive drag draw

PAST TENSE
was, were arose awoke bore bore beat became began bent bet bid bound bit bled blew broke bred brought built burst bought caught chose clung came cost crept cut dealt did dug dived, dove dragged drew

PAST PARTICIPLE
been arisen awakened, awoken borne born beat, beaten become begun bent bet bid bound bitten bled blown broken bred brought built burst bought caught chosen clung come cost crept cut dealt done dug dived (less common, dove) dragged drawn

The Writing Center Humphreys 116 University of Central Missouri Irregular Verbs

dream drink drive drown eat fall feed feel flow fight find fit flee fly forbid forget forgive forsake freeze get give go grind grow hang hang (to execute) hang (to suspend) have hear hide hit hold hurt keep knit know lay (to place) lead leap leave lend let

dreamed, dreamt drank drove drowned ate fell fed felt flowed fought found fit fled flew forbade forgot forgave forsook froze got gave went ground grew hung hanged hung had heard hid hit held hurt kept knitted knew laid led leaped, leapt left lent let

dreamed, dreamt drunk driven drowned eaten fallen fed felt flowed fought found fit fled flown forbidden forgotten forgiven forsaken frozen gotten, got given gone ground grown hung hanged hung had heard hidden hit held hurt kept knitted known laid led leaped, leapt left lent let

The Writing Center Humphreys 116 University of Central Missouri Irregular Verbs, continued

lie (to tell falsehood) lie (to recline) light lose make mean meet pay prove put quit raise read ride ring rise run say see seek sell send set (to place) shake shave shine (as a light) shine (to buff/polish) shoot show shrink shut sing sink sit (to be seated) sleep slide sling speak speed spend spin split

lied lay lighted, lit lost made meant met paid proved put quit raised read rode rang rose ran said saw sought sold sent set shook shaved shone shined shot showed shrank, shrunk shut sang sank, sunk sat slept slid slung spoke sped spent spun split

lied lain lighted, lit lost made meant met paid proved, proven put quit raised read ridden rung risen run said seen sought sold sent set shaken shaved, shaven shone shined shot showed, shown shrunk shut sung sunk, sunken sat slept slid, slidden slung spoken sped spent spun split

The Writing Center Humphreys 116 University of Central Missouri Irregular Verbs, continued