Irregular verb forms

 

Q:

What other irregular verbs in English share the same present and past forms, but are pronounced differently? Read/read is the only one I could think of. Could you give me the answer when you find it? My students want to know.

Diane Mahin
dmahin@miami.edu

A:

Read/read is the only example that we could find, too. English verb forms are quite varied, thanks to a complex history. One has to memorize them and use them a lot before they become part of one's vocabulary. I still stumble when I need to use the past tense of "awake" even though English is my native language.

Barbara Matthies