REGULAR AND IRREGULAR VERBS

We have learned in previous lesson how to form the past tense and how to use helping verbs to show that something has already happened. We saw that for most verbs, we form the past tense and participles by adding -d or -ed to the verb. Verbs that follow this rule are called Regular Verbs.

 

Regular Verbs

Examples: The framer planted his crops last month.

– Past tense: The crops have been planted recently.

– Past participle.

For all regular verbs, the past and the past participles are spelled alike.

They are made up by adding -d or -ed to the present form of the verb.

Examples:

Present Past, Past Participles

Help

Rescue

Rush

Support

Play

Talk

Live

Helped

Rescued

Rushed

Supported

Played

Talked

Lied had helped

Had rescued

Had rushed

Had supported

Had played

Had talked

Had lied

The spelling of many regular verbs changes when -d or -ed is added i.e. the last consonant is doubled before adding -d or -ed.

For those ending -y, it is dropped and replaced with –i:

Examples:

 

Present Past Participles

Hop drug permit knit cry carry hopped drugged permitted knitted cried carried (had) hopped (had) drugged (had) permitted (had) knitted (had) cried (had) carried

Exercise

Write the present, past and past participles of the following verbs.

Remember to change the spelling appropriately where necessary.

1. Prevent 6. Aid
2. Donate 7. Relieve
3. Hurry 8. Share
4. Worry 9. Enroll
5. Train 10. Save

 

IRREGULAR VERBS

Some verbs do not form the past by adding -d or -ed.

These verbs are called irregular verbs.

There are only about sixty frequently used irregular verbs.

For many of these, the past and the past participles are spelled the same but some are different.

Examples: He saw great misery all around him – past

He has seen great misery all round him – past participle

 

Common irregular Verbs

Verb Past tense Past participles begin choose go speak ride fight throw come sing steal swim make run grow write ring drink lie do eat know began chose went spoke rode fought threw came sang stole swam made ran grew wrote rang drank lay did ate knew ( had) begun (had) chosen (had) gone (had) spoken (had) ridden (had) fought (had) thrown (had) came (had) sung (had) stolen (had) swum (had) made (had) run (had) grown (had) written (had) rung (had) drunk (had) lain (had) done (had) eaten (had) known For a few irregular verbs, like hit and cut, the three principal parts are spelled the same.

These ones offer no problems to learners.

Most problems come from irregular verbs with three different forms.

For example, the irregular verbs throw and ring.

Throw threw had thrown Ring rang had rung If you are not sure about a verb form, look it up in the dictionary.

 

Exercise

Write the past tense and past participles of the following irregular verbs and then use each of them in sentences of your own.

1. Arise 6. Fall
2. Tear 7. Blow
3. Wear 8. Freeze
4. Lay 9. Fly
5. See 10. Write

 

 

See also:

SUBJECT – VERB AGREEMENT

THE PROGRESSIVE VERB FORMS

THE PERFECT TENSES

THE SIMPLE TENSES

THE FUTURE TENSE