Irregular Verb Resources

Some of the most common verbs are irregular. Words we use every day, sometimes multiple times a day don’t obey the rules, like be, can, take, go, say, get, have, do, and see. Why is this? The answer has to do with the history of language. Most of the irregular verbs have been in the English language a long time and resisted change. They may have obeyed rules centuries ago, but today their behavior looks strange and out of place. Kids who are frustrated with their irregular verbs might be encouraged to know even just a little bit of this history.

In Old English texts like Beowolf, there were seven different systems of rules for verbs. Can you imagine? Talk about challenging grammar! Only about 75% of the verbs in the 9th century were regular. Compare that to today, where 98% of our verbs are regular.

The English language changed over time, but not all words changed at the same speed or in the same ways. Look at this example of the same sentence in three different stages of English:

• Middle English: Than she gan to-spaken dis Middle Englysshe Tongue.
• Shakespeare’s English: Then she wente to spake this Early Modern Englysh Tongue.
• Modern English: Then she went to speak this Late Modern English Tongue.