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Irregular Verbs in English*
Marianne Raynaud and Catherine Alhinc
Type 1: The same form for the simple past and the past participle
Group 1 - 1 (5 verbs)
The simple past and the past participle are exactly the same and end with “d”. The
infinitive is always pronounced [i:] like the letter E, while the simple past and past
participle are pronounced [E] like in the word “edge”.
élever
lire
mener, conduire
nourrir, alimenter
traiter (affaires)
to breed
to read
to lead
to feed
to deal
bred
read
led
fed
dealt
bred
read
led
fed
dealt
Group 1 - 2 (10 verbs)
The simple past and the past participle are exactly the same and end with “t”. The infinitive
is always pronounced [i:] like the letter “E”, while the simple past and past participle are
pronounced [E] like in the word “edge”.
(se) sentir
balayer
bondir
dormir
garder
pleurer
quitter, laisser
ramper
rencontrer
signifier, vouloir dire
to feel
to sweep
to leap
to sleep
to keep
to weep
to leave
to creep
to meet
to mean
felt
swept
leapt
slept
kept
wept
left
crept
met
meant
felt
swept
leapt
slept
kept
wept
left
crept
met
meant
Group 2 – 1 (7 verbs)
The simple past and past participles are exactly the same and are formed by changing the
last consonant to a “d” or to “de”.
avoir
faire
dire
mettre, étendre
payer
entendre
glisser
to have
to make
to say
to lay
to pay
to hear
to slide
had
made
said
laid
paid
heard
slid
had
made
said
laid
paid
heard
slid
*There are additional irregular verbs, but many of these now have common regular forms.
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Group 2 – 2 (11 verbs)
The simple past and past participles are exactly the same and are formed by changing the
last consonant to “t”.
dépenser, passer
(se) courber
prêter
envoyer
sentir (odorat)
brûler
construire
to spend
to bend
to lend
to send
to smell
to burn
to build
spent
bent
lent
sent
smelt
burnt
built
spent
bent
lent
sent
smelt
burnt
built
• The verbs below (also in group 2) have both regular and irregular forms ending in “t”.
They appear in “Was It Love?” as irregular verbs.
• In these tables the verbs marked with an asterisk have both regular and irregular forms.
In the story “Was It Love?” they have irregular forms.
apprendre
rêver
déverser
gâcher
to learn *
to dream *
to spill *
to spoil *
learnt
dreamt
spilt
spoilt
learnt
dreamt
spilt
spoilt
Group 3 – 1 (7 verbs)
The simple past and past participles are the same and are formed by changing the last
consonant to “ght” pronounced /t/.
apporter, amener
attraper
penser, réfléchir
acheter
combattre, se battre
chercher
enseigner
to bring
to catch
to think
to buy
to fight
to seek
to teach
brought
caught
thought
bought
fought
sought
taught
brought
caught
thought
bought
fought
sought
taught
Group 4 A (11 verbs)
The simple past and past participles are the same and are formed by changing the last
consonant to “d”.
dire, raconter
vendre
attacher, tenir, lier (contrat)
trouver
moudre, hacher
enrouler
se tenir debout
comprendre
tenir contre, endurer
tenir
retenir
to tell
to sell
to bind
to find
to grind
to wind
to stand
to understand
to withstand
to hold
to withhold
told
sold
bound
found
ground
wound
stood
understood
withstood
held
withheld
told
sold
bound
found
ground
wound
stood
understood
withstood
held
withheld
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Group 4 B - 1 (10 verbs)
The simple past and past participles are the same and end in “t”, “ck”, “n” or “ne”.
acquérir, obtenir
perdre
briller
tirer (fusil), chasser
être assis
cracher
coller
frapper
(se) balancer
tordre
gagner
to get
to lose
to shine
to shoot
to sit
to spit
to stick
to strike
to swing
wring
to win
got
lost
shone
shot
sat
spit / spat
stuck
struck
swung
wrung
won
got / gotten (US)
lost
shone
shot
sat
spit / spat
stuck
struck
swung
wrung
won
Group 4 B - 2 (9 verbs)
The simple past and past participle are once more the same and end in “g” or “ng”.
creuser
s’accrocher à
lancer, (se) jeter
être suspendu, pendre
lancer, jeter
tourner, filer (tissage)
piquer (insecte, sensation)
accrocher (guirlande)
to dig
to cling
to fling
to hang
to sling
to spin
to sting
to string
dug
clung
flung
hung / hanged
slung
spun
stung
strung
clung
dug
flung
hung / hanged
slung
spun
stung
strung
Type II: Three different forms
Group 5 (11 verbs)
The simple past and past participles are different. These verbs all have infinitives ending in
“ow” except “fly”, “draw”, “withdraw” and “sew”. All but the last 4 verbs form the simple
past by changing the main syllable to “ew”. Four verbs have regular simple past tenses but
irregular past participles: “show”, “sew”, “mow” and “sow”. For all the verbs in group 5
the past participle is formed by adding “n” to the infinitive.
souffler
pousser, croître
savoir, connaître
jeter, lancer
voler, piloter (avion)
tirer, dessiner
se retirer
tondre (la pelouse)
montrer
coudre
semer
to blow
to grow
to know
to throw
to fly
to draw
to withdraw
to mow
to show
to sew*
to sow*
blew
grew
knew
threw
flew
drew
withdrew
mowed
showed
sewed
sowed
blown
grown
known
thrown
flown
drawn
withdrawn
mown / mowed
shown / showed
sewn / sewed
sown / sowed
Be careful, the verbs “sow” and “sew” are pronounced exactly the same way /s@U/.
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Group 6 (7 verbs)
The simple past and past participle are again different. The simple past changes the middle
vowel of the infinitive to an “o” and adds an “e” at the end if it doesn’t already exist
(break, broke; speak, spoke; steal, stole). The past participle is formed by adding an “n” to
the simple past.
briser, casser
choisir
geler, congeler
parler
voler, dérober
(se) réveiller
tisser
to break
to choose
to freeze
to speak
to steal
to wake
to weave
broke
chose
froze
spoke
stole
woke
wove
broken
chosen
frozen
spoken
stolen
woken
woven
Group 7 – 1 (10 verbs)
The simple past and past participles are different. The simple past is formed by changing
the original central vowel sound to another sound:
“eat”  “ate”, “take”  “took, “hide”  “hid”.
Thus the past “sounds” different from the infinitive (exception: beat = beat).
The past participle is formed by adding “n” to the infinitive if it ends with an “e”: “give”
 “given” or by adding “en” if it ends with a consonant: “eat”  “eaten”.
Prendre, enlever, sortir
manger
battre
conduire
donner
pardonner
s’efforcer de
secouer, serrer (main)
abandonner
se lever, s'élever
surgir, survenir, émerger
to take off /out
to eat
to beat
to drive
to give
to forgive
to strive *
to shake
to forsake
to rise
to arise
took
ate
beat
drove
gave
forgave
strove / strived
shook
forsook
rose
arose
taken
eaten
beaten
driven
given
forgiven
striven / strived
shaken
forsaken
risen
arisen
* Both regular and irregular forms
Group 7 – 2 (7 verbs)
The simple past and past participle differ. The central vowel sound changes in the past,
and the past participle doubles the “d”, “t” or “l” at the end.
mordre
écrire
oublier
défendre, interdire
(se) cacher
aller à cheval, moto, vélo
tomber
to bite
to write
to forget
to forbid
to hide
to ride
to fall
bit
wrote
forgot
forbade
hid
rode
fell
bitten
written
forgotten
forbidden
hidden
ridden
fallen
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Group 8 - 1 (5 verbs)
The simple past and past participles are different. These are very common verbs.
être
voir
aller, partir
faire
commencer
to be
to see
to go
to do
to begin
was
saw
went
did
began
been
seen
gone
done
begun
Group 8 - 2 (4 verbs)
The simple past and past participle differ, but the past participle is like the infinitive.
venir
devenir
surmonter
courir
to come
to become
to overcome
to run
came
became
overcame
ran
come
become
overcome
run
Group 8 - 3 (4 verbs).
The simple past and past participle are different. The simple past is formed by changing
the central vowel sound “ear” to “o” pronounced /O:/ and adding ”e” after the final
consonant. The past participle is formed by changing the final “e” to “n”.
jurer, prêter serment
porter, supporter
porter (vêtements, parfum,
montres, etc.)
déchirer
to swear
to bear
to wear
swore
bore
wore
sworn
born
worn
to tear
tore
torn
Group 8 - 4 (8 verbs).
The simple past and past participle are different. The simple past is formed by changing
the central vowel sound “i” to “a” pronounced /{ /. The past participle is formed by
changing the central vowel sound to “u” pronounced /V /.
sauter, bondir
sonner, téléphoner
chanter
boire
rétrécir
couler, sombrer
sentir mauvais
nager
to spring
to ring
to sing
to drink
to shrink
to sink
to stink
to swim
sprang
rang
sang
drank
shrank
sank
stank
swam
sprung
rung
sung
drunk
shrunk
sunk
stunk
swum
Group 8 - 5 (2 verbs).
The simple past and past participle are different. The past participle ends in “ain, which is
pronounced /eIn/.
être étendu
tuer, massacrer
to lie*
to slay
lay
slew
lain
slain
*Here the verb “to lie” means “to be in a horizontal position”. The verb “to lie”, which
means “not to tell the truth” is a regular verb.
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Type III: The same form for the infinitive, the simple past and the past participle
Group 9 - 1 (5 verbs)
The central vowel sound is /E/.
laisser, permettre
parier
installer, poser
perdre (feuilles, cheveux)
étaler, étendre
to let
to bet
to set
to shed
to spread
let
bet
set
shed
spread
let
bet
set
shed
spread
Group 9 - 2 (4 verbs)
The central vowel sound is /I/.
frapper
faire une offre
fendre, couper droit
séparer, scinder, fendre
laisser, s’arrêter de…
to hit
to bid
to slit
to split
to quit
hit
bid
slit
split
quit
hit
bid
slit
split
quit
Group 9 - 3 (3 verbs)
The central vowel sound is /V/.
couper
fermer
enfoncer, porter un coup
to cut
to shut
to thrust
cut
shut
thrust
cut
shut
thrust
Group 9 - 4 (2 verbs)
The central vowel sound is /@:/.
blesser, faire mal
éclater
to hurt
to burst
hurt
burst
hurt
burst
Group 9 - 5 (3 verbs)
The central vowel sound in the final syllable is /A:/.
lancer
prévoir
diffuser (radio, TV, etc.)
to cast
to forecast
to broadcast
cast
forecast
broadcast
cast
forecast
broadcast
Group 9 - 6 (2 verbs)
The central vowel sound is /U/ or /Q/.
poser, mettre
coûter
to put
to cost
put
cost
put
cost
If you now know the entire list you have learnt one hundred and forty-nine irregular verbs
and their tenses. Congratulations on your efforts to speak correct English!
Marianne Raynaud and Catherine Alhinc
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