English Paradigms: Definition, Table, and PDF

03/16/2026 Learning & Grammer created by Sprachcaffe Team

What is meant by paradigm in irregular verbs in English? | If you study languages like Latin or Greek, this topic may seem like a walk in the park by comparison.

But if you haven't had this "pleasure," you might find it a bit difficult to study the English paradigms of irregular verbs, which—paradoxically—also include many of the most common verbs in the British language.

What does this mean? That you can't help but study this topic: English paradigms are essential to learning this language, right from the start.

Therefore, today we'll tackle this topic together step by step, and we'll also provide you with an English paradigm table to consult whenever you need to use these verbs in your daily English.

What are Paradigms in English?

In English, a paradigm refers to a model or scheme that illustrates the conjugation of a verb, based on its tense and conjugation pattern. It's a kind of guide that helps you identify the same verb in different forms, so you can better understand how it behaves and how to conjugate it correctly.

The English verb paradigm , in particular, features three different forms of a verb:

basic form, that is, the infinitive verb without the "to";
simple past ,
past participle , useful for forming all compound tenses

Paradigms are useful for understanding and correctly applying the rules of conjugation or inflection of words in English and for understanding how they vary in different grammatical situations.

This, of course, is very useful for verbs that do not follow grammatical rules perfectly, that is, so-called irregular verbs .

While the paradigm of regular verbs will always be the same, the English paradigms of irregular verbs differ from each other based on the verb and its irregularity, which does not necessarily follow a common form with other verbs.

For example:

drink → drank → drunk (drink)

cut → cut → cut (cut)

write → wrote → written (to write)

As you can see, these English paradigms have nothing in common with each other, and that's why it's so important to learn them by heart so you can recognize them and use them when needed.

How the English Paradigm is Formed in Irregular Verbs

At this point you may be wondering how the English paradigm is formed in irregular verbs, but the truth is that, precisely because of their well-known irregularity, these English verbs do not follow a regular conjugation pattern like regular verbs, which usually add "-ed" to the base form to form the simple past and the past participle.

For irregular verbs in English, the past tense and past participle forms are different and don't follow any specific rules; in fact, they don't follow any rules at all. Each irregular verb has its own specific forms that must be learned by heart , and this is very important since many irregular verbs are commonly used verbs , which are used constantly to communicate in English even at a basic level.

For example, the verb "to go " (andare) has the following forms:

go → went → gone

While the verb "to eat " has the following forms:

eat → ate → eaten

And so on for other irregular verbs like "to see," "to take," "to come," and many others.

As you may have already noticed, there is no specific "format" that these verbs follow, and so their paradigm in English is virtually unique . Although, as we will see shortly, there are often endings that appear in different verbs, or verbs that derive from the same verb, and therefore follow the same irregularity.

Since the past forms and past participles of irregular verbs do not follow a fixed rule, however, it is necessary and fundamental to memorize them individually in order to be able to use them correctly.

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English Paradigm Table in PDF

First of all, consider that there are quite a large number of irregular verbs in English: we're talking about around two hundred verbs , and of course, with their corresponding three-word English paradigm. This is quite a bit of memorization to undertake, but that's no problem: with a nice PDF table of the English paradigm available to download, it will be very easy to remember them, and you'll have them handy to refer to and review at any time.

Luckily, you don't need to know and memorize them all at first: you can easily start with the most common and used ones . As a result, you'll see that the others will also start to stick in your head because many of these verbs have common characteristics, or are derived from common verbs and therefore resemble each other.

However, to help you learn them once and for all, we've provided a table of English irregular verb paradigms below that you can copy and download as a PDF to carry with you and refer to whenever you need it.

basic form	past simple	past participle	translation
arise	arose	arisen	to arise
awake	awoke	awoken	wake up
be	was / were	been	to be
bear	bore	borne	to hold
beat	beat	beaten	beat
become	became	become	become
begin	began	begun	start
bend	bent	bent	to bend / to bend
bet	bet	bet	bet
bind	bound	bound	bind
bite	bit	bitten	bite
bleed	bled	bled	bleed
blow	blew	blown	blow
break	broke	broken	break
breed	bred	bred	to raise
bring	brought	brought	bring
broadcast	broadcast	broadcast	transmit
build	built	built	build
burn	burnt*	burnt*	burn
burst	burst	burst	burst
buy	bought	bought	buy
cast	cast	cast	throw away
catch	caught	caught	take
choose	chose	chosen	choose
as	came	as	come
cost	cost	cost	to coast
creep	crept	crept	to crawl
cut	cut	cut	to cut
deal	dealt	dealt	deal with
dig	dug	dug	dig
do	did	done	Do
draw	drew	drawn	draw
dream	dreamt	dreamt	dream
drink	drank	drunk	drink
drive	drove	driven	guide
eat	you	eaten	eat
fall	fell	fallen	fall
feed	fed	fed	to nourish
feel	felt	felt	feel
fight	fought	fought	fight
make	made	made	do
mean	meant	meant	mean
meet	met	met	encounter
encounter	mistook	mistaken	err
meet	met	met	encounter
mow	mowed	mown	cut the grass
overcome	overcame	overcome	overcome
pay	paid	paid	pay
put	put	put	put
read	read (red)	read (red)	light
laugh	laugh	laugh	to get rid of
laughs	gnaws	ridden	ride
ring	rang	rung	play
laugh	rose	risen	to arise
run	ran	run	run
see	saw	seen	see
say	said	said	say
seek	sought	sought	look for
sell	sold	sold	sell
send	sent	sent	send
sew	sewed	sewn	sew
shake	shook	shaken	shake
shed	shed	shed	to spread
shine	shone	shone	shine
shoot	shot	shot	shoot
show	showed	shown	show
shrink	shrank	shrunk	to shrink
shut	shut	shut	close
single	blood	song	sing
sink	sank	sunk	sink
sit	sat	sat	sit
slay	slew	slain	to slaughter
sleep	slept	slept	sleep
slide	slides	slide	slip
smell	smelt	smelt	smell
sow	sowed	sown	sow
speak	spoke	spoken	speak
speed	shipping	shipping	to accelerate
spell	spelt	spelt	spell
spend	spent	spent	spend
spill	split*	split*	deposit
spit	spat	spat	spit
spread	spread	spread	to spread
stand	stood	stood	stand
steal	stoles	stolen	steal
sware	swore	sworn	swear
sweep	swept	swept	sweep
swell	swelled	swollen	swell
swim	swam	swum	swim
swing	swung	swung	to swing
take	took	taken	take
teach	taught	taught	teach
tear	bull	returned	rip
think	thought	thought	think
throw	threw	thrown	throw away
tell	told	told	say
thrust	thrust	thrust	to stick
tread	trod	trodden	to trample
understand	understood	understood	understand
undertake	undertook	undertaken	to undertake
wake	woke	waken	wake up
wear	wore	worn	get dressed
weep	wept	wept	cry
win	won	won	win
wind	wound	wound	wrap
wring	wrung	wrung	twist
write	wrote	written	write

The verbs in bold are the most common on the list, the ones we at Sprachcaffe believe are most important to know, and the ones you should prioritize during your study. There's plenty of time to add all the others to the list of verbs you know, but to make things easier, we strongly recommend starting with the most common ones , especially since they'll be incredibly useful. Think, for example, about how many times you use the verb "mangiare" (to eat) every day, as well as "prendere" (to take); "leggere" (read), "sentire" (feel), "cominciare" (begin), and so on: these are fundamental words in our daily communication!

You may have noticed, then, that some of the forms that make up these English verb paradigms have an asterisk: when you find it, it means that that specific verbal form can also be found in the regular form , that is, the one with the "-ed" ending.

For example, the verb burn in the past tense can be either "burnt" or "burned".

I burned the paper → I burned the paper.
I burned the paper → I burned the paper.

Both forms are equally correct. Remember, however, that when an irregular verb has two forms, the most common and used will always be the irregular form, the one found in the English paradigm.

Therefore, it's always best to know it by heart and use it when necessary: and then, you'll also sound more native and fluent when speaking!

How to Memorize English Irregular Verb Paradigms

By now, you'll have realized that with English paradigms, whether PDFs are available or not, it will be a huge memorization effort to study and remember them all, each with its own characteristics and endings. Having a list of irregular verbs in English is certainly the first method to help you learn these verbs effectively: having a table to consult at all times will allow you not only to recognize irregularities when you encounter them, but also to memorize every step of these English paradigms.

Another useful method for studying the English paradigms of irregular verbs is to divide them into groups and study them one at a time. You can simply sort them alphabetically, or divide them by similarities: you may have noticed, for example, that some irregularities are repeated, or that some verbs derive directly from others. The verb "take" and the verb "mistake," for example, are essentially the same verb, which, in the latter case, has a prefix that modifies its meaning. Grammatically, however, they behave the same way.

take → took → taken

mis take → mis took → mis taken

Depending on how it can be most effective for your study style, you can then choose different methods to study paradigms in English.

There are also other tips you can follow to make your job easier, such as:

Repeat the paradigm aloud : It may seem boring and repetitive, sure, but it's a really effective exercise. Especially if you read aloud: hearing your own voice will help you memorize what you're saying.
Write irregular verbs on a piece of paper: another memory exercise is writing them. An effective method for learning English paradigms is to write them by hand on a piece of paper. For further memorization practice, you can choose to write them out of order, not following the alphabetical order of the table, so as not to risk remembering them only if they're in that exact order. From here, you can also "play" by covering a column and trying to complete it from memory, to practice in the meantime.
Embark on a language study trip with Sprachcaffe : what better way to learn a language than by living in a place where everyone speaks it and interacting with the locals? This is our most effective tip for learning irregular verbs in English, but also for making them your own and putting them into context without even thinking about it: this is what happens when you study a language abroad. You manage to master it and speak it with complete ease, just like a native. You grasp its most complex nuances, begin to think in that language and formulate constructions completely different from Italian, taking full advantage of every tool you've acquired through study. Join us on a language study trip to Canada, England, or Malta to learn English once and for all, including those much-hated and feared irregular verbs! You'll see, it will be a truly unforgettable experience, as well as an educational one.

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