Principal Parts of Verbs

The four basic forms of a verb are called the principal parts of the verb.

The four principal parts of a verb are the base form, the present participle, the past, and the past participle.

Examples Base Form Present Part- iciple PastPast Partic iple start(is) starting start- ed (have) started wear(is) wear -ing wore (have) worn

Note The words is and have are included in the chart on the previous slide because present participle and past participle verb forms require helping verbs (forms of be and have) to form tenses.

As you can see from their names, the principal parts of a verb are used to express time.

Present Time She wears a blue uniform. Ray has been wearing his baseball cap.

Past Time Yesterday, we wore sweaters. I had worn braces for three months.

Future Time Jessica will wear her new dress at the party. By next spring, Joey will have worn holes in those shoes.

A verb that forms its past and past participle by adding –d or –ed is called a regular verb. A verb that forms its past and past participle differently is called an irregular verb.

Regular Verbs Base Form Present Particip le PastPast Particip le Wash(is) washing washed(have) washed Hop(is) hopping Hopped(have) hopped Use(is) using used(have) used

Note Most regular verbs that end in –e drop the –e before adding –ing. Some regular verbs double the final consonant before adding –ing or –ed.

Examples CauseCausingCaused DropDroppingDropped

One common error in forming the past or past participle of a regular verb is to leave off the –d or –ed ending.

Example NONSTANDARD: Josh was suppose to meet us here. STANDARD: Josh was supposed to meet us here.

Practice Present Past Past Participle begin1. __________ have begun freeze2. __________ have frozen write wrote 3. _________ blow 4. __________ have blown drive drove 5. _________ wear wore 6. _________ sing 7. __________ have sung ride 8. __________ have ridden

Practice Present Past Past Participle choose chose 9. _________ go 10. _________ have gone run 11. _________ have run throw threw12. ________ come came13. ________ see saw 14. ________ speak 15. _________ have spoken burst 16. _________ have burst

Practice Present Past Past Participle choose chose 9. go 10. have gone run 11. have run throw threw 12. come came 13. see saw 14. speak 15. have spoken burst 16. have burst

Practice Present Past Past Participle swim swam 17. ________ sink sank 18. ________ break 19. _________ have broken bring 20. _________ have brought

Practice Present Past Past Participle swim swam 17. sink sank 18. break 19. have broken bring 20. have brought