Examples Of Irregular Verbs | Fast Grammar Reference

Irregular verbs can feel tricky at first, especially if you learned regular verbs and their simple -ed endings. Yet these verbs appear in almost every sentence you read or hear in English. When you know how they work, you read faster, write with more confidence, and sound more natural in conversation.

This article explains what irregular verbs are, how they differ from regular verbs, and how the main patterns work. You will see a clear table of common forms, longer sentences with context, and study tips that help the forms stay in your memory.

Common Irregular Verb Forms At A Glance

Before we work through longer examples, it helps to see a compact set of forms in one place. The table below shows high-frequency verbs with their base form, past simple, and past participle.

Base Form	Past Simple	Past Participle
be	was / were	been
have	had	had
go	went	gone
take	took	taken
see	saw	seen
come	came	come
get	got	got / gotten
make	made	made
write	wrote	written
say	said	said

You can see many of these forms, plus a longer list, in the British Council irregular verbs reference.

What Are Irregular Verbs?

A regular verb forms the past simple and past participle by adding -ed or -d to the base form. A clear case is that work becomes worked, and play becomes played. The pattern is predictable and you can apply it to thousands of verbs.

An irregular verb does not follow this pattern. The past forms change in other ways, such as a vowel change, a consonant change, or a complete change in the word. In some cases all three forms differ, as in go, went, gone. In other cases two forms stay the same, as in put, put, put.

Learners sometimes worry that irregular verbs are random. They are not. Many verbs fall into helpful groups, and the groups give you patterns that cut memorisation time. Later sections walk through those groups with short sentences and practical notes.

Examples Of Irregular Verbs In Everyday English

The main goal of this article is to give clear examples of irregular verbs that you can copy and adapt in your own speaking and writing. This section moves from the most common verbs to less frequent ones, with notes about meaning and usage.

Everyday Verbs You Hear All The Time

Some irregular verbs appear in nearly every kind of English text, no matter the level. If you can handle these, the rest of the list feels much lighter.

To Be

Base: be   Past simple: was / were   Past participle: been

Examples:

• I was tired after the long exam.
• They were late for class.
• She has been so helpful this week.

To Have

Base: have   Past simple: had   Past participle: had

Examples:

• We had a quiz yesterday.
• He has had that phone for years.

To Go

Base: go   Past simple: went   Past participle: gone

Examples:

• She went to the library after school.
• They have gone to visit their grandparents.

Irregular Verbs With Vowel Changes

Many irregular verbs change only the vowel in the middle of the word while the first and last letters stay the same. This pattern appears in groups such as sing, sang, sung and drink, drank, drunk.

• She drank a glass of water after her run.
• He has drunk three cups of coffee today.
• They sang the school song together.
• The choir has sung at many events.

Irregular Verbs With No Change At All

A smaller group of irregular verbs keeps the same form in the base, past simple, and past participle. These verbs are easy to recognise; the challenge is to treat them as irregular, not regular.

Common examples include put, cut, cost, and set. Notice how the sentence shows past time while the verb form does not change.

• I put my notes on the desk this morning.
• She has put a lot of work into this project.
• The tickets cost more last year.
• The mistake has cost the team several marks.

Why So Many Irregular Verb Forms Exist

English grew from older languages over many centuries. Some verbs kept older patterns instead of shifting to the regular -ed ending. That history explains why many common verbs in modern English still use older forms.

A compact reference such as the Cambridge Dictionary table of irregular verbs can help this kind of pattern study. You can compare forms quickly and then build your own examples.

Pattern Groups Showing Irregular Verb Examples

The phrase examples of irregular verbs includes many different shapes. You can cut through the noise by sorting verbs into pattern groups. Each group shares a similar type of change from the base form to the past forms.

Group 1: All Three Forms Different

This group includes verbs where the base form, past simple, and past participle all change. Here are some common members of this group with short sample sentences.

• take – took – taken: She has taken careful notes.
• begin – began – begun: The lesson began at nine.
• write – wrote – written: He has written three essays.
• speak – spoke – spoken: They have spoken about the problem.

Group 2: Same Past Simple And Past Participle

In this group, the base form changes once and then stays the same in the past simple and past participle. Once you see the pattern, you can remember both past forms at the same time.

• build – built – built: They have built a new lab.
• send – sent – sent: She has sent the email.
• learn – learnt / learned – learnt / learned: He has learned the new words.

Group 3: Same In All Three Forms

Verbs such as cut, hit, and set stay the same in every form. This looks easy, yet many learners try to add -ed by mistake. Repeating sentences aloud can help fix the correct form in your mind.

• She cut the paper into small pieces.
• He has cut sugar from his diet.
• The coach set a clear target.
• The rules have set clear limits.

Study Table: Irregular Verb Patterns With Sentences

This second table organises verbs by pattern group and gives a full sentence for each entry. You can read across each row to see how the form changes and how the verb works in context.

Pattern	Verb Forms	Sample Sentence
All forms different	go – went – gone	They have gone home after the test.
All forms different	see – saw – seen	She has seen that film many times.
Same past forms	keep – kept – kept	He has kept every worksheet.
Same past forms	feel – felt – felt	They felt nervous before the exam.
All forms same	hit – hit – hit	The ball hit the window during practice.
All forms same	set – set – set	The teacher set a short writing task.
Vowel change only	ring – rang – rung	The phone rang during the lesson.

Building Your Own Irregular Verb Sentences

The phrase these irregular verb examples should not mean a list you read once and forget. The most helpful practice task is to build your own short sentences. Start with a group of five verbs, write one sentence for the past simple, and a second sentence for the present perfect.

One simple plan is to pick go, take, write, make, and see. Write a short story in the past simple first. Then rewrite the same story with the present perfect. This small switch trains your eye to match the correct verb form to the time reference in each sentence.

Reading level-appropriate material also builds your skill with irregular verbs. Graded readers, news summaries for learners, and exam practice books give you repeated contact with the same core verbs. Every time you notice a form, say it aloud once or twice and picture the base form at the same time.

Practical Tips For Remembering Irregular Verbs

Steady practice works much better than one long, heavy session. Ten minutes a day with a focused list gives you more progress than an hour of random review.

Use Small, Themed Lists

Instead of one long page of forms, break your study into themes. One day you might choose travel verbs such as go, bring, take, and come. Another day you can work with study verbs such as write, read, learn, and understand.

Say each list aloud in order: base form, past simple, past participle. Then close your eyes and try to repeat the forms from memory. If one verb does not come easily, mark it and return to it later in the week.

Connect Forms To Real Tasks

Link each new verb to a task from your own life. If you learn the verb write, think about emails, reports, or exam answers that you prepare. Use the new form in a real sentence you could say in class or at work.

You can also keep a short notebook or digital document with irregular verb sentences. Each time you meet a new verb, add a line with the three forms plus a sentence. Over time this becomes a personal reference that reflects your real needs and topics.

Test Yourself In Both Directions

During review, try to move both from base form to past forms and from a past form back to the base. Hide two columns in a table and see how many forms you can recall without looking. Then switch the hidden column and repeat the test.

Many learners also like simple online quizzes. These tools give instant feedback and point out verbs that need more practice. When you notice repeated errors with a verb such as drive or begin, add extra sentences with that verb to your notebook.

How To Fit Irregular Verbs Into Daily Study

Irregular verbs sit at the centre of accurate English grammar. Instead of treating them as a separate topic, mix them into reading, listening, speaking, and writing practice.

You might read a short article each day and circle all irregular verb forms, then rewrite a few sentences in a different tense. You might listen to a podcast or video and pause to write down sentences with past forms. You can even work with a study partner and quiz each other on random verbs from your lists.

As the forms become familiar, your attention can shift from verb shape to style and meaning. That change makes reading smoother, writing clearer, and speaking more natural. With steady contact and smart practice, irregular verbs turn from a barrier into a normal part of your English skill set.