Memorize 50 English Irregular Verbs by Pattern: From Begin-Began-Begun to Teach-Taught
Memorize 50 English irregular verbs by pattern: A-B-C, A-B-B, A-B-A families, the -ought group, read and gotten pitfalls. Real flashcards from deck PJ1097.
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Most English verbs take -ed and you are done. The ones in deck PJ1097 – English Irregular Verbs do not – and they happen to be the 50 verbs you use most: be, have, do, go, say, make, take, see. Each card gives the base form on the front and the past simple and past participle on the back. Here is how to memorize them without rote-chanting a list.
Study this deck: English Irregular Verbs
1 / 10be
Tap the card for the answer · swipe right if you knew it, left if not
Sample cards
| Front | Back |
|---|---|
| be | was/were – been |
| go | went – gone |
| begin | began – begun |
| bring | brought – brought |
| teach | taught – taught |
| come | came – come |
| run | ran – run |
| get | got – gotten/got |
| read | read – read |
| ride | rode – ridden |
All 50 verbs: be, become, begin, break, bring, buy, catch, choose, come, do, drink, drive, eat, fall, feel, find, fly, forget, get, give, go, have, hear, know, leave, make, meet, pay, read, ride, ring, rise, run, say, see, sell, send, sing, sit, sleep, speak, swim, take, teach, tell, think, throw, understand, wear, write.
Study by pattern, not by alphabet
The deck is in alphabetical order, which hides the logic. Re-tag the cards into patterns and the list shrinks to a few families:
- A-B-C, vowel shift i → a → u: begin, drink, ring, sing, swim (swim – swam – swum).
- A-B-C, participle in -en/-n: break, choose, drive, eat, fall, forget, give, know, ride, rise, speak, take, throw, wear, write, fly.
- A-B-B, the -ought/-aught family: bring, buy, think (-ought), catch, teach (-aught). Learn the five together; the spelling is the only trap.
- A-B-B, -t or -d endings: feel, sleep, leave, meet, send, hear, pay, say, sell, tell, find, sit, make, have, understand.
- A-B-A, participle = base: come, become, run.
Study one family per session; when a new verb appears in your reading, ask which family it joins.
What the deck leaves out
There is no A-A-A verb at all – the group where all three forms are identical: put, cut, let, set, hit, cost, shut, hurt. They are among the most frequent verbs in English, so write those eight cards yourself. Also worth adding: keep, stand, lose, win, build, spend.
Two cards deserve a note on the back:
- read – read – read is spelled the same but pronounced /riːd/ then /red/ /red/. Add the pronunciation, or the card teaches nothing.
- get – got – gotten/got: gotten is American, got is British. Pick your variety and stay consistent.
Finally, test in both directions: from went, can you name go? Reverse recall is what lets you recognize forms while reading.
Next steps
Irregular verbs power most phrasal verbs (broke down, gave up), so continue with Master 199 English Phrasal Verbs.
Find deck PJ1097 (English Irregular Verbs) in the library on Flip It and start with the -ought family.
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