A Beginner’s Guide to Regular and Irregular Verbs in English

Nobody would blame you if you said that regular and irregular verbs were one of the most frustrating parts of learning English.

To start with, irregular verbs don’t seem to have any hard and fast rules. And for another, there are lots of them and they’re some of the most common verbs in the language.

It’s no wonder that many people are still confused about the verb forms even after years of learning English grammar.

So, let’s take it from the top. Our article looks at the basics of regular and irregular verbs in English and how you can memorise them.

What are regular and irregular verbs in English?

Verbs describe actions and states. They take different forms depending on factors like who performed the action and when it happened in relation to now.

For example:

The dog barks all night.

I don’t like pineapple on pizza.

Watch out for that tree!

Regular verbs follow all the standard rules of English, whereas irregular verbs only follow some of them.

What rules do regular and irregular rules have in common?

You can apply the rules here to all verbs regardless of whether they’re regular or irregular.

Add -s, -es or -ies to form the third person

Most verbs simply take the -s:

He runs to school.

She works from home.

Verbs ending in -ch, -sh, -x, -s, -z, or -o take -es instead:

Anne watches television.

The teacher shushes the students.

My brother relaxes by the beach.

The cat hisses at people it doesn’t know.

Cola fizzes when you add mints.

Nobody goes to school on Sunday.

And verbs ending in a consonant followed by -y take -ies.

John always tries his best.

My sister denies doing anything wrong.

Add -ing to form the continuous tenses and gerunds

Many verbs take -ing:

The show is starting.

Killing is wrong.

Verbs that end in a single -e, lose the -e before the -ing:

Moving house is stressful.

Everyone is taking turns.

Verbs ending in -ie, change to -y before the -ing:

I’m dying to/strong> meet your new boyfriend.

Lying won’t get you anywhere.

Verbs ending in c, add a -k before the -ing:

Stop panicking! It won’t help matters.

The children are picnicking today.

And here’s the trickiest one. Verbs ending in a consonant, a vowel and another consonant double the final consonant

Everyone’s just sitting around today.

No running in the corridors.

Unless they end in -w, -x or -y:

Look! It’s snowing!

I’m staying at home today.

What rules do regular verbs follow that irregular verbs don’t?

Regular verbs follow the same rules to form the past and past participle (that’s the verb used to form the perfect and passive).

Most verbs just take -ed:

Grandma reported the burglary to the police.

The telephone was invented by Alexander Graham Bell.

If they already end in -e, they just add -d:

I’ve lived here my whole life.

Who used all my shampoo?

Verbs ending in a consonant followed by -y change the -y to an -i:

I’ve tried just about everything.

As before, verbs ending in a consonant, a vowel and another consonant double the final consonant:

Serena tipped the waiter.

The students crammed for the test.

What are the rules for irregular verbs?

The irregular verbs don’t follow these rules whatsoever. It might seem like they have a pattern but there are some distinct groups.

No change

A very small group of irregular verbs don’t change form.

So, you could say:

We always put a star on our Christmas tree.

I put the baby to sleep an hour ago.

Have you put any sugar in my tea?

These irregular verbs don’t change their pronunciation either except for ‘read’. While the infinitive form of ‘read’ has a long ‘ee’ sound, the past and past participle forms have a short ‘i’.

Same past and past participle

Lots of irregular verbs have the same past and past participle form, meaning there’s not as much to memorise.

So we can say:

I find art very interesting.

Louis finally found his car keys.

You haven’t found love yet but you will.

Better yet, ‘have’, ‘got’ and ‘make’ are three of the most important verbs in the English language and they’re on this list. If you learn their past and continuous forms, you can make any tense with them.

Different past and past participle

All the other irregular verbs have a different past and past participle form.

Sometimes the word can change almost completely depending on the tense. For example:

They often do yoga outside when it’s sunny.

I’m sure you did your best.

The housework better be done by the time I’m home.

As you’re probably aware, the verb ‘be’ takes this a step further. It has a different past form according to the person and the tense.

Why weren’t you at school today?

He was my best friend growing up.

Thankfully, the past participle of ‘be’ is always ‘been’ no matter who’s performing the action.

How can you learn irregular verbs in English?

The trouble with learning irregular verbs is that none of them follow a pattern. Some may seem to have the same spelling but this is often misleading.

For example:

Jim sang in front of hundreds of people.

The doorbell rang.

BUT

Grandma brought me this lovely scarf.

That means the best way to learn irregular verbs is simply to memorise them. The good news is that they’re only a small percentage of the English language. All you have to do is learn the ones we’ve already given you on this page.

If you do encounter a new irregular verb, the odds are that it’ll have the same root as one you already know. You can then simply apply the same spelling rules.

‘Take’ and ‘retake’ are a good example of this.

For example:

Everyone took the test last month.

Anyone who failed the first time retook it yesterday.

Closing thoughts

Although you learn about irregular verbs from an early stage, you might not be comfortable with them until much later on. Don’t be hard on yourself if you make mistakes in the meantime.

Getting plenty of practice can help you learn irregular verbs faster. You can read or listen to the verbs in context and get immediate feedback on your writing and speaking.

Looking for a tutor to practice irregular verbs? Book a lesson with Oxford House.

Glossary for Language Learners

Find the following words in the article and then write down any new ones you didn’t know.

Hard and fast rules (id): strict rules with no exceptions.

Take something from the top (id): to start again from the beginning.

To shush (v): to ask people to be quiet, often by making a ‘ssh’ noise.

To die to (v): to really want to do something.

Whatsoever (adv): used to emphasise there’s none or nothing.

The odds are (phr): something is likely to happen.

Be hard on someone (id): to treat someone harshly.

Key

id = idiom

v = verb

adv = adverb

phr = phrase