English Verb Forms List
Proper use of verbs is very important to speak and write correct English. Every verb has three forms (Base Form, Past Form, Past Participle Form) followed by its ‘ing’ form. We are presenting you verb list in a easy to learn form. It has been segregated as follows.
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Verbs constitute one of the main parts of speech (word classes) in the English language. Like other types of words in the language, English verbs are not heavily inflected. Most combinations of tense, aspect, mood and voice are expressed periphrastically, using constructions with auxiliary verbs.
Generally, the only inflected forms of an English verb are a third person singular present tense form in -s, a past tense (also called preterite), a past participle (which may be the same as the past tense), and a form ending in -ing that serves as a present participle and gerund. Most verbs inflect in a simple regular fashion, although there are about 200 irregular verbs; the irregularity in nearly all cases concerns the past tense and past participle forms. The copula verb be has a larger number of different inflected forms, and is highly irregular.
For details of the uses of particular verb tenses and other forms, see the article Uses of English verb forms. For certain other specific topics, see the articles listed in the adjacent box.
- 1Inflected forms
- 2Syntactic constructions
- 2.1Expressing tenses, aspects and moods
- 3Use of verb forms
Inflected forms[edit]
| Person | Singular | Plural |
|---|---|---|
| First | I have | We have |
| Second | You have | You have |
| Third | It has | They have |
Principal parts[edit]
A regular English verb has only one principal part, from which all the forms of the verb can be derived. This is the base form or dictionary form. For example, from the base form exist, all the inflected forms of the verb (exist, exists, existed, existing) can be predictably derived. The base form is also called the bare infinitive; another common way of referring to verbs is to use the to-infinitive, e.g. 'to exist'.
Most irregular verbs have three principal parts, since the simple past and past participle are unpredictable. For example, the verb write has the principal parts write (base form), wrote (past), and written (past participle); the remaining inflected forms (writes, writing) are derived regularly from the base form. Note that some irregular verbs have identical past tense and past participle forms (as the regular verbs do), as with send–sent–sent.
The infinitive, simple past and past participle are sometimes referred to as First (V1), Second (V2) and Third (V3) form of a verb, respectively. This naming convention has all but disappeared from American and British usage, but still can be found in textbooks and teaching materials used in other countries.[1][2][3][4]
The verbs do, say and have additionally have irregular third person singular present tense forms (see below). The copular verb be is highly irregular, with the forms be, am, is, are, was, were, been and being. On the other hand, modal verbs (such as can and must) are defective verbs, being used only in a limited number of forms. For details on the forms of verbs of these types, see § Copular, auxiliary and defective verbs below.
Base form[edit]
The base form or plain form of a verb is not marked by any inflectional ending. There are certain derivational suffixes that are frequently used to form verbs, such as -ate (formulate), -fy (electrify), and -ise/ize (realise/realize). Many verbs also contain prefixes, such un- (unmask), out- (outlast), over- (overtake), and under- (undervalue).[5] Some verbs are formed from nouns and adjectives by conversion, as with the verbs snare, nose, dry, and calm.
The base form is used in the following ways:
- It serves as the bare infinitive, and is used in the to-infinitive (e.g. to write); for uses see § Non-finite forms below.
- It serves as the simple present tense, except in the third person singular: I/you/we/they write regularly (and except for the copula).
- It is used as an imperative: Write these words.
- It is used as a subjunctive: I suggested that he write a novel.
For the verb be, which uses different forms for the simple present, and modal verbs, which are not used in the infinitive, imperative or subjunctive, see § Copular, auxiliary and defective verbs below.
Third person singular present[edit]
Almost all verbs have a third person singular present indicative form with the suffix-[e]s. In terms of spelling, it is formed in most cases by adding -s to the verb's base form: run → runs. However if the base form ends in one of the sibilant sounds (/s/, /z/, /ʃ/, /ʒ/, /tʃ/, /dʒ/) and its spelling does not end in a silent e, then -es is added: buzz → buzzes; catch → catches. Verbs ending in a consonant plus o also typically add -es: veto → vetoes. Verbs ending in a consonant plus y add -es after changing the y to an i: cry → cries.
In terms of pronunciation, the ending is pronounced as /ɪz/ after sibilants (as in lurches), as /s/ after voiceless consonants other than sibilants (as in makes), and as /z/ otherwise (as in adds). These are the same rules that apply to the pronunciation of the regular noun plural suffix-[e]s and the possessive-'s. The spelling rules given above are also very similar to those for the plural of nouns.
The third person singular present of have is irregular: has/hæz/ (with the weak form/həz/ when used as an auxiliary, also contractable to -'s). The verbs do and say also have irregular forms, does/dʌz/ and says/sɛz/, which however look like regular forms in writing.
For the verb be, modal verbs and other auxiliaries, see § Copular, auxiliary and defective verbs below.
The form described in this section is used with third person singular subjects as the simple present tense (in the indicative mood): He writes novels all the time. (This tense has other uses besides referring to present time; for example, in I'll be glad if he writes, it refers to future time.)
Past tense[edit]
The past tense, or preterite, may be formed regularly or irregularly.
With regular verbs, the past tense is formed (in terms of spelling) by adding -ed to the base form (play → played). Normal rules for adding suffixes beginning with a vowel apply: If the base form ends in e then only d is added (like → liked); if the base form ends in a consonant followed by y then the y is changed to i before adding the ending (try → tried; an exception is the verb sky (a ball), which can form skied or skyed).
Various rules apply for doubling final consonants. If the base form ends in a single vowel followed by a single consonant (except h, silent t, w, x and y), then unless the final syllable is completely unstressed, the consonant is doubled before adding the -ed (ship → shipped, but fathom → fathomed). For most base forms ending in c, the doubled form used is ck, and this is used regardless of stress (panic → panicked; exceptions include zinc → zincked or zinced, arc → usually arced, spec → specced or spec'ed, sync → sometimes synched). In British English, the doubling of l occurs regardless of stress (travel → travelled; but paralleled is an exception), and when two separately-pronounced vowels precede the l (dial → dialled, fuel → fuelled).
If the final syllable has some partial stress, especially for compound words, the consonant is usually doubled: backflip → backflipped, hobnob → hobnobbed, kidnap → kidnapped etc. In some cases both alternatives are acceptable, e.g. dialog → dialogued or dialogged, gambol → gambolled, hiccup → hiccupped or hiccuped, program → programed or programmed. Note however catalog → cataloged, pyramid → pyramided, format → formatted (but combat → combat(t)ed). Other variations not entirely consistent with these rules include bus → bused or bussed, bias → biased or biassed and focus → focused or focussed, .
The pronunciation of the past tense ending follows similar rules to those for the third person present tense ending described above: if the base form ends in /t/ or /d/ then a new syllable /ɪd/ or /əd/ is added (as in drifted, exceeded); if the base form ends in an unvoiced consonant sound other than /t/ then the ending is pronounced /t/ (as in capped, passed); otherwise the ending is pronounced /d/ (as in buzzed, tangoed). Consequently, in the 17th and 18th centuries, the latter two pronunciations were routinely spelled -'d, but -ed was later restored.
For the past tense of irregular verbs, see English irregular verbs. Some of these can be classed as Germanic strong verbs, such as sing (past sang), while others are weak verbs with irregularly pronounced or irregularly spelt past forms, such as say (past tense said/sɛd/).
The verb be has two past tense forms: was (first and third person singular) and were (plural and second person).
The past tense (preterite) form is used in what is called the simple past, in sentences such as We lit the fire and He liked to dance. One of the uses of this tense is to refer not to a past situation, but to a hypothetical (present or future) situation in a dependent clause: If I knew that, I wouldn't have to ask. This is sometimes called the 'past subjunctive', particularly in the case of were, which can replace was in such sentences; see English subjunctive.
Past participle[edit]
The past participle of regular verbs is identical to the preterite (past tense) form, described in the previous section.
For irregular verbs, see English irregular verbs. Some of these have different past tense and past participle forms (like sing–sang–sung); others have the same form for both (like make–made–made). In some cases the past tense is regular but the past participle is not, as with show–showed–shown.
For uses of the past participle, see § Non-finite forms below.
Present participle[edit]
The present participle form, which is also used for the gerund, is formed by adding the suffix -ing to the base form: go → going. A final silent e is dropped (believe → believing); final ie changes to y (lie → lying), and consonant doubling applies as for the past tense (see above): run → running, panic → panicking.
Some exceptions include forms such as singeing, dyeing, ageing, rueing, cacheing and whingeing, where the e may be retained to avoid confusion with otherwise identical words (e.g. singing), to clarify pronunciation (for example to show that a word has a soft g or ch), or for aesthetic reasons.
In standard English the ending is pronounced /ɪŋ/, although in many regional dialects the final consonant sound is pronounced /n/, sometimes represented in eye dialect by spellings such as huntin' (see g-dropping).
For uses of the present participle and gerund, see § Non-finite forms below.
Copular, auxiliary and defective verbs[edit]
The copular verbbe has multiple irregular forms in the present tense: am for first person singular (which together with the subject pronoun is often contracted to I'm), is for third person singular (often contracted to 's), and are for plural and second person (often contracted to 're chiefly after the pronouns you, we, they). It also has two past tense forms: was for first and third person singular, and were for plural and second person (also used as a past subjunctive with all persons; see English subjunctive). The past participle is been, and the present participle and gerund is the regular being. The base form be is used regularly as an infinitive, imperative and (present) subjunctive. For archaic forms, see the next section.
English has a number of modal verbs which generally do not inflect (most of them are surviving preterite-present verbs), and so have only a single form, used as a finite verb with subjects of all persons and numbers. These verbs are can, could, may, might, shall, should, will, would, must, ought (to), as well as need and dare (when used with a bare infinitive), and in some analyses used (to) and had better. (The forms could, might, should and would are considered to be the past tenses of can, may, shall and will respectively, although they are not always used as such.) These verbs do not have infinitive, imperative or participle forms, although in some cases there exists a synonymous phrase that can be used to produce such forms, such as be able to in the case of can and could. The negation of can is the single word cannot. There are contracted forms 'll and 'd for will and would (in some cases possibly considered to be from shall and should).
Other verbs used as auxiliaries include have, chiefly in perfect constructions (the forms has, have and had can contract to 's, 've and 'd), and do (does, did) in emphatic, inverted and negated constructions (see do-support).
For more detail of the above, including contractions of negated forms (isn't, won't, etc.), see English auxiliaries and contractions.
Another example of a defective verb is beware, which is used only in those forms in which be remains unchanged, namely the infinitive, subjunctive and imperative.
Archaic forms[edit]
| Person | Singular | Plural |
|---|---|---|
| First | I have | We have |
| Second | Thou hast | Ye have |
| Third | It hath | They have |
Formerly, particularly in the Old English period, the English language had a far greater degree of verb inflection than it does now (other Germanic languages generally retain a greater variety of inflected forms than English does). Some of the forms used in Early Modern English have now fallen out of use, but are still encountered in old writers and texts (e.g. Shakespeare, the King James Bible) and in archaisms.
One such form was the third person singular form with the suffix -eth[əθ], pronounced as a full syllable. This was used in some dialects rather than the modern -s, e.g. he maketh ('he makes'), he runneth ('he runs'), he goeth ('he goes'). In some verbs, a shortened form -th appears: he hath ('he has'), he doth ('he does'; pronounced as if written duth), he saith or he sayeth ('he says'). The forms hath and doth are found in some proverbs ('Hell hath no fury like a woman scorned', 'The lady doth protest too much').
Another set of forms are associated with the archaic second person singular pronoun thou, which often have the ending -est, pronounced as a full syllable, e.g. thou makest ('you make'), thou leadest ('you lead'). In some verbs, a shortened form -st appears: thou hast ('you have'), thou dost ('you do'; rhymes with must). In the case of the verb be, such forms included art (present tense), wast (past), wert (past subjunctive) and beest (present subjunctive; pronounced as two syllables). In all other verbs, the past tense is formed by the base past tense form of the word (e.g. had, did, listened) plus-'st, not pronounced as a full syllable, e.g. thou had'st ('you had'), thou did'st ('you did'), thou listened'st ('you listened'). Modal verbs except must also have -t or -st added to their form, e.g. thou canst ('you can'), thou wilt ('you will'), thou wouldst ('you would'), thou mightst ('you might'), except may, which is thou mayest ('you may').
For example, several such forms (as well as other archaic forms such as yea for 'yes', thy for 'your', and mine enemies for 'my enemies') appear in Psalm 23 from the King James Bible:
- The LORD is my shepherd; I shall not want.
- He maketh me to lie down in green pastures: he leadeth me beside the still waters.
- He restoreth my soul: he leadeth me in the paths of righteousness for his name's sake.
- Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil: for thou art with me; thy rod and thy staff they comfort me.
- Thou preparest a table before me in the presence of mine enemies: thou anointest my head with oil; my cup runneth over.
- Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life: and I will dwell in the house of the LORD for ever.
For more information see Old English verbs, English subjunctive, and Indo-European copula (for the history of the verb be).
Syntactic constructions[edit]
Expressing tenses, aspects and moods[edit]
Apart from the simple past tense described above, English verbs do not have synthetic (inflected) forms for particular tenses, aspects or moods. However, there are a number of periphrastic (multi-word) constructions with verb forms that serve to express tense-like or aspect-like meanings; these constructions are commonly described as representing certain verb tenses or aspects (in English language teaching they are often simply called tenses). For the usage of these forms, see § Use of verb forms below. Adobe reader xi download for windows 7. More detail can be found in the article Uses of English verb forms.
Simple and progressive[edit]
The progressive (or continuous) aspect is expressed with a form of be together with the present participle of the verb. Thus present progressive (present continuous) constructions take forms like am writing, is writing, are writing, while the past progressive (past continuous, also called imperfect) is was writing, were writing. There is a progressive infinitive (to) be writing and a progressive subjunctivebe writing. Other progressive forms, made with compound forms of be, are described below.
The basic present and past tenses of the verb are called simple present (present simple) and simple past (past simple), to distinguish them from progressive or other compound forms. Thus the simple present of the above verb is write or writes, and the simple past (also called preterite) is wrote.
Perfect[edit]
The perfect aspect is expressed with a form of the auxiliary have together with the past participle of the verb. Thus the present perfect is have written or has written, and the past perfect (pluperfect) is had written. The perfect can combine with the progressive aspect (see above) to produce the present perfect progressive (continuous) have/has been writing and the past perfect progressive (continuous) had been writing. There is a perfect infinitive (to) have written and a perfect progressive infinitive (to) have been writing, and corresponding present participle/gerund forms having written and having been writing. A perfect subjunctive (have written) is also sometimes used. Future and conditional perfect forms are given below.
Future and conditional[edit]
What is often called the future tense of English is formed using the auxiliary will. The simple future is will write, the future progressive (continuous) is will be writing, the future perfect is will have written, and the future perfect progressive (continuous) is will have been writing. Traditionally (though now usually in formal English only) shall is used rather than will in the first person singular and plural; see shall and will.
The conditional, or 'future-in-the-past', forms are made analogously to these future forms, using would (and should) in place of will (and shall).
Expressing passive voice[edit]
The passive voice in English is normally expressed with a form of the copula verb be (or sometimes get) together with the past participle of the main verb. In this context be is not a stative verb, so it may occur in progressive forms. Examples:
- The house was built last year.
- The house is being built at the moment.
- The house will be built by our firm. (a prepositional phrase with by expresses the performer of the action)
- I was given a blueprint. (here the subject of the passive corresponds to the indirect object of the active)
- He was said to know the house's dimensions. (special construction related to indirect speech)
For details, see English passive voice.
Imperatives[edit]
Imperatives are expressed with the base form of the verb, normally with no subject: Take this outside! Be good! It is possible to add the second person pronoun you for emphasis: You be good!
More details can be found in the article Imperative mood.
Questions, negation, inversion and emphasis[edit]
Questions are formed by subject–auxiliary inversion (unless the interrogative word is part of the subject). If there is otherwise no auxiliary, the verb do (does, did) is used as an auxiliary, enabling the inversion. This also applies to negation: the negating word not must follow an auxiliary, so do is used if there is no other auxiliary.
Inversion is also required in certain other types of sentences, mainly after negative adverbial phrases; here too do is used if there is no other auxiliary.
The construction with do as auxiliary is also used to enable emphasis to be added to a sentence.
For details of the above constructions, see do-support.
Use of verb forms[edit]
This section describes how the verb forms introduced in the preceding sections are used. More detail can be found in the article Uses of English verb forms and in the articles on the individual tenses and aspects.
Finite forms[edit]
In referring to an action taking place regularly (and not limited to the future or to the past), the simple present is used: He brushes his teeth every morning. For an action taking place at the present time, the present progressive construction is used: He is brushing his teeth now. With some verbs expressing a present state, particularly the copula be and verbs expressing a mental state, the present simple is generally used: They are here; I know that. However other state verbs use the present progressive or present simple depending on whether the state is considered temporary or permanent: The pen is lying on the table; Paris lies on the Seine.
For past actions or states, the simple past is generally used: He went out an hour ago; Columbus knew the shape of the world. However, for completed actions for which no past time frame is implied or expressed, the present perfect is normally used: I have made the dinner (i.e. the dinner is now ready). For an action in the course of taking place, or a temporary state existing, at the past time being referred to (compare uses of the present progressive above), the past progressive is used: We were sitting on the beach when.. For an action that was completed before the past time being referred to, the past perfect is used: We had sat down on the blanket when..
For actions or events expected to take place in the future, the construction with will can be used: The president will arrive tomorrow. Future events are also often expressed using the be going to construction: She is going to arrive tomorrow. Planned events can also be referred to using the present progressive (She is arriving tomorrow) or, if precisely scheduled, the simple present (She arrives tomorrow). The future progressive and future perfect can be used analogously to the past equivalents: We will be sitting on the beach this afternoon; We will have left the house by 4 o'clock. However, in subordinate clauses expressing a condition or a time reference, present forms are used rather than the forms with will: If/When you get (not will get) there..
When expressing actions or events lasting up to a specified time, the appropriate perfect construction is used (with the progressive if expressing a temporary state that would generally be expressed with a progressive form): We have been having some problems lately; I have lived here for six years; We had been working since the previous evening; We will have been working for twelve hours by the time you arrive.
The use of tense and aspectual forms in condition and conditional clauses follows special patterns; see conditional mood. For use of tenses in indirect speech, see sequence of tenses. For the use of subjunctive forms, see English subjunctive.
Non-finite forms[edit]
The bare infinitive, identical to the base form of the verb, is used as a complement of most modal verbs and certain other verbs (I can write; They made him write; I saw you write), including in negated and inverted sentences formed using do-support (He doesn't write; Did you write?).
Preceded by to, it forms the to-infinitive, which has a variety of uses, including as a noun phrase (To write is to learn) and as the complement of many verbs (I want to write), as well as with certain adjectives and nouns (easy to ride; his decision to leave), and in expressions of purpose (You did it to spite me).
The past participle has the following uses:
- It is used with the auxiliary have in perfect constructions: They have written; We had written before we heard the news. (With verbs of motion, an archaic form with be may be found in older texts: he is come.)
- It is used as a passive participle, with be or get, to form the passive voice: This book was written last year; Trees sometimes get gnawed down by beavers.
- It is used to form passive participial phrases, which can be used adjectivally or adverbally (a letter written on his computer; Beaten to a pulp, he was carried away) and as complements of certain verbs (I got my car mended; They had me placed on a list).
- It may be used as a simple adjective: as a passive participle in the case of transitive verbs (the written word, i.e. 'the word that is written'), and as a perfect active participle in the case of some intransitive ones (a fallen tree, i.e. 'a tree that has fallen').
The present participle has the following uses:
- It is used with forms of be, in progressive (continuous) constructions: He is writing another book; I intend to be sitting on the beach.
- It can form participial phrases, which can be used adjectivally or adverbally: The man sitting over there is drunk; Being a lawyer, I can understand this; I saw her sitting by the tree.
- It can serve as a simple adjective: It is a thrilling book.
The same form used as a gerund has the following uses:
- It forms verbal phrases that are then used as nouns: Lying in bed is my favorite hobby.
- It forms similar phrases used as a complement of certain verbs: He tried writing novels.
The logical subject of a phrase formed with a gerund can be expressed by a possessive, as in I do not likeyour/Jim'sdrinking wine, although a non-possessive noun or pronoun is often used instead, especially in informal English: I do not likeyou/Jimdrinking wine. The latter usage, though common, is sometimes considered ungrammatical or stylistically poor; it is given names like fused participle[6] and geriple[7] since it is seen to confuse a participle with a gerund. For more information see fused participle.
Gerund forms are often used as plain verbal nouns, which function grammatically like common nouns (in particular, by being qualified by adjectives rather than adverbs): He did some excellent writing (compare the gerund: He is known for writing excellently). Such verbal nouns can function, for instance, as noun adjuncts, as in a writing desk.
Objects and complements[edit]
Verbs are used in certain patterns which require the presence of specific arguments in the form of objects and other complements of particular types. (A given verb may be usable in one or more of these patterns.)
A verb with a direct object is called a transitive verb. Some transitive verbs have an indirect object in addition to the direct object. Verbs used without objects are called intransitive. Both transitive and intransitive verbs may also have additional complements that are not considered objects.
A single (direct) object generally follows the verb: I love you. If there is an indirect object, it precedes the direct object (I gave him the book), although an indirect object can also be expressed with a prepositional phrase following the direct object (and this method is usual when the direct object is a personal pronoun): I gave the book to John; I bought them for you.
Other complements may include prepositional phrases, non-finite clauses and content clauses, depending on the applicable verb pattern. These complements normally follow any objects. For example:
- I insist on coming. (this use of the verb insist involves a prepositional phrase with on)
- I expect to arrive tomorrow. (this use of expect involves a to-infinitive phrase)
- I asked him whether he was coming. (this use of ask involves a direct object (him) and an interrogative content clause)
More examples can be found at Verb patterns with the gerund.
English has a number of ergative verbs: verbs which can be used either intransitively or transitively, where in the intransitive use it is the subject that is receiving the action, and in the transitive use the direct object is receiving the action while the subject is causing it. An example is sink: The ship sank (intransitive use); The explosion sank the ship (transitive use). Other common examples include open, sink, wake, melt, boil, collapse, explode, freeze, start, sell.
For more details on how verbs are built up into clauses, see English clause syntax.
Phrasal verbs[edit]
Many English verbs are used in particular combinations with adverbial modifiers such as on, away, out, etc. Often these combinations take on independent meanings. They are referred to as phrasal verbs. (This term may also include verbs used with a complement introduced by a particular preposition that gives it a special meaning, as in take to (someone).)
The adverbial particle in a phrasal verb generally appears close after the verb, though it may follow the object, particularly when the object is a pronoun: Hand over the money or Hand the money over, but Hand it over.
See also[edit]
Notes[edit]
- ^'English irregular verbs'(PDF).
- ^'1000 Forms of Verbs – 1st form, 2nd form, 3rd form'.
- ^'How to Change a Verb Into 2nd and 3rd Form?'.
- ^'Verb Forms'.
- ^Carter & McCarthy 2006, p. 301
- ^H.W. Fowler, A Dictionary of Modern English Usage, 1926
- ^Penguin guide to plain English, Harry Blamires (Penguin Books Ltd., 2000) ISBN978-0-14-051430-8 pp.144-146
Verb Forms In English Grammar
References[edit]
- Gilman, E. Ward (editor in chief) Merriam Webster's Dictionary of English Usage (Merriam-Webster, 1989) ISBN0-87779-132-5
- Greenbaum, Sidney. The Oxford English Grammar. (Oxford, 1996) ISBN0-19-861250-8
- McArthur, Tom, The Oxford Companion to the English Language (Oxford, 1992) ISBN0-19-863136-7
- Carter, Ronald; McCarthy, Michael (2006). Cambridge grammar of English : a comprehensive guide ; spoken and written English grammar and usage ; [Cambridge international corpus]. Cambridge University Press. ISBN9783125343313.
External links[edit]
| For a list of words relating to English verbs, see the English verbs category of words in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. |
| Look up Appendix:English verbs in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. |
| The Wikibook English/English in use has a page on the topic of: Verbs |
- Sequence of Tenses at the Online Writing Lab at Purdue University
This is a list of irregular verbs in the English language.
Past tense irregular verbs[edit]
For each verb listed, the citation form (the bare infinitive) is given first, with a link to the relevant Wiktionary entry. This is followed by the simple past tense (preterite), and then the past participle. If there are irregular present tense forms (see below), these are given in parentheses after the infinitive. (The present participle and gerund forms of verbs, ending in -ing, are always regular. In English, these are used as verbs, adjectives, and nouns.) In the case of modal verbs the present and preterite forms are listed, since these are the only forms that exist.
The right-hand column notes whether the verb is weak or strong and whether it belongs to a subclass, and links to descriptions elsewhere. Information about the development of these verbs generally can be found at English irregular verbs; details of the etymology and usage of specific verbs can be found by consulting Wiktionary.
In some cases, there are two or more possibilities for a given form. In the table, the preferred or more common usage is generally listed first, though for some words the usage is nearly equal for the two choices. Sometimes the usage depends on the dialect. In many cases, such as spell (spelt vs. spelled), learn (learnt vs. learned), and spill (spilt vs. spilled), American English normally uses the regular form, while British English tends to favor the irregular. In other cases, such as dive (dived vs. dove) and sneak (sneaked vs. snuck), the opposite is true. Australian, New Zealand and South African English tend to follow the British practice, while Canadian English often sides with the American usage.
The table includes selected archaic or dialectal forms, marked * (some of these forms may also be present in specialist uses).
| Verb forms | Verb class and notes |
|---|---|
| ache/*ake – ached/*oke – ached/*aken | Strong, class 6; now regular. |
| bake – baked/*book – baked/*baken | Strong, class 6; now regular except in Northern English dialects. |
| be (am, is, are/*be) – was, were – been | Suppletive. See Indo-European copula. |
bear – bore/*bare – borne/born
| Strong, class 4. The spelling born is used in passive or adjectival contexts relating to birth. |
beat – beat – beaten/beat
| Strong, class 7 |
become – became – become
| Strong, class 4 |
*beget – begot/*begat – begot/begotten
| Strong, class 5 |
| begin – began – begun | Strong, class 3 |
bend – bent/*bended – bent/*bended
| Weak with coalescence of dentals |
| beseech – beseeched/*besought – beseeched/*besought | Weak with Rückumlaut and Germanic spirant law (now regularized) |
bet – bet/betted – bet/betted
| Weak with coalescence of dentals |
| betide – betided/*betid – betided/*betid | Weak with vowel shortening and coalescence of dentals (or regular) |
| beware – (no other forms) | Defective; formed from be with predicate adjective, used as infinitive, imperative and subjunctive only. Inflected forms (bewares, bewared, bewaring) are considered obsolete. |
bid[in auctions etc.] – bid – bid
| Weak with coalescence of dentals |
| bid[meaning to request or say] – bid/*bade – bid/*bidden | Strong, class 5 |
bide – bided/bode – bided/bidden
| Strong, class 1 |
bind – bound – bound/*bounden
| Strong, class 3 |
bite – bit – bitten
| Strong, class 1 |
| bleed – bled – bled | Weak with vowel shortening and coalescence of dentals |
| blend – blended/*blent – blended/*blent | Weak with devoiced ending (or regular) |
| bless – blessed/*blest – blessed/*blest | Weak, regular with alternative (archaic) spelling |
blow – blew – blown
| Strong, class 7 |
break – broke/*brake – broken/*broke
| Strong, class 4 |
breed – bred – bred
| Weak with vowel shortening and coalescence of dentals |
| bring – brought – brought | Weak with Rückumlaut and Germanic spirant law |
build – built – built
| Weak with coalescence of dentals and devoiced ending |
burn – burned/burnt – burned/burnt
| Weak with devoiced ending (or regular) |
| burst – burst/*brast – burst/*bursten | Strong, class 3 |
| bust – busted/bust – busted/bust | Strong, class 3 (or regular) |
buy – bought – bought/*boughten
| Weak with Rückumlaut and Germanic spirant law |
| can[auxiliary verb] – could – (none) | Preterite-present, defective. See English modal verbs |
cast – cast – cast
| Weak with coalescence of dentals. Many of the prefixed forms can also take -ed. |
| catch – caught/*catched – caught/*catched | Weak, French loanword conjugated perhaps by analogy with teach–taught; regular forms are now dialectal. |
| chide – chided/chid/*chode – chided/chid/chidden | Strong, class 1 |
choose – chose – chosen
| Strong, class 2 |
| clad – clad – clad | Developed from clad, the past form of clothe (see below). |
| clap – clapped/*clapt – clapped/*clapt | |
| cleave[meaning to split] – cleft/clove/cleaved/*clave – cleft/cloven/cleaved | Strong, class 2, sometimes switching to weak with vowel shortening. When meaning 'adhere' the verb is regular. |
| *clepe – cleped/clepen/*clept – cleped/*clept/*clepen/*yclept | Weak with vowel shortening, or regular. Obsolete or dialectal. |
| cling – clung/*clang – clung | Strong, class 3 |
clothe – clad/clothed – clad/clothed
| Weak; the regular clothed is from OE claþian, while clad (weak with coalescence of dentals) is from OE clæþan (both OE verbs having similar meaning).[1] |
| comb – combed – combed/kempt | |
come – came – come/comen
| Strong, class 4 |
| cost[intransitive sense] – cost/costed – cost/costed | Weak with coalescence of dentals. Regular when meaning 'calculate the cost of'. |
| creep – crept/creeped/*crope – crept/creeped/*cropen | Originally strong, class 2; switched to weak with vowel shortening (or regular) |
| crow – crowed/crew – crowed/*crown | Strong, class 7. Now usually regular, but crew can still be used of a cock's crowing. |
cut – cut – cut
| Weak with coalescence of dentals |
| dare (dares/dare) – dared/*durst – dared | Preterite-present, now regular except in the use of dare in place of dares in some contexts. See English modal verbs |
deal – dealt – dealt
| Weak with vowel shortening and devoiced ending |
dig – dug/*digged – dug/*digged
| Originally weak; past form dug developed by analogy with stick–stuck[2] |
| dive – dived/dove – dived/dove | Weak, the alternative dove (found mainly in American usage) arising by analogy with strong verbs |
do (does /dʌz/) – did – done
| Irregular since Proto-Germanic: past tense formed by reduplication. Past participle from Old Englishgedon. Related to deed. |
| dow – dowed/dought – dowed/dought | Related to doughty. |
| drag – dragged/*drug – dragged/*drug | Strong, class 6, now usually regular; drug is used in some dialects |
draw – drew – drawn
| Strong, class 6; related to draft/draught |
dream – dreamed/dreamt/*drempt – dreamed/dreamt/*drempt
| Weak with vowel shortening and devoiced ending (or regular) |
| dress – dressed/*drest – dressed/*drest | Weak with alternative (archaic) spelling |
drink – drank/*drunk/*drinked – drunk/*drank/*drinked/*drunken
| Strong, class 3; related to drench |
drive – drove/*drave – driven
| Strong, class 1; related to drift |
dwell – dwelt/dwelled – dwelt/dwelled
| Weak with devoiced ending (or regular) |
| earn – earned/earnt – earned/earnt | Weak with devoiced ending (or regular) |
eat – ate/*et – eaten
| Strong, class 5. Past tense usually /eɪt/, sometimes /ɛt/ in British English. |
fall – fell/*felled – fallen/*felled
| Strong, class 7 |
feed – fed – fed
| Weak with vowel shortening and coalescence of dentals |
feel – felt – felt
| Weak with vowel shortening and devoiced ending |
fight – fought – fought/*foughten
| Strong, class 3 |
find – found/*fand – found/*founden
| Strong, class 3 |
fit – fitted/fit – fitted/fit
| Weak with coalescence of dentals |
| flee – fled – fled | Originally strong, class 2, switched to weak with vowel shortening |
| fling – flung – flung | By analogy with strong, class 3 |
fly – flew – flown
| Strong, class 2. Regular when used for hitting a fly ball in baseball. |
| forbid – forbid/forbade/forbad – forbidden | Strong, class 5 |
| forget – forgot/*forgat – forgotten/*forgot | Strong, class 5 |
| *forlese – forlore – forlorn | Past participle remains in use adjectivally. |
| forsake – forsook – forsaken | Strong, class 6 |
freeze – froze – frozen
| Strong, class 2 |
get – got/*gat – got/gotten
| Strong, class 5. Past participle is got in British usage (except in fossilized phrases such as 'ill-gotten'), and gotten in American (but see have got). |
| gild – gilded/gilt – gilded/gilt | Weak with coalescence of dentals and devoiced ending (or regular) |
gird – girded/*girt – girded/*girt
| Weak with coalescence of dentals and devoiced ending (or regular) |
give – gave – given
| Strong, class 5 |
go – went – gone
| Suppletive. See article on the verb go. |
| *grave – grove/graved – graven/graved | Strong, class 6. Past participle graven remains in use adjectivally, as in graven images in archaic language, e.g. from the 17th century. The verb engrave is regular. |
| grind – ground/grinded – ground/grinded/*grounden | Strong, class 3 |
grow – grew/*growed – grown/*growed
| Strong, class 7 |
hang – hung/hanged – hung/hanged
| Strong, class 7. Regularized alternative hanged was influenced by OE causativehangian, and is used chiefly for hanging as a means of execution. |
| have (has) – had – had | Weak; had results from contraction, from OE haefd. Third person present has also a result of contraction. |
hear – heard – heard
| Weak, originally with vowel shortening (the modern pronunciation of heard in RP has the long vowel /ɜː/) |
heave – heaved/*hove – heaved/*hove/*hoven
| Strong, class 6, now usually regular except in nautical uses |
| help – helped/*holp – helped/*holpen | Originally strong, class 6, but now weak. |
hew – hewed/*hew – hewed/hewn
| Strong, class 7 (or regular) |
| hide – hid – hidden/*hid | Weak with vowel shortening and coalescence of dentals, influenced by strong verbs |
hit – hit – hit
| Weak with coalescence of dentals |
| hoist – hoisted/hoist – hoisted/hoist | Weak, hoist was originally the past form of the now archaic verb hoise |
hold – held – held/*holden
| Strong, class 7 |
| hurt – hurt – hurt | Weak with coalescence of dentals |
keep – kept – kept
| Weak with vowel shortening |
ken – kenned/kent – kenned/kent
| Northern and Scottish dialect word. Weak with devoiced ending (or regular) |
| kneel – knelt/kneeled – knelt/kneeled | Weak with vowel shortening and devoiced ending (or regular) |
knit – knit/knitted – knit/knitted
| Weak with coalescence of dentals (or regular); related to knot |
know – knew – known/*knowen
| Strong, class 7 |
lade – laded – laden/laded
| Strong, class 6, often regularized (past participle laden is common adjectivally) |
| laugh – laughed/*laught/*laugh'd/*low – laughed/*laught/*laugh'd/*laughen | Originally strong, now weak, regular, with alternative (archaic) spelling |
lay – laid/*layed – laid/*layed
| Weak, irregular in spelling only |
lead – led – led
| Weak with vowel shortening and coalescence of dentals |
| lean – leaned/leant – leaned/leant | Weak with vowel shortening and devoiced ending (or regular) |
leap – leaped/leapt/*lept/*lope – leaped/leapt/*lopen
| Originally strong, class 7, now weak with vowel shortening (or regular) |
learn – learned/learnt – learned/learnt
| Weak with devoiced ending (or regular) |
leave – left – left/*laft
| Weak with vowel shortening and devoiced ending |
lend – lent – lent
| Weak with coalescence of dentals and devoiced ending |
let – let/*leet – let/*letten
| Strong, class 7 |
lie – lay – lain
| Strong, class 5. Regular in the meaning 'tell an untruth'. |
light – lit/lighted – lit/lighted
| Weak with vowel shortening and coalescence of dentals (or regular) |
| lose – lost – lost | Originally strong, class 2, now weak with vowel shortening and devoiced ending |
make – made – made
| Weak; made formed by contraction from 'maked' |
| may – might – (none) | Preterite-present, defective. See English modal verbs |
| mean – meant – meant | Weak with vowel shortening and devoiced ending |
| meet – met – met | Weak with vowel shortening and coalescence of dentals |
| melt – melted/*molt – melted/molten | Strong, class 3. Now regularized, but molten survives in adjectival uses. |
| mix – mixed/*mixt – mixed/*mixt | Weak, regular, with alternative (mostly archaic) spelling |
| mow – mowed – mowed/mown | Strong, class 7. Now regularized in past tense and sometimes in past participle. |
| must – (no other forms) | Defective; originally a preterite. See English modal verbs |
| need (needs/need) – needed – needed | Weak, regular except in the use of need in place of needs in some contexts, by analogy with can, must, etc.[3] See English modal verbs |
| ought – (no other forms) | Defective; originally a preterite. See English modal verbs |
pay – paid/*payed – paid/*payed
| Weak, irregular in spelling only. The spelling payed is used in the meaning of letting out a rope etc. |
| pen – penned/pent – penned/pent | Weak with devoiced ending, but usually regular; pent is sometimes used when the verb has the meaning 'to enclose', and mainly adjectivally |
| plead – pled/pleaded – pled/pleaded | French loanword, weak with vowel shortening and coalescence of dentals. In North America, this verb is usually irregular. |
prove – proved – proved/proven
| French loanword, weak, with the alternative past participle proven by analogy with some strong verbs |
put – put – put/*putten
| Weak with coalescence of dentals. Past participle form putten is characteristic for Yorkshire and Lancashire dialects. |
*queath/*quethe – queathed/quethed/quoth/quod – queathed/quethed/quoth/quethen
| Strong, class 5. Past tense quoth is literary or archaic; other parts of that verb are obsolete. Bequeath is normally regularized in -ed. |
| quit – quit/quitted – quit/quitted | French loanword, weak, with coalescence of dentals (or regular) |
| reach – reached/*raught/*rought/*retcht – reached/*raught/*rought/*retcht | Weak, now regular (archaic raught from original conjugation like teach) |
read/riːd/ – read/rɛd/ – read/rɛd/ / *readen
| Weak with vowel shortening and coalescence of dentals |
*reave – reaved/reft – reaved/reft
| Weak with vowel shortening and devoiced ending. The verb bereave is usually regular, but bereft survives as past participle, with distinct meanings. |
| rend – rent – rent | Weak with coalescence of dentals |
| rid – rid/ridded – rid/ridden/ridded | Weak with coalescence of dentals, or regular; ridden by analogy with strong verbs. |
ride – rode/*rid – ridden/*rid
| Strong, class 1 |
| ring – rang/*rung – rung | By analogy with strong, class 3. Regular when meaning 'surround', etc. |
rise – rose – risen
| Strong, class 1 |
| rive – rived/rove – rived/riven | From Old Norse, originally followed pattern of strong class 1, later regularized.[4] Now rarely used. |
run – ran – run
| Strong, class 3 |
| saw – sawed – sawed/sawn | Weak; sawn by analogy with strong verbs[5] |
say (says /sɛz/) – said – said
| Weak, with vowel shortening in said/sɛd/ and in the third person present says/sɛz/ |
see – saw – seen
| Strong, class 5 |
seek – sought – sought
| Weak with Rückumlaut and Germanic spirant law |
| seethe – seethed/*sod – seethed/*sodden | Strong, class 2. Now regular, but sodden survives in some adjectival uses. |
sell – sold – sold
| Weak with Rückumlaut |
send – sent – sent
| Weak with coalescence of dentals |
set – set – set/*setten
| Weak with coalescence of dentals |
sew – sewed – sewn/sewed/*sewen
| Weak; sewn by analogy with strong verbs |
shake – shook – shaken
| Strong, class 6 |
| shall – should – (none) | Preterite-present; defective. See English modal verbs, and shall and will |
shape – shaped/*shope – shaped/*shapen
| Originally strong, class 6, now regular, but with misshapen (and archaically shapen) still used adjectivally |
| shave – shaved/*shove – shaved/shaven | Strong, class 6, now regular, but shaven sometimes used adjectivally |
| shear – sheared/shore – shorn/sheared | Strong, class 4 (or regular) |
| shed – shed – shed | Strong, class 7 |
shine – shone/shined – shone/shined
| Strong, class 1 |
shit – shit/shitted/shat – shit/shitted/shat/*shitten
| Strong, class 1. The form shite is chiefly Scottish and Irish. |
shoe – shod/shoed – shodden/shod/shoed
| Weak with vowel shortening (or regular); shodden by analogy with strong verbs |
shoot – shot – shot/*shotten
| Strong, class 2 |
show – showed/*shew – shown/showed/*shewed
| Weak, with participle shown perhaps by analogy with sown (from sow) |
shrink – shrank/shrunk – shrunk/shrunken
| Strong, class 3; shrunken is mostly used adjectivally |
| *shrive – shrived/*shrove – shrived/*shriven | Strong, class 1 |
shut – shut – shut
| Weak with coalescence of dentals |
sing – sang – sung/*sungen
| Strong, class 3 |
| sink – sank/sunk – sunk/sunken | Strong, class 3. The form sunken appears in some adjectival uses. |
sit – sat/*sate – sat/*sitten
| Strong, class 5 |
| slay – slew/slayed – slain/slayed | Strong, class 6 (or regular) |
sleep – slept – slept
| Originally strong, class 7, now weak with vowel shortening |
slide – slid – slid/slidden
| Strong, class 1 |
| sling – slung/*slang – slung | Strong, class 3 |
| slink – slunk/slinked/slank – slunk/slinked/slank | Strong, class 3 |
slip – slipped/*slipt – slipped/*slipt
| Regular, with alternative (archaic) spelling |
| slit – slit – slit/slitten | Strong, class 1 |
| smell – smelled/smelt – smelled/smelt | Weak with devoiced ending (or regular) |
| smite – smote/*smit – smitten/smitted | Strong, class 1. Largely archaic; smitten is quite commonly used adjectivally. |
| sneak – sneaked/snuck – sneaked/snuck/*snucked | Weak, alternative form snuck (chiefly American) by analogy with strong verbs |
| sow – sowed/*sew – sown/sowed | Strong, class 7, with regularized past tense sowed |
speak – spoke/*spake – spoken/*spoke
| Strong, class 5 |
| speed – sped/speeded – sped/speeded | Weak with vowel shortening and coalescence of dentals (or regular) |
spell – spelled/spelt – spelled/spelt
| Weak with devoiced ending (or regular) |
spend – spent – spent
| Weak with coalescence of dentals |
spill – spilled/spilt – spilled/spilt
| Weak with devoiced ending (or regular) |
spin – spun/*span – spun
| Strong, class 3 |
| spit – spat/spit – spat/spit | Weak with coalescence of dentals (for past form spit, which is common in America), or spat by analogy with strong verbs. (In the meaning of roast on a spit, the verb is regular.) |
| split – split – split | Weak with coalescence of dentals |
| spoil – spoiled/spoilt – spoiled/spoilt | Weak with devoiced ending (or regular) |
spread – spread/*spreaded – spread/*spreaded
| Weak with coalescence of dentals |
spring – sprang/sprung – sprung/*sprang
| Strong, class 3 |
stand – stood – stood/*standen
| Strong, class 6 |
| starve – starved/*starf/*storve – starved/*storven | Strong, class 3 |
| stave – stove/staved – stove/staved/*stoven | Originally weak; irregular forms developed by analogy with strong verbs.[6] |
| stay – stayed/*staid – stayed/*staid | Regular, with alternative spelling staid (now limited to certain adjectival uses) |
| steal – stole – stolen | Strong, class 4 |
| stick – stuck/*sticked – stuck/*sticked | Originally weak, irregular forms by analogy with strong verbs |
| sting – stung/*stang – stung | Strong, class 3 |
| stink – stank/stunk – stunk | Strong, class 3 |
| stretch – stretched/*straught/*straight – stretched/*straught/*straight | Weak, now regular; obsolete past form straught as with teach–taught |
strew – strewed – strewn/strewed
| Originally weak, irregular forms by analogy with strong verbs |
stride – strode/*strided – stridden/*strode/*strid/*stridded
| Strong, class 1 |
strike – struck – struck/stricken
| Strong, class 1. The form stricken is limited to certain adjectival and specialist uses. |
string – strung/*stringed – strung/*stringed
| Originally weak, irregular forms developed by analogy with strong verbs |
| strip – stripped/stript – stripped/stript | |
strive – strove/strived – striven/strived
| Strong, class 1 (or regularized) |
swear – swore – sworn
| Strong, class 6 |
| sweat – sweated/sweat – sweated/sweat | Weak, usually regular, possible past form sweat with coalescence of dentals |
sweep – swept/*sweeped – swept/*sweeped
| Weak with vowel shortening |
swell – swelled/*swole/*swelt – swollen/swelled
| Strong, class 3, with regularized forms |
| *swelt – swelted/*swolt – swelted/*swolten | Strong, class 3 (or regularized). Archaic |
swim – swam/*swum – swum
| Strong, class 3 |
swing – swang/swung – swung/*swungen
| Strong, class 3 |
*swink – swank/swonk/*swinkt/swinked – swunk/swunken/swonken/*swinkt/swinked
| Strong, class 3 |
take – took/*taked – taken
| Strong, class 6 |
| teach – taught/*teached – taught/*teached | Weak with Rückumlaut and Germanic spirant law |
tear – tore – torn
| Strong, class 4 |
*tee – teed/tow – teed/town
| |
tell – told/*telled – told/*telled
| Weak with Rückumlaut; related to tale |
think – thought/*thinked – thought/*thinked
| Weak with Rückumlaut and Germanic spirant law |
| thrive – throve/thrived/*thrave – thriven/thrived | Of Old Norse origin; followed strong class 1 (now archaic) or weak (regular) pattern[7] |
throw – threw/*throwed – thrown/*throwed
| Strong, class 7 |
thrust – thrust/*thrusted – thrust/*thrusted
| Weak, with coalescence of dentals (or regular) |
tread – trod/*tread/*treaded/*trodden – trodden/trod/*tread/*treaded
| Strong, class 5 (or regularized) |
| vex – vexed/*vext – vexed/*vext | |
wake – woke/*waked – woken/*waked
| Strong, class 6 |
| wax – waxed/*wex – waxed/*waxen | Strong, class 7, now regularized |
wear – weared/wore – weared/worn
| Originally weak, fell into a strong pattern by analogy with bear |
weave – wove – woven
| Strong, class 7 |
wed – wed/wedded – wed/wedded
| Weak with coalescence of dentals (or regular) |
weep – wept/weeped – wept/weeped
| Originally strong, class 7, now weak with vowel shortening |
| wend – wended/*went – wended/*went | Weak, once with coalescence of dentals and devoiced ending, but now regular; went is used as the past of go |
wet – wet/wetted – wet/wetted
| Weak with coalescence of dentals (or regular) |
| will – would – (none) | Preterite-present, defective. See English modal verbs, and shall and will. (In non-auxiliary uses the verb is regular.) |
| win – won – won | Strong, class 3 |
wind – wound – wound
| Strong, class 3. (The identically spelt verb wind/wɪnd/, with meanings connected with air flow and breathlessness, is regular.) |
work – worked/*wrought – worked/*wrought
| Weak, now regular, formerly with Rückumlaut and metathesis of r and o |
| *worth – worth/worthed – worth/worthed/worthen | Strong, class 3, or regularized |
| wreak – wreaked/*wrought/*wrack/*wroke – wreaked/*wrought/*wreaken/*wroken | Weak, usually regular; wrought (which is in fact from work) has come sometimes to be identified with this verb (perhaps by analogy with seek–sought). Other forms by analogy with strong verbs. |
| wring – wrang/wrung/*wringed – wrung/*wringed | Strong, class 3 |
write – wrote/*writ – written/*writ
| Strong, class 1 |
| writhe – writhed/*wrothe – writhed/*writhen | Strong, class 1, now regularized |
| zinc – zinced/zinked/zincked – zinced/zinked/zincked |
Present tense irregular verbs[edit]
Though the list of verbs irregular in the preterite or past participle is long, the list of irregular present tense verbs is very short. Excepting modal verbs like 'shall', 'will', and 'can' that do not inflect at all in the present tense, there are only four (only two if pronunciation is ignored):
- be: I am, thou art, you are, he is, we are, they are.
- do (and compounds such as 'undo' and 'redo'): I do, you do, he does, we do, they do where 'does' is pronounced /ˈdʌz/ in contrast to /ˈduː/, the pronunciation of the infinitive and the other present tense forms.
- have: I have, you have, he has, we have, they have.
- say (and compounds such as 'gainsay' and 'naysay'): I say, you say, he says, we say, they say where 'says' has the standard pronunciation /sɛz/ (in contrast to the /seɪ/ used for the infinitive and other present tense forms).
References[edit]
- ^Oxford English Dictionary, Second Edition, entries for 'clothe' and 'clad'.
- ^The strong-type past form dug arose as a past participle in the 16th century, by analogy with stuck, and was used as a past tense from the 18th century. See Oxford English Dictionary, Second Edition, entry for 'dig'.
- ^The use of need for needs, which has become the norm in contexts where the verb is used analogously to the modal verbs, became common in the 16th century. See Oxford English Dictionary, Second Edition, entry for 'need' (verb).
- ^Regularized (weak-type) forms of this verb are found from the 16th century onward. There is also an obsolete verb rive meaning arrive, for which weak-type forms are attested earlier. See Oxford English Dictionary, Second Edition, entries for 'rive'.
- ^Strong-type past forms of this verb were sometimes used in the 15th century; the past participle sawn is a survival of this. See Oxford English Dictionary, Second Edition, entry for 'saw'.
- ^The forms stove and stoven are found from the 18th century onward. See Oxford English Dictionary, Second Edition, entry for 'stave'.
- ^The strong-type past forms leading to thrave (Northern) and throve are attested from the 13th and 14th centuries onward, and weak forms (leading to thrived) from the 14th. See Oxford English Dictionary, Second Edition, entry for 'thrive'.
External links[edit]
- Complete List of 638 English Irregular Verbs with their forms in different tenses.
- Mind Our English: Strong and weak by Ralph Berry
- English Irregular Verb List A comprehensive list of English irregular verbs, including their base form, past simple, past participle, 3rd person singular, and the present participle / gerund.
- TheIrregularVerbs All the irregular verbs of the English language. Conjugation, pronunciation, translation and examples.
- verbbusters Searchable reference of English irregular verbs and cognates, with audio.