English is the language of exceptions, where when learning something new grammar rule students are faced with a dozen buts in which this rule does not apply. One of these rules is to use irregular verbs in the past time. For many English learners, this topic is a nightmare. But without them it is impossible, because these are the realities of English! However, there good news- modern English is gradually getting rid of irregular verbs, replacing them with regular ones. Why and how - we will consider in the article.

Why are English verbs irregular?

The difficulty in using irregular verbs is experienced not only by foreigners, but also by the speakers themselves. Nevertheless, for English philologists, the non-standard nature of this part of speech is not a drawback, but a reason for pride. They believe that irregular verbs are a cultural monument that perpetuates the history of the English language. The explanation for this fact is the Germanic roots of the origin of irregular verbs, which makes British English a traditional variant of the language. For comparison, the Americans are trying with might and main to get rid of irregular shape, converting it to the correct one. Therefore, the list of non-standard verbs increases for those who learn both variants of the language. Thus, the incorrect version is ancient, which is reflected in prose and poetry.

How many forms does a verb have in English?

Speaking of verbs in English language, it should be noted that they have 3 forms:

• infinitive, aka ;
• I, or Participle I, - given form used in the simple past tense past simple) and the 2nd and 3rd cases of the conditional mood (Conditional of the 2-d and of the 3-d case);
• Past Participle II, or Participle II, for the simple perfect tense of long past tense ( past perfect), passive voice ( Passive Voice) and Conditional of the 3-d case.

The table "Three in English" is presented later in the article.

What are regular and irregular verbs? Education rules

Regular verbs are those in which past form(Past Simple) and the form Participle II (Participle II) are formed by adding endings -ed to initial form. The table "Three forms of the verb in English. Regular verbs" will help you better understand this rule.

When forming the forms Participle I and Participle II, there are some features:

• if the verb ends with the letter -e, then adding -ed does not double it;
• the consonant in monosyllabic verbs is duplicated when added. Example: stop - stopped (stop - stopped);
• if the verb ends in -y followed by a consonant, then y is changed to i before adding -ed.

Irregular verbs are those that do not obey general rule in the formation of temporary forms. In English, these include the simple past tense verb forms (Past Simple) and Participle II (Participle II).

Irregular verbs are formed with:

ablaut, in which the root is changed. Example: swim - swam - swum (swim - swam - swam);

the use of suffixes that are different from those accepted in the grammar of the language. Example: do - did - done (do - did - did);

the same or unchanged form. Example: cut - cut - cut (cut - cut - cut).

Due to the fact that each irregular verb has its own form of change, they should be learned by heart.

In total, there are 218 irregular verbs in English, of which approximately 195 are in active use.

Recent studies in the field of language show that rare verbs are gradually disappearing from the language due to the replacement of the 2nd and 3rd forms with regular verb forms, that is, the addition of the ending - ed. This fact is confirmed by the table "Three forms of the verb in English" - the table represents a number of verbs that have both regular and irregular forms.

table of irregular verbs

The table "Three forms of irregular verbs in English" includes the most frequently used verbs. The table shows 3 forms and a translation.

Irregular verbs came into modern English from Old English, which was spoken by the Angles and Saxons - British tribes.

Irregular verbs originated from the so-called strong verbs, each of which had its own type of conjugation.

Harvard researchers found that most of the verbs used are irregular, and they will remain so, as they are used more often than others.

In the history of the English language there is such a phenomenon when the correct verb became irregular. For example, sneak, which has 2 forms - sneaked and snuck.

Problems with verbs are not only among English learners, but also among native speakers, since even they fall into awkward situations when it comes to this difficult part of speech.

One of them is Jennifer Garner, who has been sure all her life that the verb sneak is correct.

She was corrected by the host of one of the programs in which the actress took part. Dictionary in hand, he pointed out to Jennifer her mistake.

Therefore, do not be upset if you make mistakes when using irregular verbs. The main thing is that they do not become systematic.

Regular verbs

The table "Three forms of regular verbs in English with transcription and translation" is compiled on the basis of the most commonly used verbs.

			Past Participle I and II
to ask
reply
allow
agree
borrow, borrow
copy, rewrite
Cook
close
carry, drag
call, call
discuss
decide, decide
explain		explain
slide
cry, scream
finish, finish, end
shine
rub
grab
to help
happen, happen
manage
look
like
move, move
manage
be necessary, need
open
recall
suggest		sajgest
study, study
stop, stop
start off
travel
speak
transfer		transitlate
try, try
use
worry
walk, walk
look
work

Examples of the use of 3 forms of verbs with translation

Above we looked at 3 forms of verbs in English. A table with examples of usage and translation will help reinforce the topic.

Here for each grammatical construction two examples are given - one with regular, the other with irregular verbs.

Grammar design	Example in English	Translation
past simple	Peter worked yesterday. She felt bad last week.	Peter worked yesterday. She didn't feel well last week.
Present Perfect Tense	James has already helped me. have you ever been to Thailand?	James has already helped me. Have you ever been to Thailand?
Past Perfect Tense	I understood that I had used my last ticket. Helen noticed that she had forgotten her documents at home.	I realized that I had used the last ticket. She realized that she forgot the documents at home.
Passive Voice	Amy was taken to the zoo last Sunday. A baby is sung a lullaby every night.	Amy was taken to the zoo last Sunday. The baby is sung a lullaby every night.
Conditional	If I had money, I would buy a car. If she could help us, she would have done it.	If I had money, I would buy a car. If she could help us, she would.

Exercises

For better memory irregular verbs, you need not only to learn them by heart and repeat, but also to perform various exercises.

Exercise 1. Before you is a table "Three forms of the verb in English. Irregular verbs." Fill in one of the three missing forms.

Exercise 2. Before you is a table "Three forms of the verb in English. Regular verbs." Insert forms Participle I and II.

Exercise 3. Using the tables, translate the following sentences into English.

1. I was reading a book.
2. We saw them yesterday.
3. The Smiths lived in London until 2000. Then they moved to Manchester.
4. Alice was a university student in 2014.
5. They worked for the same company two years ago.
6. He just finished training.
7. When we were children, my mother often took us to this park.
8. I drove a toy car as a child.

Answers to the exercises

Exercise 1.

Exercise 2.

asked, borrowed, closed, decided, explained, helped, started, travelled, used, worked.

Exercise 3

1. I read a book.
2. We saw them yesterday.
3. The Smiths lived in London till 2000. Then they moved to Manchester.
4. Alice was a student of Univercity in 2014.
5. They worked in the same company two years ago.
6. He has just finished training.
7. When we were children we were taken for a walk to this park.
8. I drove a toy car in my childhood.

Get in the habit of repeating basic shapes periodically English verb. A table with irregular verbs, exercises and periodic repetition will help you quickly cope with the difficulties of the English language.

Our topic today is an acquaintance with such an interesting phenomenon as the forms of irregular verbs. As you know, the English language is very cunning. This language often lays all sorts of traps for us. One of them is irregular verbs. English is not single language, which contains irregular verbs. French also rich in irregular verbs. Three or four forms of irregular English verbs?

Romanian language, German, Latin language, Greek language also contains irregular verbs. And even the Russian language is replete with them. I think you have heard about regular verbs x in English, in other words Irregular Verbs. Why are such verbs called irregular? Everything is very simple: in the past tense they conjugate in their own way, have their own special form, while all other verbs in the past tense have the ending -ed.

How to distinguish irregular verbs from regular ones?

For comparison, let's conjugate 3 regular regular verbs in the simple past tense (Past Simple):

work- ra		sing
I worked	I translated	I managed
You worked	you translated	You managed
He worked	He translated	He managed
She worked	She translated	She managed
It worked	It translated	It managed
We worked	We translated	We managed
They worked	they translated	They managed

As you can see, all 3 verbs are conjugated in the same way, according to the scheme stem + ending -ed.

The situation is quite different in the case of irregular verbs. We conjugate 3 more verbs in the simple past tense (Past Simple), which are irregular, and here pay attention to the fact that each of these verbs has its own, absolutely different shape at the end or even at the root of a word:

blow- blow	go- go	bring- bring
I blew	I went	I brought
You blew	You went	You brought
He blew	He went	He brought
She blew	She went	She brought
It blew	It went	It brought
We blew	We went	We brought
They blew	They went	They brought

Even to the naked eye it is clear that each of these verbs appeared in its own, completely different from the others, form. The catch is that there is no certain rule, by which you can find out the form of an irregular verb. Each of them hides in their own way. The English language, friends, is full of tricky things and underwater reefs. Another catch is that each irregular verb has not one form, but three.

Three forms of irregular verbs

So what are these three forms?

• The first is the infinitive or initial (indefinite) form of the verb
• The second is Past Participle I, that is, the form that corresponds to the simple past tense (Past Simple), it is also used in the 2nd and 3rd cases of the conditional mood (Conditional of the 2-d and of the 3-d case)
• The third is Past Participle II, the one that is used in the perfect present tense (Present Perfect) and in the past tense (Past Perfect). The same form is used in passive voice(Passive Voice) conditional mood 3rd case (Conditional of the 3-d case) and some other grammar rules.

Here are some examples of 3 forms of irregular verbs:

• To arise - arose - arisen - rise
• To be - was, were - been - to be
• To bear - bore - born - give birth
• To become - became - become - become, become
• To begin - began - begun - begin
• To catch - caught - caught - catch, catch
• To choose - chose - chosen - choose
• To dig - dug - dug - dig, dig
• To dream - dream - dream - dream, dream
• To feel - felt - felt - feel
• To forget - forgot - forgotten - forget
• To have - had - had - to have

Now let's look at these 3 forms using examples of sentences in all of the above tenses of verbs.

• So, the simple past tense of the verb (Past Simple Tense):

Yesterday she felt(self-bad) to feel). She felt bad yesterday. Last Wednesday we met Jim ( to meet). We met Jim last Wednesday. Last night I dream you ( to dream). “I dreamed about you last night. I was in Paris last year ( to be) — I was in Paris last year.

• Perfect present tense of the verb (Present Perfect Tense):

I have just seen him ( to see). “I just saw him. Tom has already brought my books ( to bring). Tom has already brought my books. Have you ever been in London to be)? - Have you ever been in London? Ann has already forgotten her boy-friend( to forget).- Anna has already forgotten her boyfriend.

• The past tense of the verb (Past Perfect Tense):

I noticed that I had forgotten my keys( to forget). — I noticed that I forgot my keys. He understood that he had lost his documents ( to lose). He realized that he had lost his papers.

• Passive voice (Passive Voice):

The dog is fed by me ( to feed). The dog is fed by me (I fed the dog). Made in France ( to make). - Made in France.

• Conditional mood of the 2nd and 3rd cases (Conditional). Here are the second and third forms:

If I had money, I would buy a car to have). - If I had money, I would buy a car ( real condition). If I had money, I would have bought a car ( to have, to buy).- If I had money, I would buy a car (unreal condition, past tense).
How to learn all forms of irregular verbs?

Irregular Verbs Cheat Sheet

As mentioned above, there are no rules by which the forms of irregular verbs are formed, each has its own. But, we hope that this poetic form will help you quickly remember such irregular verbs:

To write-wrote-written
To eat-ate-eat
To speak-spoke-spoken
To break-broke-broken

To come-came-come
To become-became-become
To run-run-run
To swim swam swum

To know-knew-known
To throw-threw-thrown
To blow-blew-blown
To fly-flew-flown

Tossing-sang-sung
To ring-rang-rung
To hide-hid-hidden
To bite-bit-bitten

To send-sent-sent
To spend-spent-spent
To sleep-slept-slept
To keep-kept-kept

To tell-told-told
To sell-sold-sold
To teach-taught-taught
To catch-caught-caught

To fight-fought-fought
To think-thought-thought
To buy-bought-bought
To bring-brought-brought

To cut-cut-cut
To shut-shut-shut
To cost-cost-cost
To lose-lost-lost

To lead-led-led
To feed-fed-fed
To feel-felt-felt
To hold-held-held

From this funny poetic form we see that some irregular verbs have the same letter combinations, which allows them to rhyme and thus make it easier for us to remember them.

The "fourth" form of irregular verbs

There is a popular belief that there is also a 4th form of irregular verbs. This 4th configuration is formed according to the scheme base + ending -ing. It defines the Present Participle, that is, the present participle in tenses such as the present long time (Present Continuous) and the past continuous ( Past continuous). In other words, it is present and past tense. imperfect form. It follows from this that there are not 3, but 4 forms of irregular verbs. But this 4th configuration is, as it were, unofficial.

Consider this same 4th form using examples of sentences with Present Continuous:

The same 4th form in sentences with Past Continuous.

What rule can't do without? Of course, no exceptions! Irregular verbs in English are also not spared. But, as they say, the irregular verb is not so terrible as it is painted. Today we will deal with different methods remembering irregular verbs.

Open any table of irregular verbs ( see at the end of the article) and you will see three columns there. The first column contains verbs in the impersonal, or (only without the to particle). This is what corresponds to Russian verbs ending in -т: draw, write, read - (to) draw, write, read.

The second column is - I drew, wrote, read (yesterday, for example) - drew, wrote, read.

In the third column is the so-called second participle, or past participle.

Note. The first participle corresponds to the Russian –yushchy / -yashchiy: drawing, writing, reading. AT English participle the first has the ending -ing. - drawing, writing, rading.

Let's return to the third column, which presents the past participle - it corresponds to the Russian "made" - drawn, written, read. Third column for

• verbs in .

• verb tenses of the Perfect group:

I have already written my essay. I have already written an essay (or “I already have my essay written).

I have read three books this month. I have read three books this month. (Or I have three books read).

Have you ever drawn anything like that? Have you ever drawn anything like this? (Or have you ever had something similar drawn?)

What does "irregular verbs" mean?

Why irregular verbs ( irregular verbs) are still incorrect. The fact is that according to the rules, the so-called second and third forms are built by adding the ending -ed.

I work - I worked yesterday. – I have worked for three companies.

In irregular verbs, the second and third forms are formed completely individually(go - went - gone), or do not change at all (put-put-put).

Memorization methods

• Alphabetically - cramming. Boring and useless.
• Make cards with three forms on one side and a translation on the other. Periodically, when a minute is given out (in transport, in the morning with a cup of coffee, etc.), sort through the cards, checking yourself. If you remember, we shift to the second pile, if not, leave it in the first and return later. And so on until there is a confident memorization. When sorting through the cards, try to come up with examples - it also connects creative thinking, so it is remembered faster, and words are learned not separately, but in context.
• Poems. Quicker, children's way. But in whom does the child not live? Call if you like positive emotions– then why not? Here are examples of such verses

I'm at the buffet buy-bought-bought (buy)
First class sandwich
For him I pay-paid-paid, (pay)
In the classroom in the desk lay-laid-laid (put)
And not at all think-thought-thought, (think)
That his neighbor is smart.
And now I'm very sad
Smell-smelt-smelt it's delicious! (smell)

Look, slingshot Balamut
In your pocket put-put-put (put)
And begin-began-begun (begin)
Hooligan bully!
He's a pillow cut-cut-cut, (cut)
Brother in the bathroom shut-shut-shut, (shut down)
All newspapers light-lit-lit, (set fire)
Dog hit-hit-hit. (beat)
He ring-rang-rung neighbor (call)
And, of course, run-ran-run. (run)
And not at all think-thought-thought, (think)
That the police will come.

Dig-dug-dug we garden (dig)
Come-came-come there people. (to come)
We said: “Go-went-gone, (go, go)
This is not a farce for you.”

We are with enemies fight-fought-fought, (fight, fight)
They are caught in a catch-caught-caught trap. (catch, catch)
Good luck day bring-brought-brought, (bring)
We are a get-got-got award. (receive)

If hares bite-bit-bitten, (bite)
Don't give them eat-ate-eaten, (eat)
They soon learn-learnt-learnt (learn)
Famously matches burn-burnt-burnt. (spark off)

If a friend meet-met-met, (meet)
Its tight keep-kept-kept. (Keep)
Well, what if lose-lost-lost, (lose)
Then he is cost-cost-cost. (cost)

Aircraft fly-flew-flown. (fly)
Our children grow-grew-grown. (grow)
Well, the wind blow-blew-blown, (blow)
He is know-knew-known about everything. (know)

Grandfather and grandmother find-found-found (find)
Basset hound dog breed.
Very close to old people
Dog become-became-become. (become)
Give-give-given grandfather to him (give)
Dear Basturma -
Well, the dog must be fed-fed-fed (feed)
Something delicious for lunch!
Your own fat and cutlets
Old people are not let-let-let. (let)
Now grandma and grandpa
Life is different lead-led-led: (lead)
Grandfather with a smile dozing in the bath,
Grandmother dwell-dwelt-dwelt in a closet, (dwell)
Dog in a lie-lay-lain bed
Just like Saddam Hussein.

We are break-broke-broken old house- (break)
It was very boring.
New house we draw-draw-drawn, (draw)
Build-built-built - and we'll live. (build)

• I like the idea of ​​distributing irregular verbs into groups based on the similarity of the formation of the second and third forms. This makes them much easier to learn.

Table of irregular English verbs:

Group 1 - all three forms are the same

cost	cost	cost	cost
Cut	Cut	Cut	Cut
Put	Put	Put	put
hit	hit	hit	hit, hit
Hurt	Hurt	Hurt	hurt
Let	Let	Let	Let
Shut	Shut	Shut	Close

Group 2 - the second and third forms coincide

Burn	Burnt	Burnt	Burn, burn
Learn	learnt	learnt	Learn
Smell	Smelt	Smelt	Smell
feel	Felt	Felt	Feel
leave	Left	Left	leave, leave
Meet	Met	Met	Meet
dream	dreamt	dreamt	Dream
mean	Meant	Meant	to mean, to mean
keep	Kept	Kept	keep, store
sleep	Slept	Slept	Sleep
Land	Lent	Lent	lend, lend
send	Saint	Saint	To send
Spend	Spent	Spent	spend, spend
Build	built	built	Build
Lose	Lost	Lost	lose, lose
shoot	Shot	Shot	Fire
Get	Got	Got	Receive
light	Lit	Lit	Ignite, illuminate
Sit	Sat	Sat	Sit
buy	Bought	Bought	Buy
bring	Brought	Brought	Bring
Catch	Caught	Caught	Catch
Fight	Fought	Fought	Fight
Teach	Taught	Taught	teach, teach
Sell	Sold	Sold	Sell
tell	Told	Told	Tell
find	Found	Found	Find
have	Had	Had	Have
Hear	Heard	Heard	Hear
hold	Held	Held	Hold
read	read	read	Read
Say	Said	Said	speak, say
Pay	Paid	Paid	To pay
Make	Made	Made	make, produce
understand	Understood	Understood	understand
stand	Stood	Stood	Stand

Group 3 - the second and third forms do not match

Break	Broke	Broken	Break
Choose	Chose	Chosen	Choose
Speak	Spoke	Spoken	Speak
Steal	Stole	Stolen	Steal
Wake	woke	Woken	wake up, wake up
Drive	Drove	driven	drive
Ride	Rode	Ridden	ride
Rise	Rose	Risen	Get up
Write	Wrote	Written	Write
Beat	Beat	beaten	Beat
Bite	Bit	bitten	Bite
Hide	Hid	Hidden	Hide
Eat	Ate	Eaten	There is
fall	Fell	Fallen	Fall
Forget	Forgot	Forgotten	Forget
Forgive	Forgave	Forgiven	Forgive
Give	Gave	Given	giving
See	Saw	Seen	See
take	Took	Taken	Take
Blow	Blew	Blown	Blow
Grow	Grew	Grown	Grow
know	Knew	Known	Know
Throw	Threw	Thrown	Throw
Fly	Flew	flown	Fly
Draw	Drew	Drawn	Draw
show	Showed	Shown	Show
Begin	Began	Begun	Start off
drink	Drank	Drunk	Drink
swim	Swam	swum	To swim
Sing	Sang	Sung	Sing
ring	Rank	Rung	call
Run	ran	Run	Run
Come	Came	Come	To come
Become	Became	Become	Become
Be	was/were	Been	be
go	Went	Gone	go, walk

• To make the process of memorizing irregular verbs more fun, my students and I make up stories together. That is, one person takes out a card, remembers all the forms and meanings, and then makes up a sentence using the second or third form. The next player takes out a second card and continues the story. As a rule, it turns out very funny. And bright positive emotions, especially laughter, are known to contribute to memorization.

Do not put it off indefinitely - it's better to cut the leaves right now, make cards - and go! And find an accomplice to write stories.