Selecting the correct verb tense and conjugating verbs correctly is tricky in English. A verb is a word that is used to describe an action, state, or occurrence, and it forms the main part of a sentence.
Verbs are a necessary component of all sentences. Verbs have two important functions: Some verbs put stalled subjects into motion while other verbs help to clarify the subjects in meaningful ways. Verbs carry the idea of being or action in the sentence.
The important thing to remember is that every subject in a sentence must have a verb. Otherwise, you will have written a fragment, a major writing error.
Often, prefixes and suffixes (affixes) will signify that a word is a verb. For example, the suffixes -ify, -ize, -ate, or -en usually signify that a word is a verb, as in typify, characterize, irrigate,and sweeten. Prefixes such as be-, de-, or en- may signify that a word is a verb, as in bestow, dethrone, and encourage.
Many words in English have more than one function. Sometimes a word is a noun, sometimes a verb, sometimes a modifier. As a result, you must often analyze the job a word is doing in the sentence.
Base
form |
-ing
form |
Past
tense |
Past
participle |
work
|
working
|
worked
|
Worked
|
play
|
playing
|
played
|
Played
|
listen
|
listening
|
listened
|
listened
|
Irregular Verbs:
Base
form |
Past
tense |
Past
participle |
|
|
|
be
begin
break
bring
buy
build
choose
come
cost
cut
do
draw
drive
eat
feel
find
get
give
go
have
hear
hold
keep
know
leave
lead
let
lie
lose
make
mean
meet
pay
put
run
say
see
sell
send
set
sit
speak
spend
stand
take
teach
tell
think
understand
wear
win
write
|
was/were
began
broke
brought
bought
built
chose
came
cost
cut
did
drew
drove
ate
felt
found
got
gave
went
had
heard
held
kept
knew
left
led
let
lay
lost
made
meant
met
paid
put
ran
said
saw
sold
sent
set
sat
spoke
spent
stood
took
taught
told
thought
understood
wore
won
wrote
|
been
begun
broken
brought
bought
built
chosen
come
cost
cut
done
drawn
driven
eaten
felt
found
got
given
gone
had
heard
held
kept
known
left
led
let
lain
lost
made
meant
met
paid
put
run
said
seen
sold
sent
set
sat
spoken
spent
stood
taken
taught
told
thought
understood
worn
won
written
|