Catch 3 verb forms. Irregular verbs of the English language and their translation. Ways to form irregular verbs

Verb- this is an independent part of speech that answers the questions what to do?, what to do? (to be, to study, to dream, to go...)

According to the method of formation of past tense forms (V2) and past participles (V3), all verbs of the English language are divided into 2 groups: regular verbs (Regular Verbs) and irregular verbs (Irregular verbs).

The English verb has three forms. Verb forms are designated by Roman numerals I, II, III.

I form(or an infinitive without to), for example: to make (to do) – make – the first, or main form, which answers the question what to do?, what to do? Using the first form of the verb, the Present Simple Tense is formed. When forming Present Simple Tense, the ending is added to the I form of the verb in the 3rd person singular (he, she, it – he, she, it) –s or -es(he jumpes, she jumpes, it jumpes, he cries, she cries, it cries, he does, she does, it does) . With other pronouns (I, we, you, you, they - I, we, you, you, they) the I form of the verb is used without changes.

II form serves to form the simple past tense (Past Simple Tense). When forming the simple past tense, both regular and irregular verbs are used. Regular verbs form II and III forms by adding a suffix to the stem I form –ed(jump – jumped – jump – jumped) . If the verb is not regular, then its past tense form corresponds to the second column in the table of irregular verbs (be – was/were, do – did, make – made).

III form- Participle II (Participle II) is a special form of the verb that denotes the attribute of an object by action and answers the questions of the adjective (lost, baked, made). For regular verbs, form III coincides with form II: jump (I) – jumped (II) – jumped (III) (jump – jumped – jumped). II and III forms of irregular verbs can be formed in various ways, indicated below.

Regular verbs

Regular verbs form II and III forms by adding a suffix to the stem I form -ed (-d), which is pronounced like:

[ d] after vowels and voiced consonants: to clean (clean) – cleaned (cleaned); to play (play) - played (played);
[ t] after the deaf ones: to work (work) – worked (worked), to look (look) – looked (looked);
after [d] And [t]: to want (want) – wanted (wanted), to mend (repair) – mended (repaired).

When forming II and III forms of verbs, pay attention to the following spelling rules:

If the I form is a short root syllable and ends with one consonant, then when adding the ending –ed the last vowel of the root is doubled: to stop (stop) – sto pped(has stopped).
-y, preceded by a consonant, the letter y changes to i: to carry (carry) - carried (carried), to study (study) - studied (studied). But if the stem of the verb ends in -y, preceded by a vowel, then simply adds to the stem of the verb - ed: to play (play) – played (played), to stay (stay) – remained (remained).
If the stem of the verb ends in -e, which is not pronounced, then II and III forms of the verb are formed by adding the ending - d: to arrive (arrive) – arrived (arrived).

Irregular Verbs

Irregular Verbs- these are verbs that have special, fixed forms of the past tense and participles; their forms do not have a clear formation algorithm and are acquired by memorizing: to make (to do) - made (made) - made (made). Most English irregular verbs are native English, derived from verbs that existed in Old English. Most irregular verbs exist as remnants of historical conjugation systems (changing the verb according to persons - I'm going, you're going, he's going...).

Irregular verbs are used to form the past simple (Past Simple), present perfect (Present Simple), past perfect tenses (Past Perfect), in passive voice (Passive voice), when converting direct speech into indirect speech (Reported speech), in conditional sentences ( Conditional sentences).

table of irregular verbs

Infinitive		Past Tense		Past Participle		Translation
arise	[ə"raiz]	arose	[ə"rəuz]	arises	[ə"riz(ə)n]	arise, appear
awake	[ə"weik]	awoke	[ə"wəuk]	awoken	[ə"wəukən]	wake up, wake up
be		was,were	,	been		be
bear		bore		born		give birth, bring
beat		beat		beaten	["bi:tn]	beat
become		became		become		become
begin		began		begun		start off)
bend		bent		bent		bend, bend
bind		bound		bound		bind
bite		bit		bitten	["bɪtn]	bite)
bleed		bled		bled		bleed
blow		blew		blown		blow
break		broke		broken	["broukən]	break)
breed		bred		bred		bring up
bring		brought		brought		bring
build		built		built		build
burn		burnt		burnt		burn, burn
burst		burst		burst		burst out, explode
buy		bought		bought		buy
cast		cast		cast		throw, pour (metal)
catch		caught		caught		catch, grab
choose		chose		chosen	["tʃouzən]	choose, select
come		came		come		come
cost		cost		cost		cost
cut		cut		cut		cut
dig		dug		dug		dig, dig
do		did		done		do
draw		drew		drawn		draw, drag
dream		dream		dream		dream, dream
drink		drank		drunk		drink
drive		drove		driven	["drɪvən]	drive
eat		ate		eaten	["i:tn]	There is
fall		fell		fallen	["fɔ:lən]	fall
feed		fed		fed		feed
feel		felt		felt		feel
fight		fought		fought		fight
find		found		found		find
fit		fit		fit		fit to size
fly		flew		flown		fly
forget		forgot		forgotten		forget
forgive		forgave		forgiven		forgive
freeze		froze		frozen	["frouzən]	freeze
get		got		got		receive
give		gave		given	["gɪvən]	give
go		went		gone		go, walk
grow		grew		grown		grow
hang		hung		hung		hang, hang out
have		had		had		have
hear		heard		heard		hear
hide		hid		hidden	["hɪdn]	hide
hit		hit		hit		hit the target
hold		held		held		hold
hurt		hurt		hurt		injure, bruise
keep		kept		kept		keep, preserve
kneel		knelt		knelt		kneel
knit		knit		knit		knit (knitting)
know		knew		known		know
lay		laid		laid		put
lead		led		led		lead, lead
lean		leant		leant		tilt
learn		learn		learn		learn
leave		left		left		leave, leave
lend		tape		tape		borrow, borrow
let		let		let		let
lie		lay		lain		lie
light		lit		lit		illuminate, light up
lose		lost		lost		lose
make		made		made		do
mean		meant		meant		to mean
meet		met		met		meet
mistake		mistook		mistaken		make a mistake
pay		paid		paid		to pay
put		put		put		put, put
read		read		read		read
ride		rode		ridden	["rɪdn]	ride
ring		rank		rung		call, ring
rise		rose		risen	["rɪzən]	get up
run		ran		run		run
say		said		said		speak
see		saw		seen		see
seek		sought		sought		search
sell		sold		sold		sell
send		sent		sent		send
set		set		set		put, put
shake	[ʃeɪk]	shook	[ʃʊk]	shaken	["ʃeɪkən]	shake
shine	[ʃaɪn]	shone	[ʃoun, ʃɒn]	shone	[ʃoun, ʃɒn]	shine, shine, glisten
shoot	[ʃu:t]	shot	[ʃɒt]	shot	[ʃɒt]	fire
show	[ʃou]	showed	[ʃoud]	shown	[ʃoun]	show
shrink	[ʃriŋk]	shrank	[ʃræŋk]	shrunk	[ʃrʌŋk]	to sit down (about material), to reduce (to), to reduce (to)
shut	[ʃʌt]	shut	[ʃʌt]	shut	[ʃʌt]	close
sing		sang		sung		sing
sink		sank		sunk		drown
sit		sat		sat		sit
sleep		slept		slept		sleep
smell		smelt		smelt		sniff, smell
slide		slide		slide		slide
sow		sowed		south		sow, sow
smell		smelled		smelled		sniff, smell
speak		spoke		spoken	["spoukən]	speak
spell		spelled		spelled		to spell
spend		spent		spent		spend
spill		spilt		spilt		shed
spit		spat		spat		spit
split		split		split		split
spoiler		spoilt		spoilt		spoil
spread		spread		spread		distribute
stand		stood		stood		stand
steal		stole		stolen	["stoulən]	steal
stick		stuck		stuck		stick, stick, persist
sting		stung		stung		sting
strike		struck		struck		strike, strike
strive		strove		striven	["strɪvn]	try, strive
swear		swore		sworn		take an oath
sweep		swept		swept		revenge, sweep
swim		swam		swum		swim
take		took		taken	["teɪkən]	take, take
teach		taught		taught		learn
tear		tore		torn		tear
tell		told		told		tell
think	[θɪŋk]	thought	[θɔ:t]	thought	[θɔ:t]	think
throw	[θrou]	threw	[θru:]	thrown	[θroun]	throw
understand	[ʌndər "stænd]	understood	[ʌndər "stʊd]	understood	[ʌndər "stʊd]	understand
upset	[ʌp"set]	upset	[ʌp"set]	upset	[ʌp"set]	upset, upset (plans), upset
wake		woke up		woken	["woukən]	wake up
wear		wore		worn		wear
weep		wept		wept		cry
wet		wet		wet		wet, moisturize
win		won		won		win, win
wind		wound		wound		wriggle, wind, wind (watch)
write		wrote		written	["rɪtn]	write

How to remember forms of irregular verbs?

Ladies and gentlemen, it's time for shameless and daring cramming! This is how you can remember the most commonly used irregular verbs with pronunciation, which we have carefully selected for you, just as the leaves of the best varieties of tea are selected. Autumn is in full swing - brew some tea and let's go over the 3 forms of irregular verbs. Let's go!

Good to know that some of these verbs have the same spelling and pronunciation of all 3 forms, but there is also an insidious verb read, 2 and 3 forms of which are read . So pay attention! And don't screw this up!

Basic irregular verbs with the same forms

So, at first it will be much easier to memorize the above-mentioned irregular verbs of the English language than to cram everything. Here they are:

bet bet
burst explode)
cast cast a shadow, drop
cost cost, estimate
cut cut
fit fit (about clothes)
hit hit, strike
hurt injure, hurt, damage
let allow, allow
put put, put
quit leave, leave
rid rid
set install, install, configure
shed[ʃed] to shed (tears)
shit shit
shut[ʃʌt] close
slit cut
split divide, split, split
spread distribute
wet wet

In general, there are as many as 638 irregular verbs in the English language. But, fortunately, about 200+ are mostly used, and of these, the 100 most popular ones are used. Of course, you can learn all 638 and write a bestseller or retell Shakespeare in English. But do you really need that?

3 more verbs, the 1st and 3rd forms of which are the same:

come came come come
become became become become
run ran run run

Ways to form irregular verbs

So, easy! If the verb in Past Simple and Past Participle does not have the ending “- ed"(I felt / she has forgiven) - then he wrong, that is, verbs forming the Past Simple and Past Participle forms don't add ending «- ed» to the infinitive form, but are formed in other wonderful ways.

Like this, for example:

Change root vowels on " o"and adding graduation To 3 form:

break[brek] br o ke br o k en["brəuk(ə)n] (c)break
choose ch o se ch o se n["tʃəuz(ə)n] choose
forget forg o t forg o t ten forget
freeze fr o ze fr o ze n freeze, freeze
get g o t gott en["gɔtn] receive
speak sp o ke sp o ke n["spəuk(ə)n] talk
steal st o le st o le n["stəulən] steal
tear t o re t o r n tear
wake w o ke w o ke n["wəuk(ə)n] wake up
wear w o re w o r n put on

Change root vowels on " o» only in 2 verb form:

drive dr o ve driven ["drɪv(ə)n] to drive a car
ride r o de ridden ["rɪd(ə)n] to ride on horseback
rise r o se risen ["rɪz(ə)n] rise
write wr o te written ["rɪt(ə)n] write

Appearing in 2 form graduation «- ew", and in 3 — «- own"

blow bl ew bl own blow
fly fl ew fl own fly
grow gr ew gr own grow, grow
know kn ew kn own know
throw[θrəu]thr ew[θru:]thr own[θrəun] to throw

Changing endings 2 And 3 forms on "- ought" And "- aught»

bring br ought br ought bring
buy b ought b ought buy
catch c aught c aught catch
fight f ought f ought fight
seek s ought s ought search
teach t aught t aught teach
think[θɪŋk]th ought[θɔ:t]th ought[θɔ:t] to think

Change " ee" on " e» in 2 And 3 verb form + change in pronunciation

keep k e pt k e pt hold
sleep sl e pt sl e pt sleep
feel f e lt f e lt feel
bleed bl e dbl e d bleed
feed f e d f e d feed
meet m e t m e t meet
lead l e d l e d lead

Alternating vowels at the root of the word in all 3 forms according to the principle “ i-a-u»:

begin beg a nbeg u n start
drink dr a nk dr u nk drink
ring r a ng r u ng call
shrink[ʃrɪŋk] shr a nk [ʃræŋk] shr u nk [ʃrʌŋk] to shrink
sing s a ng s u ng sing
sink s a nk s u nk to sink, to sink
spring spr a ng spr u ng to arise, jump out
swim sw a m sw u m swim

And now! The most incorrect English verbs at all! They are so wrong that Dr. Evil himself (from the Austin Powers films) would be shocked! They defy explanation and logic, they do whatever they want, in a word, they are simply destroyers of the system! But what are the necessary and useful ones:

be was/were been to be, to be
do did done do
go went gone go
have had had have
make made made do, manufacture

Is there some more incorrect and at the same time correct verbs, kind of inverted verbs. Check it out!

VERB	2 FORM	3 FORM	TRANSLATION
bereave		bereft/bereaved	deprive
bet	bet/betted	bet/betted	bet
broadcast["brɔ:dkɑ:st]	broadcast/broadcasted	broadcast/broadcasted	broadcast, convey
burn	burned/burnt	burned/burnt	burn, burn
bust	busted/bust	busted/bust	organize a raid
chide	chided/chid	chided/chidden	scold
clothe	clothed/clad	clothed/clad	dress
crow	crew/crowed	crowed	crow, shout joyfully croak, sneer
dive	dived/dove	dived	dive
dream	dreamed/dreamt	dreamed/dreamt	dream, dream
forecast["fɔ:kɑ:st]	forecast/forecasted ["fɔ:kɑ:st/"fɔ:kɑ:sted]	forecast/forecasted ["fɔ:kɑ:st/"fɔ:kɑ:sted]	to predict the weather) make a forecast
gild	gild/gilded	gild/gilded	gild gild
gird	girt/girded	girt/girded	surround, tighten (belt) attach a sword to a belt
hamstring["hæmstrɪŋ]	hamstringed/hamstrung ["hæmstrɪŋd/"hæmstrʌŋ]	hamstringed/hamstrung ["hæmstrɪŋd/"hæmstrʌŋ]	cut, mutilate
lean	lean/lean	lean/lean	tilt) bend
leap	leapt/leaped	leapt/leaped	jump, gallop
learn	learned/learnt	learned/learnt	study)
light	lit/lighted	lit/lighted	light up, illuminate
shrive[ʃraɪv]	shrove/shrived [ʃrəuv/ʃraɪvd]	shriven/shrived ["ʃrɪv(ə)n/ʃraɪvd]	confess repent
spell	spelled/spelled	spelled/spelled	spell or spell to bewitch, to bewitch
spill	spilt/spilled	spilt/spilled	spill, spill spill, spill
spoilv	spoiled/spoilt	spoiled/spoilt	(is)spoil
thrive[θraɪv]	throve/thrived [θrəuv/θraɪvd]	thriven/thrived ["θrɪv(ə)n/θraɪvd]	prosper prosper
wake	woke/awakened	woken/awakened ["wəuk(ə)n/weɪkt]	wake up

We recommend remembering the form that is most familiar to you. After all, even the verb “ work" has irregular forms Past Indefinite and Past Participle (in both cases wrought), but it is outdated and practically not used. Create your own lists of irregular verbs and distribute them into categories that are convenient for you to memorize. And everything will be just fine!

100 most popular irregular verbs in English

table of irregular verbs

Infinitive	Past Simple	Past Participle	Translation
be	was/were	been	to be, to be
beat	beat	beaten	beat, pound
become	became	become	become
be	was/were	been	to be, to be
begin	began	begun	start off
bend	bent	bent	bend
bet	bet	bet	bet
bite	bit	bitten	bite
blow	blew	blown	blow, exhale
break	broke	broken	break, smash destroy
bring	brought	brought	bring, bring deliver
build	built	built	build, construct
buy	bought	bought	buy, acquire
catch	caught	caught	catch, catch grab
choose	chose	chosen	choose, elect
come	came	come	come, approach
cost	cost	cost	cost, cost
cut	cut	cut	cut, cut
deal	dealt	dealt	deal, distribute
dig	dug	dug	dig, dig
do	did	done	do, perform
draw	drew	drawn	draw, draw
drink	drank	drunk	drink
drive	drove	driven	ride, give a ride
eat	ate	eaten	eat, absorb eat
fall	fell	fallen	fall
feed	fed	fed	feed
feel	felt	felt	feel, feel
fight	fought	fought	fight, battle fight
find	found	found	find, discover
fly	flew	flown	fly
forget	forgot	forgotten	forget about (something)
be	was/were	been	to be, to be
forgive	forgave	forgiven	forgive
freeze	froze	frozen	freeze, freeze
get	got	got	receive, get
give	gave	given	give, give, donate
go	went	gone	go, move
grow	grew	grown	grow, grow up
hang	hung	hung	hang up, hang up hang
have	had	had	have, possess
hear	heard	heard	hear, hear
hide	hid	hidden	hide, conceal
hit	hit	hit	hit, strike
hold	held	held	hold, hold detain
hurt	hurt	hurt	injure, bruise to cause a pain
keep	kept	kept	store, preserve support
know	knew	known	know, have an idea
lay	laid	laid	put cover
lead	led	led	lead, accompany lead
leave	left	left	leave, leave leave, leave
lend	tape	tape	lend lend (lend)
let	let	let	allow, allow
lie	lay	lain	lie
light	lit	lit	light up, glow illuminate
lose	lost	lost	lose, be deprived lose
make	made	made	do, create manufacture
mean	meant	meant	mean, mean mean
meet	met	met	meet, get acquainted
pay	paid	paid	pay, pay pay off
put	put	put	put, place put
read	read	read	read, read
ride	rode	ridden	ride, ride
ring	rank	rung	ring, ring
rise	rose	risen	ascend, rise get up
run	ran	run	run, run
say	said	said	talk, say pronounce
see	saw	seen	see
seek	sought	sought	search, look for
sell	sold	sold	sell, trade
send	sent	sent	send, send send
set	set	set	install, set assign
shake	shook	shaken	shake, shake
shine	shone	shone	shine, shine, illuminate
shoot	shot	shot	fire
show	showed	shown/showed	show
shut	shut	shut	close, lock shut
sing	sang	sung	sing, hum
sink	sank	sunk	to sink, to sink
sit	sat	sat	sit, sit down
sleep	slept	slept	sleep
speak	spoke	spoken	talk, talk speak out
spend	spent	spent	spend, spend spend time)
stand	stood	stood	stand
steal	stole	stolen	steal, steal
stick	stuck	stuck	glue
strike	struck	struck/stricken	hit, hit hit
swear	swore	sworn	swear, swear
sweep	swept	swept	sweep/sweep swipe
swim	swam	swum	swim/float
swing	swung	swung	swing, spin
take	took	taken	take, grab, take
teach	taught	taught	teach, train
tear	tore	torn	tear, tear off
tell	told	told	tell
think	thought	thought	think, think ponder
throw	threw	thrown	throw, throw throw
understand	understood	understood	understand, comprehend
wake	woke up	woken	wake up, wake up
wear	wore	worn	wear clothes)
win	won	won	win, win
write	wrote	written	write, record

Memory game

We are talking about the analogy of a card “fool”. Irregular verbs in English are written on the cards, each form on a separate card. One deck contains about 20 verbs, that's 60 cards. Players are dealt 6 cards. The one with the initial form of the verb goes first. The next one must put the first or second form of this verb, or another verb in the initial form. For example: the first player makes a move with “go”, the second must put “went” or “gone”, or another verb in the initial form, for example, “come”. Further - by analogy. There is also a joker - this is a verb in which all forms are the same, for example “hit-hit-hit”. With the Joker, you can change the top card, that is, order the form of the verb that the owner of the Joker needs. If there are no suitable cards, then you need to take from the deck until you get one. The deck is disassembled to the end, and the one who does not have a single card left wins. The game is going great! Try it!

We hope that learning English irregular verbs will now become easier! And so that you have no doubts, we invite you to take a trial lesson! Don't be shy ;)

Big and friendly EnglishDom family

The main difficulty with English verbs is that in English there is no rule by which their past form is formed. And worse than that, there is no logic in her education.

To use these verbs in the past tense, you need to memorize them. Moreover, many irregular verbs have two different past tense forms. To do this, you will need constant practice, which you can get in English courses for adults from Easy Speak.

Since when using irregular verbs you will come across the concepts of “verb forms” more than once, in this article we will look at what they are.

What are the forms of English verbs?

A verb is an action that someone/something does. For example: lie down, run, jump, swim.

All English verbs are divided into regular and irregular. Knowing whether a verb is regular or irregular is necessary in order to use it in the past tense.

In Russian we add "l" at the end to put the verb in the past tense.

Present time: reading, writing, walking, swimming.

Past tense: read, wrote, walked, swam.

In English, some verbs are formed according to rules, while others are not. I think you've already guessed that this is the difference between regular and irregular verbs.

Regular verbs in English- these are those verbs whose past form is formed according to the rules by adding the ending -ed.

For example

work - worked,
work - worked.

Irregular verbs in English- these are verbs whose past form is not formed according to the rules. At the same time, there is no logic in its education.

For example

buy - bought,
buy - bought.

One of the main difficulties for students is that there is no rule by which one can determine whether a verb is regular or irregular. You can find out only by looking it up in the dictionary or memorizing it.

Verb form is how the verb changes depending on the time it is used.

Both regular and irregular verbs have 3 forms.

Verb forms in English

All verbs have 3 forms.

First form verb- this is the verb itself in the present tense, in the initial form.

For example

(to) work - to work,
(to) do - to do,
(to) buy - buy.

Second form verb is a verb in the past tense (this form is used in all simple past tenses).

worked - worked,
did - did,
bought - bought.

Third form of the verb is a verb in the past tense, which also carries the characteristics of an object (this form is used in the tenses of the Perfect group).

worked - worked,
done - done,
bought - bought.

Note: Of course, when using the 3rd form in our speech, we do not translate it literally, but translate it in the usual past tense.

For example

I have done my homework.
I did my homework (Literally: I did my homework).

How are English verb forms formed?

In regular verbs, both forms of the past tense are formed according to the same rule, so attention is usually not focused on them.

To form the 2nd and 3rd forms, we add the ending -ed to the verb.

Work - worked - worked.

For irregular verbs, the 2nd and 3rd forms can:

coincide with each other.

Have-had-had,
have - had.

differ.

Do - did - done,
do - did.

This is precisely the complexity of irregular verbs. To use all 3 forms correctly, you need to memorize them.

Let's look again at the table of formation of 3 forms of verbs.

Table of verb forms in English.

Verb	1 form	2nd form education	3rd form education
Correct			Add the ending -ed to the verb.
Wrong	The initial form is a verb without changes.	We use the 2nd form of the verb.	We use the 3rd form of the verb.

In the article, we looked at the most popular ways to memorize irregular verbs and chose the most effective one.

English is a language of exceptions, where when learning a new grammatical rule, students are faced with a dozen buts in which this rule does not apply. One of these rules is the use of irregular verbs in the past tense. For many English learners, this topic is a nightmare. But you can’t do without them, because these are the realities of English! However, there is good news - modern English is gradually getting rid of irregular verbs, replacing them with regular ones. Why and how - we'll look at it in the article.

Why are English verbs irregular?

Not only foreigners, but also native speakers themselves experience difficulty in using irregular verbs. But nevertheless, for English philologists, the non-standardity of this part of speech is not a drawback, but a reason for pride. They believe that irregular verbs are a cultural monument that perpetuates the history of the English language. The explanation for this fact is the Germanic roots of the origin of irregular verbs, which makes British English a traditional variant of the language. For comparison, Americans are trying hard to get rid of the irregular shape, converting it into the correct one. Therefore, the list of non-standard verbs increases for those who learn both versions of the language. Thus, the incorrect version is ancient, which is reflected in prose and poetry.

How many forms does a verb have in English?

Speaking about verbs in English, it should be noted that they have 3 forms:

infinitive, aka ;
I, or Participle I, - this form is used in the simple past tense (Past Simple) and the 2nd and 3rd cases of the conditional mood (Conditional of the 2-d and of the 3-d case);
Past Participle II, or Participle II, for the simple perfect tense of the past tense (Past Perfect), passive voice (Passive Voice) and conditional of the 3-d case.

The table "Three in English" is presented later in the article.

What are regular and irregular verbs? Education rules

Regular verbs are those in which the past form (Past Simple) and the form Participle II (Participle II) are formed by adding the ending -ed to the initial form. The table "Three verb forms in English. Regular verbs" will help you better understand this rule.

There are some features when forming Participle I and Participle II:

if the verb ends with the letter -e, then adding -ed does not double it;
The consonant in monosyllabic verbs is duplicated when added. Example: stop - stopped (stop - stopped);
if the verb ends in -y with a preceding consonant, then y changes to i before adding -ed.

Verbs that do not obey the general rule in the formation of tense forms are called irregular. In English, these include the Past Simple and Participle II verb forms.

Irregular verbs are formed using:

ablauta, in which the root changes. Example: swim - swam - swum (swim - swam - swam);

the use of suffixes different from those accepted in the grammar of the language. Example: do - did - done (do - did - did);

identical or unchangeable form. Example: cut - cut - cut (cut - cut - cut).

Due to the fact that each irregular verb has its own inflection, they should be learned by heart.

There are a total of 218 irregular verbs in the English language, of which approximately 195 are in active use.

Recent research in the field of language shows that rare verbs are gradually disappearing from the language due to the replacement of the 2nd and 3rd forms with forms of the regular verb, that is, the addition of the ending - ed. This fact is confirmed by the table “Three verb forms in English” - the table presents a number of verbs that have both regular and irregular forms.

table of irregular verbs

The table "Three Forms of Irregular Verbs in English" includes the most frequently used verbs. The table shows 3 forms and translation.

Irregular verbs came to modern English from Old English, which was spoken by the Angles and Saxons - British tribes.

Irregular verbs evolved from so-called strong verbs, each of which had its own type of conjugation.

Researchers from Harvard found that the majority of verbs used are irregular, and they will remain so because they are used more often than others.

There is also a phenomenon in the history of the English language when a regular verb became irregular. For example, sneak, which has 2 forms - sneaked and snuck.

Not only English learners have problems with verbs, but also native speakers, as even they find themselves in awkward situations when it comes to this difficult part of speech.

One of them is Jennifer Garner, who all her life was sure that sneak was the correct verb.

She was corrected by the host of one of the programs in which the actress took part. With a dictionary in hand, he pointed out to Jennifer her mistake.

Therefore, you should not be upset if you make mistakes when using irregular verbs. The main thing is that they do not become systematic.

Regular verbs

The table "Three forms of regular verbs in English with transcription and translation" is compiled on the basis of the most frequently used verbs.

		Past Participle I and II
ask
answer
allow
agree
borrow, borrow

copy, rewrite
prepare
close

carry, drag
call, call
discuss
decide, decide
explain	explain
slide
cry, scream
finish, finish, end

shine
rub
grab
to help
happen, happen
manage
look


like
move, move
manage
to be necessary, to need
open
recall


suggest	sadgesture
study, study
stop, cease
start off
travel
speak
transfer	translate
try, try
use
worry
walk, walk
look

work

Examples of using 3 forms of verbs with translation

Above we looked at 3 forms of verbs in English. A table with examples of use and translation will help reinforce the topic.

Here, for each grammatical construction, two examples are given - one with regular and one with irregular verbs.

Grammar design	Example in English	Translation
Past Simple	Peter worked yesterday. She felt bad last week.	Peter worked yesterday. She didn't feel well last week.
Present Perfect Tense	James has already helped me. Have you ever been to Thailand?	James has already helped me. Have you ever been to Thailand?
Past Perfect Tense	I understood that I had used my last ticket. Helen noticed that she had forgotten her documents at home.	I realized that I had used the last ticket. She realized that she had forgotten the documents at home.
Passive Voice	Amy was taken to the zoo last Sunday. A baby is sung a lullaby every night.	Amy was taken to the zoo last Sunday. The baby is sung a lullaby every night.
Conditional	If I had money, I would buy a car. If she could help us, she would have done it.	If I had money, I would buy a car. If she could help us, she would.

Exercises

To better memorize irregular verbs, you need not only to learn them by heart and repeat them, but also to perform various exercises.

Exercise 1. Here is the table "Three verb forms in English. Irregular verbs." Fill in one of the three missing forms.

Exercise 2. Here is the table "Three verb forms in English. Regular verbs." Insert forms Participle I and II.

Exercise 3. Using the tables, translate the following sentences into English.

I was reading a book.
We saw them yesterday.
The Smiths lived in London until 2000. They then moved to Manchester.
Alice was a university student in 2014.
They worked in the same company two years ago.
He just finished training.
When we were children, my mother often took us to this park.
I drove a toy car as a child.

Answers to the exercises

Exercise 1.

Exercise 2.

asked, borrowed, closed, decided, explained, helped, started, traveled, used, worked.

Exercise 3.

I read a book.
We saw them yesterday.
The Smiths lived in London till 2000. Then they moved to Manchester.
Alice was a student of Univercity in 2014.
They worked in the same company two years ago.
He has just finished training.
When we were children we took for a walk to this park.
I drove a toy car in my childhood.

Make it a habit to periodically repeat the basic forms of the English verb. A table with irregular verbs, doing exercises and periodic repetition will help you quickly cope with the difficulties of the English language.

Our topic today is getting to know such an interesting phenomenon as forms of irregular verbs. As you know, the English language is very cunning. This language often lays all sorts of traps for us. One of them is irregular verbs. English is not the only language that has irregular verbs. The French language is also rich in irregular verbs. Irregular English verbs have three or four forms?

Romanian language, German language, Latin language, Greek language also contain irregular verbs. And even the Russian language is replete with them. I think you have repeatedly heard about irregular verbs in English, in other words Irregular Verbs. Why are such verbs called irregular? It's very simple: in the past tense they are conjugated in their own way, have their own special form, while all other verbs in the past tense have an ending -ed.

How to distinguish irregular verbs from regular ones?

For comparison, let's conjugate 3 regular regular verbs in the Past Simple:

*Work -* ra		sing
I worked	I translated	I managed
You worked	You translated	You managed
He worked	He translated	He managed
She worked	She translated	She managed
It worked	It translated	It managed
We worked	We translated	We managed
They worked	They translated	They managed

As you can see, all 3 verbs are conjugated the same way, according to the pattern of stem + ending -ed.

The situation is completely different in the case of irregular verbs. Let's conjugate 3 more verbs in the simple past tense (Past Simple), which are irregular, and here pay attention to the fact that each of these verbs has its own, completely different form at the end or even at the root of the word:

*Blow* blow	*Go -* go	*Bring -* bring
I blew	I went	I brought
You blew	You went	You brought
He blew	He went	He brought
She blew	She went	She brought
It blew	It went	It brought
We blew	We went	We brought
They blew	They went	They brought

Even the naked eye can see that each of these verbs appeared in its own form, completely different from the others. The catch is that there is no specific rule by which you can find out the form of an irregular verb. Each of them is conjugated differently. The English language, friends, is full of tricks and underwater reefs. Another catch is that each irregular verb has not one form, but three.

Three forms of irregular verbs

So what are these three forms?

The first is the infinitive or initial (indefinite) form of the verb
The second is Past Participle I, that is, the form that corresponds to the simple past tense (Past Simple), it is also used in the 2nd and 3rd cases of the conditional mood (Conditional of the 2-d and of the 3-d case)
The third is Past Participle II, the one that is used in the present perfect tense (Present Perfect) and in the long past tense (Past Perfect). The same form is used in the passive voice (Passive Voice), in the conditional mood of the 3-d case and some other grammatical rules.

Here are some examples of 3 forms of irregular verbs:

To arise - arose - arisen - to rise
To be - was, were - been - to be
To bear - bore - born - to give birth
To become - became - become - become, become
To begin - began - began - to begin
To catch - caught - caught - to catch, to catch
To choose - chose - chosen - to choose
To dig - dug - dug - dig, dig
To dream - dreamt - dreamt - dream, dream
To feel - felt - felt - to feel
To forget - forgot - forgotten - to forget
To have - had - had - to have

Now let’s look at these 3 forms using example sentences in all of the above verb tenses.

So, the simple past tense of the verb (Past Simple Tense):

Yesterday she felt herself bad ( to feel). — Yesterday she felt bad. Last Wednesday we met Jim ( to meet). — Last Wednesday we met Jim. Last night I dream you ( to dream). “Last night I dreamed about you.” I was in Paris last year ( to be) — I was in Paris last year.

Present Perfect Tense:

I have just seen him ( to see). - I just saw him. Tom has already brought my books ( to bring). — Tom has already brought my books. Have you ever been in London ( to be)? - Have you ever been in London? Ann has already forgotten her boy-friend ( to forget).- Anna has already forgotten her boyfriend.

Past Perfect Tense:

I noticed that I had forgotten my keys ( to forget). — I noticed that I forgot my keys. He understood that he had lost his documents ( to lose). — He realized that he had lost his documents.

Passive Voice:

The dog is fed by me ( to feed). — The dog was fed by me (I fed the dog). Made in France ( to make). - Made in France.

Conditional mood of the 2nd and 3rd cases (Conditional). The second and third forms appear here:

If I had money, I would buy a car ( to have). — If I had money, I would buy a car (real condition). If I had money, I would have bought a car ( to have, to buy).- If I had money, I would buy a car (unreal condition, past tense).
How to learn all forms of irregular verbs?

Cheat sheet for memorizing Irregular Verbs

As mentioned above, there are no rules by which the forms of irregular verbs are formed; everyone has their own. But we hope that this poetic form will help you quickly remember these irregular verbs:

To write-wrote-written
To eat-ate-eat
To speak-spoke-spoken
To break-broken-broken

To come-come-come
To become-became-become
To run-run-run
To swim-swam-swum

To know-knew-known
To throw-threw-thrown
To blow-blew-blown
To fly-flown

Tossing-sang-sung
To ring-rang-rung
To hide-hid-hidden
To bite-bit-bitten

To send-sent-sent
To spend-spent-spent
To sleep-slept-slept
To keep-kept-kept

To tell-told-told
To sell-sold-sold
To teach-taught-taught
To catch-caught-caught

To fight-fought-fought
To think-thought-thought
To buy-bought-bought
To bring-brought-brought

To cut-cut-cut
To shut-shut-shut
To cost-cost-cost
To lose-lost-lost

To lead-led-led
To feed-fed-fed
To feel-felt-felt
To hold-held-held

From this funny poetic form we see that some irregular verbs have the same letter combinations, which allows them to rhyme and thereby make it easier for us to remember them.

"Fourth" form of irregular verbs

There is a common belief that there is also a 4th form of irregular verbs. This 4th configuration is formed according to the scheme stem + ending -ing. It defines the Present Participle, that is, the present participle in such tenses as the Present Continuous and the Past Continuous. In other words, it is the present and past tense of the imperfect form. It follows from this that there are not 3, but 4 forms of irregular verbs. But this 4th configuration is, as it were, unofficial.

Let's look at this very 4th form using examples of sentences with the Present Continuous:

The same 4th form in sentences with Past Continuous.