Explore the list, table, and examples of 50 irregular verbs in English
Introduction: Why Master Irregular Verbs
Explore the list, table, and examples of 50 irregular verbs in English is a guide designed for anyone who wants to stop hesitating when speaking or writing in the past tense. Here you will find a clear explanation, a practical table with the 50 most useful verbs, and examples with Spanish translations so you can assimilate each form in context.
- Learn English fast and easy
- Your first course for free
- Start now
If you have been studying English for a while and feel stuck with the past tense and participles, this guide will give you the confidence and practice needed to overcome that barrier. Additionally, there is a section with useful memorization techniques and a personalized example so theory becomes practice.
What is an irregular verb in English and why it matters
An irregular verb is one that does not follow the general rule of forming the past and participle by adding “-ed”. In Spanish, we have irregularities in verbs like “ser” or “ir”; in English, it is the same, and many common verbs change their form without a fixed pattern. That is why it is crucial to learn them with examples and deliberate repetition.
Practical list example: how to use this table
The table you will see below contains: infinitive, past simple, past participle, translation, and an example sentence with its translation. Read each row aloud, build your own sentence, and repeat the form in different tenses. This helps transform the isolated form into a memorized pattern.
How to use examples to learn
- Listen and repeat: pronounce the infinitive and the forms. Speaking fixes memory.
- Relate to your language: the translation helps understand the nuance, not just the isolated word.
- Contextualize: create your own sentence with the past or participle form.
- Space repetition: review the list on days 1, 3, and 7; this strengthens retention.
In these lines, you will see keywords related to the topic to facilitate search and reinforce learning: irregular verbs in English and Spanish, irregular English verbs, irregular verbs table in English, what are irregular verbs in English, irregular verbs in past tense English, what is an irregular verb in English, 50 irregular verbs in English, irregular verbs table English, irregular verbs list English, 30 irregular verbs English.
List and table: 50 irregular verbs in English with examples
Below is a table designed for quick consultation and daily practice. Each row includes the translation and an example sentence in English with its translation into Spanish to avoid any usage doubts.
| Infinitive | Past Simple | Past Participle | Translation | Example / Translation |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| be | was / were | been | ser / estar | I was at home yesterday. / Yo estaba en casa ayer. |
| become | became | become | convertirse / llegar a ser | She became confident after practice. / Ella se volvió segura tras practicar. |
| begin | began | begun | empezar | They began the course in January. / Empezaron el curso en enero. |
| break | broke | broken | romper | I broke my phone last week. / Rompí mi teléfono la semana pasada. |
| bring | brought | brought | traer | He brought snacks to the class. / Él trajo aperitivos a la clase. |
| build | built | built | construir | They built a new library. / Construyeron una nueva biblioteca. |
| buy | bought | bought | comprar | She bought a second-hand book. / Ella compró un libro de segunda mano. |
| catch | caught | caught | atrapar / coger | We caught the bus on time. / Cogimos el autobús a tiempo. |
| choose | chose | chosen | elegir | He chose the blue shirt. / Él eligió la camisa azul. |
| come | came | come | venir | They came to the party late. / Vinieron a la fiesta tarde. |
| cost | cost | cost | costar | It cost more than I expected. / Costó más de lo que esperaba. |
| cut | cut | cut | cortar | She cut the cake in slices. / Ella cortó el pastel en porciones. |
| do | did | done | hacer | I did my homework yesterday. / Hice mi tarea ayer. |
| draw | drew | drawn | dibujar | He drew a map for us. / Él dibujó un mapa para nosotros. |
| drink | drank | drunk | beber | I drank water after the run. / Bebí agua después de correr. |
| drive | drove | driven | conducir | She drove to the coast. / Ella condujo hasta la costa. |
| eat | ate | eaten | comer | They ate at a small restaurant. / Comieron en un restaurante pequeño. |
| fall | fell | fallen | caer | The leaves fell in autumn. / Las hojas cayeron en otoño. |
| feel | felt | felt | sentir | I felt happy today. / Me sentí feliz hoy. |
| find | found | found | encontrar | She found her keys. / Ella encontró sus llaves. |
| fly | flew | flown | volar | We flew to Madrid. / Volamos a Madrid. |
| forget | forgot | forgotten | olvidar | He forgot the appointment. / Él olvidó la cita. |
| get | got | got / gotten | obtener / conseguir | I got a new job. / Conseguí un nuevo trabajo. |
| give | gave | given | dar | They gave me good advice. / Me dieron un buen consejo. |
| go | went | gone | ir | We went to the cinema. / Fuimos al cine. |
| grow | grew | grown | crecer / cultivar | The plant grew fast. / La planta creció rápido. |
| have | had | had | tener / haber | I had lunch at noon. / Almorcé al mediodía. |
| hear | heard | heard | oír / escuchar | She heard the song on the radio. / Ella escuchó la canción en la radio. |
| hide | hid | hidden | esconder | He hid the gift behind the book. / Él escondió el regalo detrás del libro. |
| hold | held | held | sostener / tener | She held the baby gently. / Ella sostuvo al bebé con cuidado. |
| keep | kept | kept | guardar / mantener | They kept the promise. / Cumplieron la promesa. |
| know | knew | known | saber / conocer | I knew the answer. / Sabía la respuesta. |
| leave | left | left | dejar / salir | She left early this morning. / Ella se fue temprano esta mañana. |
| lend | lent | lent | prestar | He lent me his pen. / Él me prestó su bolígrafo. |
| let | let | let | permitir | They let their children play outside. / Dejaron jugar a sus hijos afuera. |
| lose | lost | lost | perder | I lost my wallet yesterday. / Perdí mi cartera ayer. |
| make | made | made | hacer / crear | She made a cake for the party. / Ella hizo un pastel para la fiesta. |
| meet | met | met | encontrarse / reunirse | We met at the station. / Nos encontramos en la estación. |
| pay | paid | paid | pagar | I paid the bill online. / Pagué la cuenta en línea. |
| put | put | put | poner | He put the book on the shelf. / Él puso el libro en la estantería. |
| read | read (pron. /rɛd/) | read (pron. /rɛd/) | leer | She read the novel in two days. / Ella leyó la novela en dos días. |
| ride | rode | ridden | montar / ir en (bicicleta) | He rode his bike to school. / Él fue en bici al colegio. |
| run | ran | run | correr | I ran five kilometers this morning. / Corrí cinco kilómetros esta mañana. |
| say | said | said | decir | She said the answer was correct. / Ella dijo que la respuesta era correcta. |
| see | saw | seen | ver | We saw a comet last night. / Vimos un cometa anoche. |
| sell | sold | sold | vender | He sold his old guitar. / Vendió su guitarra vieja. |
| send | sent | sent | enviar | I sent the email yesterday. / Envié el correo ayer. |
| sit | sat | sat | sentarse | They sat near the window. / Se sentaron cerca de la ventana. |
| sleep | slept | slept | dormir | I slept well last night. / Dormí bien anoche. |
| speak | spoke | spoken | hablar | She spoke three languages fluently. / Ella hablaba tres idiomas con fluidez. |
| stand | stood | stood | estar de pie | He stood in line for hours. / Él estuvo en la fila por horas. |
| take | took | taken | tomar / llevar | I took the wrong bus. / Tomé el autobús equivocado. |
| teach | taught | taught | enseñar | She taught me new vocabulary. / Ella me enseñó vocabulario nuevo. |
| tell | told | told | contar / decir | He told a funny story. / Él contó una historia graciosa. |
| think | thought | thought | pensar | I thought about the answer. / Pensé en la respuesta. |
| understand | understood | understood | entender | They understood the instructions. / Entendieron las instrucciones. |
| write | wrote | written | escribir | She wrote a long email. / Ella escribió un correo largo. |
Explanation and common usage
Notice that some verbs keep the same form in past and participle (put, cut, cost, let), while others change completely (go – went – gone). To speak confidently, first learn the most frequent verbs and use them in real sentences. Practicing with sentences forces you to think about agreement, tenses, and context.
Practical exercises (with answers at the end)
Do these exercises to check your mastery of the 50 verbs:
- Convert these sentences to past simple: “I go to the market”; “She eats an apple”.
- Use the participle in present perfect: “They (to write) a letter”; “He (to see) that movie”.
- Choose 10 verbs from the table and create a short past tense story.
Quick answers: 1) I went to the market. She ate an apple. 2) They have written a letter. He has seen that movie.
Tips for efficient memorization
- Group by patterns: find groups with similar changes (for example, sing-sang-sung; ring-rang-rung) and memorize them together.
- Associate with images: a visual scene better anchors the verb form in memory.
- Create micro-habits: 5 minutes daily reviewing 10 verbs yields better results than long irregular sessions.
- Practice with someone: speaking and correcting in conversation accelerates learning.
A personalized example to understand practice
Let’s meet Maria. Maria studies English every morning for twenty minutes. She applied the grouping strategy: first, she learned be, have, do, go, get because they appear frequently. Then she made sentences about her day: “I got up early, I went to work, I had breakfast, I did my exercises.” In two weeks, Maria noticed she remembered faster and made fewer mistakes speaking. This kind of contextual practice is the key to moving from passive knowledge to active fluency.
If you want to deepen related structures such as the use of prepositions that often accompany irregular verbs in sentences, check complementary material about over. That page helps you understand common combinations with prepositions and improve your accuracy.
Common mistakes and how to avoid them
- Don’t rely solely on literal translation: sometimes the whole sentence changes the meaning.
- Don’t neglect pronunciation: read in present and past is spelled the same but sounds different (/riːd/ vs /rɛd/).
- Avoid learning isolated forms: always use examples and spaced repetitions.
Conclusion: your 30-day plan to master these 50 verbs
Short and effective plan:
- Days 1-7: memorize 10 verbs (form, past, participle) and create 2 sentences per verb.
- Days 8-15: review those 10 verbs and add 10 more. Do written and oral exercises.
- Days 16-23: incorporate another 10 verbs and practice in context (short stories).
- Days 24-30: general review of 40-50 verbs, focusing on the ones you find difficult.
Following this plan and using the table as a daily reference, you will significantly improve your ease with past tenses and participles. Start today and make it a habit!