Fly past form. Irregular verbs of the English language: lists of words for different levels of knowledge

Irregular verbs in English have 3 forms. The first is the infinitive or initial form (as the word is written in the dictionary), the second is used to form the Past Simple tense, and the third is the past participle (used to form Perfect tenses, passive voice and some other forms).

Students often wonder: how many irregular verbs are there in English? Different educational resources give different options, and sometimes the lists reach thousands of words! But don’t be alarmed: there are about two hundred basic verbs, and it’s absolutely possible to learn them, and the number of words often increases due to the fact that words with the same stems are included in the list. For example, the verb “to do”: make – made – made and the verb “to remake”: remake – remade – remade are often considered separate words, although the prefix “re” is simply added.

Verbs can be taught simply in alphabetical order, or they can be divided into several groups based on the formation of the second and third forms, which are similar for many verbs. Below are verbs divided according to this principle.

Unchangeable verbs:

Verbs with the same second and third forms

Verbs with matching second and third forms ending in -t

Verbs starting with –ught

Verbs changing -d to -t

Verbs with vowel change: i – a – u

Verbs with the same first and third forms

Verbs with a double consonant in the third form

Verbs with a short vowel in the second and third forms

Verbs with -e- in the second form and third form with -wn

Verbs with the third form ending in –en

The concept of “irregular verbs” when studying in English arises almost simultaneously with the beginning of a detailed study of times. The division into regular and irregular verbs in English becomes important when it becomes necessary to put the verb into the second or third form in accordance with the required tense. It is the form the verb takes in these forms that determines whether it is classified as correct or incorrect.

You can continue reading or watch the animated video, in which we tried to convey the main content of the article in 5 minutes. Once you've finished watching, be sure to follow through to assess your knowledge.

Verbs of the “regular” category have the same second and third forms; they differ from the first form only in the ending -ed.

But the irregular verbs of the English language are a special group that requires much more attention and time. The difficulty is that the methods of forming the second and third forms of these verbs defy either logic or rules:

• some of them do not change shape at all;

  cut - cut - cut (cut)

• some have the same second and third forms;

  have - had - had (to have)

• and there are also irregular verbs in English in which all three forms are different.

  do - did - done (to do)

Irregular verbs in English are like the multiplication tables in mathematics: learning by heart is long and troublesome, but it is worth it, since the enormous practical importance of both cannot be overestimated. In particular, knowledge of the forms of irregular verbs significantly expands language capabilities.

The total number of irregular verbs is about 500 (and these are not only commonly used, but also already outdated variants). If we talk about useful verbs, which can be useful in modern conditions, then you will need only 220 - 250 units from the total, i.e. literally half.

According to some linguists, knowing the entire table of irregular verbs increases your language proficiency by as much as 5%!

English irregular verbs are a ready-made set of words that are guaranteed to cover most actions from all major conversational topics.

How to distinguish regular verbs from irregular ones?

Unfortunately, since the second and third forms of irregular verbs are formed unpredictably, you will have to literally recognize them “by sight.”

All students who study English must have a table of irregular verbs. English irregular verbs with transcription and translation can be found in any, even the most primitive, textbook (usually their table is located at the end of the publication).

It is important to remember the spelling and pronunciation of the three forms of each verb in the table. That is, if the verb is irregular, you need to learn not one word, as usual, but three at once.

The table of irregular verbs in the English language is a guideline against which we will have to check for some time whether we have the correct verb in front of us or not.

As a rule, the main irregular verbs in English are the most used in speech, texts and exercises. Gradually, the forms of irregular verbs in English are remembered, and the table comes in handy less and less.

Modern English is predisposed to simplifying complex grammatical structures, and this also applies to irregular verbs. The forms of irregular verbs in English change over time and gradually tend to be “correct.” Sometimes a verb can be used both as regular and irregular. For example:

study - learn-learnt (learned) - learnt (learned)).

In ambiguous cases, exceptions, our recommendation will be the following: if in any doubt, it is better to consult the Oxford dictionary. This publication is considered by linguists to be a kind of “code” regulating the use of a particular lexeme. Modern editions of this book include not only traditional versions, but also most Americanized versions of irregular verb forms.

Where are the forms of irregular verbs used?

So, now let's move on to the most important thing: let's take a closer look at the three verb forms and their participation in English grammar:

First- this is perhaps the simplest variation - infinitive. Used:

• usually as indeterminate form;
• when using time Present Simple, and in the 3rd person singular the verb ends in -s (for example, runs, goes).

Second- speaks in the simplest and most understandable speech situations: when using Past Simple tense.

Third- past participle ( Past Participle or Participle II). There are three main options when it is used:

• as a direct past participle;
• as part of the construction of time Present Perfect;
• in the formation of all forms passive voice.

As we see, almost all aspectual and tense forms of the English language are “tied” to one form or another of verbs. Therefore, any form of the verb is important in constructing literate speech.

Learning English irregular verbs

Depending on your level of knowledge, we offer two ways to study this topic. The first is to start learning the 100 most popular irregular verbs right now using our table, which you will find just below. The second way is to study verbs while doing an online exercise.

This method is also suitable for those who learned English before, for example at school or college, but have now forgotten. The exercise will help you remember all three forms of the verb as much as possible. You can also return to the exercise after studying the table and check your acquired knowledge.

table of irregular verbs

We bring to your attention irregular verbs of the English language with translation in the form of a table. In it you can also listen to the pronunciation of verbs.

For each lexeme, only one main translation option is presented. Although, it should be remembered that the more often a word is found in everyday speech, the more meanings it usually has. For example, the word “get” can express up to 80 different actions.

The table contains the most commonly used verbs that require memorization. In the future, use them in sentences to express your thoughts grammatically in English.

Online exercise for memorizing irregular verbs

Indicate three forms of the verb in sequence, choosing a card with a word from the proposed options.

• choose
• chose
• chosen

• creep
• crept
• crept

• drink
• drank
• drunk

• drive
• drove
• driven

• fallen

• found
• found

• forgive
• forgave
• forgiven

• grown

• known

• leave

• showed
• shown

• speak
• spoke
• spoken

• stand
• stood
• stood

• taken

• teach
• taught
• taught

• understand
• understood
• understood

• write
• wrote
• written

Ladies and gentlemen, it's time for shameless and daring cramming! This is how you can remember the most commonly used irregular verbs with pronunciation, which we have carefully selected for you, just as leaves are selected the best varieties tea. Autumn is in full swing - brew some tea and let's go over the 3 forms of irregular verbs. Let's go!

Good to know that some of these verbs have the same spelling and pronunciation of all 3 forms, but there is also an insidious verb read, 2 and 3 forms of which are read . So pay attention! And don't screw this up!

Basic irregular verbs with the same forms

So, at first it will be much easier to memorize the above-mentioned irregular verbs of the English language than to cram everything. Here they are:

bet bet
burst explode)
cast cast a shadow, drop
cost cost, estimate
cut cut
fit fit (about clothes)
hit hit, strike
hurt injure, hurt, damage
let allow, allow
put put, put
quit leave, leave
rid rid
set install, install, configure
shed[ʃed] to shed (tears)
shit shit
shut[ʃʌt] close
slit cut
split divide, split, split
spread distribute
wet wet

In general, there are as many as 638 irregular verbs in the English language. But, fortunately, about 200+ are mostly used, and of these, the 100 most popular ones are used. Of course, you can learn all 638 and write a bestseller or retell Shakespeare in English. But do you really need that?

3 more verbs, the 1st and 3rd forms of which are the same:

come came come come
become became become become
run ran run run

Ways to form irregular verbs

So, easy! If the verb in Past Simple and Past Participle does not have the ending “- ed"(I felt / she has forgiven) - then he wrong, that is, verbs forming the Past Simple and Past Participle forms don't add ending «- ed» to the infinitive form, but are formed in other wonderful ways.

Like this, for example:

• Change root vowels on " o"and adding graduation To 3 form:

break[brek] br o ke br o k en["brəuk(ə)n] (c)break
choose ch o se ch o se n["tʃəuz(ə)n] choose
forget forg o t forg o t ten forget
freeze fr o ze fr o ze n freeze, freeze
get g o t gott en["gɔtn] receive
speak sp o ke sp o ke n["spəuk(ə)n] talk
steal st o le st o le n["stəulən] steal
tear t o re t o r n tear
wake w o ke w o ke n["wəuk(ə)n] wake up
wear w o re w o r n put on

• Change root vowels on " o» only in 2 verb form:

drive dr o ve driven ["drɪv(ə)n] to drive a car
ride r o de ridden ["rɪd(ə)n] to ride on horseback
rise r o se risen ["rɪz(ə)n] rise
write wr o te written ["rɪt(ə)n] write

• Appearing in 2 form graduation «- ew", and in 3 — «- own"

blow bl ew bl own blow
fly fl ew fl own fly
grow gr ew gr own grow, grow
know kn ew kn own know
throw[θrəu]thr ew[θru:]thr own[θrəun] to throw

• Changing endings 2 And 3 forms on "- ought" And "- aught»

bring br ought br ought bring
buy b ought b ought buy
catch c aught c aught catch
fight f ought f ought fight
seek s ought s ought search
teach t aught t aught teach
think[θɪŋk]th ought[θɔ:t] th ought[θɔ:t] to think

• Change " ee" on " e» in 2 And 3 verb form + change in pronunciation

keep k e pt k e pt hold
sleep sl e pt sl e pt sleep
feel f e lt f e lt feel
bleed bl e dbl e d bleed
feed f e d f e d feed
meet m e t m e t meet
lead l e d l e d lead

• Alternating vowels at the root of the word in all 3 forms according to the principle “ i-a-u»:

begin beg a nbeg u n start
drink dr a nk dr u nk drink
ring r a ng r u ng call
shrink[ʃrɪŋk] shr a nk [ʃræŋk] shr u nk [ʃrʌŋk] to shrink
sing s a ng s u ng sing
sink s a nk s u nk to sink, to sink
spring spr a ng spr u ng to arise, jump out
swim sw a m sw u m swim

• And now! The most incorrect English verbs at all! They are so wrong that Dr. Evil himself (from the Austin Powers films) would be shocked! They defy explanation and logic, they do whatever they want, in a word, they are simply destroyers of the system! But what are the necessary and useful ones:

be was/were been to be, to be
do did done do
go went gone go
have had had have
make made made do, manufacture

• Is there some more incorrect and at the same time correct verbs, kind of inverted verbs. Check it out!

We recommend remembering the form that is most familiar to you. After all, even the verb “ work" has irregular forms Past Indefinite and Past Participle (in both cases wrought), but it is outdated and practically not used. Create your own lists of irregular verbs and distribute them into categories that are convenient for you to memorize. And everything will be just fine!

100 most popular irregular verbs in English

Memory game

We are talking about the analogy of a card “fool”. Irregular verbs in English are written on the cards, each form on a separate card. One deck contains about 20 verbs, that's 60 cards. Players are dealt 6 cards. The one with the initial form of the verb goes first. The next one must put the first or second form of this verb, or another verb in initial form. For example: the first player makes a move with “go”, the second must put “went” or “gone”, or another verb in the initial form, for example, “come”. Further - by analogy. There is also a joker - this is a verb in which all forms are the same, for example “hit-hit-hit”. With the Joker, you can change the top card, that is, order the form of the verb that the owner of the Joker needs. If there are no suitable cards, then you need to take from the deck until you get one. The deck is dismantled to the end, and the one who does not have a single card left wins. The game is going great! Try it!

We hope that learning English irregular verbs will now become easier! And so that you have no doubts, we invite you to take a trial lesson! Don't be shy ;)

Big and friendly EnglishDom family

English is a language of exceptions, where when learning a new grammatical rule, students are faced with a dozen buts in which this rule does not apply. One of these rules is the use of irregular verbs in the past tense. For many English learners, this topic is a nightmare. But you can’t do without them, because these are the realities of English! However, there is good news - modern English is gradually getting rid of irregular verbs, replacing them with regular ones. Why and how - we'll look at it in the article.

Why are English verbs irregular?

Not only foreigners, but also native speakers themselves experience difficulty in using irregular verbs. But nevertheless, for English philologists, the non-standardity of this part of speech is not a drawback, but a reason for pride. They believe that irregular verbs are a cultural monument that perpetuates the history of the English language. The explanation for this fact is the Germanic roots of the origin of irregular verbs, which makes British English a traditional variant of the language. For comparison, Americans are trying hard to get rid of irregular shape, remaking it into the correct one. Therefore, the list of non-standard verbs increases for those who learn both versions of the language. Thus, the incorrect version is ancient, which is reflected in prose and poetry.

How many forms does a verb have in English?

Speaking about verbs in English, it should be noted that they have 3 forms:

• infinitive, aka ;
• I, or Participle I, - this form used in the simple past tense (Past Simple) and the 2nd and 3rd cases of the conditional mood (Conditional of the 2-d and of the 3-d case);
• Past Participle II, or Participle II, for the simple perfect tense of the long past tense ( Past Perfect), passive voice (Passive Voice) and conditional mood of the 3-d case.

The table "Three in English" is presented later in the article.

What are regular and irregular verbs? Education rules

Regular verbs are those in which the past form (Past Simple) and the form Participle II (Participle II) are formed by adding the ending -ed to the initial form. The table "Three verb forms in English. Regular verbs" will help you better understand this rule.

There are some features when forming Participle I and Participle II:

• if the verb ends with the letter -e, then adding -ed does not double it;
• The consonant in monosyllabic verbs is duplicated when added. Example: stop - stopped (stop - stopped);
• if the verb ends in -y with a preceding consonant, then y changes to i before adding -ed.

Verbs that do not obey are called irregular general rule during the formation of temporary forms. In English, these include the Past Simple and Participle II verb forms.

Irregular verbs are formed using:

ablauta, in which the root changes. Example: swim - swam - swum (swim - swam - swam);

the use of suffixes different from those accepted in the grammar of the language. Example: do - did - done (do - did - did);

identical or unchangeable form. Example: cut - cut - cut (cut - cut - cut).

Because each irregular verb has its own inflection, they must be learned by heart.

There are a total of 218 irregular verbs in the English language, of which approximately 195 are in active use.

Recent research in the field of language shows that rare verbs are gradually disappearing from the language due to the replacement of the 2nd and 3rd forms with forms of the regular verb, that is, the addition of the ending - ed. This fact is confirmed by the table “Three verb forms in English” - the table presents a number of verbs that have both regular and irregular forms.

table of irregular verbs

The table "Three Forms of Irregular Verbs in English" includes the most frequently used verbs. The table shows 3 forms and translation.

Irregular verbs came to modern English from Old English, which was spoken by the Angles and Saxons - British tribes.

Irregular verbs evolved from so-called strong verbs, each of which had its own type of conjugation.

Researchers from Harvard found that the majority of verbs used are irregular, and they will remain so because they are used more often than others.

There is also a phenomenon in the history of the English language when a regular verb became irregular. For example, sneak, which has 2 forms - sneaked and snuck.

Not only English learners have problems with verbs, but also native speakers, as even they find themselves in awkward situations when it comes to this difficult part of speech.

One of them is Jennifer Garner, who all her life was sure that sneak was the correct verb.

She was corrected by the host of one of the programs in which the actress took part. With a dictionary in hand, he pointed out to Jennifer her mistake.

Therefore, you should not be upset if you make mistakes when using irregular verbs. The main thing is that they do not become systematic.

Regular verbs

The table "Three forms of regular verbs in English with transcription and translation" is compiled on the basis of the most frequently used verbs.

Examples of using 3 forms of verbs with translation

Above we looked at 3 forms of verbs in English. A table with examples of use and translation will help reinforce the topic.

Here, for each grammatical construction, two examples are given - one with regular and one with irregular verbs.

Exercises

To better memorize irregular verbs, you need not only to learn them by heart and repeat them, but also to perform various exercises.

Exercise 1. Here is the table "Three verb forms in English. Irregular verbs." Fill in one of the three missing forms.

Exercise 2. Here is the table "Three verb forms in English. Regular verbs." Insert forms Participle I and II.

Exercise 3. Using the tables, translate the following sentences into English.

1. I was reading a book.
2. We saw them yesterday.
3. The Smiths lived in London until 2000. They then moved to Manchester.
4. Alice was a university student in 2014.
5. They worked in the same company two years ago.
6. He just finished training.
7. When we were children, my mother often took us to this park.
8. I drove a toy car as a child.

Answers to the exercises

Exercise 1.

Exercise 2.

asked, borrowed, closed, decided, explained, helped, started, traveled, used, worked.

Exercise 3.

1. I read a book.
2. We saw them yesterday.
3. The Smiths lived in London till 2000. Then they moved to Manchester.
4. Alice was a student of Univercity in 2014.
5. They worked in the same company two years ago.
6. He has just finished training.
7. When we were children we took for a walk to this park.
8. I drove a toy car in my childhood.

Make it a habit to periodically repeat the basic forms of the English verb. A table with irregular verbs, doing exercises and periodic repetition will help you quickly cope with the difficulties of the English language.

I’ll tell you a secret: regular and irregular verbs of the English language are the most “favorite” topic for teachers and students when studying English grammar. Fate would have it that the most popular and frequently used words in English speech were incorrect. For example, the famous phrase “to be or not to be” also contains an irregular verb. And that's the beauty of the British :)

Just take a second and imagine how wonderful it would be to add an ending -ed to main verbs and get the past tense. And now all English students are destined to take part in an exciting attraction - memorizing a convenient table of irregular verbs in the English language with translation and transcription.

1. IRREGULAR VERBS

Meet their royal majesty irregular verbs. You won’t have to rant about them for a long time. You just need to accept it and remember that each verb has its own forms. And it is almost impossible to detect any logical connection. All that remains is to put the table in front of you and learn, just as you once memorized the English alphabet.

It’s good that there are verbs where all three forms coincide and are pronounced the same (put-put-put). But there are especially harmful forms that are written as twins, but are pronounced differently (read - read - read). Just as only the best tea leaves of the best varieties are selected for a royal tea party, we have collected the most commonly used irregular verbs, arranged them alphabetically, visually conveniently arranged them in a table - we did everything to make you smile and... teach. In general, only conscientious cramming will save humanity from ignorance of English irregular verbs.

And to make memorization not so boring, you can create your own algorithms. For example, to begin with, write down all the verbs where the three forms coincide. Then those where the two forms coincide (these are the majority, by the way). Or, let’s say, today you learn words starting with the letter “b” (don’t think anything bad), and tomorrow - a different word. No limits to imagination for those in love with English!

And without leaving the cash register, we suggest you take a test on your knowledge of irregular verbs.

Table of irregular verbs in English with transcription and translation:

After this video you will love learning irregular verbs! Yo! :) ...for those who are impatient, it is advisable to watch from 38 seconds

For fans of the advanced teacher and rap lovers, we offer a backing track for a personal way of learning irregular verbs in karaoke style, and in the future, perhaps, for recording a new personal video with your teacher/teacher/class. Weak or not weak?

2. REGULAR VERBS

When the most difficult part in the form of irregular verbs is mastered (we want to believe that this is the case), you can crack the regular verbs of the English language like nuts. They are called so because they form the past tense form and participle II in exactly the same way. In order not to overload your brain once again, we’ll simply designate them as form 2 and form 3. And both of them are obtained using the ending - ed.

For example: look - looked,work - worked

2.1 And for those who like to get to the bottom of everything, you can brief educational program regarding the mysterious term “participle II”. Firstly, why participle? Because how else can we designate a three-headed dragon, which has the characteristics of 3 parts of speech at once: verb, adjective and adverb. Accordingly, such a form is always found WITH PARTS (at once with three).

Secondly, why II? Because there is also I . Quite logical  Only participle I has an ending -ing, and participle II has the ending -ed in regular verbs, and any ending in irregular ones ( written , built , come ).

2.2 And everything would be fine, but there are some nuances.

If the verb ends in -y, then you need an ending -ied(study - studied).
. If the verb consists of one syllable and ends in a consonant, then it is doubled (stop - stopped).
. The final consonant l is always doubled (travel -travelled)
. If the verb ends in -e, then you only need to add -d(translate - translated)

For those who are especially picky and attentive, you can also add pronunciation features. For example, after voiceless consonants the ending is pronounced “t”, after voiced consonants - “d”, after vowels “id”.

Perhaps you have heard/invented/read/seen a method that allows you to reduce effort to a minimum and maximize the efficiency of memorizing irregular verbs, but for some reason we don’t know it yet. Share not only your smile, but also your cramming options to please each other with something interesting