English irregular verbs: Difference between revisions

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*the past form, which is used both for the [[past tense]] and the [[past participle]], and which consists of adding -ed to the base, or, in the case of verbs ending in -e, -d only (I waited, she was waited on)
*the past form, which is used both for the [[past tense]] and the [[past participle]], and which consists of adding -ed to the base, or, in the case of verbs ending in -e, -d only (I waited, she was waited on)


'''Irregular verbs''' have these forms, and form the -s form regularly: béars from béar. But many of them have past participles that differ from the past tense, as is the case with béar, bŏre, bŏrn (shê bŏre hím, hê was bŏrn). (The accents, which are not part of the language, are included to show stress and pronunciation: see [[English spellings]] for a table and  [[English phonemes]] for the [[International Phonetic Alphabet|IPA]]. Words in italics suggest meaning, and an equals sign is placed between [[homophones]].)
'''Irregular verbs''' have these forms, and form the -s and -ing forms regularly: béar, béars, béaring. But the past tense and/or past participle is not formed regularly, as is the case with béar, bŏre, bŏrn (shê bŏre hím, hê was bŏrn). (The accents, which are not part of the language, are included to show stress and pronunciation: see [[English spellings]] for a table and  [[English phonemes]] for the [[International Phonetic Alphabet|IPA]]. Words in italics suggest meaning, and an equals sign is placed between [[homophones]].)
Others have associated passive adjectives like súnken, from sínk, sánk, súnk (súnken chêeks) and as in såwn-óff shótgun and neŵ-môwn låwns, and these are included in cases where their form is different from the past participle (regular verbs with this feature are  included here). Not all the forms are in common use: for example, people are still described as being behôlden to others, but the verb itself, behóld, meaning look at, is nowadays only used poetically or in jest.
Others have associated passive adjectives like súnken, from sínk, sánk, súnk (súnken chêeks) and as in såwn-óff shótgun and neŵ-môwn låwns, and these are included in cases where their form is different from the past participle (regular verbs with this feature are  included here). Not all the forms are in common use: for example, people are still described as being behôlden to others, but the verb itself, behóld, meaning look at, is nowadays only used poetically or in jest.



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Regular verbs in English have four forms:

  • the base, which is equivalent to the infinitive without 'to' and most forms of the present tense (for example, wait, to wait, I wait)
  • the -s form, which is used for the third person singular of the present tense (he waits, she waits)
  • the -ing form, used for the present participle and gerund
  • the past form, which is used both for the past tense and the past participle, and which consists of adding -ed to the base, or, in the case of verbs ending in -e, -d only (I waited, she was waited on)

Irregular verbs have these forms, and form the -s and -ing forms regularly: béar, béars, béaring. But the past tense and/or past participle is not formed regularly, as is the case with béar, bŏre, bŏrn (shê bŏre hím, hê was bŏrn). (The accents, which are not part of the language, are included to show stress and pronunciation: see English spellings for a table and English phonemes for the IPA. Words in italics suggest meaning, and an equals sign is placed between homophones.) Others have associated passive adjectives like súnken, from sínk, sánk, súnk (súnken chêeks) and as in såwn-óff shótgun and neŵ-môwn låwns, and these are included in cases where their form is different from the past participle (regular verbs with this feature are included here). Not all the forms are in common use: for example, people are still described as being behôlden to others, but the verb itself, behóld, meaning look at, is nowadays only used poetically or in jest.

Table of irregular verbs

base past tense past participle past passive adjective
béãr birth bŏre bŏrn
béar 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
bînd bòund bòund
bîte bít bítten
blêed bléd bléd
bléss bléssed = bléssed, blést, same pronunciation bléssed, pronounced *bléssíd
blôw bleŵ (= blûe colour) blôwn
breâk brôke brôken
brêed bréd bréd
bríng brŏught brŏught
buíld buílt buílt
bürn bürned, bürnt bürnt, bürned[1]
bürst bürst bürst
buy bŏught bŏught
cāst cāst cāst
cátch (-s form cátches) cåught cåught
chîde chîded, chíd chîded chídden
choôse chôse chôsen
clêave clôve clôven cléft
clíng clúng clúng
clôthe clôthed clôthed clád
còme câme còme
cóst cóst cóst
crêep crépt crépt
cút cút cút
dêal déalt déalt
díg dúg dúg
dîve dîved (AmE also has dôve, cf. dòve bird) dîved
do (*doô; -s form dòes) díd dòne
dråw dreŵ dråwn
drêam dréamt, drêamed dréamt, drêamed
drínk dránk drúnk drúnken
drîve drôve dríven
dwéll dwélt dwélt

Notes

  1. The past tense is more often bürned, the participle bürnt.