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/An irregular verb is a verb that doesn’t follow the typical rules for how its past tense and past participle are formed.
Unlike regular verbs, irregular verbs do not follow a predictable formula for forming the past tense and past participle verb tenses.
Since there are hundreds of irregular verbs in English, not all of them can be memorized.
Get insight into what irregular verbs are and 33 examples of commonly used irregular verbs.
Then, review your copy for proper grammar, spelling, and punctuation with the Originality.ai Grammar Checker.
Discussing irregular verbs requires a quick refresher. So first, let’s take a brief look at the past participle verb tense and how this looks in a regular verb.
The past participle of verb tenses describes the type or form of a verb with “have” or “has.”
In writing, the past participle creates perfect or passive tenses; it’s usually identical to the past simple form of a verb.
However, the past participle of an irregular verb isn’t formed by any predictable format or formula.
To form a past participle of a regular verb, there is a simple and specific formula: add -d or -ed to the base verb. Then, when writing perfect or passive tenses, the past participle will follow “have” or “has.”
Examples of the past participles of regular verbs:
Sometimes, a regular verb’s ending might mean changing the last letter before adding the usual -d or -ed ending:
Words ending in -y are still regular verbs because the past participle is created with the predictable ending of -ed.
Take note of the past participles above. They are the same as the simple past tense of their verbs: played, looked, washed, carried, hurried, and buried.
Irregular verbs do not follow the rule of adding -d or -ed for the simple past tense or the past participle. Some change their ending, some change a vowel in the middle, and some have no change at all.
Many times the past participle form is not the same as the simple past form of the verb. There is no simple rule for memorizing irregular verbs because they don’t follow predictable patterns.
When reviewing verb tenses for irregular verbs use a grammar checker or check a dictionary for specific guidelines.
Below are 33 examples of the past tense and past participles of irregular verbs. Notice that a verb's past tense and past participle aren’t always the same.
There is no easy way to know if a verb is irregular. If a verb’s past tense or past participle ends in -d or -ed, it is safe to assume it is a regular verb.
Determining irregularity is tricky because there is no consistent pattern or formula.
It is better to check and ensure your writing is correct and clear. A mistake in forming the past tense or past participle of a verb can distract a reader and detract from the professionalism of your content.
When in doubt, consult a dictionary, use a grammar checker, or review a list of irregular verbs.
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