Definition

An irregular verb doesn’t follow the -ed ending rule. It can change form in the simple past and past participle.

Irregular Verb List

A printable version is also available here.

Base Form	Simple Past	Past Participle	French
be	was, were	been	être
bear	bore	born/borne	supporter
beat	beat	beat	battre
become	became	become	devenir
begin	began	begun	commencer
bend	bent	bent	plier/courber
bite	bit	bitten	mordre
blow	blew	blown	souffler
break	broke	broken	briser
bring	brought	brought	apporter
build	built	built	construire/bâtir
burn	burned/burnt	burned/burnt	brûler
buy	bought	bought	acheter
catch	caught	caught	attraper
choose	chose	chosen	choisir
come	came	come	venir
cost	cost	cost	coûter
cut	cut	cut	couper
dig	dug	dug	creuser
do	did	done	faire
draw	drew	drawn	dessiner
drink	drank	drunk	boire
drive	drove	driven	conduire
eat	ate	eaten	manger
fall	fell	fallen	tomber
feel	felt	felt	(se) sentir/ressentir
fight	fought	fought	se battre/combattre
find	found	found	trouver
fly	flew	flown	voler
forbid	forbade	forbidden	interdire
forget	forgot	forgotten	oublier
forgive	forgave	forgiven	pardonner
freeze	froze	frozen	geler
get	got	got/gotten	obtenir
give	gave	given	donner
go	went	gone	aller
grow	grew	grown	grandir
have	had	had	avoir
hear	heard	heard	entendre
hit	hit	hit	frapper
hold	held	held	tenir
hurt	hurt	hurt	blesser
keep	kept	kept	garder
know	knew	known	savoir/connaître
lead	led	led	mener
leave	left	left	quitter
lend	lent	lent	prêter
let	let	let	laisser
lie	lay	lain	se coucher
lose	lost	lost	perdre

Base Form	Simple Past	Past Participle	French
make	made	made	faire
mean	meant	meant	signifier
meet	met	met	rencontrer
pay	paid	paid	payer
put	put	put	mettre
read	read	read	lire
ride	rode	ridden	chevaucher/aller en
ring	rang	rung	sonner
rise	rose	risen	lever
run	ran	run	courir
say	said	said	dire
see	saw	seen	voir
sell	sold	sold	vendre
send	sent	sent	envoyer
set	set	set	poser
sew	sewed	sewn/sewed	coudre
shake	shook	shaken	secouer
shine	shone	shone	briller
shoot	shot	shot	tirer
show	showed	shown	montrer
shrink	shrank	shrunk	rétrécir
shut	shut	shut	fermer
sing	sang	sung	chanter
sink	sank	sunk	couler
sit	sat	sat	s'assoir
sleep	slept	slept	dormir
slide	slid	slid	glisser
speak	spoke	spoken	parler
speed	sped	sped	aller vite/accélérer
spend	spent	spent	dépenser
stand	stood	stood	se tenir (debout)
steal	stole	stolen	voler
stick	stuck	stuck	coller
sting	stung	stung	piquer
stink	stank	stunk	puer
strike	struck	struck	frapper
swear	swore	sworn	jurer
sweep	swept	swept	balayer
swim	swam	swum	nager
take	took	taken	prendre
teach	taught	taught	enseigner
tear	tore	torn	déchirer
tell	told	told	dire
think	thought	thought	penser
throw	threw	thrown	lancer/jeter
understand	understood	understood	comprendre
wake	woke	woken	se réveiller
wear	wore	worn	porter
win	won	won	gagner
write	wrote	written	écrire

How to Study Irregular Verbs

Tip

When studying irregular verbs, use different strategies. You can:

Those that keep the same form all the time.

Those that change in the simple past and past participle forms.

Those that change in all 3 forms.

Here’s a printable version of the Beginner’s List.

Base Form	Simple Past	Past Participle	French
be	was, were	been	être
become	became	become	devenir
begin	began	begun	commencer/dbuter
bring	brought	brought	apporter
buy	bought	bought	acheter
choose	chose	chosen	choisir
come	came	come	venir
do	did	did	faire
drink	drank	drunk	boire
drive	drove	driven	conduire
eat	ate	eaten	manger
fall	fell	fallen	tomber
feel	felt	felt	(se) sentir/ressentir
find	found	found	trouver
fly	flew	flown	voler
forget	forgot	forgotten	oublier
get	got	got/gotten	obtenir
give	gave	given	donner
go	went	gone	aller
have	had	had	avoir
hear	heard	heard	entendre
keep	kept	kept	garder
know	knew	known	connaître/savoir
leave	left	left	partir
lend	lent	lent	prêter

Base Form	Simple Past	Past Participle	French
let	let	let	laisser
lose	lost	lost	perdre
make	made	made	faire
meet	met	met	rencontrer
pay	paid	paid	payer
put	put	put	mettre
read	read	read	lire
run	ran	run	courir
say	said	said	dire
see	saw	seen	voir
sell	sold	sold	vendre
send	sent	sent	envoyer
sing	sang	sung	chanter
sit	sat	sat	s'assoir
sleep	slept	slept	dormir
speak	spoke	spoken	parler
stand	stood	stood	se tenir (debout)
swim	swam	swum	nager
take	took	taken	prendre
teach	taught	taught	enseigner
tell	told	told	dire
think	thought	thought	penser
understand	understood	understood	comprendre
wear	wore	worn	porter
write	wrote	written	écrire