Learning English verbs can feel confusing at first, especially when verbs do not follow regular grammar rules. One of the biggest challenges for ESL learners is understanding irregular verbs because their past tense and past participle forms change in unexpected ways. However, once you learn them step by step, English becomes much easier to use in real-life situations.
The 100 Most Common ESL Irregular Verbs are used daily in speaking, writing, reading, and listening. From basic conversations to advanced grammar structures, these verbs appear everywhere. Therefore, mastering them is essential for building strong English communication skills.
100 Most Common ESL Irregular Verbs List
Below is the 100 Most Common ESL Irregular Verbs table. These verbs are frequently used in daily English. Learning them will help you speak confidently and write accurately.
Irregular Verbs Table
| No | Base Form | Past Tense | Past Participle |
| 1 | be | was/were | been |
| 2 | become | became | become |
| 3 | begin | began | begun |
| 4 | break | broke | broken |
| 5 | bring | brought | brought |
| 6 | build | built | built |
| 7 | buy | bought | bought |
| 8 | catch | caught | caught |
| 9 | choose | chose | chosen |
| 10 | come | came | come |
| 11 | cost | cost | cost |
| 12 | cut | cut | cut |
| 13 | do | did | done |
| 14 | drink | drank | drunk |
| 15 | drive | drove | driven |
| 16 | eat | ate | eaten |
| 17 | fall | fell | fallen |
| 18 | feel | felt | felt |
| 19 | find | found | found |
| 20 | fly | flew | flown |
| 21 | forget | forgot | forgotten |
| 22 | get | got | got |
| 23 | give | gave | given |
| 24 | go | went | gone |
| 25 | grow | grew | grown |
| 26 | have | had | had |
| 27 | hear | heard | heard |
| 28 | hold | held | held |
| 29 | keep | kept | kept |
| 30 | know | knew | known |
| 31 | leave | left | left |
| 32 | lose | lost | lost |
| 33 | make | made | made |
| 34 | meet | met | met |
| 35 | pay | paid | paid |
| 36 | put | put | put |
| 37 | read | read | read |
| 38 | ride | rode | ridden |
| 39 | ring | rang | rung |
| 40 | run | ran | run |
| 41 | say | said | said |
| 42 | see | saw | seen |
| 43 | sell | sold | sold |
| 44 | send | sent | sent |
| 45 | sit | sat | sat |
| 46 | sleep | slept | slept |
| 47 | speak | spoke | spoken |
| 48 | spend | spent | spent |
| 49 | stand | stood | stood |
| 50 | take | took | taken |
| 51 | teach | taught | taught |
| 52 | tell | told | told |
| 53 | think | thought | thought |
| 54 | throw | threw | thrown |
| 55 | understand | understood | understood |
| 56 | wake | woke | woken |
| 57 | wear | wore | worn |
| 58 | win | won | won |
| 59 | write | wrote | written |
| 60 | swim | swam | swum |
| 61 | sing | sang | sung |
| 62 | shake | shook | shaken |
| 63 | shine | shone | shone |
| 64 | shoot | shot | shot |
| 65 | show | showed | shown |
| 66 | shut | shut | shut |
| 67 | steal | stole | stolen |
| 68 | stick | stuck | stuck |
| 69 | strike | struck | struck |
| 70 | sweep | swept | swept |
| 71 | tear | tore | torn |
| 72 | tell | told | told |
| 73 | think | thought | thought |
| 74 | throw | threw | thrown |
| 75 | understand | understood | understood |
| 76 | wake | woke | woken |
| 77 | wear | wore | worn |
| 78 | win | won | won |
| 79 | withdraw | withdrew | withdrawn |
| 80 | write | wrote | written |
| 81 | bleed | bled | bled |
| 82 | breed | bred | bred |
| 83 | cling | clung | clung |
| 84 | creep | crept | crept |
| 85 | deal | dealt | dealt |
| 86 | dig | dug | dug |
| 87 | feed | fed | fed |
| 88 | fight | fought | fought |
| 89 | hang | hung | hung |
| 90 | hit | hit | hit |
| 91 | hurt | hurt | hurt |
| 92 | kneel | knelt | knelt |
| 93 | lend | lent | lent |
| 94 | light | lit | lit |
| 95 | seek | sought | sought |
| 96 | smell | smelt | smelt |
| 97 | spit | spat | spat |
| 98 | swear | swore | sworn |
| 99 | weep | wept | wept |
| 100 | wind | wound | wound |
Importance of an Irregular Verbs List
An Irregular Verbs List is extremely important for ESL learners because irregular verbs appear in almost every English tense. Without learning them, forming correct sentences becomes difficult and confusing. Therefore, a structured list helps learners memorise patterns and recognise verb forms quickly.
Moreover, an Irregular Verbs List improves both accuracy and confidence. When you know the correct past tense and past participle forms, you can speak fluently without hesitation. This is especially useful in exams, writing tasks, and daily conversations.
In addition, using a list allows learners to practice regularly. By reviewing a few verbs each day, students can gradually master even the most difficult forms. As a result, English grammar becomes more natural and less stressful.


