Los verbos irregulares en inglés (irregular verbs) son aquellos que no siguen el patrón regular de agregar «-ed» para formar el pasado simple y el participio pasado. A diferencia de los verbos regulares, los irregulares tienen formas específicas para estas conjugaciones. A continuación, te mostramos una lista con los 90 verbos irregulares más comunes:
| Infinitivo | Pasado | Participio Pasado |
|---|---|---|
| Be: ser/estar | Was/Were | Been |
| Begin: empezar | Began | Begun |
| Bite: morder | Bit | Bitten |
| Blow: soplar | Blew | Blown |
| Break: romper | Broke | Broken |
| Bring: traer | Brought | Brought |
| Build: construir | Built | Built |
| Buy: comprar | Bought | Bought |
| Choose: elegir | Chose | Chosen |
| Come: venir | Came | Come |
| Cost: costar | Cost | Cost |
| Do: hacer | Did | Done |
| Draw: dibujar | Drew | Drawn |
| Drive: conducir | Drove | Driven |
| Eat: comer | Ate | Eaten |
| Fall: caer | Fell | Fallen |
| Feel: sentir | Felt | Felt |
| Find: encontrar | Found | Found |
| Fly: volar | Flew | Flown |
| Forget: olvidar | Forgot | Forgotten |
| Forgive: perdonar | Forgave | Forgiven |
| Freeze: congelar | Froze | Frozen |
| Get: obtener | Got | Gotten/Got |
| Give: dar | Gave | Given |
| Go: ir | Went | Gone |
| Grow: crecer | Grew | Grown |
| Have: tener | Had | Had |
| Hide: esconder | Hid | Hidden |
| Hit: golpear | Hit | Hit |
| Hold: sostener | Held | Held |
| Hurt: herir | Hurt | Hurt |
| Keep: mantener | Kept | Kept |
| Know: saber | Knew | Known |
| Lay: poner | Laid | Laid |
| Lead: dirigir | Led | Led |
| Leave: dejar | Left | Left |
| Lend: prestar | Lent | Lent |
| Let: permitir | Let | Let |
| Lose: perder | Lost | Lost |
| Make: hacer | Made | Made |
| Mean: significar | Meant | Meant |
| Meet: encontrar | Met | Met |
| Pay: pagar | Paid | Paid |
| Put: poner | Put | Put |
| Read: leer | Read | Read |
| Ride: montar | Rode | Ridden |
| Ring: sonar | Rang | Rung |
| Rise: subir | Rose | Risen |
| Run: correr | Ran | Run |
| Say: decir | Said | Said |
| See: ver | Saw | Seen |
| Seek: buscar | Sought | Sought |
| Sell: vender | Sold | Sold |
| Send: enviar | Sent | Sent |
| Set: establecer | Set | Set |
| Shake: sacudir | Shook | Shaken |
| Shine: brillar | Shone | Shone |
| Shoot: disparar | Shot | Shot |
| Show: mostrar | Showed | Shown/Showed |
| Shut: cerrar | Shut | Shut |
| Sing: cantar | Sang | Sung |
| Sink: hundir | Sank | Sunk |
| Sit: sentarse | Sat | Sat |
| Sleep: dormir | Slept | Slept |
| Speak: hablar | Spoke | Spoken |
| Spell: deletrear | Spelt/Spelled | Spelt/Spelled |
| Spend: gastar | Spent | Spent |
| Spill: derramar | Spilt/Spilled | Spilt/Spilled |
| Spin: girar | Span/Spun | Spun |
| Spread: extender | Spread | Spread |
| Stand: estar de pie | Stood | Stood |
| Steal: robar | Stole | Stolen |
| Stick: pegar | Stuck | Stuck |
| Sting: picar | Stung | Stung |
| Stink: oler mal | Stank | Stunk |
| Strike: golpear | Struck | Struck |
| Swear: jurar | Swore | Sworn |
| Sweep: barrer | Swept | Swept |
| Swim: nadar | Swam | Swum |
| Take: tomar | Took | Taken |
| Teach: enseñar | Taught | Taught |
| Tell: decir | Told | Told |
| Think: pensar | Thought | Thought |
| Throw: arrojar | Threw | Thrown |
| Understand: entender | Understood | Understood |
| Wake: despertar | Woke | Woken |
| Wear: usar (ropa) | Wore | Worn |
| Win: ganar | Won | Won |
| Withdraw: retirar | Withdrew | Withdrawn |
| Write: escribir | Wrote | Written |
Práctica: Si deseas practicar este tema, te recomendamos que hagas ejercicios con «irregular verbs». Además te sugerimos que revises algunas frases en pasado simple con verbos irregulares.
Cómo aprender los verbos irregulares en inglés
Si necesitas memorizar los verbos irregulares, es fundamental que desarrolles estrategias para facilitar y mejorar su aprendizaje. Una de las técnicas más útiles consiste en dividir estos verbos en grupos que siguen reglas similares.
1. Hay verbos que no modifican su forma, es decir, algunos mantienen la misma forma en infinitivo, pasado simple y pasado participio. Veamos algunos de estos verbos:
- Bet (apostar): Bet – Bet
- Broadcast (emitir): Broadcast – Broadcast
- Cost (costar): Cost – Cost
- Cut (cortar): Cut – Cut
- Hit (golpear): Hit – Hit
- Hurt (herir o lastimar): Hurt – Hurt
- Let (permitir o dejar): Let – Let
- Put (poner o colocar) Put – Put
- Read (leer): Read – Read
- Quit (renunciar o abandonar): Quit – Quit
Cuando utilices estos verbos, es importante que consideres el contexto para determinar a qué tiempo verbal nos estamos refiriendo. Analiza los siguientes ejemplos:
- Presente simple: People usually quit on Fridays. / Las personas suelen renunciar los viernes.
- Pasado simple: Sam quit her job yesterday. / Sam renunció a su trabajo ayer.
- Presente perfecto: They have quit smoking. / Ellos han dejado de fumar.
El verbo read se escribe de la misma forma en las tres columnas (Read – Read – Read); sin embargo, la pronunciación varía entre «ri:d» (presente), «red» (pasado) y «red» (participio).
2. En algunos verbos, tanto el pasado como el participio terminan en «-ght».
- Bring (traer): brought – brought
- Buy (comprar): bought – bought
- Catch (atrapar): caught – caught
- Fight (pelear): fought – fought
- Seek (buscar): sought – sought
- Teach (enseñar): taught – taught
- Think (pensar): thought – thought
3. Hay verbos que tienen una «i» en el infinitivo, la cual cambia a «a» en el pasado simple y a «u» en el pasado participio.
- Sing (cantar): sang – sung
- Ring (sonar, llamar): rang – rung
- Begin (empezar): began – begun
- Drink (beber): drank – drunk
- Swim (nadar): swam – swum
4. También hay verbos cuya forma en pasado simple y participio pasado finaliza en «-t»:
- Bend (doblar): bent – bent
- Build (construir): built – built
- Send (enviar): sent – sent
- Spend (gastar): spent – spent
- Creep (arrastrarse): crept – crept
- Dream (soñar): dreamt – dreamt
- Keep (guardar, mantener): kept – kept
- Leap (saltar): leapt – leapt
5. Podemos encontrar «irregular verbs» cuyo «participle» termina en «-en»:
- Broken (roto): broke – broken
- Chosen (elegido): chose – chosen
- Bitten (mordido): bit – bitten
- Written (escrito): wrote – written
- Driven (conducido): drove – driven
- Fallen (caído): fell – fallen
- Forgotten (olvidado): forgot – forgotten
- Given (dado): gave – given
- Hidden (oculto): hid – hidden
- Ridden (cabalgado): rode – ridden
- Spoken (hablado): spoke – spoken
- Stolen (robado): stole – stolen