Irregular verbs are those that do not form their imperfect tense and perfect participle by the addition of d or ed to the present tense; as,
| Pres. Tense. | Imperf. Tense. | Perf. or Pass. Part. |
| I write | I wrote | written |
| I begin | I began | begun |
| I go | I went | gone |
The following is a list of the irregular verbs. Those marked with an R are sometimes conjugated regularly.
| Pres. Tense. | Imperf. Tense. | Perf. or Pass. Part. |
| Abide | abode | abode |
| Am | was | been |
| Arise | arose | arisen |
| Awake | awoke, R. | awaked |
| Bear, to bring forth | bare | born |
| Bear, to carry | bore | borne |
| Beat | beat | beaten, beat |
| Begin | began | begun |
| Bend | bent | bent |
| Bereave | bereft, R. | bereft, R. |
| Beseech | besought | besought |
| Bid | bade, bid | bidden, bid |
| Bind | bound | bound |
| Bite | bit | bitten, bit |
| Bleed | bled | bled |
| Blow | blew | blown |
| Break | broke | broken |
| Breed | bred | bred |
| Bring | brought | brought |
| Build | built | built |
| Burst | burst, R. | burst, R. |
| Buy | bought | bought |
| Cast | cast | cast |
| Catch | caught, R. | caught, R. |
| Chide | chid | chidden, chid |
| Choose | chose | chosen |
| Cleave, to adhere | clave, R. | cleaved |
| Cleave, to split | cleft or clove | cleft, cloven |
| Cling | clung | clung |
| Clothe | clothed | clad, R. |
| Come | came | come |
| Cost | cost | cost |
| Crow | crew, R. | crowed |
| Creep | crept | crept |
| Cut | cut | cut |
| Dare, to venture | durst | dared |
| Dare, to challenge | REGULAR | |
| Deal | dealt, R. | dealt, R. |
| Dig | dug, R. | dug, R. |
| Do | did | done |
| Draw | drew | drawn |
| Drive | drove | driven |
| Drink | drank | drunk, drank[6] |
| Dwell | dwelt, R. | dwelt, R. |
| Eat | eat, ate | eaten |
| Fall | fell | fallen |
| Feed | fed | fed |
| Feel | felt | felt |
| Fight | fought | fought |
| Find | found | found |
| Flee | fled | fled |
| Fling | flung | flung |
| Fly | flew | flown |
| Forget | forgot | forgotten |
| Forsake | forsook | forsaken |
| Freeze | froze | frozen |
| Get | got | got[7] |
| Gild | gilt, R. | gilt, R. |
| Gird | girt, R. | girt, R. |
| Give | gave | given |
| Go | went | gone |
| Grave | graved | graven, R. |
| Grind | ground | ground |
| Grow | grew | grown |
| Have | had | had |
| Hang | hung, R. | hung, R. |
| Hear | heard | heard |
| Hew | hewed | hewn, R. |
| Hide | hid | hidden, hid |
| Hit | hit | hit |
| Hold | held | held |
| Hurt | hurt | hurt |
| Keep | kept | kept |
| Knit | knit, R. | knit, R. |
| Know | knew | known |
| Lade | laded | laden |
| Lay | laid | laid |
| Lead | led | led |
| Leave | left | left |
| Lend | lent | lent |
| Let | let | let |
| Lie, to lie down | lay | lain |
| Load | loaded | laden, R. |
| Lose | lost | lost |
| Make | made | made |
| Meet | met | met |
| Mow | mowed | mown, R. |
| Pay | paid | paid |
| Put | put | put |
| Read | read | read |
| Rend | rent | rent |
| Rid | rid | rid |
| Ride | rode | rode, ridden[8] |
| Ring | rung, rang | rung |
| Rise | rose | risen |
| Rive | rived | riven |
| Run | ran | run |
| Saw | sawed | sawn, R. |
| Say | said | said |
| See | saw | seen |
| Seek | sought | sought |
| Sell | sold | sold |
| Send | sent | sent |
| Set | set | set |
| Shake | shook | shaken |
| Shape | shaped | shaped, shapen |
| Shave | shaved | shaven, R. |
| Shear | sheared | shorn |
| Shed | shed | shed |
| Shine | shone, R. | shone, R. |
| Show | showed | shown |
| Shoe | shod | shod |
| Shoot | shot | shot |
| Shrink | shrunk | shrunk |
| Shred | shred | shred |
| Shut | shut | shut |
| Sing | sung, sang[9] | sung |
| Sink | sunk, sank[9] | sunk |
| Sit | sat | set |
| Slay | slew | slain |
| Sleep | slept | slept |
| Slide | slid | slidden |
| Sling | slung | slung |
| Slink | slunk | slunk |
| Slit | slit, R. | slit |
| Smite | smote | smitten |
| Sow | sowed | sown, R. |
| Speak | spoke | spoken |
| Speed | sped | sped |
| Spend | spent | spent |
| Spill | spilt, R. | spilt, R. |
| Spin | spun | spun |
| Spit | spit, spat | spit, spitten[10] |
| Split | split | split |
| Spread | spread | spread |
| Spring | sprung, sprang | sprung |
| Stand | stood | stood |
| Steal | stole | stolen |
| Stick | stuck | stuck |
| Sting | stung | stung |
| Stink | stunk | stunk |
| Stride | strode, strid | stridden |
| Strike | struck | struck or stricken |
| String | strung | strung |
| Strive | strove | striven |
| Strow or strew | strowed or strewed | strown, strowed or strewed |
| Sweat | swet, R. | swet, R. |
| Swear | swore | sworn |
| Swell | swelled | swollen, R. |
| Swim | swum, swam | swum |
| Swing | swung | swung |
| Take | took | taken |
| Teach | taught | taught |
| Tear | tore | torn |
| Tell | told | told |
| Think | thought | thought |
| Thrive | throve, R. | thriven |
| Throw | threw | thrown |
| Thrust | thrust | thrust |
| Tread | trod | trodden |
| Wax | waxed | waxen, R. |
| Wear | wore | worn |
| Weave | wove | woven |
| Wet | wet | wet, R. |
| Weep | wept | wept |
| Win | won | won |
| Wind | wound | wound |
| Work | wrought, worked | wrought, worked |
| Wring | wrung | wrung |
| Write | wrote | written |
In familiar writing and discourse, the following, and some other verbs, are often improperly terminated by t instead of ed; as, "learnt, spelt, spilt, stopt, latcht." They should be, "learned, spelled, spilled, stopped, latched."
You may now conjugate the following irregular verbs, in a manner similar to the conjugation of regular verbs: arise, begin, bind, do, go, grow, run, lend, teach, write. Thus, to arise—Indicative mood, pres. tense, first person, sing. I arise; imperf. tense, I arose; perf. tense, I have arisen, and so on, through all the moods, and all the tenses of each mood; and then speak the participles: thus, pres. arising, perf. arisen, comp. having arisen. In the next place, conjugate the same verb in the second person sing. through all the moods and tenses; and then in the third person sing. and in the first pers. plural. After that, you may proceed in the same manner with the words begin, bind, &c.
Now read the eleventh and twelfth lectures four or five times over, and learn the order of parsing a verb. You will then be prepared to parse the following verbs in full; and I presume, all the other parts of speech. Whenever you parse, you must refer to the Compendium for definitions and rules, if you cannot repeat them without, I will now parse a verb, and describe all its properties by applying the definitions and rules according to the systematic order.
"We could not accomplish the business."
Could accomplish is a verb, a word which signifies to do—active, it expresses action—transitive, the action passes over from the nom. "we" to the object "business"—regular, it will form its imperfect tense of the indic. mood and perf. part, in ed—potential mood, it implies possibility or power—imperfect tense, it denotes past time however distant—first pers. plural, because the nom. "we" is with which it agrees, agreeably to RULE 4. A verb must agree, &c. Conjugated—Indic. mood, present tense, first pers. sing. I accomplish; imperfect tense, I accomplished; perfect, I have accomplished; pluperfect, I had accomplished; and so on.—Speak it in the person of each tense through all the moods, and conjugate, in the same manner, every verb you parse.