Irregular verbs list
An irregular verb does not make its past tense with -ed: go became went, eat became ate, and the past participle is sometimes a third form, eaten. This list gives the three forms of the seventy or so irregular verbs a child uses most.
Free printable PDF, 2nd grade to 4th grade.
One page, black and white, prints the same every time.
What is on the sheet
The past and the participle stay the same
| Base | Past | Past participle |
|---|---|---|
| bring | brought | brought |
| build | built | built |
| buy | bought | bought |
| catch | caught | caught |
| feel | felt | felt |
| find | found | found |
| get | got | got (gotten) |
| have | had | had |
| hear | heard | heard |
| hold | held | held |
| keep | kept | kept |
| leave | left | left |
| lose | lost | lost |
| make | made | made |
| meet | met | met |
| say | said | said |
| sell | sold | sold |
| send | sent | sent |
| sit | sat | sat |
| sleep | slept | slept |
| stand | stood | stood |
| teach | taught | taught |
| tell | told | told |
| think | thought | thought |
| win | won | won |
Three different forms
| Base | Past | Past participle |
|---|---|---|
| be (am, is, are) | was, were | been |
| begin | began | begun |
| break | broke | broken |
| choose | chose | chosen |
| do | did | done |
| draw | drew | drawn |
| drink | drank | drunk |
| drive | drove | driven |
| eat | ate | eaten |
| fall | fell | fallen |
| fly | flew | flown |
| forget | forgot | forgotten |
| give | gave | given |
| go | went | gone |
| grow | grew | grown |
| hide | hid | hidden |
| know | knew | known |
| ride | rode | ridden |
| ring | rang | rung |
| see | saw | seen |
| sing | sang | sung |
| speak | spoke | spoken |
| swim | swam | swum |
| take | took | taken |
| throw | threw | thrown |
| wear | wore | worn |
| write | wrote | written |
All three forms the same
| Base | Past | Past participle |
|---|---|---|
| cut | cut | cut |
| hit | hit | hit |
| hurt | hurt | hurt |
| let | let | let |
| put | put | put |
| read | read | read |
| set | set | set |
| shut | shut | shut |
Other common ones
| Base | Past | Past participle |
|---|---|---|
| come | came | come |
| run | ran | run |
| become | became | become |
| feed | fed | fed |
| lead | led | led |
| light | lit | lit |
| pay | paid | paid |
| shoot | shot | shot |
How the list is grouped
The verbs are sorted by the shape of their change rather than alphabetically, because the shape is what a child has to learn. The first group changes once and keeps that form for the participle: bring, brought, have brought. The second group has three forms, and it holds most of the verbs 3rd graders get wrong in writing, "I have went" for "I have gone". The third group does not change at all, which surprises children who add -ed to "put". The last group is the handful that fit no pattern.
"Read" is the odd one: the spelling never changes, the sound does. It is worth a minute on its own.
Using the list
Second grade meets the past tense forms; the participle column is for 3rd and 4th grade, when "have" and "had" start turning up in their sentences. Cover the right two columns and say the base verb; the child gives the past. Then cover the base and give the past; the child names the verb. For the three-form group, write a sentence with each form, since hearing "swam" and "swum" in sentences is what separates them. The irregular verbs worksheet prints practice sentences with the verb to fix.
Common questions
- Is "gotten" correct?
- In American English, yes: "have gotten" is standard, with "have got" meaning something slightly different. British English uses "got" for both. The table shows both.
- Why is "read" listed if it does not change?
- The spelling stays the same but the past is pronounced "red". A child reading the list aloud needs to know that, so it stays.