Regular and Irregular Verbs : Rules & Verbs list

Regular and Irregular Verb

Verb is the word which shows an action in a Sentence. In English there are two types of verbs regular and irregular.

Let's talk about regular and irregular verbs. Don't worry, it's not as complicated as it sounds!

• Regular verbs follow a pattern when we change their tenses. 

For example, "walk" becomes "walked" in the past tense, and "walking" in the present participle form. Easy, right?

• Now, irregular verbs are a bit trickier. They don't follow the same pattern as regular verbs. Instead, they change in unique ways when we move between tenses. 

For instance, "go" changes to "went" in the past tense, which is different from just adding "-ed" like regular verbs.

Understanding regular and irregular verbs is super important for speaking and writing correctly in English. Are you ready? So let's start.

Remember, practice makes perfect! 

1. Regular verbs : 

In these verbs add “ed” at the end of  Base form (V1) for formation of  Past simple (V2)  and Past Participle (V3).

e.g. 

Base form (V1)	Past Simple (V2)	Past Participle (V3)
Open	Opened	Opened
Want	Wanted	Wanted
Earn	Earned	Earned

a. If the verb ends with "e" simply add "d".

e.g.

Base form (V1)	Past Simple (V2)	Past Participle (V3)
Live	Lived	Lived
Like	Liked	Liked
Dance	Danced	Danced
Hate	Hated	Hated

b. If the verb ends with "Vowel + y" simply add "ed").

e.g.

Base form (V1)	Past Simple (V2)	Past Participle (V3)
Play	Played	Played
Stay	Stayed	Stayed
Enjoy	Enjoyed	Enjoyed

 c. If the verb ends with "Consonant + y" change "y to i" and add "ed" .

e.g.

Base form (V1)	Past Simple (V2)	Past Participle (V3)
Cry	Cried	Cried
Try	Tried	Tried
Fry	Fried	Fried

d. If the verb has one syllable, single vowel and ending in single consonant double the final consonant and add “ed”

e.g.

Base form (V1)	Past Simple (V2)	Past Participle (V3)
Rip	Ripped	Ripped
Nod	Nodded	Nodded
Stop	Stopped	Stopped

e. If the verb has two syllables, stress on second syllable and ending in single consonant double the final consonant and add “ed”

e.g.

Base form (V1)	Past Simple (V2)	Past Participle (V3)
Prefer	Preferred	Preferred
Commit	Committed	Committed
Submit	Submitted	Submitted

 2. Irregular Verbs : 

These Verbs form past simple and past participle in different ways. These are formed mainly in four different patterns. The main change in vowels "a,e,i,o,u".

e.g.

Sr.No.	Pattern	Base form (V1)	Past Simple (V2)	Past Participle (V3)
1	All are Same	Read	Read	Read
2	V2 & V3 are same	Think	Thought	Thought
3	V2 is different than V1 and V3	Run	Ran	Run
4	V2 & V3 are Different	Know	Knew	Known

 

Remember, Some verbs can be both regular and irregular.

e.g.

Sr.No.		Base form (V1)	Past Simple (V2)	Past Participle (V3)
1	Regular	Learn	Learned	Learned
	Irregular	Learn	Learnt	Learnt
2	Regular	Smell	Smelled	Smelled
	Irregular	Smell	Smelt	Smelt
3	Regular	Dream	Dreamed	Dreamed
	Irregular	Dream	Dreamt	Dreamt

List of some useful Irregular verbs:

Sr.No.	V1 Base Form of Verb	V2 Past Simple	V3 Past Participle
1	awake	awoke	awoken
2	be	was, were	been
3	bear	bore	borne
4	beat	beat	beat
5	become	became	become
6	begin	began	begun
7	bend	bent	bent
8	bet	bet	bet
9	bid	bid / bade	bid / bidden
10	bind	bound	bound
11	bite	bit	bitten
12	bleed	bled	bled
13	blow	blew	blown
14	break	broke	broken
15	bring	brought	brought
16	build	built	built
17	burn	burned / burnt	burned / burnt
18	burst	burst	burst
19	buy	bought	bought
20	catch	caught	caught
21	choose	chose	chosen
22	come	came	come
23	cut	cut	cut
24	dig	dug	dug
25	dive	dived / dove	dived
26	do	did	done
27	draw	drew	drawn
28	dream	dreamed / dreamt	dreamed / dreamt
29	drive	drove	driven
30	drink	drank	drunk
31	eat	ate	eaten
32	fall	fell	fallen
33	feed	fed	fed
34	feel	felt	felt
35	fight	fought	fought
36	find	found	found
37	fly	flew	flown
38	Flow	flew	flown
39	forbid	forbade	forbidden
40	forget	forgot	forgotten
41	forgive	forgave	forgiven
42	freeze	froze	frozen
43	get	got	gotten
44	give	gave	given
45	go	went	gone
46	grind	ground	ground
47	grow	grew	grown
48	glow	glew	glown
	hang	hung	hung
49	have	had	had
50	hear	heard	heard
51	hide	hid	hidden
52	hit	hit	hit
53	hold	held	held
54	hurt	hurt	hurt
55	keep	kept	kept
56	kneel	knelt	knelt
57	knit	knit	knit
58	know	knew	known
59	lead	led	led
60	leap	leaped / leapt	leaped / leapt
61	learn	learned / learnt	learned / learnt
62	leave	left	left
63	lend	lent	lent
64	lie	lay	lain
65	lose	lost	lost
66	make	made	made
67	meet	met	met
68	overcome	overcame	overcome
69	pay	paid	paid
70	prove	proved	proved / proven
71	put	put	put
72	read	read	read
73	ride	rode	ridden
74	ring	rang	rung
75	rise	rose	risen
76	run	ran	run
77	say	said	said
78	see	saw	seen
79	seek	sought	sought
80	sell	sold	sold
81	send	sent	sent
82	sew	sewed	sewed / sewn
83	shake	shook	shaken
84	shed	shed	shed
85	shine	shone	shone
86	shoot	shot	shot
87	show	showed	showed / shown
88	shut	shut	shut
89	sing	sang	sung
90	sink	sank	sunk
91	sit	sat	sat
92	sleep	slept	slept
93	slide	slid	slid
94	sow	sowed	sowed / sown
95	speak	spoke	spoken
96	spend	spent	spent
97	spill	spilled / spilt	spilled / spilt
98	spin	spun	spun
99	spit	spit / spat	spit
100	split	split	split
101	spread	spread	spread
102	stand	stood	stood
103	steal	stole	stolen
104	stick	stuck	stuck
105	sting	stung	stung
106	string	strung	strung
107	strive	strove	striven
108	swear	swore	sworn
109	sweep	swept	swept
110	swell	swelled	swelled / swollen
111	swim	swam	swum
112	swing	swung	swung
113	take	took	taken
114	teach	taught	taught
115	tear	tore	torn
116	tell	told	told
117	think	thought	thought
118	throw	threw	thrown
119	understand	understood	understood
120	upset	upset	upset
121	wake	woke	woken
122	wear	wore	worn
123	weave	weaved / wove	weaved / woven
124	wed	wed	wed
125	weep	wept	wept
126	wind	wound	wound
127	win	won	won
128	write	wrote	written

List of some useful Regular Verbs:

Sr. No.	V1	V2	V3
1	Accept	Accepted	Accepted
2	Add	Added	Added
3	Admire	Admired	Admired
4	Admit	Admitted	Admitted
5	Advise	Advised	Advised
6	Afford	Afforded	Afforded
7	Agree	Agreed	Agreed
8	Allow	Allowed	Allowed
9	Amuse	Amused	Amused
10	Analyze	Analyzed	Analyzed
11	Announce	Announced	Announced
12	Annoy	Annoyed	Annoyed
13	Answer	Answered	Answered
14	Apologize	Apologized	Apologized
15	Appear	Appeared	Appeared
16	Applaud	Applauded	Applauded
17	Appreciate	Appreciated	Appreciated
18	Approve	Approved	Approved
19	Argue	Argued	Argued
20	Arrange	Arranged	Arranged
21	Arrest	Arrested	Arrested
22	Arrive	Arrived	Arrived
23	Ask	Asked	Asked
24	Attach	Attached	Attached
25	Attack	Attacked	Attacked
26	Attempt	Attempted	Attempted
27	Attend	Attended	Attended
28	Attract	Attracted	Attracted
29	Avoid	Avoided	Avoided
30	Ban	Banned	Banned
31	Change	Changed	Changed
32	Challenge	Challenged	Challenged
33	Chase	Chased	Chased
34	Cheat	Cheated	Cheated
35	Check	Checked	Checked
36	Chew	Chewed	Chewed
37	Chop	Chopped	Chopped
38	Claim	Claimed	Claimed
39	Clap	Clapped	Clapped
40	Clean	Cleaned	Cleaned
41	Clear	Cleared	Cleared
42	Close	Closed	Closed
43	Collect	Collected	Collected
44	Communicate	Communicate	Communicate
45	Compare	Compared	Compared
46	Compete	Competed	Competed
47	Complain	Complained	Complained
48	Complete	Completed	Completed
49	Concentrate	Concentrated	Concentrated
50	Confess	Confessed	Confessed
51	Connect	Connected	Connected
52	Consider	Considered	Considered
53	Continue	Continued	Continued
54	Copy	copied	copied
55	Correct	Corrected	Corrected
56	Cough	Coughed	Coughed
57	Count	Counted	Counted
58	Crash	Crashed	Crashed
59	Crawl	Crawled	Crawled
60	Cross	Crossed	Crossed
61	Crush	Crushed	Crushed
62	Cry	Cried	Cried
63	Cure	Cured	Cured
64	Damage	Damaged	Damaged
65	Dance	Danced	Danced
66	Dare	Dared	Dared
67	Deceive	Deceived	Deceived
68	Decide	Decided	Decided
69	Decorate	Decorated	Decorated
70	Delay	Delayed	Delayed
71	Deliver	Delivered	Delivered
72	Depend	Depended	Depended
73	Describe	Described	Described
74	Deserve	Deserved	Deserved
75	Destroy	Destroyed	Destroyed
76	Develop	Developed	Developed
77	Disagree	Disagreed	Disagreed
78	Disappear	Disappeared	Disappeared
79	Disapprove	Disapproved	Disapproved
80	Discover	Discovered	Discovered
81	Dislike	Disliked	Disliked
82	Divide	Divided	Divided
83	Doubt	Doubted	Doubted
84	Dry	Dried	Dried
85	Earn	Earned	Earned
86	Educate	Educated	Educated
87	Encourage	Encouraged	Encouraged
88	Enjoy	Enjoyed	Enjoyed
89	Entertain	Entertained	Entertained
90	Escape	Escaped	Escaped
91	Examine	Examined	Examined
92	Exercise	Exercised	Exercised
93	Expand	Expanded	Expanded
94	Expect	Expected	Expected
95	Explain	Explained	Explained
96	Explode	Exploded	Exploded
97	Extend	Extended	Extended
98	Face	Faced	Faced
99	Fail	Failed	Failed
100	Fasten	Fastened	Fastened
101	Fear	Feared	Feared
102	Fill	Filled	Filled
103	Float	Floated	Floated
104	Fold	Folded	Folded
105	Follow	Followed	Followed
106	Fool	Fooled	Fooled
107	Frighten	Frightened	Frightened
108	Fry	Fried	Fried
109	Gather	Gathered	Gathered
110	Gaze	Gazed	Gazed
111	Grab	Grabbed	Grabbed
112	Guarantee	Guaranteed	Guaranteed
113	Guard	Guarded	Guarded
114	Guess	Guessed	Guessed
115	Guide	Guided	Guided
116	Happen	Happened	Happened
117	Harass	Harassed	Harassed
118	Harm	Harmed	Harmed
119	Hate	Hated	Hated
120	Heal	Healed	Healed
121	Help	Helped	Helped
122	Hunt	Hunted	Hunted
123	Hurry	Hurried	Hurried
124	Identify	Identified	Identified
125	Ignore	Ignored	Ignored
126	Imagine	Imagined	Imagined
127	Improve	Improved	Improved
128	Include	Included	Included
129	Increase	Increased	Increased
130	Inform	Informed	Informed
131	Instruct	Instructed	Instructed
132	Interrupt	Interrupted	Interrupted
133	Introduce	Introduced	Introduced
134	Invite	Invited	Invited
135	Irritate	Irritated	Irritated
136	Join	Joined	Joined
137	Jump	Jumped	Jumped
138	Kick	Kicked	Kicked
139	Kill	Killed	Killed
140	Kneel	Kneeled	Kneeled
141	Knock	Knocked	Knocked
142	Laugh	Laughed	Laughed
143	Learn	Learned	Learned
144	Lick	Licked	Licked
145	Lie	Lied	Lied
146	Like	Liked	Liked
147	Listen	Listened	Listened
148	Live	Lived	Lived
149	Look	Looked	Looked
150	Manage	Managed	Managed
151	Marry	Married	Married
152	Measure	Measured	Measured
153	Memorize	Memorized	Memorized
154	Mix	Mixed	Mixed
155	Move	Moved	Moved
156	Multiply	Multiplied	Multiplied
157	Need	Needed	Needed
158	Obey	Obeyed	Obeyed
159	Observe	Observed	Observed
160	Obtain	Obtained	Obtained
161	Occur	Occurred	Occurred
162	Open	Opened	Opened
163	Owe	Owed	Owed
164	Own	Owned	Owned
165	Pass	Passed	Passed
166	Perform	Performed	Performed
167	Permit	Permitted	Permitted
168	Pinch	Pinched	Pinched
169	Play	Played	Played
170	Pour	Poured	Poured
171	Practice	Practiced	Practiced
172	Pray	Prayed	Prayed
173	Prefer	Preferred	Preferred
174	Prepare	Prepared	Prepared
175	Present	Presented	Presented
176	Preserve	Preserved	Preserved
177	Press	Pressed	Pressed
178	Pretend	Pretended	Pretended
179	Produce	Produced	Produced
180	Promise	Promised	Promised
181	Protect	Protected	Protected
182	Pull	Pulled	Pulled
183	Punch	Punched	Punched
184	Punish	Punished	Punished
185	Push	Pushed	Pushed
186	Question	Questioned	Questioned
187	Rain	Rained	Rained
188	Raise	Raised	Raised
189	Reach	Reached	Reached
190	Receive	Received	Received
191	Recognize	Recognized	Recognized
192	Reduce	Reduced	Reduced
193	Refuse	Refused	Refused
194	Reject	Rejected	Rejected
195	Release	Released	Released
196	Remember	Remembered	Remembered
197	Remind	Reminded	Reminded
198	Remove	Removed	Removed
199	Repair	Repaired	Repaired
200	Repeat	Repeated	Repeated
201	Replace	Replaced	Replaced
202	Reply	Replied	Replied
203	Reproduce	Reproduced	Reproduced
204	Request	Requested	Requested
205	Rob	Robed	Robed
206	Rub	Rubbed	Rubbed
207	Save	Saved	Saved
208	Scare	Scared	Scared
209	Scold	Scolded	Scolded
210	Scratch	Scratched	Scratched
211	Scream	Screamed	Screamed
212	Search	Searched	Searched
213	Slap	Slapped	Slapped
214	Slip	Slipped	Slipped
215	Smile	Smiled	Smiled
216	Snatch	Snatched	Snatched
217	Sneeze	Sneezed	Sneezed
218	Snore	Snored	Snored
219	Spill	Spilled	Spilled
220	Spoil	Spoiled	Spoiled
221	Stare	Stared	Stared
222	Start	Started	Started
223	Stay	Stayed	Stayed
224	Stir	Stirred	Stirred
225	Stitch	Stitched	Stitched
226	Stop	Stopped	Stopped
227	Strengthen	Strengthened	Strengthened
228	Stretch	Stretched	Stretched
229	Succeed	Succeeded	Succeeded
230	Suffer	Suffered	Suffered
231	Suggest	Suggested	Suggested
232	Supply	Supplied	Supplied
233	Support	Supported	Supported
234	Suppose	Supposed	Supposed
235	Surprise	Surprised	Surprised
236	Talk	Talked	Talked
237	Tease	Teased	Teased
238	Thank	Thanked	Thanked
239	Tickle	Tickled	Tickled
240	Tie	Tied	Tied
241	Touch	Touched	Touched
242	Trust	Trusted	Trusted
243	Try	Tried	Tried
244	Turn	Turned	Turned
245	Use	Used	Used
246	Vanish	Vanished	Vanished
247	Visit	Visited	Visited
248	Wait	Waited	Waited
249	Walk	Walked	Walked
250	Wander	Wandered	Wandered
251	Want	Wanted	Wanted
252	Warn	Warned	Warned
253	Wash	Washed	Washed
254	Waste	Wasted	Wasted
255	Watch	Watched	Watched
256	Wipe	Wiped	Wiped
257	Wish	Wished	Wished
258	Work	Worked	Worked
259	Worry	Worried	Worried
260	Wrap	Wrapped	Wrapped
261	Yawn	Yawned	Yawned
262	Yell	Yelled	Yelled
263	Die	Died	Died
264	Study	Studied	Studied
265	Stab	Stabbed	Stabbed
266	Call	Called	Called
267	End	Ended	Ended
268	Finish	Finished	Finished
269	Cook	Cooked	Cooked
270	Boil	Boiled	Boiled
271	Deduct	Deducted	Deducted
272	Love	Loved	Loved
273	Borrow	Borrowed	Borrowed
274	Order	Ordered	Ordered
275	Swallow	Swallowed	Swallowed
276	Solve	Solved	Solved
277	Cover	Covered	Covered
278	Bark	Barked	Barked
279	Chirp	Chirped	Chirped
280	Heat	Heated	Heated
281	Roast	Roasted	Roasted
282	Belch	Belched	Belched
283	Hiccup	Hiccupped	Hiccupped
184	Treat	Treated	Treated
185	Chat	Chatted	Chatted
186	Insult	Insulted	Insulted
187	Dry	Dried	Dried
188	Deny	Denied	Denied
189	Brush	Brushed	Brushed
190	Elect	Elected	Elected
191	Select	Selected	Selected
192	Carry	Carried	Carried
193	Climb	Climbed	Climbed
194	Praise	Praised	Praised
195	Blame	Blamed	Blamed
196	Return	Returned	Returned
197	Rest	Rested	Rested
198	Believe	Believed	Believed
199	Vomit	Vomited	Vomited
200	Worship	Worshiped	Worshiped
201	Pamper	Pampered	Pampered
202	Enter	Entered	Entered
203	Abuse	Abused	Abused
204	Comb	Combed	Combed
205	Drop	Dropped	Dropped
206	Dip	Dipped	Dipped
207	Exclude	Excluded	Excluded
208	Cancel	Canceled	Canceled
209	Lift	Lifted	Lifted
210	Smoke	Smoked	Smoked
211	Neglect	Neglected	Neglected
212	Demand	Demanded	Demanded
213	Disturb	Disturbed	Disturbed
214	Quarrel	Quarreled	Quarreled
215	Inquire	Inquired	Inquired
216	Bless	Blessed	Blessed
217	Curse	Cursed	Cursed
218	Purchase	Purchased	Purchased
219	Boast	Boasted	Boasted
220	Murder	Murdered	Murdered
221	Import	Imported	Imported
222	Control	Controlled	Controlled
223	Pluck	Plucked	Plucked
224	Celebrate	Celebrated	Celebrated
225	Propose	Proposed	Proposed
226	Travel	Traveled	Traveled
227	Discuss	Discussed	Discussed
228	Confuse	Confused	Confused