English Grammar For Dummies
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Dozens and dozens of English verbs have irregular past tense forms, as well as irregular past participles. If you are studying English grammar, you may want to memorize the common irregular past and past participles listed here. This list is not exhaustive by any means, but these are common verbs English speakers use every day.

Lucky for you, English present participles, except for the occasional change from the letter y to the letter i, are fairly straightforward. Just add ing.

If you have questions about a particular verb, check your dictionary. In the following table, the first column is the infinitive form of the verb. (The infinitive is the “to + verb” form — to laugh, to cry, to learn grammar, and so on.) The second column is the simple past tense. The third column is the past participle, which is combined with has (singular) or have (plural) to form the present perfect tense. The past participle is also used with had to form the past perfect tense.

Forms of Irregular Participles
Verb Past Past Participle
bear bore borne
become became become
begin began begun
bite bit bitten
break broke broken
bring brought brought
catch caught caught
choose chose chosen
come came come
do did done
drink drank drunk
drive drove driven
eat ate eaten
fall fell fallen
feel felt felt
fly flew flown
freeze froze frozen
get got got or gotten
go went gone
know knew known
lay laid laid
lead led led
lend lent lent
lie lay lain
lose lost lost
ride rode ridden
ring rang rung
rise rose risen
run ran run
say said said
see saw seen
set set set
shake shook shaken
sing sang sung
sink sank or sunk sunk
sit sat sat
sleep slept slept
speak spoke spoken
steal stole stolen
swim swam swum
take took taken
throw threw thrown
wear wore worn
win won won
write wrote written

About This Article

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Geraldine Woods has more than 35 years of teaching experience. She is the author of more than 50 books, including English Grammar Workbook For Dummies and Research Papers For Dummies.

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