I don’t know about you, but sometimes I’m glad I grew up speaking English because there are certain things that just come naturally. One of those things is different tenses of irregular verbs. Today’s post is dedicated to those of you who don’t speak English as your first language. Below is a selection of verbs in their infinitive, simple past, and past participle conjugations. I selected these because some are particularly odd, some are interesting, and some are very common but they make you scratch your head: for example, go—went—gone. How did that happen?
For more irregular verbs, see English Grammar Online.
| Infinitive | Simple Past | Past Participle |
| alight | alighted, alit | alighted, alit |
| arise | arose | arisen |
| beget | begot | begotten |
| bereave | bereaved, bereft | bereaved, bereft |
| bid | bade, bid | bidden, bid, bade |
| burst | burst | burst |
| cleave | cleft, cleaved, clove | cleft, cleaved, cloven |
| cling | clung | clung |
| draw | drew | drawn |
| dream | dreamt, dreamed | dreamt, dreamed |
| fly | flew | flown |
| give | gave | given |
| go | went | gone |
| heave | heaved, hove | heaved, hove |
| hew | hewed | hewed, hewn |
| leave | left | left |
| melt | melted | molten, melted |
| mow | mowed | mown, mowed |
| plead | pled, pleaded | pled, pleaded |
| ride | rode | ridden |
| ring | rang | rung |
| rise | rose | risen |
| shear | sheared | shorn, sheared |
| smite | smote | smitten |
| strive | strove | striven |
| tread | trod | trodden |
This is how they Sonic?
Kara Church
Technical Editor, Advisory
Symitar Documentation Services
Editor's Corner 
Leave a Reply