This is a list of irregular verbs in the English language.
For each verb listed, the citation form (the bare infinitive) is given first, with a link to the relevant Wiktionary entry. This is followed by the simple past tense (preterite), and then the past participle. If there are irregular present tense forms (see below), these are given in parentheses after the infinitive. (The present participle and gerund forms of verbs, ending in -ing, are always regular. In English, these are used as verbs, adjectives, and nouns.) In the case of modal verbs the present and preterite forms are listed, since these are the only forms that exist.
The right-hand column notes whether the verb is weak or strong and whether it belongs to a subclass, and links to descriptions elsewhere. Information about the development of these verbs generally can be found at English irregular verbs; details of the etymology and usage of specific verbs can be found by consulting Wiktionary.
In some cases, there are two or more possibilities for a given form. In the table, the preferred or more common usage is generally listed first, though for some words the usage is nearly equal for the two choices. Sometimes the usage depends on the dialect. In many cases, such as spell (spelt vs. spelled), learn (learnt vs. learned), and spill (spilt vs. spilled), American English normally uses the regular form, while British English tends to favor the irregular. In other cases, such as dive (dived vs. dove) and sneak (sneaked vs. snuck), the opposite is true. Australian, New Zealand and South African English tend to follow the British practice, while Canadian English often sides with the American usage.
The table includes selected archaic or dialectal forms, marked * (some of these forms may also be present in specialist uses).
| Verb forms | Verb class and notes | | ache/*ake – ached/*oke – ached/*aken | Strong, class 6; now regular. |
| bake – baked/*book – baked/*baken | Strong, class 6; now regular except in Northern English dialects. |
| be (am, is, are/*be) – was, were – been | Suppletive. See Indo-European copula. |
bear – bore/*bare – borne/bornforbear – forbore/*forbare – forborne/forborn *misbear – *misbore/*misbare – *misborne/misborn overbear – overbore/*overbare – overborne/overborn underbear – underbore/*underbare – underborne/underborn | Strong, class 4. The spelling born is used in passive or adjectival contexts relating to birth. |
beat – beat – beaten/beatbrowbeat – browbeat – browbeaten/browbeat overbeat – overbeat – overbeaten/overbeat | Strong, class 7 |
become – became – becomemisbecome – misbecame – misbecome | Strong, class 4 |
*beget – begot/*begat – begot/begottenmisbeget – misbegot/*misbegat – misbegotten/misbegot | Strong, class 5 |
| begin – began – begun | Strong, class 3 |
bend – bent/*bended – bent/*bendedoverbend – overbent/*overbended – overbent/*overbended unbend – unbent/*unbended – unbent/*unbended | Weak with coalescence of dentals |
| beseech – beseeched/*besought – beseeched/*besought | Weak with Rückumlaut and Germanic spirant law (now regularized) |
bet – bet/betted – bet/bettedunderbet – underbet/underbetted – underbet/underbetted | Weak with coalescence of dentals |
| betide – betided/*betid – betided/*betid | Weak with vowel shortening and coalescence of dentals (or regular) |
| beware – (no other forms) | Defective; formed from be with predicate adjective, used as infinitive, imperative and subjunctive only. Inflected forms (bewares, bewared, bewaring) are considered obsolete. |
bid [in auctions etc.] – bid – bidoutbid – outbid – outbid overbid – overbid – overbid rebid – rebid – rebid underbid – underbid – underbid | Weak with coalescence of dentals |
| bid [meaning to request or say] – bid/*bade – bid/*bidden | Strong, class 5 |
bide – bided/bode – bided/biddenabide – abided/*abode – abided/*abidden | Strong, class 1 |
bind – bound – bound/*boundenunbind – unbound – unbound/*unbounden underbind – underbound – underbound/*underbounden | Strong, class 3 |
bite – bit – bittenfrostbite – frostbit – frostbitten | Strong, class 1 |
| bleed – bled – bled | Weak with vowel shortening and coalescence of dentals |
| blend – blended/*blent – blended/*blent | Weak with devoiced ending (or regular) |
| bless – blessed/*blest – blessed/*blest | Weak, regular with alternative (archaic) spelling |
blow – blew – blownoverblow – overblew – overblown | Strong, class 7 |
break – broke/*brake – broken/*brokeoutbreak – outbroke – outbroken rebreak – rebroke – rebroken | Strong, class 4 |
breed – bred – bredinbreed – inbred – inbred interbreed – interbred – interbred overbreed – overbred – overbred | Weak with vowel shortening and coalescence of dentals |
| bring – brought – brought | Weak with Rückumlaut and Germanic spirant law |
build – built – builtoverbuild – overbuilt – overbuilt rebuild – rebuilt – rebuilt underbuild – underbuilt – underbuilt | Weak with coalescence of dentals and devoiced ending |
burn – burned/burnt – burned/burntsunburn – sunburned/sunburnt – sunburned/sunburnt | Weak with devoiced ending (or regular) |
| burst – burst/*brast – burst/*bursten | Strong, class 3 |
| bust – busted/bust – busted/bust | Strong, class 3 (or regular) |
buy – bought – bought/*boughten*abuy – *abought – *abought overbuy – overbought – overbought underbuy – underbought – underbought | Weak with Rückumlaut and Germanic spirant law |
| can [auxiliary verb] – could – (none) | Preterite-present, defective. See English modal verbs |
cast – cast – castbroadcast – broadcast – broadcast downcast – downcast – downcast forecast – forecast – forecast miscast – miscast – miscast overcast – overcast – overcast podcast – podcast – podcast precast – precast – precast recast – recast – recast simulcast – simulcast – simulcast telecast – telecast – telecast typecast – typecast – typecast undercast – undercast – undercast upcast – upcast – upcast webcast – webcast – webcast | Weak with coalescence of dentals. Many of the prefixed forms can also take -ed. |
| catch – caught/*catched – caught/*catched | Weak, French loanword conjugated perhaps by analogy with teach–taught; regular forms are now dialectal. |
| chide – chided/chid/*chode – chided/chid/chidden | Strong, class 1 |
choose – chose – chosenmischoose – mischose – mischosen | Strong, class 2 |
| clad – clad – clad | Developed from clad, the past form of clothe (see below). |
| clap – clapped/*clapt – clapped/*clapt |
| cleave [meaning to split] – cleft/clove/cleaved/*clave – cleft/cloven/cleaved | Strong, class 2, sometimes switching to weak with vowel shortening. When meaning "adhere" the verb is regular. |
| *clepe – cleped/clepen/*clept – cleped/*clept/*clepen/*yclept | Weak with vowel shortening, or regular. Obsolete or dialectal. |
| cling – clung/*clang – clung | Strong, class 3 |
clothe – clad/clothed – clad/clothedoverclothe – overclad/overclothed – overclad/overclothed unclothe – unclad/unclothed – unclad/unclothed underclothe – underclad/underclothed – underclad/underclothed | Weak; the regular clothed is from OE claþian, while clad (weak with coalescence of dentals) is from OE clæþan (both OE verbs having similar meaning).[1] |
| comb – combed – combed/kempt |
come – came – come/comenforthcome – forthcame – forthcome overcome – overcame – overcome/overcomen (see also under become) | Strong, class 4 |
| cost [intransitive sense] – cost/costed – cost/costed | Weak with coalescence of dentals. Regular when meaning "calculate the cost of". |
| creep – crept/creeped/*crope – crept/creeped/*cropen | Originally strong, class 2; switched to weak with vowel shortening (or regular) |
| crow – crowed/crew – crowed/*crown | Strong, class 7. Now usually regular, but crew can still be used of a cock's crowing. |
cut – cut – cutclearcut – clearcut – clearcut crosscut – crosscut – crosscut *forcut – *forcut – *forcut intercut – intercut – intercut recut – recut – recut undercut – undercut – undercut | Weak with coalescence of dentals |
| dare (dares/dare) – dared/*durst – dared | Preterite-present, now regular except in the use of dare in place of dares in some contexts. See English modal verbs |
deal – dealt – dealtmisdeal – misdealt – misdealt redeal – redealt – redealt | Weak with vowel shortening and devoiced ending |
dig – dug/*digged – dug/*diggedunderdig – underdug – underdug | Originally weak; past form dug developed by analogy with stick–stuck[2] |
| dive – dived/dove – dived/dove | Weak, the alternative dove (found mainly in American usage) arising by analogy with strong verbs |
do (does {{IPA>/dʌz/}}) – did – donebedo (bedoes) – bedid – bedone *fordo (fordoes) – *fordid – *fordone misdo (misdoes) – misdid – misdone outdo (outdoes) – outdid – outdone overdo (overdoes) – overdid – overdone redo (redoes) – redid – redone underdo (underdoes) – underdid – underdone undo (undoes) – undid – undone | Irregular since Proto-Germanic: past tense formed by reduplication. Past participle from Old English gedon. Related to deed. |
| dow – dowed/dought – dowed/dought | Related to doughty. |
| drag – dragged/*drug – dragged/*drug | Strong, class 6, now usually regular; drug is used in some dialects |
draw – drew – drawn*adraw – adrew – adrawn bedraw – bedrew – bedrawn downdraw – downdrew – downdrawn outdraw – outdrew – outdrawn overdraw – overdrew – overdrawn redraw – redrew – redrawn *umbedraw – umbedrew – umbedrawn underdraw – underdrew – underdrawn updraw – updrew – uprawn withdraw – withdrew – withdrawn | Strong, class 6; related to draft/draught |
dream – dreamed/dreamt/*drempt – dreamed/dreamt/*dremptbedream – bedreamed/bedreamt – bedreamed/bedreamt | Weak with vowel shortening and devoiced ending (or regular) |
| dress – dressed/*drest – dressed/*drest | Weak with alternative (archaic) spelling |
drink – drank/*drunk/*drinked – drunk/*drank/*drinked/*drunkenoutdrink – outdrank/*outdrunk/*outdrinked – outdrunk/*outdrank/*outdrinked/*outdrunken overdrink – overdrank/*overdrunk/*overdrinked – overdrunk/*overdrank/*overdrinked/*overdrunken | Strong, class 3; related to drench |
drive – drove/*drave – drivenbedrive – bedrove – bedriven overdrive – overdrove/*overdrave – overdriven test-drive – test-drove/*test-drave – test-driven | Strong, class 1; related to drift |
dwell – dwelt/dwelled – dwelt/dwelledbedwell – bedwelt/bedwelled – bedwelt/bedwelled outdwell – outdwelt/outdwelled – outdwelt/outdwelled | Weak with devoiced ending (or regular) |
| earn – earned/earnt – earned/earnt | Weak with devoiced ending (or regular) |
eat – ate/*et – eatenforfret – forfretted – forfretted/forfretten fret – fretted/frate – fretted/fretten outeat – outate – outeaten overeat – overate/*overet – overeaten undereat – underate/*underet – undereaten | /eɪt/}}, sometimes {{IPA|/ɛt/}} in British English. |
fall – fell/*felled – fallen/*felledbefall – befell/*befelled – befallen/*befelled *misbefall – misbefell/*misbefelled – misbefallen/*misbefelled *misfall – misfell/*misfelled – misfallen/*misfelled outfall – outfell – outfallen | Strong, class 7 |
feed – fed – fedbottle-feed – bottle-fed – bottle-fed breastfeed – breastfed – breastfed force-feed – force-fed – force-fed hand-feed – hand-fed – hand-fed misfeed – misfed – misfed overfeed – overfed – overfed self-feed – self-fed – self-fed spoon-feed – spoon-fed – spoon-fed underfeed – underfed – underfed | Weak with vowel shortening and coalescence of dentals |
feel – felt – feltforefeel – forefelt – forefelt | Weak with vowel shortening and devoiced ending |
fight – fought – fought/*foughtenbefight – befought – befought outfight – outfought – outfought | Strong, class 3 |
find – found/*fand – found/*foundenrefind – refound/*refand – refound/*refounden | Strong, class 3 |
fit – fitted/fit – fitted/fitmisfit – misfitted/misfit – misfitted/misfit | Weak with coalescence of dentals |
| flee – fled – fled | Originally strong, class 2, switched to weak with vowel shortening |
| fling – flung – flung | By analogy with strong, class 3 |
fly – flew – flownoutfly – outflew – outflown overfly – overflew – overflown test-fly – test-flew – test-flown | Strong, class 2. Regular when used for hitting a fly ball in baseball. |
| forbid – forbid/forbade/forbad – forbidden | Strong, class 5 |
| forget – forgot/*forgat – forgotten/*forgot | Strong, class 5 |
| *forlese – forlore – forlorn | Past participle remains in use adjectivally. |
| forsake – forsook – forsaken | Strong, class 6 |
freeze – froze – frozenquick-freeze – quick-froze – quick-frozen refreeze – refroze – refrozen unfreeze – unfroze – unfrozen | Strong, class 2 |
get – got/*gat – got/gotten*beget – begot/*begat – begot/begotten forget – forgot/*forgat – forgotten/*forgot *misget – misgot/*misgat – misgot/misgotten *overget – overgot/*overgat – overgot/overgotten *underget – undergot/*undergat – undergot/undergotten | Strong, class 5. Past participle is got in British usage (except in fossilized phrases such as "ill-gotten"), and gotten in American (but see have got). |
| gild – gilded/gilt – gilded/gilt | Weak with coalescence of dentals and devoiced ending (or regular) |
gird – girded/*girt – girded/*girtundergird – undergirded/*undergirt – undergirded/*undergirt | Weak with coalescence of dentals and devoiced ending (or regular) |
give – gave – givenforgive – forgave – forgiven misgive – misgave – misgiven overgive – overgave – overgiven | Strong, class 5 |
go – went – gone*bego – bewent – begone forego – forewent – foregone forgo – forwent – forgone *overgo – overwent – overgone undergo – underwent – undergone *withgo – withwent – withgone | Suppletive. See article on the verb go. |
| *grave – grove/graved – graven/graved | Strong, class 6. Past participle graven remains in use adjectivally, as in graven images in archaic language, e.g. from the 17th century. The verb engrave is regular. |
| grind – ground/grinded – ground/grinded/*grounden | Strong, class 3 |
grow – grew/*growed – grown/*growedoutgrow – outgrew/*outgrowed – outgrown/*outgrowed overgrow – overgrew/*overgrowed – overgrown/*overgrowed regrow – regrew/*regrowed – regrown/*regrowed undergrow – undergrew/*undergrowed – undergrown/*undergrowed upgrow – upgrew/*upgrowed – upgrown/*upgrowed | Strong, class 7 |
hang – hung/hanged – hung/hangedoverhang – overhung/overhanged – overhung/overhanged underhang – underhung/underhanged – underhung/underhanged uphang – uphung/uphanged – uphung/uphanged | Strong, class 7. Regularized alternative hanged was influenced by OE causative hangian, and is used chiefly for hanging as a means of execution. |
| have (has) – had – had | Weak; had results from contraction, from OE haefd. Third person present has also a result of contraction. |
hear – heard – heardbehear – beheard – beheard forehear – foreheard – foreheard mishear – misheard – misheard outhear – outheard – outheard overhear – overheard – overheard rehear – reheard – reheard unhear – unheard – unheard | heard in RP has the long vowel {{IPA>/ɜː/}}) |
heave – heaved/*hove – heaved/*hove/*hovenupheave – upheaved/*uphove – upheaved/*uphove/*uphoven | Strong, class 6, now usually regular except in nautical uses |
| help – helped/*holp – helped/*holpen | Originally strong, class 6, but now weak. |
hew – hewed/*hew – hewed/hewn*underhew – underhewed/*underhew – underhewed/underhewn | Strong, class 7 (or regular) |
| hide – hid – hidden/*hid | Weak with vowel shortening and coalescence of dentals, influenced by strong verbs |
hit – hit – hitmishit – mishit – mishit overhit – overhit – overhit underhit – underhit – underhit | Weak with coalescence of dentals |
| hoist – hoisted/hoist – hoisted/hoist | Weak, hoist was originally the past form of the now archaic verb hoise |
hold – held – held/*holdenbehold – beheld – beheld/*beholden inhold – inheld – inheld/*inholden mishold – misheld – misheld/*misholden uphold – upheld – upheld/*upholden withhold – withheld – withheld/*withholden | Strong, class 7 |
| hurt – hurt – hurt | Weak with coalescence of dentals |
keep – kept – keptmiskeep – miskept – miskept overkeep – overkept – overkept underkeep – underkept – underkept | Weak with vowel shortening |
ken – kenned/kent – kenned/kentbeken – bekenned/bekent – bekenned/bekent foreken – forekenned/forekent – forekenned/forekent misken – miskenned/miskent – miskenned/miskent outken – outkenned/outkent – outkenned/outkent | Northern and Scottish dialect word. Weak with devoiced ending (or regular) |
| kneel – knelt/kneeled – knelt/kneeled | Weak with vowel shortening and devoiced ending (or regular) |
knit – knit/knitted – knit/knittedbeknit – beknit/beknitted – beknit/beknitted hand-knit – hand-knit/hand-knitted – hand-knit/hand-knitted | Weak with coalescence of dentals (or regular); related to knot |
know – knew – known/*knowen*acknow – acknew – acknown/*acknowen foreknow – foreknew – foreknown/*foreknowen misknow – misknew – misknown/*misknowen | Strong, class 7 |
lade – laded – laden/ladedoverlade – overladed – overladen/overladed | Strong, class 6, often regularized (past participle laden is common adjectivally) |
| laugh – laughed/*laught/*laugh'd/*low – laughed/*laught/*laugh'd/*laughen | Originally strong, now weak, regular, with alternative (archaic) spelling |
lay – laid/*layed – laid/*layedbelay – belaid/*belayed – belaid/*belayed *forelay – forelaid/*forelayed – forelaid/*forelayed *forlay – forlaid/*forlayed – forlaid/*forlayed inlay – inlaid/*inlayed – inlaid/*inlayed interlay – interlaid/*interlayed – interlaid/*interlayed mislay – mislaid/*mislayed – mislaid/*mislayed onlay – onlaid/*onlayed – onlaid/*onlayed outlay – outlaid/*outlayed – outlaid/*outlayed overlay – overlaid/*overlayed – overlaid/*overlayed re-lay – re-laid/*re-layed – re-laid/*re-layed underlay – underlaid/*underlayed – underlaid/*underlayed unlay – unlaid/*unlayed – unlaid/*unlayed *uplay – uplaid/*uplayed – uplaid/*uplayed waylay – waylaid/*waylayed – waylaid/*waylayed | Weak, irregular in spelling only |
lead – led – led*belead – beled – beled *forthlead – forthled – forthled inlead – inled – inled mislead – misled – misled offlead – offled – offled onlead – onled – onled outlead – outled – outled overlead – overled – overled underlead – underled – underled *uplead – upled – upled | Weak with vowel shortening and coalescence of dentals |
| lean – leaned/leant – leaned/leant | Weak with vowel shortening and devoiced ending (or regular) |
leap – leaped/leapt/*lept/*lope – leaped/leapt/*lopenbeleap – beleaped/beleapt/*belept/*belope – beleaped/beleapt/*belopen forthleap – forthleaped/forthleapt/*forthlept/*forthlope – forthleaped/forthleapt/*forthlopen outleap – outleaped/outleapt/*outlept/*outlope – outleaped/outleapt/*outlopen overleap – overleaped/overleapt/*overlept/*overlope – overleaped/overleapt/*overlopen | Originally strong, class 7, now weak with vowel shortening (or regular) |
learn – learned/learnt – learned/learntmislearn – mislearned/mislearnt – mislearned/mislearnt overlearn – overlearned/overlearnt – overlearned/overlearnt relearn – relearned/relearnt – relearned/relearnt unlearn – unlearned/unlearnt – unlearned/unlearnt | Weak with devoiced ending (or regular) |
leave – left – left/*laftbeleave – beleft – beleft/*belaft *forleave – forleft – forleft/*forlaft overleave – overleft – overleft/*overlaft | Weak with vowel shortening and devoiced ending |
lend – lent – lent*forlend – forlent – forlent | Weak with coalescence of dentals and devoiced ending |
let – let/*leet – let/*letten*forlet – forlet/*forleet – forlet/*forletten sublet – sublet/*subleet – sublet/*subletten *underlet – underlet/*underleet – underlet/*underletten | Strong, class 7 |
lie – lay – lain*forelie – forelay – forelain *forlie – forlay – forlain overlie – overlay – overlain underlie – underlay – underlain | Strong, class 5. Regular in the meaning "tell an untruth". |
light – lit/lighted – lit/lightedalight – alit/alighted – alit/alighted backlight – backlit/backlighted – backlit/backlighted green-light – green-lit/green-lighted – green-lit/green-lighted relight – relit/relighted – relit/relighted | Weak with vowel shortening and coalescence of dentals (or regular) |
| lose – lost – lost | Originally strong, class 2, now weak with vowel shortening and devoiced ending |
make – made – maderemake – remade – remade unmake – unmade – unmade | Weak; made formed by contraction from "maked" |
| may – might – (none) | Preterite-present, defective. See English modal verbs |
| mean – meant – meant | Weak with vowel shortening and devoiced ending |
| meet – met – met | Weak with vowel shortening and coalescence of dentals |
| melt – melted/*molt – melted/molten | Strong, class 3. Now regularized, but molten survives in adjectival uses. |
| mix – mixed/*mixt – mixed/*mixt | Weak, regular, with alternative (mostly archaic) spelling |
| mow – mowed – mowed/mown | Strong, class 7. Now regularized in past tense and sometimes in past participle. |
| must – (no other forms) | Defective; originally a preterite. See English modal verbs |
| need (needs/need) – needed – needed | Weak, regular except in the use of need in place of needs in some contexts, by analogy with can, must, etc.[3] See English modal verbs |
| ought – (no other forms) | Defective; originally a preterite. See English modal verbs |
pay – paid/*payed – paid/*payedoverpay – overpaid/*overpayed – overpaid/*overpayed prepay – prepaid/*prepayed – prepaid/*prepayed repay – repaid/*repayed – repaid/*repayed underpay – underpaid/*underpayed – underpaid/*underpayed | Weak, irregular in spelling only. The spelling payed is used in the meaning of letting out a rope etc. |
| pen – penned/pent – penned/pent | Weak with devoiced ending, but usually regular; pent is sometimes used when the verb has the meaning "to enclose", and mainly adjectivally |
| plead – pled/pleaded – pled/pleaded | French loanword, weak with vowel shortening and coalescence of dentals. In North America, this verb is usually irregular. |
prove – proved – proved/provenreprove – reproved – reproved/reproven | French loanword, weak, with the alternative past participle proven by analogy with some strong verbs |
put – put – put/*putteninput – input – input/*inputten output – output – output/*outputten *underput – *underput – *underput/*underputten | Weak with coalescence of dentals. Past participle form putten is characteristic for Yorkshire and Lancashire dialects. |
*queath/*quethe – queathed/quethed/quoth/quod – queathed/quethed/quoth/quethenbequeath – bequeathed/bequethed/bequoth/bequod – bequeathed/bequethed/bequoth/bequethen | Strong, class 5. Past tense quoth is literary or archaic; other parts of that verb are obsolete. Bequeath is normally regularized in -ed. |
| quit – quit/quitted – quit/quitted | French loanword, weak, with coalescence of dentals (or regular) |
| reach – reached/*raught/*rought/*retcht – reached/*raught/*rought/*retcht | Weak, now regular (archaic raught from original conjugation like teach) |
read {{IPA>/riːd/}} – read {{IPA|/rɛd/}} – read {{IPA|/rɛd/}} / *readen*foreread – foreread – foreread/*forereaden lipread – lipread – lipread/*lipreaden misread – misread – misread/*misreaden proofread – proofread – proofread/*proofreaden reread – reread – reread/*rereaden sight-read – sight-read – sight-read/*sight-readen | Weak with vowel shortening and coalescence of dentals |
*reave – reaved/reft – reaved/reftbereave – bereaved/bereft – bereaved/bereft | Weak with vowel shortening and devoiced ending. The verb bereave is usually regular, but bereft survives as past participle, with distinct meanings. |
| rend – rent – rent | Weak with coalescence of dentals |
| rid – rid/ridded – rid/ridden/ridded | Weak with coalescence of dentals, or regular; ridden by analogy with strong verbs. |
ride – rode/*rid – ridden/*ridoutride – outrode/*outrid – outridden/*outrid override – overrode/*overrid – overridden/*overrid | Strong, class 1 |
| ring – rang/*rung – rung | By analogy with strong, class 3. Regular when meaning "surround", etc. |
rise – rose – risenarise – arose – arisen uprise – uprose – uprisen | Strong, class 1 |
| rive – rived/rove – rived/riven | From Old Norse, originally followed pattern of strong class 1, later regularized.[4] Now rarely used. |
run – ran – run*forerun – foreran – forerun outrun – outran – outrun overrun – overran – overrun rerun – reran – rerun underrun – underran – underrun | Strong, class 3 |
| saw – sawed – sawed/sawn | Weak; sawn by analogy with strong verbs[5] |
say (says {{IPA>/sɛz/}}) – said – said*forsay – forsaid – forsaid *gainsay – gainsaid – gainsaid missay – missaid – missaid *naysay – naysaid – naysaid soothsay – soothsaid – soothsaid *withsay – withsaid – withsaid | said {{IPA>/sɛd/}} and in the third person present says {{IPA|/sɛz/}} |
see – saw – seen*besee – besaw – beseen foresee – foresaw – foreseen missee – missaw – misseen oversee – oversaw – overseen sightsee – sightsaw – sightseen undersee – undersaw – underseen | Strong, class 5 |
seek – sought – soughtbeseek – besought – besought | Weak with Rückumlaut and Germanic spirant law |
| seethe – seethed/*sod – seethed/*sodden | Strong, class 2. Now regular, but sodden survives in some adjectival uses. |
sell – sold – soldoutsell – outsold – outsold oversell – oversold – oversold resell – resold – resold undersell – undersold – undersold upsell – upsold – upsold | Weak with Rückumlaut |
send – sent – sentmissend – missent – missent resend – resent – resent | Weak with coalescence of dentals |
set – set – set/*settenbeset – beset – beset/*besetten handset – handset – handset/*handsetten inset – inset – inset/*insetten misset – misset – misset/*missetten offset – offset – offset/*offsetten overset – overset – overset/*oversetten preset – preset – preset/*presetten reset – reset – reset/*resetten upset – upset – upset/*upsetten *withset – withset – withset/*withsetten | Weak with coalescence of dentals |
sew – sewed – sewn/sewed/*sewenhandsew – handsewed – handsewn/handsewed/*handsewen oversew – oversewed – oversewn/oversewed/*oversewen | Weak; sewn by analogy with strong verbs |
shake – shook – shakenovershake – overshook – overshaken | Strong, class 6 |
| shall – should – (none) | Preterite-present; defective. See English modal verbs, and shall and will |
shape – shaped/*shope – shaped/*shapen*forshape – forshaped/*forshope – forshaped/*forshapen misshape – misshaped/*misshope – misshaped/*misshapen | Originally strong, class 6, now regular, but with misshapen (and archaically shapen) still used adjectivally |
| shave – shaved/*shove – shaved/shaven | Strong, class 6, now regular, but shaven sometimes used adjectivally |
| shear – sheared/shore – shorn/sheared | Strong, class 4 (or regular) |
| shed – shed – shed | Strong, class 7 |
shine – shone/shined – shone/shined*beshine – beshone/beshined – beshone/beshined outshine – beshone/beshined – beshone/beshined overshine – beshone/beshined – beshone/beshined | Strong, class 1 |
shit – shit/shitted/shat – shit/shitted/shat/*shittenshite – shited/shit – shited/shit | Strong, class 1. The form shite is chiefly Scottish and Irish. |
shoe – shod/shoed – shodden/shod/shoedreshoe – reshod/reshoed – reshodden/reshod/reshoed | Weak with vowel shortening (or regular); shodden by analogy with strong verbs |
shoot – shot – shot/*shottenmisshoot – misshot – misshot/*misshotten overshoot – overshot – overshot/*overshotten reshoot – reshot – reshot/*reshotten undershoot – undershot – undershot/*undershotten | Strong, class 2 |
show – showed/*shew – shown/showed/*shewedforeshow – foreshowed/*foreshew – foreshown/foreshowed/*foreshewed reshow – reshowed/*reshew – reshown/reshowed/*reshewed | Weak, with participle shown perhaps by analogy with sown (from sow) |
shrink – shrank/shrunk – shrunk/shrunkenovershrink – overshrank/overshrunk – overshrunk/overshrunken | Strong, class 3; shrunken is mostly used adjectivally |
| *shrive – shrived/*shrove – shrived/*shriven | Strong, class 1 |
shut – shut – shutreshut – reshut – reshut | Weak with coalescence of dentals |
sing – sang – sung/*sungenresing – resang – resung/*resungen | Strong, class 3 |
| sink – sank/sunk – sunk/sunken | Strong, class 3. The form sunken appears in some adjectival uses. |
sit – sat/*sate – sat/*sittenbabysit – babysat/*babysate – babysat/*babysitten housesit – housesat/*housesate – housesat/*housesitten resit – resat/*resate – resat/*resitten *withsit – withsat/*withsate – withsat/*withsitten | Strong, class 5 |
| slay – slew/slayed – slain/slayed | Strong, class 6 (or regular) |
sleep – slept – sleptoversleep – overslept – overslept undersleep – underslept – underslept | Originally strong, class 7, now weak with vowel shortening |
slide – slid – slid/sliddenbackslide – backslid – backslid/backslidden overslide – overslid – overslid/overslidden | Strong, class 1 |
| sling – slung/*slang – slung | Strong, class 3 |
| slink – slunk/slinked/slank – slunk/slinked/slank | Strong, class 3 |
slip – slipped/*slipt – slipped/*slipt*overslip – *overslipped/*overslipt – *overslipped/*overslipt | Regular, with alternative (archaic) spelling |
| slit – slit – slit/slitten | Strong, class 1 |
| smell – smelled/smelt – smelled/smelt | Weak with devoiced ending (or regular) |
| smite – smote/*smit – smitten/smitted | Strong, class 1. Largely archaic; smitten is quite commonly used adjectivally. |
| sneak – sneaked/snuck – sneaked/snuck/*snucked | Weak, alternative form snuck (chiefly American) by analogy with strong verbs |
| sow – sowed/*sew – sown/sowed | Strong, class 7, with regularized past tense sowed |
speak – spoke/*spake – spoken/*spokebespeak – bespoke/*bespake – bespoken/*bespoke *forespeak – forespoke/*forespake – forespoken/*forespoke *forspeak – forspoke/*forspake – forspoken/*forspoke misspeak – misspoke/*misspake – misspoken/*misspoke | Strong, class 5 |
| speed – sped/speeded – sped/speeded | Weak with vowel shortening and coalescence of dentals (or regular) |
spell – spelled/spelt – spelled/speltmisspell – misspelled/misspelt – misspelled/misspelt | Weak with devoiced ending (or regular) |
spend – spent – spent*forspend – *forspent – *forspent misspend – misspent – misspent outspend – outspent – outspent overspend – overspent – overspent | Weak with coalescence of dentals |
spill – spilled/spilt – spilled/spiltoverspill – overspilled/overspilt – overspilled/overspilt | Weak with devoiced ending (or regular) |
spin – spun/*span – spunoutspin – outspun/*outspan – outspun | Strong, class 3 |
| spit – spat/spit – spat/spit | Weak with coalescence of dentals (for past form spit, which is common in America), or spat by analogy with strong verbs. (In the meaning of roast on a spit, the verb is regular.) |
| split – split – split | Weak with coalescence of dentals |
| spoil – spoiled/spoilt – spoiled/spoilt | Weak with devoiced ending (or regular) |
spread – spread/*spreaded – spread/*spreaded*bespread – bespread/*bespreaded – bespread/*bespreaded *forspread – forspread – forspread outspread – outspread – outspread overspread – overspread – overspread underspread – underspread – underspread | Weak with coalescence of dentals |
spring – sprang/sprung – sprung/*spranghandspring – handsprang/handsprung – handsprung/*handsprang | Strong, class 3 |
stand – stood – stood/*standenforstand – forstood – forstood/*forstanden misunderstand – misunderstood – misunderstood/*misunderstanden overstand – overstood – overstood/*overstanden understand – understood – understood/*understanden upstand – upstood – upstood/*upstanden withstand – withstood – withstood/*withstanden | Strong, class 6 |
| starve – starved/*starf/*storve – starved/*storven | Strong, class 3 |
| stave – stove/staved – stove/staved/*stoven | Originally weak; irregular forms developed by analogy with strong verbs.[6] |
| stay – stayed/*staid – stayed/*staid | Regular, with alternative spelling staid (now limited to certain adjectival uses) |
| steal – stole – stolen | Strong, class 4 |
| stick – stuck/*sticked – stuck/*sticked | Originally weak, irregular forms by analogy with strong verbs |
| sting – stung/*stang – stung | Strong, class 3 |
| stink – stank/stunk – stunk | Strong, class 3 |
| stretch – stretched/*straught/*straight – stretched/*straught/*straight | Weak, now regular; obsolete past form straught as with teach–taught |
strew – strewed – strewn/strewedbestrew – bestrewed – bestrewn/bestrewed overstrew – overstrewed – overstrewn/overstrewed | Originally weak, irregular forms by analogy with strong verbs |
stride – strode/*strided – stridden/*strode/*strid/*striddedbestride – bestrode/*bestrided – bestridden/*bestrode/*bestrid/*bestridded outstride – outstrode/*outstrided – outstridden/*outstrode/*outstrid/*outstridded overstride – overstrode/*overstrided – overstridden/*overstrode/*overstrid/*overstridded | Strong, class 1 |
strike – struck – struck/strickenoverstrike – overstruck – overstruck/overstricken | Strong, class 1. The form stricken is limited to certain adjectival and specialist uses. |
string – strung/*stringed – strung/*stringedhamstring – hamstrung/*hamstringed – hamstrung/*hamstringed overstring – overstrung/*overstringed – overstrung/*overstringed | Originally weak, irregular forms developed by analogy with strong verbs |
| strip – stripped/stript – stripped/stript |
strive – strove/strived – striven/strivedoutstrive – outstrove – outstriven overstrive – overstrove – overstriven | Strong, class 1 (or regularized) |
swear – swore – swornforswear – forswore – forsworn outswear – outswore – outsworn | Strong, class 6 |
| sweat – sweated/sweat – sweated/sweat | Weak, usually regular, possible past form sweat with coalescence of dentals |
sweep – swept/*sweeped – swept/*sweepedupsweep – upswept/*upsweeped – upswept/*upsweeped | Weak with vowel shortening |
swell – swelled/*swole/*swelt – swollen/swelledupswell – upswelled/*upswole/*upswelt – upswollen/upswelled | Strong, class 3, with regularized forms |
| *swelt – swelted/*swolt – swelted/*swolten | Strong, class 3 (or regularized). Archaic |
swim – swam/*swum – swumoutswim – outswam/*outswum – outswum | Strong, class 3 |
swing – swang/swung – swung/*swungenoverswing – overswang/overswung – overswung/*overswungen | Strong, class 3 |
*swink – swank/swonk/*swinkt/swinked – swunk/swunken/swonken/*swinkt/swinked*forswink – forswank/forswonk – forswunk/forswunken *toswink – toswank – toswunk/toswunken | Strong, class 3 |
take – took/*taked – takenbetake – betook/*betaked – betaken intake – intook/*intaked – intaken mistake – mistook/*mistaked – mistaken overtake – overtook/*overtaked – overtaken partake – partook/*partaked – partaken retake – retook/*retaked – retaken undertake – undertook/*undertaked – undertaken *uptake – uptook/*uptaked – uptaken *withtake – withtook – withtaken | Strong, class 6 |
| teach – taught/*teached – taught/*teached | Weak with Rückumlaut and Germanic spirant law |
tear – tore – tornuptear – uptore – uptorn | Strong, class 4 |
*tee – teed/tow – teed/town betee – beteed/betow – beteed/betown fortee – forteed/fortow – forteed/fortown |
tell – told/*telled – told/*telledforetell – foretold/*foretelled – foretold/*foretelled forthtell – forthtold – forthtold mistell – mistold – mistold *outtell – outtold/*outtelled – outtold/*outtelled retell – retold/*retelled – retold/*retelled | Weak with Rückumlaut; related to tale |
think – thought/*thinked – thought/*thinkedoutthink – outthought/*outthinked – outthought/*outthinked rethink – rethought/*rethinked – rethought/*rethinked | Weak with Rückumlaut and Germanic spirant law |
| thrive – throve/thrived/*thrave – thriven/thrived | Of Old Norse origin; followed strong class 1 (now archaic) or weak (regular) pattern[7] |
throw – threw/*throwed – thrown/*throwedmisthrow – misthrew/*misthrowed – misthrown/*misthrowed outthrow – outthrew/*outthrowed – outthrown/*outthrowed overthrow – overthrew/*overthrowed – overthrown/*overthrowed underthrow – underthrew/*underthrowed – underthrown/*underthrowed upthrow – upthrew/*upthrowed – upthrown/*upthrowed | Strong, class 7 |
thrust – thrust/*thrusted – thrust/*thrustedoutthrust – outthrust/*outthrusted – outthrust/*outthrusted | Weak, with coalescence of dentals (or regular) |
tread – trod/*tread/*treaded/*trodden – trodden/trod/*tread/*treadedretread – retrod/*retread/*retreaded/*retrodden – retrodden/retrod/*retread/*retreaded | Strong, class 5 (or regularized) |
| vex – vexed/*vext – vexed/*vext |
wake – woke/*waked – woken/*wakedawake – awoke/*awaked – awoken/*awaked | Strong, class 6 |
| wax – waxed/*wex – waxed/*waxen | Strong, class 7, now regularized |
wear – weared/wore – weared/worn*forwear – forweared/forwore – forweared/forworn outwear – outweared/outwore – outweared/outworn overwear – overweared/overwore – overweared/overworn | Originally weak, fell into a strong pattern by analogy with bear |
weave – wove – woveninterweave – interwove – interwoven *unweave – unwove – unwoven | Strong, class 7 |
wed – wed/wedded – wed/weddedmiswed – miswed/miswedded – miswed/miswedded rewed – rewed/rewedded – rewed/rewedded | Weak with coalescence of dentals (or regular) |
weep – wept/weeped – wept/weeped*beweep – bewept/beweeped – bewept/beweeped | Originally strong, class 7, now weak with vowel shortening |
| wend – wended/*went – wended/*went | Weak, once with coalescence of dentals and devoiced ending, but now regular; went is used as the past of go |
wet – wet/wetted – wet/wettedoverwet – overwet/overwetted – overwet/overwetted | Weak with coalescence of dentals (or regular) |
| will – would – (none) | Preterite-present, defective. See English modal verbs, and shall and will. (In non-auxiliary uses the verb is regular.) |
| win – won – won | Strong, class 3 |
wind – wound – woundrewind – rewound – rewound unwind – unwound – unwound | wind {{IPA>/wɪnd/}}, with meanings connected with air flow and breathlessness, is regular.) |
work – worked/*wrought – worked/*wroughtoverwork – overworked/*overwrought – overworked/*overwrought | Weak, now regular, formerly with Rückumlaut and metathesis of r and o |
| *worth – worth/worthed – worth/worthed/worthen | Strong, class 3, or regularized |
| wreak – wreaked/*wrought/*wrack/*wroke – wreaked/*wrought/*wreaken/*wroken | Weak, usually regular; wrought (which is in fact from work) has come sometimes to be identified with this verb (perhaps by analogy with seek–sought). Other forms by analogy with strong verbs. |
| wring – wrang/wrung/*wringed – wrung/*wringed | Strong, class 3 |
write – wrote/*writ – written/*writcowrite – cowrote/*writ – cowritten ghostwrite – ghostwrote/*ghostwrit – ghostwritten/*ghostwrit handwrite – handwrote/*handwrit – handwritten/*handwrit miswrite – miswrote/*miswrit – miswritten/*miswrit overwrite – overwrote/*overwrit – overwritten/*overwrit rewrite – rewrote/*rewrit – rewritten/*rewrit underwrite – underwrote/*underwrit – underwritten/*underwrit | Strong, class 1 |
| writhe – writhed/*wrothe – writhed/*writhen | Strong, class 1, now regularized |
| zinc – zinced/zinked/zincked – zinced/zinked/zincked |
Though the list of verbs irregular in the preterite or past participle is long, the list of irregular present tense verbs is very short. Excepting modal verbs like "shall", "will", and "can" that do not inflect at all in the present tense, there are only four (only two if pronunciation is ignored):
1. ^Oxford English Dictionary, Second Edition, entries for "clothe" and "clad".
2. ^The strong-type past form dug arose as a past participle in the 16th century, by analogy with stuck, and was used as a past tense from the 18th century. See Oxford English Dictionary, Second Edition, entry for "dig".
3. ^The use of need for needs, which has become the norm in contexts where the verb is used analogously to the modal verbs, became common in the 16th century. See Oxford English Dictionary, Second Edition, entry for "need" (verb).
4. ^Regularized (weak-type) forms of this verb are found from the 16th century onward. There is also an obsolete verb rive meaning arrive, for which weak-type forms are attested earlier. See Oxford English Dictionary, Second Edition, entries for "rive".
5. ^Strong-type past forms of this verb were sometimes used in the 15th century; the past participle sawn is a survival of this. See Oxford English Dictionary, Second Edition, entry for "saw".
6. ^The forms stove and stoven are found from the 18th century onward. See Oxford English Dictionary, Second Edition, entry for "stave".
7. ^The strong-type past forms leading to thrave (Northern) and throve are attested from the 13th and 14th centuries onward, and weak forms (leading to thrived) from the 14th. See Oxford English Dictionary, Second Edition, entry for "thrive".