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English Irregular Verbs — The Complete List with Audio

English has a few hundred irregular verbs, and they cause learners more trouble than almost anything else — you can't simply add "-ed" to make the past tense, you have to know each one. This page lists the most common English irregular verbs in their three key forms: the base form (go), the past simple (went) and the past participle (gone). They're ordered with the most frequent verbs first, because those are the ones you'll meet, and need, every single day. A few tips. Many verbs follow loose patterns (sing/sang/sung, ring/rang/rung), so it helps to learn them in small groups. Some don't change at all (cut/cut/cut), while a handful change completely (go/went/gone). The past participle is the form you use with have ("I have eaten") and in the passive ("it was made here"). Tap the 🔊 button on any row to hear all three forms spoken aloud — hearing them is one of the best ways to make the irregular shapes stick. Read through the list, then put the verbs to work in the Speakka game below, where you match each form as it falls and the patterns start to feel automatic.

Key verbs explained

• be was · been🔊 I was tired last night, and I have been busy all week.
• have had · had🔊 He had lunch an hour ago.
• do did · done🔊 She did her homework and has done it well.
• go went · gone🔊 They went home early last night.
• make made · made🔊 He made dinner for everyone.
• take took · taken🔊 We took the bus; I have taken it before.
• see saw · seen🔊 I saw the film yesterday — have you seen it?
• come came · come🔊 She came back home late in the evening.
• know knew · known🔊 He knew the answer right away.
• give gave · given🔊 They gave us a warm welcome.

All 178 irregular verbs

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