What Are Irregular Verbs

In the usual pattern, the past tense is fairly simple: you add -ed to the verb.

If every verb worked that way, English would be much easier. But many of the most commonly used verbs form the past tense differently.

These verbs are called irregular verbs. They do not follow the general -ed pattern, and there is no single rule that lets you form them reliably. You can sometimes notice similar groups among irregular verbs, but there is no universal pattern. That is why the main forms have to be memorized.

Why Irregular Verbs Matter

Many irregular verbs belong to the core vocabulary of English. They appear in very ordinary sentences: when you say where you went, what you saw, what you did, or what you decided.

Irregular forms are not only used in the Past Simple. They also appear often in Perfect tenses and passive constructions, so they are essential for building normal English sentences with confidence. If you have to search for these forms every time, your speech becomes slower and sounds less natural.

Why Irregular Verbs Have Three Forms

Irregular verbs are usually learned in three forms:

The first form is the base form. The second form is used in the Past Simple when we talk about an action in the past: I went home late.

The third form is used in constructions such as the Present Perfect, Past Perfect, and the passive voice.

The second form is usually needed when you simply name an action in the past. The third form appears in other constructions — for example, when you talk about experience, result, or an action done to a thing or a person.

How Many Irregular Verbs Are There in English?

Modern learning lists usually include about 150–200 irregular verbs. The exact number depends on whether rare forms, older variants, and derived verbs such as rewrite — rewrote — rewritten are included.

It is better to learn them gradually:

• for A1, about 20–30 of the most common verbs are enough;
• for A2, about 50–70;
• for B1, about 100–120;
• for B2, about 150–200, including less frequent forms and British/American English variants.

At C1–C2, learners usually add rare verbs, fixed expressions, and differences between varieties of English rather than learning a completely new table from scratch.

British English and American English

The main irregular verbs are the same in British and American English. Forms such as go — went — gone or see — saw — seen are used in both varieties.

Differences usually appear in individual words. In British English, learnt, dreamt, and burnt are more common, while in American English learned, dreamed, and burned are more usual.

Why a Table Is Not Enough

A table helps you see the forms, but by itself it does not teach you to speak. You may remember drink — drank — drunk and still get stuck on a simple sentence like “We drank coffee after lunch.”

Speed matters in speech. The form has to come to mind quickly enough for the sentence to stay together.

Simple sentences like this show whether the verb is really learned: not just recognized in a table, but ready to use.

How to Learn Irregular Verbs

It is easier to start with frequent verbs. First, the forms should become recognizable: you see went and immediately understand that it is a form of go. Then you can train them in sentences:

After that, you can move on to short phrases and mini-dialogues. Gradually, irregular verbs stop being a list and begin to work in speech.

What to Remember About Irregular Verbs

Irregular verbs are so common that if you say just two or three sentences in English about the past, you will probably use at least one of them.

That is why it is better to connect the forms with short phrases and situations right away. When went, saw, made, took, thought, and understood come to mind without a pause, talking about the past becomes much easier.