English verbs can be regular or irregular, with irregular verbs taking on unexpected forms in the past tense. There are estimated to be between 25,000 and 100,000 verbs in English, with 400 irregular verbs needed for fluency. Common irregular verbs include “to be,” “have,” “eat,” and “do.” While most irregular verbs are well-behaved in the present tense, “to be” is an exception. Regular verbs form a predictable past tense by adding “ed,” while some irregular verbs have established irregular forms. Others insist on irregular conjugation in the past tense.
Every language has areas where it clings to established rules and areas where it breaks them whenever given the chance. In English, verbs do both. Regular verbs do well whether they’re describing something that happened in the past, present, or future. They respect the rules of conjugation in the same way every time. Irregular verbs, however, are the bad boys of action words because they take on unexpected forms when talking about the past tense.
It is impossible to determine the exact number of verbs in any language at any given time. The languages are very fluid indeed; speakers may coin a verb or use one that hasn’t been officially recognized and captured by a dictionary, and a verb may also disappear from popular speech. Given that, linguists estimate between 25,000 and 100,000 verbs in English, or about 15% of the lexicon, may be in everyday use. Of these, a fluent speaker only needs to deal with an irregular verb once in a while: 400 of these is all that is required for fluency.
It’s tempting to assume from these figures that picking up irregular verbs in English isn’t something speakers should be too familiar with. This is not entirely true as among the most commonly used verbs it is likely to be irregular. Where would we be, after all, without the verb to be? It is not only an irregular verb in the past tense but also in the present tense. Other common irregular verbs include have, eat and do.
While most irregular verbs are actually quite well-behaved in the present tense, wearing the same endings as their fully regular cousins, the verb to be is an exception. I am, but you are, and she is. This sets him apart from other irregulars. For example, I run, you run and they run, while she runs she follows the rules of present tense conjugation.
Regular verbs form a fairly predictable past tense by slapping the ed morpheme. The basic past uses the same form as the past participle: I went to the store last night is a single action that ended, and I went to the store every night this week is the same verb form paired with have, making it a past participle. Many irregular verbs are only irregular up to a point, and once their irregular forms are established, it stays the same with the past participle. I have sold my house and have sold several houses using the same form.
Other irregular verbs turn rule-breaking into an art. These are verbs that insist on an irregular conjugation in the past tense. I swore I would learn English is the basic past, while I always swore I would learn English employs the past participle.
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