Irregular Verbs
The irregular verbs you need, grouped by pattern so they are easier to remember.
Looking for one verb quickly? The full list has every verb on one page.
Where you use them: V2 in the simple past, and V3 in the present perfect, the past perfect and the passive.
සාමාන්ය verbs වල අතීත රූපය හදන්නේ අගට -ed දාලා. Irregular verbs එහෙම නෑ: ඒවායේ V2 සහ V3 වෙනම මතක තියාගන්න ඕනේ. V2 තනියම එනවා (I went). V3 එන්නේ have, has, had හරි be හරි එක්ක (I have been).
When I was in school, our teacher made us chant the irregular verbs from A to Z: arise, arose, arisen; awake, awoke, awoken... I could chant them, but I couldn't use them. What finally worked for me was noticing that they come in families. Sing, sang, sung and drink, drank, drunk follow the same pattern. Learn the pattern once and you get seven verbs for free.
So that is how this page works. The verbs are grouped by pattern, from easiest to hardest, and in A to Z order inside each group. Looking for one verb? Press Ctrl + F (or "Find in page" on your phone) and type it.
A few verbs have two correct forms, like burnt and burned. I show both. The -ed form is more common in American English, the -t form in British English. Either is fine.
All three are the same
The easiest group. Nothing changes.
| V1 | V2 | V3 |
|---|---|---|
| bet | bet | bet |
| bid | bid | bid |
| broadcast | broadcast | broadcast |
| cost | cost | cost |
| cut | cut | cut |
| hit | hit | hit |
| hurt | hurt | hurt |
| input | input | input |
| let | let | let |
| put | put | put |
| read | read | read |
| set | set | set |
| shut | shut | shut |
| split | split | split |
| spread | spread | spread |
| upset | upset | upset |
| wet | wet | wet |
Read is the trick in this group. It is spelt the same, but the sound changes: V1 is /riːd/ (like reed), V2 and V3 are /red/ (like the colour).
Same, same, same
- A plate of kottu costs a thousand rupees now.
- Yesterday it cost nine hundred.
- I have read that book three times./red/
V2 and V3 are the same
The biggest group. Learn one past form and use it for both V2 and V3.
-ought and -aught
| V1 | V2 | V3 |
|---|---|---|
| bring | brought | brought |
| buy | bought | bought |
| catch | caught | caught |
| fight | fought | fought |
| seek | sought | sought |
| teach | taught | taught |
| think | thought | thought |
All seven end in the same sound, /ɔːt/. Bought and brought rhyme with caught.
A long vowel becomes a short e
| V1 | V2 | V3 |
|---|---|---|
| creep | crept | crept |
| deal | dealt | dealt |
| dream | dreamt or dreamed | dreamt or dreamed |
| feed | fed | fed |
| feel | felt | felt |
| keep | kept | kept |
| lead | led | led |
| lean | leant or leaned | leant or leaned |
| leap | leapt or leaped | leapt or leaped |
| leave | left | left |
| mean | meant | meant |
| meet | met | met |
| sleep | slept | slept |
| speed | sped | sped |
| sweep | swept | swept |
The ending becomes -t
| V1 | V2 | V3 |
|---|---|---|
| bend | bent | bent |
| build | built | built |
| burn | burnt or burned | burnt or burned |
| learn | learnt or learned | learnt or learned |
| lend | lent | lent |
| send | sent | sent |
| spell | spelt or spelled | spelt or spelled |
| spend | spent | spent |
| spill | spilt or spilled | spilt or spilled |
| spoil | spoilt or spoiled | spoilt or spoiled |
The rest of this group
| V1 | V2 | V3 |
|---|---|---|
| dig | dug | dug |
| find | found | found |
| get | got | got (American English: gotten) |
| hang | hung or hanged | hung or hanged |
| have | had | had |
| hear | heard | heard |
| hold | held | held |
| lay | laid | laid |
| light | lit | lit |
| lose | lost | lost |
| make | made | made |
| overhear | overheard | overheard |
| pay | paid | paid |
| say | said | said |
| sell | sold | sold |
| shine | shone | shone |
| shoot | shot | shot |
| sit | sat | sat |
| spin | spun | spun |
| stand | stood | stood |
| stick | stuck | stuck |
| strike | struck | struck |
| swing | swung | swung |
| tell | told | told |
| understand | understood | understood |
| win | won | won |
Hang: pictures and clothes are hung. Hanged is only for a person who is killed with a rope.
V2 and V3 the same
- Amma bought mangoes from the pola.
- I lost my purse on the bus.
- Sri Lanka has won the match today.
- Have you sent the form?
V1 and V3 are the same
Only four, and three of them are come and run.
| V1 | V2 | V3 |
|---|---|---|
| become | became | become |
| come | came | come |
| overcome | overcame | overcome |
| run | ran | run |
All three are different
The hardest group. But even here, there are patterns.
i, a, u
The vowel moves from i to a to u. Say them aloud and you'll hear the rhythm.
| V1 | V2 | V3 |
|---|---|---|
| begin | began | begun |
| drink | drank | drunk |
| ring | rang | rung |
| sing | sang | sung |
| sink | sank | sunk |
| stink | stank | stunk |
| swim | swam | swum |
-ew, then -own
| V1 | V2 | V3 |
|---|---|---|
| blow | blew | blown |
| draw | drew | drawn |
| fly | flew | flown |
| grow | grew | grown |
| know | knew | known |
| throw | threw | thrown |
| withdraw | withdrew | withdrawn |
An o in V2, then -en or -n
| V1 | V2 | V3 |
|---|---|---|
| awake | awoke | awoken |
| break | broke | broken |
| choose | chose | chosen |
| forget | forgot | forgotten |
| freeze | froze | frozen |
| speak | spoke | spoken |
| steal | stole | stolen |
| swear | swore | sworn |
| tear | tore | torn |
| wake | woke | woken |
| wear | wore | worn |
V3 ends in -en, and V2 is short
| V1 | V2 | V3 |
|---|---|---|
| arise | arose | arisen |
| bite | bit | bitten |
| drive | drove | driven |
| forbid | forbade | forbidden |
| forgive | forgave | forgiven |
| give | gave | given |
| hide | hid | hidden |
| ride | rode | ridden |
| rise | rose | risen |
| strive | strove | striven |
| write | wrote | written |
-ake, -ook, -aken
| V1 | V2 | V3 |
|---|---|---|
| mistake | mistook | mistaken |
| shake | shook | shaken |
| take | took | taken |
| undertake | undertook | undertaken |
The ones with no pattern
No trick here, I'm afraid. These you just have to learn. The good news is that you use most of them every day, so they stick quickly.
| V1 | V2 | V3 |
|---|---|---|
| be | was, were | been |
| beat | beat | beaten |
| do | did | done |
| eat | ate | eaten |
| fall | fell | fallen |
| go | went | gone (or been) |
| lie (on a bed) | lay | lain |
| see | saw | seen |
| show | showed | shown |
| swell | swelled | swollen |
| undergo | underwent | undergone |
| undo | undid | undone |
Lie has a trap: its V2 is lay, which is also the V1 of a different verb (lay, laid, laid: to put something down). And lie meaning "to say something false" is regular: lie, lied, lied.
All three different
- I go to Colombo on Mondays.
- I went to Colombo yesterday.
- Thaththa has gone to Colombo.still there
- I have been to Colombo many times.went and came back
- My little brother has eaten all the Avurudu sweets.
Quick check
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Akka kiribath to the office yesterday.
Has the postman yet?
I have never in the sea at Arugam Bay.
I have to Ella three times, and I love it.
She had the letter before the bus came.
What are the three forms of cost?
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