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Irregular Verbs

Tables of Irregular Verbs

Table 1 contains the principal parts of all irregular verbs whose past tense and perfect participle are unlike.

Most errors in the use of irregular verbs occur with those in Table 1. The past tense must not be used with have (has, had). Do not use such expressions as have drove and has went. Equally disagreeable is the use of the perfect participle for the past tense; as, she seen, they done.

Table I
Present Tense		Past Tense		Perf. Part.
arise		arose		arisen
be or am		was		been
bear, bring forth		bore		born[1], borne
bear, carry		bore		borne
beat		beat		beaten, beat
begin		began		begun
bid		bade, bid		bidden, bid
bite		bit		bitten, bit
blow		blew		blown
break		broke		broken
chide		chid		chidden, chid
choose		chose		chosen
cleave, split	{	cleft, clove(clave)[2]	{	cleft, cleaved,cloven
come		came		come
do		did		done
draw		drew		drawn
drink		drank		drunk, drunken
drive		drove		driven
eat		ate (eat)		eaten (eat)
fall		fell		fallen
fly		flew		flown
forbear		forbore		forborne
[Pg 41]forget		forgot		forgotten, forgot
forsake		forsook		forsaken
freeze		froze		frozen
give		gave		given
go		went		gone
grow		grew		grown
hide		hid		hidden, hid
know		knew		known
lie, recline		lay		lain
ride		rode		ridden
ring		rang, rung		rung
rise		rose		risen
run		ran		run
see		saw		seen
shake		shook		shaken
shrink		shrank, shrunk		shrunk, shrunken
sing		sung, sang		sung
sink		sank, sunk		sunk
slay		slew		slain
slide		slid		slidden, slid
smite		smote		smitten
speak		spoke (spake)		spoken
spring		sprang, spring		sprung
steal		stole		stolen
stride		strode		stridden
strike		struck		struck, stricken
strive		strove		striven
swear		swore (sware)		sworn
swim		swam, swum		swum
take		took		taken
tear		tore		torn
throw		threw		thrown
tread		trod		trodden, trod
wear		wore		worn
weave		wove		woven
write		wrote		written

<a name="Page_42">[Pg 42]Table II

This table contains the principal parts of all irregular verbs whose past tense and perfect participles are alike.

Present Tense	Past Tense andPerf. Part.	Present Tense	Past Tense andPerf. Part.
abide	abode	mean	meant
behold	beheld	meet	met
beseech	besought	pay	paid
bind	bound	put	put
bleed	bled	read	read
breed	bred	rend	rent
bring	brought	say	said
build	built	seek	sought
burst	burst	sell	sold
buy	bought	send	sent
cast	cast	set	set
catch	caught	shed	shed
cling	clung	shoe	shod
cost	cost	shoot	shot
creep	crept	shut	shut
cut	cut	sit	sat
deal	dealt	sleep	slept
feed	fed	sling	slung
feel	felt	slink	slunk
fight	fought	spend	spent
find	found	spin	spun (span)
flee	fled	spit	spit (spat)
fling	flung	split	split
get	got (gotten)	spread	spread
grind	ground	stand	stood
have	had	stick	stuck
hear	heard	sting	stung
hit	hit	string	strung
hold	held	sweep	swept
hurt	hurt	swing	swung
keep	kept	teach	taught
lay	laid	tell	told
[Pg 43]lead	led	think	thought
leave	left	thrust	thrust
lend	lent	weep	wept
let	let	win	won
lose	lost	wring	wrung
make	made

Table III

This table includes verbs that are both regular and irregular.

Verbs in which the regular form is preferred.

bend bended, bent bended, bent bereave bereaved, bereft bereaved, bereft blend blended, blent blended, blent bless blessed, blest blessed, blest burn burned, burnt burned, burnt cleave, stick cleaved (clave) cleaved clothe clothed, clad clothed, clad curse cursed, curst cursed, curst dive dived (dove) dived (dove) dream dreamed, dreamt dreamed, dreamt dress dressed, drest dressed, drest gild gilded, gilt gilded, gilt heave heaved, hove heaved, hove hew hewed hewed, hewn lade laded laded, laden lean leaned, leant leaned, leant leap leaped, leapt leaped, leapt learn learned, learnt learned, learnt light lighted, lit lighted, lit mow mowed mowed, mown [Pg 44]pen, shut up penned, pent penned, pent plead{pleaded (plead orpled){pleaded (plead orpled) prove proved proved, proven reave reaved, reft reaved, reft rive rived rived, riven saw sawed sawed, sawn seethe seethed (sod) seethed, sodden shape shaped shaped, shapen shave shaved shaved, shaven shear sheared sheared, shorn smell smelled, smelt smelled, smelt sow sowed sowed, sown spell spelled, spelt spelled, spelt spill spilled, spilt spilled, spilt spoil spoiled, spoilt spoiled, spoilt stave staved, stove staved, stove stay stayed, staid stayed, staid swell swelled swelled, swollen wake waked, woke waked, woke wax, grow waxed waxed (waxen) wed wedded wedded, wed whet whetted, whet whetted, whet work worked, wrought worked, wrought

The verbs of the following list also are irregular; but as they lack one or more of the principal parts, they are called defective verbs.

Defective Verbs

Present	Past	Present	Past
can	could	ought	.....
may	might	.....	quoth
must	.....	beware	.....
shall	should	methinks	methought
will	would

All the participles are wanting in defective verbs.

The verb ought, when used to express past duty or obligation, is followed by what is called the perfect infinitive—a use peculiar to itself because ought has no past form.

Example: I ought to have gone yesterday.

Other verbs expressing past time are used in the past tense followed by the root infinitive.

Example: I intended to go yesterday.

Irregular Verbs

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