Definition:
A verb that does not follow the general rules for verb forms. Verbs in English are irregular if they do not have a conventional -ed form, like cracked or asked. Contrast with Regular Verb. See also:
- Introduction to Irregular Verbs in English
- Principal Parts of Irregular Verbs
- Conjugal Conjugations, by A.W. Bellaw
Examples:
- "If the teacher taught,
Why didn't the preacher praught?" - "Throughout my career I swam for form. Speed came as a result of it."
(Johnny Weissmuller) - "Education is what remains after one has forgotten everything he learned in school."
(Albert Einstein) - "My work always tried to unite the true with the beautiful; but when I had to choose one or the other, I usually chose the beautiful."
(Tom Stoppard) - "A boy who swims may say he swum,
But milk is skimmed and seldom skum,
And nails you trim; they are not trum.
"When words you speak, these words are spoken,
But a nose is tweaked and can't be twoken.
And what you seek is seldom soken.
"If we forget, then we've forgotten,
But things we wet are never wotten,
And houses let cannot be lotten.
"The things one sells are always sold,
But fog dispelled are not dispold,
And what you smell is never smold.
"When young, a top you oft saw spun,
But did you see a grin ever grun,
Or a potato neatly skun?"
(anonymous, "Verbs Is Funny")
Pronunciation: i-REG-u-lur verb
Also Known As: strong verbs
