How to Learn English: Irregular Verbs in English Clearly Explained

[Music] irregular verbs in English finally explained irregular verbs in English can be quite confusing there are so many seemingly unrelated forms for English verbs this video will help you see relationships between various types of irregular verbs in English so you can make some sense of it all the source of this material is ESL gold calm the key to understanding irregular verbs in English is to look for and notice the patterns here's an overview of the patterns that we're going to be explaining in this video as you can see we've divided them up into 21 different patterns and we've also included a 20 second one which is the verb be which which is kind of a special case we'll start with the easiest ones verbs like fit verbs like fit do not change in the past for the past participle as you can see here with it even at the same form in the base form the past form and the past participle form hit click hit you can see other examples like cut cut cut let-let-let foot foot foot there's no change in the different forms of the verb the only change comes with the best form now the S form of the verb is used with the third-person singular subjects such as he/she the man the woman the dog it and that requires an S it's cuts let's put now you'll also notice something interesting about the ing form for these verbs you'll notice that most of these and with the letter T or the T sound and because of the short vowel in these verbs the final T is doubled before adding the ing the only ones that are different are the two at the bottom burst and cat we don't need to double the T there because there's already a consonant before the final T now we have some variations on verbs like hit for example with the verbs spread it follows the same pattern in that the past in the past participle are exactly the same as the base form spread spread spread the difference here is this one ends with a D sound and in the ing form the D sound is not or the D letter is not doubled the next one is knit which actually has two acceptable forms in the past in the past participle it follows the same pattern as yet knit knit knit but it can also take on a regular verb ending Edie for example knitted or knitted in the past and past participle notice that the T is also doubled before you add the e D endings in this case then we have spit spit has two different forms in the past in the past participle it follows the basic same structure as hit spit spit spit but also acceptable in the past is spat and spat so there are two different forms that can be used now the next one stick is not exactly the same as hit but it follows a pattern that was used with the verbs fit in that it changes to an AK sound so it goes fit set set the last one cost follows the same pattern as the others cost cost cost but there's something different with the ing form cost is what we call a non-action verb that means we don't normally use this with the ing form for example you would not say that is costing $5 number two is verbs like feed now you'll need to notice the sound shifts in the past and the past participle work like feed ship valve tails in the past and the past participle usually from long to short ass let's look at some examples in the base form it has the e sound in the past in the past participle for exec these have the s down so you can see how it goes bleed blood red breathe bread bread feed fed fed speed sped spent and the last one actually ends with the T sound instead of a D sound meat net net but it follows the same pattern now we also have some variations on verbs like feed for example the verb plea does not have a consonant ending in the base form but when we convert it to the past and past participle a consonant sound B is added so it goes Slee fled fled the next one is lead it follows the same pronunciation pattern lead led led however the spelling is different and this is important for you to see with the base form instead of e e for the spelling it's e a but the sound is the same in the past form and in the past participle there is no a and it is pronounced with a short a sound led led now that's important for you to remember because the last one can be kind of confusing and this is the verb Reed with Reed when we go into the past and the past participle we also change the sound we read read but for some reason the spelling is not changed so it looks the same but in the past and the past participle the sound is different so it sounds like the color red so again in the base form is read the past read and the past participle read without changing the spelling the next verbs are verbs like keep notice the sound shift again rows like teeth shift vowel sounds in the past and past participle usually from long e to short e similar to the ones we just did the difference is with these kind of verbs a final T is added let's look at some examples alright when we go from the base form to the past and past participle that follows the same pattern as the ones we did before e s the difference here is they add a final T creep crept crept keep kept kept sleep slept slept and so forth now the few at the top are all the same in their spelling but you'll notice when we start with the verb leap the spelling is changed again from an e e selling to an e a sound and E a spelling but the sound is the same leap left left now the thing about leaks is it has two forms one is left which adds the T sound and keeps it in the short vowel sound another form is what we call the regular form which adds simply and EB ending and in that case the sound doesn't change so it would go leap leap leap now you get into other words like deal mean dream and leave and these also go back to the same pattern but the pronunciation is different although the spelling remains the same so we have deal dealt dealt mean mint mint dream dreamt dreamt now dream is another one which has two forms one is the irregular drempt the other is the regular dreamed with an e d and in that case the dreamed remains in the long e sound then the last one is lead it follows the same pattern leave left left with the a in the past and the past participle and a T ending in this case the e a is used in the base form but only one e left is used in the past in the past participle number four is verbs like swim again you need to notice for township's verbs like swim ship vowel sounds in the past in the past participle usually from a to ah and ah let's look at some examples begin began begun swim swim swim drink drank drunk shrink shrink shrink stink stank stunk now some people will say some in the past tense also we have ring ring rung thing saying some notice again that in these words a different sound is used in the past and another sound issues in the past participle but the consonant sounds remain the same with verbs like sting it follows a very similar pattern but there's one small difference here you will have the sound shift and you notice these townships are a little bit different verbs like sting shift vowel sounds in the past and the past participle usually from ear or e2 up the short u sound is commonly pronounced earth in English let's look at some examples we'll start with the verb same now this is one we mentioned before and we're going to let you see it again to show you the comparison of these different kinds of words okay with sing it changes in the past and changes again in the past participle sing-sing stung with spring we have two forms spring spring sprung or in the past it can be spring sprung sprung now this is kind of a transition verb between sing sang sung until the next one cling clong clong now you'll notice that the difference here is that in the past tense and the past participle the sounds are the same with sing sang sung the past is different from the past participle with cling clong clong the past and the past participle are the same so you have things like fling flung from spring slung slow okay now when we get to the verb hang this is a special case which depends on the meaning of the verb for example if we're talking about hanging up our clothes or hanging a picture you can say hang hung hung but if you're talking about hanging a person in order to execute them the verb hang is used which is the regular form instead of home now the one I want to mention here that confuses a lot of people is the verb bring now with bring it does not follow the same pattern we don't say bring bring from or even bring Brum Brum for some reason this uses a different ending in the past and the past participle so with bring it is bring brought brought and we'll talk about that a little bit later some more verbs which fit this particular pattern as verbs like sting don't have an NG ending but they follow the same pronunciation pattern E or if for example dig dug dug spin spun spun stick stuck stuck strike struck struck now with struck sometimes we use the past participle stricken with verbs like send there is no valve sound shift in the past and the past participle but the final D sound is changed to achieve let's look at some examples Bend vent vent lend Flint Flint send sent sent spend spent spent now that seems easy but you have to be careful with these because not all of the words that end in E and D take on the key ending some of them use the regular EE D ending for example the word end it ended in the past participle and in the past blend blended blended mend mended mended so it's a little bit different there with verbs like fine we'll need to pay attention again to the sound shift and you'll see the townships here the folks like fine they involve a vowel change in the past in the past participle from I to ow the Clutton sound remained the same let's look at some examples buying bound bound fine sound sound grind ground ground lined round weld now not all of the verbs that have an IMD ending follow this pattern in some cases they follow a regular DD ending for example mind minded and minded the next one is verbs like build for verbs like build a final T is added or the final sound is changed from D to achieve the original vowel sound doesn't change for example still spilt spilt we can also use a regular verb ending there spilled spilled build built built urn burnt burnt and here you can also use the regular IDI ending burn burned burned the next one is verbs like think verbs like think use ought or ought in the past and past participle here are some examples think thought thought bring brought brought we mentioned that one before buy bought bought cheap soft side fight fought fought now the last two have the same sound in the past and the past participle fought but the spelling is different catch caught caught teach taught taught also you'll notice that with the s for we have to add an es rabbit is a single best captures teachers those like cell with some but not all verbs like cell the past and past participle forms are changed to old let's look at some examples so so sold tell told told now not all of these follow the same pattern for example smell follows the regular pattern with the PD ending smell smelled smelled the same goes for yell yell yell yell and quell well 1212 up to now we've been dealing with verbs that end in a tea or a D in the past or the past participle now we're going to introduce a new pattern and that verbs that end with an N for an e/m ending both like choose take on an en ending in the past participle they also take on the same sound shift in the past in the past participle let's look at some examples verbs like choose shift to the same vowel sound in the past and the past participle the difference is that in the past there is no unending but in the past participle there is an onion or en ending so we have choose chose chosen freeze froze frozen speak spoke spoken vo stove stolen and one interesting one is the verb swell in the past participle we have swollen but in the past we usually use the IDI or regular verb ending not many people will say well most people will say swelled now there's another thing interesting about some of these words and that is what we call the silent e if you look at the base form of choose there is an e at the end of the word however this e does not have a sound of its own it's what we call the silent e now what happens is when we add the ing ending we have to drop the silent e so that happens in words like choose to choosing freeze to freezing weight to waking and we to weeman where the final e and the base form is dropped before the ing ending is added in the ing form now there are some more verbs that follow the same pattern in that they use the same vowel sound in both the past in the past participle however in the past there is no e n ending but in the past participle there is let's look at some examples get got gotten forget forgot forgotten and then the last three bite bit didn't hide hid hidden and slide slid slid not many people will say slidden they simply use the past and the past participle form slid number 12 verbs like right now these are slightly different from the ones we discussed before verbs like ride take on an en ending in the past participle they take on a different sound ship in the past and the past participle so the two sounds in the past in the past participle are different let's look at some examples let's start with the verb ride in this case you'll notice that with ride it's shift sound in the past ride road and then it shifts to another vowel sound in the past participle so it's ride rode ridden two different sounds now sounds in the past and the past participle but the other sounds remain the same the cosna sounds remain the same so let's look at some examples dr drill driven ride rode rhythm rise rose risen write wrote written spike smoke smitten and the next set the ones in purple follow the same pattern and that they have a different sound in the path from v sound in the past participle so let's look at the verb give give Gabe given forgive forgave forgiven forbid forbade forbidden now some people say for bad in the past tense but it follows the same pattern in that it starts with one sound shifts to a different sound in the past and then shifts again to another sound in the past participle let's look at the third set the ones in blue these go from one sound to another and then they come back to the original sound for example take took tickin you'll notice if there's a sound shift in the past and then they go back to the original sound a in the past participle forsake for snook forsaken mistake mister mistaken shake shook shakin with the purple ones it follows the same pattern and that it returns to the original base form when pronounced in the past participle give gave given now we'll see some variations on verbs like ride notice that they have the same en ending but the past tense is going to be different for example eat ate eaten beat beat beat and now notice with beat there is the same word in the base form and the past form kind of like hit but the past participle has an en ending and last is fall fell fallen this one returns to the original sound fall fallen vowel sound in the past participle verbs like grow also have an M ending but it's not in P and ending for example verbs like grow shift vowel sounds in the past and the past participle they also take on the WN ending in the past participle let's look at some examples low blue ballon fly flew flown grow grew grown no new gnome throw through thrown now an interesting one a variation on this would be the verb show instead of doing the B W ending in the past we show follows and D regular verb ending in the back show showed shown now the last two are a little bit different in that they don't end with Oh W n they end with a W N and that's basically because in the original base form you already have an AW but it follows the same pattern in the past draw drew drawn with draw went through withdrawal 14 verbs like wear robes like wear shift valve sounds in the past and past participle they also take on the RN ending in the past participle let's look at some examples with verbs like where there is a sound shift in the past and past participle and it's the same vowel sound in both those forms but the difference here is in the past participle there is an N ending look at the examples there Bor born swear swore sworn where war-worn tear tore torn those like come are very interesting they shift vowel sounds in the past and use the base form in the past participle here are some examples come came come become became become run ran run with birth like wind notice the sound shifts again look like when shipped to the same vowel sounds in both the past and past participle but for individual verbs in this category the specific sound shift is unique to the verb the continent sound remains the same let's look at some examples shoot shot shot when one one hold held he'll light lit lit now what light they also have a regular past and past participle ending you could say light flighted lighted verbs like make with those like make the vowel sound remain the same in the past and past participle but the final consonant sound is changed to a D for example make made made have ad ad now with the verb have it has a special form for the S form we don't say AB we say add those like pay use an AI D ending in the past and the past participle let's look at some examples lay blade blade pay paid paid now look at the next one with this one the spelling is the same as the ones above however the pronunciation is different say said said the pronunciation is a short e sound a said in both the past and the past participle also with the S form we don't say save we say cents short II S sound the last one is play now with play this is a regular verb so it doesn't change the ending it uses the edy ending but the pronunciation is similar to the ones above play played played 19 verbs like stand verbs like stand changed both the valve and the consonant sound in the past and the past participle for example stand stood stood understand understood understood here heard heard lose lost lost notice that you have a sound change in both the vowel and the final consonant these verbs are not exactly the same but they do have some similarities verbs like do and go have completely different forms in the past in the S form and the past participle they follow the same spelling patterns but the pronunciation of the vowel sounds is different let's look at the examples now with these two verbs do and go you'll notice that the spelling is almost exactly the same for the endings except for in the past tense when these two verbs take on different forms however the pronunciation is completely different for example do and go both end in an fo but one is pronounced to do the other words pronounced with an O sound go for the S form they both have o es either Landon but do is pronounce does go is pronounce goes in the S form and of course the past forms of these two verbs are completely different did and went now in the past participle the spelling of the ending is the same but the pronunciation is the front o n e would do is pronounce done o n E with go is pronounced gone and then the ing forms are the same a misspelling but diff in the pronounciation doing and going other irregular verbs these verbs do not fit completely into one category so they are dealt with individually they do however follow some of the patterns mentioned above as will be explained let's look at these on a case-by-case basis alright first the verbs see notice the sound shift c saw king in the past participle takes on an e and ending like some of the ones that we've seen before with the verbs so the past test uses a regular verb ending Edie sewed and the past participle takes on the W and ending like some of the verbs we mentioned before so it's like this so sewed sewn the vowel tell does not change but one in the past tense requires an e d ending and the other the past participle requires a W and ending the next one is interesting because it has two separate meanings and two different forms shine shown shown or shine shine shine now generally if we're saying something like the Sun shone that means it exhibited brightness we would use the first form shown shown for the past and the past participle however if we're talking about make something shiny for example I shined my shoes then we would use the regular verb ending shine shine shine with the IDI shave has a couple of different endings in the past participial it follows a regular form in the past shave shaved but in the past participle some people take shaven some people say shaved with proof they're also two different forms in the past participle proven or proved but the past is simply a regular verb edie proof proof proved proven or proof proved proved now dive is interesting because most people say it as a regular verb died dived died but a lot of people will use those in the past tense I think it's because it's similar to dry and drove lie is one verb that can be very confusing for a lot of people because it has two different meanings the first one is when you tell an untruth say something that is false and that is a regular verb so just take on the D or the e d ending lie lied lied however when you're talking about the second one which is a totally different meaning it can mean like sleep or recline or rest on your back lie in the past tense is lay in the past participle is lain now for both forms of lie for the ing form they have the same spelling but it's different from other spellings of other verbs it's L Y I ng the last as liver be now the verb B belongs to a category of its own for all other verbs the base form can be used after modal's for example I might eat he can't eat people will eat after two forms we do eat she does eat the man did eat three in the infinitive form for example to eat and for in the simple present tense along with subjects in the first and second person as well as third-person plural for example I eat you eat they eat the kids eat however the verb be is only used in these conditions number one after Moto's for example he will be they might be occasionally accused after do for example do be careful don't be shy and third in the infinitive form for example to be however in the simple present tense with subjects in the first and second person as well as third-person plural the words m and r are used for example i am you are they are the kids are in the third person singular the S form is is used the verb be is used in a few situations but not all for example issues with modal's can be could be will be or in the infinitive form 2v and once in a while with do do be careful don't be shy but with most subjects you use the verb are they are we are you are and of course with I as a subject you would use em I am the best form is used with third-person singular subjects he is she is it is now the past has two forms this is the only verb that has two different forms for the past tense and it can be a little bit confusing because was is used in the third person singular he was she was it was it is also used with the subject I I was were is used with everything else you were they were we were the past participle of be is bin and the ing form is being