English irregular verbs: 12 essential forms with examples
A1–B112 words
Irregular verbs cannot be worked out from a rule, which is exactly why they suit flashcards: each past form has to be met again and again until it comes out automatically. The twelve below are the ones you will need in almost every past-tense sentence you say.
Where you will use it: Past tense in speaking, writing and exams.
Irregular Verbs — The word list
| Word | Meaning |
|---|---|
| go — went — gone | To move or travel somewhere.“We went to the coast last weekend.” |
| take — took — taken | To carry or remove something.“She took the earlier train.” |
| come — came — come | To move towards the speaker.“They came home late.” |
| see — saw — seen | To perceive with your eyes.“I saw him at the station.” |
| make — made — made | To create or produce.“He made the whole dinner.” |
| give — gave — given | To hand something to someone.“She gave me her number.” |
| write — wrote — written | To put words on paper or screen.“I wrote three emails before nine.” |
| buy — bought — bought | To get something for money.“We bought the tickets online.” |
| bring — brought — brought | To carry something to a place.“He brought his laptop.” |
| think — thought — thought | To use your mind or hold an opinion.“I thought it was closed.” |
| leave — left — left | To go away from a place.“They left before the end.” |
| become — became — become | To start to be something.“It became a habit.” |
How to study this list
Add five or six of these words a day rather than all twelve at once, keep the example sentence on the card, and review them when they come due. WordNest schedules each word across seven growing intervals — same day, then 1, 3, 7, 14, 30 and 60 days — so the list is still with you months later. Read how spaced repetition works if you want the reasoning behind those numbers.
Studying irregular verbs pairs well with our most common English words, essential phrasal verbs and B2 vocabulary list, or browse all free English word lists.
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