Shadowing Practice: 😮12 MUST-KNOW irregular verbs for lawyers - Learn English Speaking with Video
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Hi everyone.
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I hope you are doing well.
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In today's short lesson, we're going to look at 12 irregular verbs that you as a lawyer should know.
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Music Welcome back to my Study Legal English YouTube channel.
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I'm Louise, and I'm here to help you improve your legal English.
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Before we get started, just a quick reminder to hit the subscribe button so that you are notified of all my future lessons.
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So let's get started.
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Arise is an irregular verb that you should know.
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The conjugations are arise, arose, arisen.
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It's a common verb used by lawyers, and it means to emerge or come into existence.
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An example sentence is, a dispute has arisen regarding the interpretation of the clause.
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Bind is an irregular verb used a lot by lawyers.
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The conjugations are bind, bound, and bound.
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It means to tie or to obligate, and it's often used in the passive voice as in to be bound, meaning to be legally obligated to follow something.
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An example sentence is, the parties are bound by the contract.
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The parties must follow the contract.
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Break is an irregular verb, used a lot in legal English.
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The conjugations are break, broke, broken.
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It is often used in legal English to mean to violate a rule.
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It collocates with law, as in, to break the law.
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An example sentence is, the defendant broke the law by driving at 50 kilometers per hour in a 30 kilometers per hour zone.
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Bring is an irregular verb used a lot by lawyers.
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The conjugations are bring, brought, and brought.
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In legal English it's used to mean to carry or cause something to happen, especially in the collocation with to bring proceedings, which means to start legal proceedings in the civil court.
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An example sentence is, the claimant brought proceedings against the defendant.
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Find is an irregular verb, used a lot in legal English.
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The conjugations are find, found, and found.
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In legal English it is used of course to mean discover something, but it's especially used when referring to court decisions.
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For example, we say that the court found in favour of the defendant when the defendant won the case, or the court found against the defendant when the defendant lost the case.
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We can also talk about the court or the jury found the defendant guilty or not guilty.
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So an example sentence is the court found the defendant guilty.
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Plead is another irregular verb used a lot by lawyers.
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The conjugations are plead, pled/plead or pleaded, and pled/plead/ pleaded in the past participle.
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Plead is used in the US to mean when a lawyer states his or her case in court.
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It was also used historically in England, however, since 1998, we tend to use, to state one's case instead.
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However, in criminal law plead collocates with guilty or not guilty, meaning that the defendant either admits or denies guilt.
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An example sentence is, the defendant pleaded guilty to the charges.
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Prove can be an irregular verb.
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The conjugations are prove, proved in the past simple, and the past participant can be proven or proved.
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It means to establish the truth, what is real through evidence to prove that something is true.
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An example sentence is, the authorities proved that the companies had formed a cartel to fix prices, contrary to competition law.
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Seek is an irregular verb used a lot by lawyers.
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The conjugations are seek, sought, sought.
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It means to obtain or achieve something or to look for something.
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It's often used when talking about what a client wants to achieve, when faced with a dispute.
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For example, they are seeking damages, seeking compensation, seeking redress, seeking a remedy.
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An example sentence is the claimant sought damages for breach of contract.
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Swear is an irregular verb used a lot by lawyers.
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The conjugations are swear, swore, and sworn.
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It means to make a very serious promise.
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For example, in court you swear an oath before giving evidence.
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An example sentence is, the witness swore an oath before giving evidence in the trial.
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In other words, they promised to tell the truth.
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Undertake is an irregular verb used a lot in legal English.
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The conjugations are to undertake, undertook, and undertaken.
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It means to commit to or assume responsibility for something.
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An example sentence is, the company undertook to provide the services within the agreed timeframe.
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Win is an irregular verb, I hope you're going to be using a lot as a lawyer.
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The conjugations are win, won, won.
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And it means to achieve victory or success, especially when we're talking about winning a court case.
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An example sentence is, the lawyer won the case for his client, meaning the client went to court, in legal proceedings, either civil or criminal, and they won.
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The court ruled in their favour.
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Withdraw is an irregular verb used a lot in legal English.
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The conjugations are withdraw, withdrew, and withdrawn.
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It means to remove or take back something.
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It collocates with money, as in you withdraw money from a bank or ATM.
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But you can withdraw many things.
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For example, the claimant withdrew the application before the hearing.
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Meaning that the claimant removed their court application and decided to not go ahead with the legal proceedings.
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So that brings us to the end of today's lesson.
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I hope you learned something new.
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I hope you found it useful.
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I hope you're going to be using some of these irregular verbs very accurately now.
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So just a quick reminder, don't forget to subscribe to my channel.
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Hit the notification button to get notified of upcoming lessons.
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Do share this with a friend, a colleague.
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It helps me to grow my channel, hit the like button if you liked it.
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If there are any topics that you would like me to cover in the future, do let me know in the comments section below.
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And if you liked this episode, you might be interested in some of those videos that are coming up now.
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Don't forget to join me on social media on Instagram.
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I am @legalenglisher and on Facebook you can join my Study Legal English Facebook group.
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So thanks for watching and see you next time.
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Why Practice Speaking with This Video?
Mastering legal English requires more than memorizing terms—it demands fluency in the verbs that power legal discourse. This video is a goldmine for shadowing technique practice: its clear, conversational tone and context-rich examples let you mimic natural pacing, intonation, and stress. By using shadowspeaks (repeating phrases aloud in real time), you’ll internalize how lawyers use irregular verbs in court, contracts, and client meetings. This isn’t just about grammar; it’s about sounding confident and professional in high-stakes settings.
Grammar & Expressions in Context
The video highlights 12 critical irregular verbs, but three stand out for their legal specificity:
- Bind (bound, bound): Used in passive structures like "The parties are bound by the contract," it emphasizes legal obligation—a must for drafting or interpreting agreements.
- Find (found, found): Essential for court outcomes, as in "The court found the defendant guilty." Its collocation with "in favour of" or "against" is key for discussing judgments.
- Seek (sought, sought): Common in client communications: "The claimant sought damages." Mastering its use with "compensation" or "remedy" will elevate your case discussions.
These verbs aren’t just irregular—they’re the building blocks of legal argumentation.
Common Pronunciation Traps
Legal English has unique pronunciation challenges. Watch for:
- "Plead" (pled/pleaded): The past tense can trip up learners. In American English, "pled" is common ("The defendant pled guilty"), while "pleaded" is standard in UK contexts. Practice both to avoid confusion.
- "Prove" (proved/proven): The past participle "proven" is often stressed in legal settings ("The case was proven"). Focus on the short "u" sound to avoid mispronunciation.
- "Swear" (swore, sworn): The vowel shift from "swear" to "swore" can be tricky. Use shadow speech to mimic the speaker’s rising intonation in phrases like "swore an oath."
Using the shadowing technique here will help you nail these nuances, making your speech sound native and authoritative.
What is the Shadowing Technique?
Shadowing is a science-backed language learning technique originally developed for professional interpreter training and popularized by polyglot Dr. Alexander Arguelles. The method is simple but powerful: you listen to native English audio and immediately repeat it out loud — like a shadow following the speaker with just a 1–2 second delay. Unlike passive listening or grammar drills, shadowing forces your brain and mouth muscles to simultaneously process and reproduce real speech patterns. Research shows it significantly improves pronunciation accuracy, intonation, rhythm, connected speech, listening comprehension, and speaking fluency — making it one of the most effective methods for IELTS Speaking preparation and real-world English communication.