En inglés la parte de los verbos es una de las más fáciles de toda su gramática, a diferencia de lo que sucede con otros idiomas. Casi todos se conjugan de la misma forma, pero hay casos excepcionales que son los que forman los llamados verbos irregulares.
Estos verbos forman de manera irregular tanto el pasado como el participio, sin embargo el presente lo conjugan de forma absolutamente normal.
Lo complicado de los verbos irregulares no es aprender una o varias reglas para su formación, sino la ausencia de las mismas, ya que cada verbo irregular tiene una conjugación distinta y no acogida a ninguna regla, sino a la experiencia que da el uso constante.
Muchos de ellos combinan una conjugación regular con una conjugación irregular, en el sentido de que a veces modifican las reglas gramaticales en el pasado simple y otras en el participio pasado.
La mejor forma de aprenderlo, por tanto, es el uso continuado de estos verbos irregulares en el contexto adecuado. Copiamos a continuación una larga lista de verbos irregulares para que esa tarea sea más sencilla.
Una buena técnica es aprenderlos en bloque, siempre descubriendo el significado o traducción del término (según la metodología que se utilice). Puede hacerse por la letra de inicio o por una cantidad concreta.
Para aprender término a término, es muy útil aplicarlo en un frase concreta y así asignar el significado de la palabra o del verbo irregular con su utilización en el tiempo verbal correcto, con la conjugación en cada caso.
Otra metodología bastante efectiva es no intentar conjugar todos los tiempos, sino no a uno. De esta forma primero el verbo irregular puede aprenderse por su pasado simple y, cuando esto no sea ya problema alguno, se optaría por el participio pasado, que suele ser mucho más difícil de aprender o memorizar.
Obviamente esto debe hacerse en bloque y con cuantos más ejemplos de su utilización, mejor.
| INFINITIVO | PASADO SIMPLE | PARTICIPIO PASADO |
| Arise | Arose | Arisen |
| Awake | Awoke | Awoken |
| Be/ am, are, is | Was / Were | Been |
| Bear | Bore | Borne / Born |
| Beat | Beat | Beaten |
| Become | Became | Become |
| Begin | Began | Begun |
| Bend | Bent | Bent |
| Bet | Bet | Bet |
| Bind | Bound | Bound |
| Bid | Bid | Bid |
| Bite | Bit | Bitten |
| Bleed | Bled | Bled |
| Blow | Blew | Blown |
| Break | Broke | Broken |
| Breed | Bred | Bred |
| Bring | Brought | Brought |
| Broadcast | Broadcast | Broadcast |
| Build | Built | Built |
| Burn | Burnt /Burned | Burnt / Burned |
| Burst | Burst | Burst |
| Buy | Bought | Bought |
| Cast | Cast | Cast |
| Catch | Caught | Caught |
| Come | Came | Come |
| Cost | Cost | Cost |
| Cut | Cut | Cut |
| Choose | Chose | Chosen |
| Cling | Clung | Clung |
| Creep | Crept | Crept |
| Deal | Dealt | Dealt |
| Dig | Dug | Dug |
| Do (Does) | Did | Done |
| Draw | Drew | Drawn |
| Dream | Dreamt / Dreamed | Dreamt / Dreamed |
| Drink | Drank | Drunk |
| Drive | Drove | Driven |
| Eat | Ate | Eaten |
| Fall | Fell | Fallen |
| Feed | Fed | Fed |
| Feel | Felt | Felt |
| Fight | Fought | Fought |
| Find | Found | Found |
| Flee | Fled | Fled |
| Fly | Flew | Flown |
| Forbid | Forbade | Forbidden |
| Forget | Forgot | Forgotten |
| Forgive | Forgave | Forgiven |
| Freeze | Froze | Frozen |
| Get | Got | Got / Gotten |
| Give | Gave | Given |
| Go (Goes) | Went | Gone |
| Grow | Grew | Grown |
| Grind | Ground | Ground |
| Hang | Hung | Hung |
| Have | Had | Had |
| Hear | Heard | Heard |
| Hide | Hid | Hidden |
| Hit | Hit | Hit |
| Hold | Held | Held |
| Hurt | Hurt | Hurt |
| Keep | Kept | Kept |
| Know | Knew | Known |
| Kneel | Knelt | Knelt |
| Knit | Knit | Knit |
| Lay | Laid | Laid |
| Lead | Led | Led |
| Lean | Leant | Leant |
| Leap | Leapt | Leapt |
| Learn | Learnt / Learned | Learnt / Learned |
| Leave | Left | Left |
| Lend | Lent | Lent |
| Let | Let | Let |
| Lie | Lay | Lain |
| Light | Lit | Lit |
| Lose | Lost | Lost |
| Make | Made | Made |
| Mean | Meant | Meant |
| Meet | Met | Met |
| Mistake | Mistook | Mistaken |
| Overcome | Overcame | Overcome |
| Pay | Paid | Paid |
| Put | Put | Put |
| Read | Read | Read |
| Ride | Rode | Ridden |
| Ring | Rang | Rung |
| Rise | Rose | Risen |
| Run | Ran | Run |
| Say | Said | Said |
| See | Saw | Seen |
| Seek | Sought | Sought |
| Sell | Sold | Sold |
| Send | Sent | Sent |
| Set | Set | Set |
| Sew | Sewed | Sewed / Sewn |
| Shake | Shook | Shaken |
| Shear | Shore | Shorn |
| Shine | Shone | Shone |
| Shoot | Shot | Shot |
| Show | Showed | Shown |
| Shrink | Shrank | Shrunk |
| Shut | Shut | Shut |
| Sing | Sang | Sung |
| Sink | Sank | Sunk |
| Sit | Sat | Sat |
| Sleep | Slept | Slept |
| Slide | Slid | Slid |
| Smell | Smelt | Smelt |
| Sow | Sowed | Sowed / Sown |
| Speak | Spoke | Spoken |
| Speed | Sped | Sped |
| Spell | Spelt | Spelt |
| Spend | Spent | Spent |
| Spill | Spilt / Spilled | Spilt / Spilled |
| Spin | Spun | Spun |
| Spit | Spat | Spat |
| Split | Split | Split |
| Spoil | Spoilt / Spoiled | Spoilt / Spoiled |
| Spread | Spread | Spread |
| Spring | Sprang | Sprung |
| Stand | Stood | Stood |
| Steal | Stole | Stolen |
| Stick | Stuck | Stuck |
| Sting | Stung | Stung |
| Stink | Stank/Stunk | Stunk |
| Stride | Strode | Stridden |
| Strike | Struck | Struck |
| Swear | Swore | Sworn |
| Sweat | Sweat | Sweat |
| Sweep | Swept | Swept |
| Swell | Swelled | Swollen |
| Swim | Swam | Swum |
| Swing | Swung | Swung |
| Take | Took | Taken |
| Teach | Taught | Taught |
| Tear | Tore | Torn |
| Tell | Told | Told |
| Think | Thought | Thought |
| Throw | Threw | Thrown |
| Thrust | Thrust | Thrust |
| Tread | Trod | Trodden |
| Understand | Understood | Understood |
| Undergo | Underwent | Undergone |
| Undertake | Undertook | Undertaken |
| Wake | Woke | Woken |
| Wear | Wore | Worn |
| Weave | Wove | Woven |
| Weep | Wept | Wept |
| Wet | Wet | Wet |
| Win | Won | Won |
| Wind | Wound | Wound |
| Withdraw | Withdrew | Withdrawn |
| Wring | Wrung | Wrung |
| Write | Wrote | Written |