| N° | Infinitive | Past Tense | Past Participle | Definition |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | be | was/were | been | to exist or have a particular quality |
| 2 | have | had | had | to possess or own something |
| 3 | do | did | done | to perform an action or activity |
| 4 | say | said | said | to speak words or express thoughts |
| 5 | get | got | got/gotten | to obtain, receive, or acquire |
| 6 | make | made | made | to create, produce, or construct |
| 7 | go | went | gone | to move from one place to another |
| 8 | know | knew | known | to have information or be aware of |
| 9 | take | took | taken | to grab, carry, or remove something |
| 10 | see | saw | seen | to perceive with the eyes |
| 11 | come | came | come | to move toward or arrive at |
| 12 | think | thought | thought | to use one’s mind to consider |
| 13 | give | gave | given | to provide or offer something |
| 14 | find | found | found | to discover or locate something |
| 15 | tell | told | told | to communicate information to someone |
| 16 | become | became | become | to grow to be or develop into |
| 17 | leave | left | left | to go away from or abandon |
| 18 | feel | felt | felt | to experience an emotion or sensation |
| 19 | bring | brought | brought | to carry or transport something |
| 20 | begin | began | begun | to start or commence |
| 21 | keep | kept | kept | to retain or continue to have |
| 22 | hold | held | held | to grasp or support something |
| 23 | write | wrote | written | to form letters or words on paper |
| 24 | stand | stood | stood | to be in an upright position |
| 25 | hear | heard | heard | to perceive sound with the ears |
| 26 | let | let | let | to allow or permit |
| 27 | mean | meant | meant | to intend or signify |
| 28 | set | set | set | to place or position something |
| 29 | meet | met | met | to encounter or come together with |
| 30 | run | ran | run | to move quickly on foot |
| 31 | pay | paid | paid | to give money for something |
| 32 | sit | sat | sat | to be in a seated position |
| 33 | speak | spoke | spoken | to talk or communicate verbally |
| 34 | lie | lay | lain | to recline or be in a horizontal position |
| 35 | lead | led | led | to guide or direct others |
| 36 | read | read | read | to look at and understand written words |
| 37 | grow | grew | grown | to increase in size or develop |
| 38 | lose | lost | lost | to be unable to find or be defeated |
| 39 | send | sent | sent | to dispatch or transmit |
| 40 | build | built | built | to construct or create something |
| 41 | understand | understood | understood | to comprehend or grasp the meaning |
| 42 | draw | drew | drawn | to create pictures with pencil or pen |
| 43 | break | broke | broken | to damage or separate into pieces |
| 44 | spend | spent | spent | to use money or time |
| 45 | cut | cut | cut | to divide or slice with a sharp tool |
| 46 | rise | rose | risen | to move upward or get up |
| 47 | drive | drove | driven | to operate a vehicle |
| 48 | buy | bought | bought | to purchase something |
| 49 | wear | wore | worn | to have clothing on one’s body |
| 50 | choose | chose | chosen | to select or pick from options |
Why Learn These Irregular Verbs First
Irregular verbs are a major challenge when trying to learn English. This list of the 50 most common verbs covers 85% of situations where you’ll encounter an irregular verb in English.
“Be”, “have”, and “do” appear in virtually every English conversation. Mastering these three verbs already allows you to construct basic sentences and understand most daily exchanges.
Classification by Memory Groups
Verbs Identical in All Three Forms
Let, set, cut keep the same form in the infinitive, past tense, and past participle. “I cut the bread” (present), “I cut the bread yesterday” (past), “I have cut the bread” (present perfect) use the same form.
Verbs with Identical Past Tense and Past Participle
Make/made/made, say/said/said, hear/heard/heard: only the base form differs. This regularity simplifies memorization by reducing the number of forms to remember.
Completely Irregular Verbs
Go/went/gone, see/saw/seen, begin/began/begun change in each form. These verbs require individual learning and regular practice.
Effective Learning Strategies
Memorization by Sound Families
Verbs ending in -ought (bring/brought, think/thought, buy/bought) form a recognizable family. This method uses auditory memory to create lasting associations.
Contextual Usage
Integrating these verbs into complete sentences reinforces learning. “I went to school” or “She has written a letter” anchor the forms in concrete situations.
Common Mistakes to Avoid
Confusion Between Past Tense and Past Participle
“I have saw” instead of “I have seen” reveals confusion between forms. The past participle is used exclusively with auxiliaries “have”, “has”, “had”.
Incorrect Application of Regular Rules
“I goed” instead of “I went” reveals the tendency to apply the “-ed” rule to irregular verbs.
Pronunciation Neglect
The verb “read” is spelled identically in present and past but pronounced differently: /riːd/ in present, /red/ in past.
Usage in Compound Tenses
These verbs become essential in compound tenses. “I have been” (present perfect) or “The letter was written” (passive voice) use the irregular past participle.
Differences Between British and American English
“Get” becomes “got” (British) or “gotten” (American) in the past participle. “Learn” accepts “learnt” (British) and “learned” (American).
