50 irregular verbs you need to know

In the English language there are some irregular verbs, which we would like to introduce to you in this article. The regular verbs are used in conjunction with auxiliary verbs and different endings, e.g. cook, cooked, cooking.  With irregular verbs, the stem of the Simple Past changes as well as the Past Participle. These irregular verbs are needed to form the past tense correctly. In this article you will find a list of the 50 most common irregular verbs with their conjugation.

Tips for learning irregular verbs

At the beginning, this seems to be quite a lot of vocabulary. Unfortunately, there is no way around learning them by heart. We'll give you 5 tips on how to manage to learn the irregular verbs:

Flashcards: Through apps like Quizlet you can create your own flashcards or search millions of learning sets from existing users. The advantage through such apps are that you can learn from anywhere. No matter if you are on the train or waiting for a friend. After all, you have your smartphone with you most of the time!
Listening: For example, you can record yourself reciting vocabulary using your smartphone. You can then listen to what you say at any time. This way you can easily learn the vocabulary without much effort!
Repeat regularly: You can read through the words once every night before you go to sleep. You can then repeat this in the morning and see how many words you still remember.
Use regularly and intensively: In order not to forget the vocabulary, you should also try to use it regularly. You can, for example, write a story in English or talk to other people in English and use these verbs. This way you will remember them longer.

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Table of irregular verbs

Infinitiv Simple Past Past Participle
be was/were been
bear bore borne/born
beat beat beaten
become became become
begin began begun
bet bet bet
bite bit bitten
bleed bled bled
break broke broken
bring brought brought
buy bought bought
cast cast cast
catch caught  
choose chose  
come came  
cost cost  
cut cut cut
do did done
drink drank drunk
drive drove driven
eat ate eaten
fall fell fallen
feed fed fed
feel felt felt
find found found
fly flew flown
forget forgot forgotten
get got got/gotten
give gave given
go went gone
have had had
hear heard heard
hit hit hit
keep kept kept
know knew known
let let let
make made made
read read read
ring rang rung
see saw seen
speak spoke spoken
stick stuck stuck
swim swam swum
take took taken
teach taught taught
tell told told
think thought thought
understand understood understood
win won won
write wrote written