English irregular verbs

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This is a table of English irregular verbs.

Regular verbs in English have three forms:

  • the base, which is equivalent to the infinitive without 'to' and most forms of the present tense
  • the -s form, which is used for the third person singular of the present tense
  • the past tense form, which is also used for the past participle, and which consists of adding -ed to the base, or, in the case of verbs ending in -e, -d only.

Irregular verbs have these forms, and form the -s form regularly: béãrs from béãr. But many of them have past participles that differ from the past tense, as is the case with béãr, bŏre, bŏrn (she bore him, he was born).

base past past participle past passive adjective
béãr birth bŏre bŏrn
béãr suffered, carried bŏre bŏrne
bêat bêat bêaten
begín begán begún
behóld behéld behéld behôlden
bénd bént bént
berêave berêaved berêaved beréft
besêech besŏught besŏught
bíd auction bíd bíd
bíd ask báde (= bád wrong) bídden