Regular Verbs
The Majority of English Verbs which rarely change their form are called Regular Verbs. Regular Verbs are those verbs whose Past Tense and Past Participle are formed by adding –d or –ed. These Verbs are more consistent than Irregular Verbs and larger in number.
These Verbs are also called Weak Verbs and have five forms. In the table below we can see Irregular Verbs along with their forms.
| Base | Past Tense(-d/ed) | Past Participle(-d/ed) | Continuous Tense | Simple Present |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Play | Played | Played | Playing | Plays |
| Dance | Danced | Danced | Dancing | Dances |
| Risk | Risked | Risked | Risking | Risks |
| Measure | Measured | Measured | Measuring | Measures |
| Laugh | Laughed | Laughed | Laughing | Laughs |
| Clean | Cleaned | Cleaned | Cleaning | Cleans |
| Wash | Washed | Washed | Washing | Washes |
| Wink | Winked | Winked | Winking | Winks |
| Help | Helped | Helped | Helping | Helps |
| Miss | Missed | Missed | Missing | Misses |
| Love | Loved | Loved | Loving | Loves |
| Hate | Hated | Hated | Hating | Hates |
| Beg | Begged | Begged | Begging | Begs |
| Plan | Planned | Planned | Planning | Plans |
| Cry | Cried | Cried | Crying | Cries |
| Hope | Hoped | Hoped | Hoping | Hopes |
| Try | Tried | Tried | Trying | Tries |
| Free | Freed | Freed | Freeing | Frees |
| Travel | Travelled | Travelled | Travelling | Travels |
| Move | Moved | Moved | Moving | Moves |
Irregular Verbs
Unlike Regular Verbs, these Verbs do not have fixed ending of Past and Past Participle forms. Sometimes, even whole word can be different.
Similar to Regular Verbs, these Verbs too have five forms. These forms are also known as Principal parts.
There are couples of hundred Irregular Verbs. Some of them are as follows
| Base | Past Tense | Past Participle | Continuous Tense | Simple Present |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Awake | Awoke | Awaken | Awaking | Awakes |
| Beat | Beat | Beaten | Beating | Beats |
| Begin | Began | Begun | Beginning | Begins |
| Swim | Swam | Swum | Swimming | Swims |
| Meet | Met | Met | Meeting | Meets |
| Run | Ran | Run | Running | Runs |
| Break | Broke | Broken | Breaking | Breaks |
| Sing | Sang | Sung | Singing | Sings |
| Cut | Cut | Cut | Cutting | Cuts |
| Bid | Bade | Bidden | Bidding | Bids |
| Build | Built | Built | Building | Builds |
| Catch | Caught | Caught | Catching | Catches |
| Eat | Ate | Eaten | Eating | Eats |
| Sleep | Slept | Slept | Sleeping | Sleeps |
| Sit | Sat | Sat | Sitting | Sits |
| Sink | Sank | Sunk | Sinking | Sinks |
| Stand | Stood | Stood | Standing | Stands |
| Steal | Stole | Stolen | Stealing | Steals |
| Write | Wrote | Written | Writing | Writes |
| Throw | Threw | Thrown | Throwing | Throws |
| Think | Thought | Thought | Thinking | Thinks |
Always Remember
1) There are some Verbs which can be both Regular and Irregular.
Examples
| Base | Past Tense | Past Participle | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Found | Founded | Founded | (Regular Verb) |
| Find | Found | Found | (Irregular Verb) |
| Learn | Learned | Learned | (Regular Verb) |
| Learn | Learnt | Learnt | (Irregular Verb) |
2) We can also find difference in meanings of same Verbs when categorized as Regular and Irregular. Also, Present tense of some Regular Verbs is same as Past Tense of some Irregular Verbs.
| Base | Past Tense | Past Participle |
|---|---|---|
| Find | Found | Found |
| Found | Founded | Founded |
3) Sometimes, we can find Regular Verbs having same spellings but different pronunciation.
Base: Read (pronounced reed)
Past Tense: Read (pronounced red)
Past Participle: Read (pronounced red)