Irregular verbs
Forming primary and perfect tense with regular verbs is easy. The trouble comes with irregular verbs because that's when the second and third parts differ.
go went gone
do did done
sink sank sunk
think thought thought
ring rang rung
sing sang sung
bring brought brought
teach taught taught
The importance of knowing the three principal parts becomes clear when you chart the tenses of irregular verbs.
PRIMARY TENSES:
Present: Today, I go. I write.
Past: Yesterday, I went. I wrote.
Future: Tomorrow, I will go. I will write.
PERFECT TENSES:
Present perfect: I have gone. I have written.
Past perfect: I had gone. I had written.
Future perfect: I will have gone. I will have written.
BONUS TIP: Helpers such as will, have, had and will have constitute an important part of the verb. When identifying the main verb in a sentence, always include the base word plus all of its helpers.
Let's try a little exercise. Name the three principal parts of the following verbs. Remember, the fact that two base verbs sound alike doesn't mean that they follow the same pattern. If you aren't careful, reciting principal parts of verbs turns into a sing song chant, which results in some silly sounding mistakes.
PRESENT PAST PAST PARTICIPLE
1. break _________ _________ _________
2. build _________ _________ _________
3. buy _________ _________ _________
4. catch _________ _________ _________
5. drive _________ _________ _________
6. eat _________ _________ _________
7. fly _________ _________ _________
8. grow _________ _________ _________
9. leave _________ _________ _________
10. make _________ _________ _________
11. put _________ _________ _________
12. rise _________ _________ _________
13. run _________ _________ _________
14. say _________ _________ _________
15. take _________ _________ _________
I've posted the answers in a post below this one; scroll down for answers.
go went gone
do did done
sink sank sunk
think thought thought
ring rang rung
sing sang sung
bring brought brought
teach taught taught
The importance of knowing the three principal parts becomes clear when you chart the tenses of irregular verbs.
PRIMARY TENSES:
Present: Today, I go. I write.
Past: Yesterday, I went. I wrote.
Future: Tomorrow, I will go. I will write.
PERFECT TENSES:
Present perfect: I have gone. I have written.
Past perfect: I had gone. I had written.
Future perfect: I will have gone. I will have written.
BONUS TIP: Helpers such as will, have, had and will have constitute an important part of the verb. When identifying the main verb in a sentence, always include the base word plus all of its helpers.
Let's try a little exercise. Name the three principal parts of the following verbs. Remember, the fact that two base verbs sound alike doesn't mean that they follow the same pattern. If you aren't careful, reciting principal parts of verbs turns into a sing song chant, which results in some silly sounding mistakes.
PRESENT PAST PAST PARTICIPLE
1. break _________ _________ _________
2. build _________ _________ _________
3. buy _________ _________ _________
4. catch _________ _________ _________
5. drive _________ _________ _________
6. eat _________ _________ _________
7. fly _________ _________ _________
8. grow _________ _________ _________
9. leave _________ _________ _________
10. make _________ _________ _________
11. put _________ _________ _________
12. rise _________ _________ _________
13. run _________ _________ _________
14. say _________ _________ _________
15. take _________ _________ _________
I've posted the answers in a post below this one; scroll down for answers.