VERBS

ZAHIR SHAH
 VERBS - AN OVERVIEW
• Regular and irregular verbs
• In the context of verbs, we use the term inflection to talk about the
process of changing a verb form to show tense, mood, number (i.e.
singular or plural), and person (i.e. first person, second person, or third
person). This section deals with inflecting verbs to show tenses and
participles, and is divided into two main sections:
• Regular verbs
• Irregular verbs
 Regular verbs
• Many English verbs are regular, which means that they form their
different tenses according to an established pattern. Such verbs work like
this:

Verb 3rd person singular 3rd person singular past participle present participle
present tense past tense
laugh he/she laughs he/she laughed laughed laughing
love he/she loves he/she loved loved loving
 Irregular Verbs
There are many irregular verbs that don’t follow the normal rules. Here
are the forms of some of the most common irregular verbs:
3rd person 3rd person present
past participle
Verb singular singular participle
present tense past tense
be is was been being
begin Begins Began begun Beginning
Bite Bites Bit Bitten Biting
Break Breaks Broke Broken Breaking
Buy Buys Bought Bought Buying
Choose Chooses Chose Chosen Choosing
Come Comes Came Come Coming
Dig Digs dug Dug Digging
do Does did Done Doing
 Irregular Verbs
3rd person singular 3rd person singular past participle present participle
Verb
present tense past tense
drink drinks drank drunk drinking
eat Eats ate Eaten eating
Fall Falls Fell fallen falling
Feel Feels Felt felt feeling
Find Finds Found found finding
Get Gets Got got getting
Go Goes Went gone going
Grow Grows Grew grown growing
Have has Had had having
hide hides hid hidden hiding
keep Keeps kept Kept keeping
know Knows Knew Known Knowing
lay Lays Laid Laid Laying
lead Leads Led Led Leading
leave leaves Left left Leaving
 Irregular Verbs
3rd person singular 3rd person singular
Verb past participle present participle
present tense past tense
Lie Lies Lay Lain Lying
Lose Loses Lost Lost Losing
Make Makes Made Made Making
Meet Meets Met Met Meeting
Put Puts Put Put Putting
read /ri:d/ Reads read /red/ read /red/ Reading
Ride Rides Rode Ridden Riding
Ring Rings Rang Rung Ringing
Rise Rises Rose Risen Rising
Run Runs Ran Run Running
Say Says Said Said Saying
See Sees Saw Seen Seeing
Sell Sells Sold Sold Selling
Set Sets Set Set Setting
Sing Sings Sang Sung Singing
 Irregular Verbs
3rd person singular 3rd person singular
Verb past participle present participle
present tense past tense
Lie Lies Lay Lain Lying
Sit Sits Sat Sat Sitting
Stand Stands Stood Stood Standing
Stick Sticks Stuck Stuck Sticking
Take Takes Took Taken Taking
Teach Teaches Taught Taught Teaching
Think Thinks Thought Thought Thinking
Wake wakes Woke Woken Waking
 VERBS - AN OVERVIEW
 Verbs belong to the class of words (Part of Speech) that are used to
show :
i. an action (do, throw, run),
ii. existence (be),
iii. possession (have),
iv. or state (know, love, sleep) of a subject.
 To put it simply a verb shows what something or someone does.
 TYPES OF VERBS

• Verbs can be divided into two categorize on the basis of role in a

sentence.

1) Main Verbs

2) Auxiliary Verbs or Helping Verbs

 MAIN VERBS
• They are sometime called Full Verbs or Principal Verbs or non-auxiliary
verbs.
• Main verbs have meaning on their own (unlike helping verbs).
E.g.: He is writing a letter.
• The main verb expresses ‘the main action’ or ‘state of being’ of the
subject in the sentence
 MAIN VERBS
• It changes form according to the subject (singular, plural, 1st person,
2nd person, 3rd person).
 Ali writes a letter.
 We write a letter.
 I write a letter.
 You write a letter.
 He writes a letter.
• The main verb changes its form according to the tense (perfect tense,
past tense, simple tense etc).
 AUXILIARY (HELPING) VERBS

• Auxiliary means functioning in a supporting capacity.

• They are also known as helping verbs.

• They are used together with a main verb.

• Types of Auxiliary verbs:

a. Primary Auxiliaries: To be, to do and to have

b. Modal Auxiliaries: can, could, may, might, must, shall, should,

will, would etc
 2) Auxiliary (Helping) Verbs
a. Primary Auxiliaries: To be, to do and to have

• English has three primary auxiliary verbs: To be, to do and to have.

• ‘Be’ is the most common verb in the English.
• It can be used as an auxiliary and a main verb.
 Base form = be
 Infinitive form = to be
 Present / first form = am/is/are
 Past / Second form = was/were
 Past Participle/ third form = been
 The ‘-ing’ form (Present Participle/Gerund)
= being
 2) Auxiliary (Helping) Verbs
a. Primary Auxiliaries: To be, to do and to have
• To do: It can be used as an auxiliary and a main verb.
• It is often used in questions.
 Base form = do
 Infinitive form = to do
 Present/ First form = do/does
 Past / Second form = did
 Past Participle/ third form = done
 The ‘-ing’ form (Present Participle/ Gerund)
= doing
 2) Auxiliary (Helping) Verbs
a. Primary Auxiliaries: To be, to do and to have
• To have
• Have is one of the most common verbs in the English language.
 Base form = have
 Infinitive form = to have
 Present form/ First form = have / has
 Past form / Second form = had
 Past Participle /Third form = had
 The ‘-ing’ form ( Present Participle / Gerund
= having
 2) Auxiliary (Helping) Verbs
b. Modal Auxiliaries
• All the auxiliary verbs except be, do and have are called modals.
• Unlike other auxiliary verbs modals only exist in their helping form; they
cannot act alone as the main verb in a sentence.
• The modal verbs are:
can, could, may, might, shall, should, will, would, used to, must,
ought to, need, dare etc