List of English irregular verbs

This is a list of irregular verbs in the English language. The citation form (the infinitive) comes first (with a link to the Wiktionary article on the verb), together with the present tense forms when they are different, then the preterite or simple past, and finally the past participle. The right hand column notes whether they are weak or strong and whether they belong to a subclass, and links to discussions elsewhere. Typical irregularities in weak verbs are the assimilation of dentals ("bended" → "bent") and vowel reduction ("*keeped" → "kept").

It should be noted that many of these verbs are irregular in British or American English only; in many cases, such as "spell" ("spelt" vs. "spelled"), "learn" ("learnt" vs. "learned"), and "spill" ("spilt" vs. "spilled"), American English uses the regular form, while British English tends to favor the irregular. In other cases, the opposite is true ("dived" and "sneaked" in Britain, also "dove" and "snuck" in the U.S.); Australian English tends to follow British practice, while Canadian English often sides with American usage. See further at American and British English differences. In this table, the preferred or more common usage is generally listed first, though for some words usage is nearly equal for both choices.

Present tense irregular verbs

(†) Though the list of verbs irregular in the preterite or perfect tenses is long, the list of irregular "present tense" verbs is very short. Excepting verbs like "shall" and "can" that do not inflect at all in the present tense, there are only four:

*: "I have, you have, he has, we have, they have".
* (and compounds such as "gainsay" and "naysay"): "I say, you say, he says, we say, they say" where "says" is pronounced "sɛz" or "sɛs" in contrast to "seɪ", the pronunciation of the infinitive and the other present tense forms.
* (and compounds such as "undo" and "redo"): "I do, you do, he does, we do, they do" where "does" is pronounced "dəz" in contrast to "du", the pronunciation of the infinitive and the other present tense forms.
*: "I am, you are, he is, we are, they are"; in addition, the preterite forms are irregular: "I was, you were, he was, we were, they were".

Additional note

These verbs from the list above are spelled the same in the simple past as in the present tense (excluding compounds such as "set, beset, inset, upset" etc.): "beat, bet, burst, cast, cost, cut, hit, hurt, let, put, quit, read, rid, set, shed, shut, slit, split, spread." (Note that of all the preceding, only "read" is pronounced differently in the past tense from the present tense.)

It should also be noted that there are some differences between U.S. and British usage, for instance the form "snuck" is not used in British English.

See also: or the .

External links

* [http://thestar.com.my/english/story.asp?file=/2005/9/8/lifefocus/11943482&sec=lifefocus Mind Our English: Strong and weak] by Ralph Berry
* , wikibook
* [http://www.usingenglish.com/reference/irregular-verbs/ English Irregular Verb List] A comprehensive list of English irregular verbs, including their base form, past simple, past participle, 3rd person singular, and the present participle / gerund.
* [http://www.theirregularverbs.com TheIrregularVerbs] All the irregular verbs of the English language. Conjugation, pronunciation, translation and examples.
* [http://www.verbbusters.com/vsearch.php verbbusters] Searchable reference of English irregular verbs and cognates, with audio.