Lit or Lighted? Deciphering Irregular Past Tense Verbs

For actions that occurred in the past, regular verbs follow the same conjugation pattern: You add an “-ed” or “-d” suffix (e.g., “look” becomes “looked,” “bake” becomes “baked,” and so on). But irregular verbs follow different formulas, as their past tense forms are conjugated in less predictable ways.

While there are relatively few English-language irregular verbs, they’re among the most commonly used verbs in our everyday speech. Emily Brewster, a senior editor at Merriam-Webster, said on the Word Matters podcast that there are roughly 200 core irregular verbs in the modern English language, which is less than 3% of all verbs. But that 3% includes 10 of the most commonly used verbs: “be,” “have,” “do,” “say,” “make,” “go,” “take,” “come,” “see,” and “get.” (More on those in a bit.)

So why do irregular conjugations exist? Well, they’re relics of how language used to function. Many irregular past tense verbs follow conjugation patterns that were common centuries ago in Old English and Middle English. While some grammatical rules became less common as the language evolved, several irregular verbs have maintained their popularity.

Let’s look at some examples of irregular past-tense verbs.

With the verb “to light,” the proper past tense conjugation is “lit” — but “lighted” is considered a grammatically acceptable alternative. If someone illuminated a lamp, you’d say, “She lit that lamp.” However, when describing that lamp, you may call it a lighted lamp, as “lighted” is more frequently used as an adjective.

The word “put” is another curious example, as people don’t say “putted” (unless you’re referring to the act of putting in golf). Instead, “put” (as in “to place”) remains “put” whether you’re speaking in the present or past tense. It’s a relic of Germanic and Old English tendencies. Other irregular verbs that are the same in both their present and past tenses include “shed,” “burst,” and “cast.”

In Germanic languages, irregular verbs are called strong verbs. When changing present tense strong verbs to their past tense, you forgo adding a suffix at the end. Instead, these verbs are conjugated by altering the ablaut — a vowel within the verb that varies depending on the tense. Evidence of this phenomenon is present in many modern irregular English-language verbs with Germanic origins. Common examples include changing “sing” to “sung,” “fling” to “flung,” “stick” to “stuck,” “dig” to “dug,” and so on.

You’ll also come across many irregular verbs with a “-t” suffix instead of “-ed” or “-d,” which is a holdover from older versions of English. Consider verbs such as “mean” (“meant”), “dream” (“dreamt”), “build” (“built”), and “spend” (“spent”). However, some past tense “-t” forms have fallen out of use and been replaced with a standard “-ed” ending. Among others, “clapt” is now “clapped” and “stript” is now “stripped.”  This follows a theory published by Harvard University in 2007, proposing that if an irregular verb falls into disuse, it’ll inevitably be swapped out for a past tense conjugation ending with “-ed.”

We briefly mentioned them before, but 10 of the most commonly used English language verbs are irregular: 

• “Be” → “was” 
• “Have” → “had” 
• “Do” → “did” 
• “Say” → “said” 
• “Make” → “made” 
• “Go” → “went” 
• “Take” → “took” 
• “Come” → “came” 
• “See” → “saw” 
• “Get” → “got” 

These irregular verbs feel like second nature to native English speakers. However, as they’re rooted in centuries-old linguistic customs, they can be more challenging for those learning English. Irregular verbs are simply relics of once-common and now-unfamiliar language mechanisms, though they’re not immortal by any means. Irregular verbs that are common in today’s English may disappear entirely as English continues to evolve.