Irregular Verbs List in English (V1 – V2 – V3) With Examples

Irregular verbs are one of the most important and challenging areas of English grammar. Unlike regular verbs, they do not follow a fixed pattern when changing into the past simple or past participle form. Learning the most common irregular verbs will help you speak, write, and understand English more naturally.

What Are Irregular Verbs?

Irregular verbs are verbs that do not add –ed to form the past simple (V2) or past participle (V3).

• Regular verb: work – worked – worked

• Irregular verb: go – went – gone

There is no single rule for irregular verbs, so they must be learned through exposure and practice.

Understanding V1, V2, and V3

• V1 – Base form (used in the present tense)

• V2 – Past simple form

• V3 – Past participle form (used with have / has / had)

Example:

• go – went – gone

• She has gone home.

Most Common Irregular Verbs (V1 – V2 – V3) With Examples

• be – was / were – been
  Example: She has been very patient.

• become – became – become
  Example: He became an English teacher.

• begin – began – begun
  Example: The class has begun.

• break – broke – broken
  Example: I have broken my glasses.

• bring – brought – brought
  Example: She brought her notebook.

• build – built – built
  Example: They have built a website.

• buy – bought – bought
  Example: I bought an English book.

• choose – chose – chosen
  Example: He has chosen the advanced level.

• come – came – come
  Example: She has come early today.

• do – did – done
  Example: I have done my homework.

• drink – drank – drunk
  Example: He has drunk enough water.

• eat – ate – eaten
  Example: We have eaten already.

• find – found – found
  Example: I found the answer.

• get – got – got / gotten
  Example: She has gotten better at English.

• give – gave – given
  Example: He has given useful advice.

• go – went – gone
  Example: They have gone home.

• have – had – had
  Example: I have had this book for years.

• hear – heard – heard
  Example: I heard the explanation clearly.

• know – knew – known
  Example: I have known her since 2020.

• make – made – made
  Example: She made great progress.

• see – saw – seen
  Example: I have seen this lesson before.

• take – took – taken
  Example: He has taken notes.

• think – thought – thought
  Example: I thought about your suggestion.

• write – wrote – written
  Example: She has written an email.

Irregular Verbs That Do Not Change

Some irregular verbs stay the same in all forms.

• put – put – put
  Example: She put the phone on the table.

• cut – cut – cut
  Example: He cut the paper.

• hit – hit – hit
  Example: The ball hit the wall.

• let – let – let
  Example: They let him speak.

These verbs are easy to remember and very common in daily English.

Why Learning Irregular Verbs Is Important

Irregular verbs are essential because they are:

• Used constantly in spoken and written English

• Required for past tenses and perfect tenses

• Tested in exams like IELTS, TOEFL, and the Duolingo English Test

Incorrect verb forms can lower your exam score and affect clarity.