Regular and Irregular Verbs

Regular verbs and irregular verbs are two categories of verbs in English that differ in their conjugation patterns.

Regular Verbs:
Regular verbs follow a consistent pattern when forming their various verb forms (infinitive, past tense, past participle, and present participle). The past tense and past participle of regular verbs are formed by adding “-ed” or just “-d” to the base form of the verb. Here are some examples of regular verbs:

– Infinitive: walk
Past Tense: walked
Past Participle: walked
Present Participle: walking

– Infinitive: play
Past Tense: played
Past Participle: played
Present Participle: playing

– Infinitive: ask
Past Tense: asked
Past Participle: asked
Present Participle: asking

Irregular Verbs:
Irregular verbs, on the other hand, do not follow a consistent pattern in forming their various verb forms. Each irregular verb has its own unique set of forms, and they must be memorized individually. Here are some examples of irregular verbs:

– Infinitive: go
Past Tense: went
Past Participle: gone
Present Participle: going

– Infinitive: eat
Past Tense: ate
Past Participle: eaten
Present Participle: eating

– Infinitive: swim
Past Tense: swam
Past Participle: swum
Present Participle: swimming

Irregular verbs can have various patterns for forming their past tense and past participle forms. Some common patterns include vowel changes (e.g., sing-sang-sung) and completely unique forms (e.g., be-was/were-been).

It’s important to note that while the majority of English verbs are regular, there are many commonly used verbs that are irregular, and they often have important roles in sentence construction and communication.

Regular Verbs: are verbs which form their past tense and past participle with ‘ed’. Examples are:

PRESENT TENSE                      PAST TENSE                             PAST PARTICIPLE

1. Wed                                         Wedded                                   Wedded
2. Close                                        Closed                                     Closed
3. Hang                                        Hanged                                    Hanged/hung
4. Play                                          Played                                     Played
5. Call                                            Called                                      Called
6. Bleed                                        Bled                                         Bled
7. Dictate                                     Dictated                                  Dictated

Irregular Verbs: Verbs which do not add ‘ed’ to form their past tense and past participle. Examples:

PRESENT TENSE                       PAST TENSE                             PAST PARTICIPLE

1. Am, are, is                               was, were                                been
2. Broadcast                                broadcast                                broadcast
3. Cut                                           cut                                           cut
4. Grow                                       grew                                        grown
5. Catch                                      caught                                     caught

 

Assignment

Pick out regular anf irregular verb from the following words using tabular form

1. Open
2. Take
3. Walk
4. Sit
5. Dance
6. Drive
7. Shut
8. Strike
9. Attack
10. Flow
11. Cut
12. Lie
13. Know
14. Ring
15. Hide
16. Wash
17. Fall
18. Show
19. Climb
20. Kick

 

See also:

Intonation / Stress

COMPOSITION

VOCABULARY DEVELOPMENT

Preposition

INTONATION