Most Common English Verbs

Here is a list of the most common verbs in English. The verbs are ordered from the most common to least common to help you prioritize learning or teaching them. However, bear in mind that all of these verbs are important.

Also, notice that the top 10 verbs are all irregular verbs! There are 48 irregular verbs in this top-100 list. Remember that an irregular verb is a verb that does not form its simple past tense or its past participle by adding "-ed" or "-d" to the base form.

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The top three verbs (to be, to have, and to do) deserve a special mention because they can be used as main verbs or auxiliary verbs.

Table of Contents

Most Common Verbs with Meanings with Example Sentences
Full Conjugation of the Verbs
Learn with Hangman!
A Video Summary

100 most common English verbs

Most Common Verbs with Meanings with Example Sentences

I want to be a pirate.
Carla is a talented musician.
Simon and Jack were happy to see each other.

I have a new car.
Joanna has a lot of experience.
My parents had three children.

I need to do my homework.
They do their best to help others.
She did a great job on the project.

Please say your name and address for the record.
Simon says the Earth is flat.
She said that she would be late for the meeting.

I need to go to the grocery store to buy some milk.
On Saturday, she goes to the park to run.
They went on a road trip across the country. ("Went" is past tense of "to go.")

I need to get some rest after a long day at work.
She gets good grades because she works hard.
Anne got a pay rise from her boss.

Your sister wants to make a cakes for you.
Simon makes wooden bowls as a hobby.
They made a decision to start their own business.

I don't know the answer to that question.
He knows everything about crocodiles.
Simon knew a lot about football.

I think we should go on vacation this summer.
She thinks that he's the right person for the job.
They thought deeply about their decision.

Please take this package to the post office.
Simon takes his sister to school every morning.
They took the opportunity to learn a new skill.

I can see a giraffe by those trees.
She always sees the answers before I do.
They saw the logic behind Simon's argument.

Come and join us for dinner tonight.
Simon comes to the meetings on Saturdays.
They came to the party dressed as clowns.

I want to buy a new car.
She wants to travel the world someday.
They wanted to spend more time with their family.

Look at that beautiful sunset!
She looks in the mirror for a long time.
They looked for their lost keys but couldn't find them.

Please use a pencil to fill out the form.
Simon uses his phone to take photos.
They used their computer for work and entertainment.

I need to find my watch.
She always finds great restaurants when visiting places.
They found a solution to their problem.

Can you give me a hand with this heavy box?
She gives her friends expensive birthday presents.
They gave generously to the charity.

Please tell me what happened.
Simon tells funny stories about his time abroad.
They told for hours.

I have to work on a project for school.
She works as a software developer at a tech company.
They worked hard to complete the project.

Please call me when you get home.
She calls her friends at 2 o'clock in the morning.
They called their new puppy "Buddy."

Try to solve this puzzle.
She tries her best, and that's all we want.
They tried a new recipe for dinner.

Can I ask you a question?
She often asks for help.
They asked the waiter for the menu.

Do you need a break from work?
She needs to buy groceries for the week.
They needed more time to complete the project.

Do you feel happy when you're with your friends?
She feels a sense of accomplishment after the races.
They felt the warmth of the fire on their faces.

She wants to become a doctor when she's older.
Simon becomes a different person during a full moon!
They became good friends after working on a project together.

Do not leave without saying goodbye.
She always leaves early to catch the last bus.
They left the park before the band started.

Put your bag on the table.
Anne always puts a small surprise for her daughter in the fridge.
They put all the tables on the road for the party.

What does this word mean ?
"Rich" means happy not wealthy.
Anne meant to help you not hurt you.

Keep the receipt in case you need to return the item.
Anne keeps chickens for the eggs.
They kept the secret between the two of them.

Let me know if you need any help.
Anne lets her sister borrow her car at weekends.
They let their children stay up late on weekends.

Let's begin the meeting after coffee.
Anne begins her daily commute with a 1-mile walk to the train station.
They began rebuilding their house last year.

Does Anne seem tired to you?
It seems like a good idea to go to the beach.
They seemed happy with the proposal.

Can you help me carry these bags?
Anne helps her friends study for their music exams.
They helped clean up the river after the oil spill.

Let's talk about the issue.
Anne talks to herself when she's running.
Whenever they met, they talked about the weather.

Turn left at the garage.
Our dog always turns because he wants to go to the cafe.
The band turned to the audience and blew kisses.

Let's start the meeting with a brief introduction.
We always start our projects full of good intentions.
They started their journey early in the morning.

Please show me some identification.
Anne shows her tattoos to everyone.
They showed great teamwork during the game.

Did you hear that noise outside?
Anne hears voices at night.
They heard your singing in the next street.

Let's play a game of chess.
Anne plays the piano beautifully.
They played football with tennis ball to improve their skills.

Simon needs to run every morning to stay fit.
Anne always runs home after work.
They ran the Boston marathon.

Please move the chair to the other side of the room.
Anne always moves the ashtray off the table.
She moved his fishing equipment onto the street.

Do you like ice cream?
Anne likes to read books about witches and wizards.
They liked the beach when it was empty.

I used to live in a small apartment in the city.
Anne lives with her family in suburbia.
They lived near the ocean, which is why they are all great swimmers.

Do you believe in the power of positive thinking?
Anne believes that hard work leads to success.
They believed in equality for all, and that drove them.

Hold the fishing rod in your left hand.
Even now, Anne holds her sister's hand when they cross the street.
They held each other tightly for an hour.

Can you bring me a glass of water, please?
Anne brings us presents whenever she returns from abroad.
They brought their dog with them on the holiday.

What will happen at the meeting tomorrow?
Don't worry about the heckling. It happens every year.
We do not understand why it happened .

I try to write poetry from the heart.
Anne regularly writes letters to her grandparents.
They wrote articles about potions and magic.

We will provide all the necessary equipment for your journey.
Anne provides valuable insights during meetings.
The charity provided food and shelter to the survivors.

Please sit down and make yourself comfortable.
Anne sits at the back of the class to watch the students.
They always sat at the dining table for family dinners.

Please stand for the national anthems of both teams.
We all stand during meetings to keep them short.
They stood together for a group photo.

Do not lose your keys again.
Anne loses her phone at least once a day.
Two of the crew lost their paddles, but they still won the race.

I need to pay the bill before leaving the restaurant.
She pays her son with chocolate.
They paid their employees a fair wage.

Do you want to meet at the cafe for a chat?
Anne always meets her sister after school.
After the briefing, the students met their tutors for the first time.

Does the package include a set of instructions?
Anne includes her sister in everything she does.
They included all the necessary tools with the package.

Please continue working on your tasks.
Anne continues to pursue her passion for painting.
They continued their journey despite the challenges.

Set the table for dinner.
Anne sets the alarm clock for 6 a.m. every morning.
They set a humane trap for the fox.

I want to learn how to play the piano.
Anne learns 10 new words every day.
They learned about finding gold in the sand at the bottom of rivers.

I need to change my shirt before going out.
Anne changes her hairstyle every month.
They changed their plans when the snow came.

Simon wants to lead the team.
Anne naturally leads the group when we walk.
Simon led the way with his torch.

I don't understand what you're trying to say.
Anne understands the importance of hard work.
They understood each other from the start.

Let's watch a movie tonight.
Anne usually watches the sunset from her balcony.
They watched the swans build a nest.

Please follow me to the conference room.
She always follows her brother when he goes outside.
They followed the path through the forest.

Please stop talking and listen to me.
The ballet dancer stops dancing when the music stops .
The police stopped the car to question the driver.

Simon can create beautiful sculptures from stone.
Anne creates the most beautiful portraits using acrylic paints.
Jack and Simon created a business plan for their startup.

Let's speak German to confuse the waiter.
Anne always speaks passionately about her work.
The two leaders spoke respectfully to each other.

I love to read books about ghosts.
Anne reads the newspaper every morning to stay updated.
My children read your article about today's youth, and they disagree with you.

Please allow me to explain why I'm right.
Anne allows her children to stay up late on weekends.
The guards allowed him to enter the restricted area.

Add sugar to the mix and stir well.
Anne always adds jalapenos to her pizza.
The developers added new features to the program.

I need to spend my weekends relaxing at home.
Anne spends a lot of time playing the piano.
They spent their life savings on a vacation.

I want to grow tomatoes and cucumbers.
Anne grows taller every time I see her.
They grew their home business into a successful company.

Open the windows and the doors.
Anne always opens her shop at 6 a.m.
The brothers opened a new branch of their store every year.

I need to walk home more often.
Anne walks her dog in all weather.
John and Sandra walked across the entire mountain range.

We can win if we start training now.
Anne wins every competition at the school.
The boys won because they believed in themselves.

I can offer you some free advice.
Anne always offers to look after my dog when I go away.
All the garages offered the same discount on their cars.

Do you remember our trip to Constantinople?
Anne remembers everything you tell her.
My parents remembered all the teachers from their school days.

You can learn to love him.
Anne loves to explore new places.
They loved Bonzo like a member of the family.

You must consider all the options before deciding.
Anne considers me her best friend.
My parents considered moving to Australia before moving to Canada.

The plane will appear from behind that cloud in a minute.
Anne appears to be happy with the result.
Two tigers unexpectedly appeared in front of us.

I need to buy some flowers before we arrive.
Anne buys her sister a present every time she returns from abroad.
I bought these concert tickets over a year ago.

Please wait for me in the car park.
Anne's dog waits by the window for her to return from work.
They waited for a bus four an hour and then three came at once.

I can serve the potatoes if you like.
Anne serves as a volunteer at the local shelter.
The hotel served oysters and Champagne.

We all want to die peacefully in our sleep, don't we?
Romeo and Juliet both die at the end of the play.
Nearly everyone in Pompeii died when the volcano erupted.

Simon can send you the meeting notes afterwards.
Anne always sends funny images to her work colleagues.
The government sent a weather warning over the radio.

I expect to receive a reply soon.
Anne expects to be promoted at work.
The farmers expected the results of the soil test to be worse.

Jack wants to build a house on that hill.
The weaver bird builds an amazing nest.
The team built a huge sandcastle on the beach.

You can stay at my house over the weekend.
Anne stays with her grandparents at Christmas.
My mother and I stayed with my auntie for a month.

Get down! I don't want you to fall and break your arm again!
Anne is not good at the beam. She usually falls when she turns.
When we were in Barbados, the coconuts fell from the tree like bombs.

Can you cut the cake into equal slices please, Simon?
Anne always cuts her sister's hair instead of going to a hairdresser.
The fishermen cut their nets to free the whale.

We can reach the top in an hour.
Anne reaches the train station by 7 a.m. every morning.
The lawyers reached a compromise before the trial.

Simon tried to kill the spider in the bath but Janet saved it.
Anne always kills her plants by overwatering them.
She killed her rich husband to get his money.

I want to remain in this country.
Anne always remains calm during a crisis.
We remained friends despite our differences in opinion.

Can I suggest we go to the new pizzeria?
Anne usually suggests a physical activity for the evenings.
The fishermen suggested meeting at the town hall to discuss the new permits.

Please raise your hand to ask a question.
Anne often raises a few points after a meeting.
They raised the flag in the town square to mark the end of the war.

Can you pass me the butter please?
Anne passes the bakery every morning and buys two bread rolls.
I passed the exam, but I did not pass the interview.

Simon tried to sell handmade bowls at the local market.
Anne sells her artwork online.
They sold organic produce at their farm shop.

Convincing John of a new idea can require a lot of time.
Anne requires at least eight hours' sleep a night.
We required your full cooperation but did not receive it.

I want to report the incident to the police.
Anne reports any concerns to her tutors immediately.
The group reported the stranded whale to the life guard.

You can decide which film to watch after dinner.
Anne decides things quickly and then does them immediately.
On Tuesday, we decided to postpone the event until next year.

Pull the rope to raise the flag.
Anne never pulls weeds from the garden.
The firemen pulled the door as hard as they could.

Full Conjugation of the Verbs

Click on any word to see where it fits in the full conjugation of the verb.

Base Form	Simple Past	Past Participle	3rd Person Singular	Present Participle
be	were	been	is	being
have	had	had	has	having
do	did	done	does	doing
say	said	said	says	saying
go	went	gone	goes	going
get	got	got/gotten	gets	getting
make	made	made	makes	making
know	knew	known	knows	knowing
think	thought	thought	thinks	thinking
take	took	taken	takes	taking
see	saw	seen	sees	seeing
come	came	come	comes	coming
want	wanted	wanted	wants	wanting
look	looked	looked	looks	looking
use	used	used	uses	using
find	found	found	finds	finding
give	gave	given	gives	giving
tell	told	told	tells	telling
work	worked	worked	works	working
call	called	called	calls	calling
try	tried	tried	tries	trying
ask	asked	asked	asks	asking
need	needed	needed	needs	needing
feel	felt	felt	feels	feeling
become	became	become	becomes	becoming
leave	left	left	leaves	leaving
put	put	put	puts	putting
mean	meant	meant	means	meaning
keep	kept	kept	keeps	keeping
let	let	let	lets	letting
begin	began	begun	begins	beginning
seem	seemed	seemed	seems	seeming
help	helped	helped	helps	helping
talk	talked	talked	talks	talking
turn	turned	turned	turns	turning
start	started	started	starts	starting
show	showed	shown	shows	showing
hear	heard	heard	hears	hearing
play	played	played	plays	playing
run	ran	run	runs	running
move	moved	moved	moves	moving
like	liked	liked	likes	liking
live	lived	lived	lives	living
believe	believed	believed	believes	believe
hold	held	held	holds	hold
bring	brought	brought	brings	bring
happen	happened	happened	happens	happen
write	wrote	written	writes	write
provide	provided	provided	provides	provide
sit	sat	sat	sits	sit
stand	stood	stood	stands	stand
lose	lost	lost	loses	lose
pay	paid	paid	pays	pay
meet	met	met	meets	meet
include	included	included	includes	include
continue	continued	continued	continues	continue
set	set	set	sets	set
learn	learnt/learned	learnt/learned	learns	learn
change	changed	changed	changes	change
lead	led	led	leads	leading
understand	understood	understood	understands	understanding
watch	watched	watched	watches	watching
follow	followed	followed	follows	following
stop	stopped	stopped	stops	stopping
create	created	created	creates	creating
speak	spoke	spoken	speaks	speaking
read	read	read	reads	reading
allow	allowed	allowed	allows	allowing
add	added	added	adds	adding
spend	spent	spent	spends	spending
grow	grew	grown	grows	growing
open	opened	opened	opens	opening
walk	walked	walked	walks	walking
win	won	won	wins	wining
offer	offered	offered	offers	offering
remember	remembered	remembered	remembers	remembering
love	loved	loved	loves	loving
consider	considered	considered	considers	considering
appear	appeared	appeared	appears	appearing
buy	bought	bought	buys	buying
wait	waited	waited	waits	waiting
serve	served	served	serves	serving
die	died	died	dies	dying
send	sent	sent	sends	sending
expect	expected	expected	expects	expecting
build	built	built	builds	building
stay	stayed	stayed	stays	staying
fall	fell	fallen	falls	falling
cut	cut	cut	cuts	cutting
reach	reached	reached	reaches	reaching
kill	killed	killed	kills	killing
remain	remained	remained	remains	remaining
suggest	suggested	suggested	suggests	suggesting
raise	raised	raised	raises	raising
pass	passed	passed	passes	passing
sell	sold	sold	sells	selling
require	required	required	requires	requiring
report	reported	reported	reports	reporting
decide	decided	decided	decides	deciding
pull	pulled	pulled	pulls	pulling

Past Tenses

I
you
he/she/it
we
you
they

past tense
past tense
past tense
past tense
past tense
past tense

The simple past tense is for a completed activity that happened in the past.

was present participle
were present participle
was present participle
were present participle
were present participle
were present participle

The past progressive tense is for an ongoing activity in the past. Often, it is used to set the scene for another action.

had past participle
had past participle
had past participle
had past participle
had past participle
had past participle

The past perfect tense is for emphasizing that an action was completed before another took place.

had been present participle
had been present participle
had been present participle
had been present participle
had been present participle
had been present participle

The past perfect progressive tense is for showing that an ongoing action in the past has ended.

Present Tenses

I
you
he/she/it
we
you
they

base form
base form
3rd pers sing present
base form
base form
base form

The simple present tense is mostly for a fact or a habit.

am present participle
are present participle
is present participle
are present participle
are present participle
are present participle

The present progressive tense is for an ongoing action in the present.

have past participle
have past participle
has past participle
have past participle
have past participle
have past participle

The present perfect tense is for an action that began in the past. (Often, the action continues into the present.)

have been present participle
have been present participle
has been present participle
have been present participle
have been present participle
have been present participle

The present perfect progressive tense is for a continuous activity that began in the past and continues into the present (or finished very recently).

Future Tenses

I
you
he/she/it
we
you
they

will base form
will base form
will base form
will base form
will base form
will base form

The simple future tense is for an action that will occur in the future.

will be present participle
will be present participle
will be present participle
will be present participle
will be present participle
will be present participle

The future progressive tense is for an ongoing action that will occur in the future.

will have past participle
will have past participle
will have past participle
will have past participle
will have past participle
will have past participle

The future perfect tense is for an action that will have been completed at some point in the future.

will have been present participle
will have been present participle
will have been present participle
will have been present participle
will have been present participle
will have been present participle

The future perfect progressive tense is for an ongoing action that will be completed at some specified time in the future.

Learn with Hangman!

Hangman is a classic word game. In this version, the hidden word is a verb from the "top 100 verbs" list. (Choose your first letter to start.) Show Instructions

Guess the hidden word by choosing one letter at a time.
If you guess a letter in the hidden verb, then all is good.
If you guess a letter that is not in the hidden verb, then the hangman starts to build the gallows.
If the gallows are completed, you lose.
Good luck!

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A Video Summary

Here is a 9-minute video summarizing this lesson on the top 100 English verbs. video lesson

Are you a visual learner? Do you prefer video to text? Here is a list of all our grammar videos.

This page was written by Craig Shrives.