9 Irregular Verbs
KEY CONCEPTS
To write the past-tense form of regular verbs, we add –d or -ed at the end.
PRESENT TENSE: City council members invest in tourism each month.
PAST TENSE: City council members invested $85,000 in the tourism fund last year.
To write the past tense form of irregular verbs, do NOT add –d or -ed.
Here is an example:
PRESENT TENSE: Paybacks grow larger each year.
PAST TENSE: Paybacks grew by more than $140,000 in July.
Use a dictionary or an online writing resource to check spellings of irregular verbs. Most dictionaries will tell you which spelling of a verb is designated as the past participle form. You should use that participle verb form with have, has or had.
CORRECT PARTICIPLE FORM: Paybacks have grown by more than $140,000 so far this year.
For irregular verbs, you may need to consult a dictionary. The Purdue OWL and English Club websites also have lists of irregular verbs. Keep your preferred resource available as you study this chapter.
Some verbs are free spirits and have special rules for usage. This lesson about irregular verbs can help you understand when you may have (broke OR broken) those rules in the past. (You’ll learn that broken, not broke, is correct in the previous sentence.)
Two examples of irregular verbs are go and run. We call them irregular verbs because they don’t end in -d or -ed for past tense.
Even in an informal text message, the following are incorrect:
- I goed to the store this morning.
- We runned in the rain today.
Here are the correct verbs:
- I went to the store this morning.
- We ran in the rain today.
For spellings and usage of irregular verbs, consult a dictionary or review lists provided by Purdue OWL or English Club. Here’s your first question.
Here are three sentences that may provide clarity for the flip card above.
PRESENT TENSE: The players run 3 miles every day.
PAST TENSE: The players ran 3 miles yesterday. (past tense)
CORRECT PARTICIPLE FORM: The players had run 3 miles in 20 minutes. (past participle verb form)
In this chapter, we won’t worry too much about technical definitions or distinctions for the term participle (spelled participial as an adjective in some grammar textbooks). Just know that for subject-verb agreement, irregular verbs have specific forms that you use as participles, and the most frequent usage mistakes involve have, has or had in front of an irregular verb.
Now study two more sentences.
Here are three more sentences to provide clarity:
PRESENT TENSE: The financial adviser goes to the bank every morning.
PAST TENSE: The financial adviser went to the bank three times Tuesday morning.
CORRECT PARTICIPLE FORM: The financial adviser has gone to the bank already today. (participle verb form)
Here’s one last flip-card question that incorporates more than one irregular verb.
By definition, irregular verbs do not follow a pattern. When in doubt, don’t hesitate to consult a dictionary or an online grammar resource site (such as the English Club website or Purdue OWL).
I hope this lesson helped you understand when you may have broken rules for irregular verbs in the past.
MORE PRACTICE FOR PROFICIENCY
Below are additional usage questions based on this chapter. These questions may help you study for course assignments or a proficiency exam. For the practice exercise below, you can also consult a dictionary or an online grammar resource site (such as the English Club website or Purdue OWL).
(NOTE – The automated grading on the exercise above may seem different than a standard right/wrong format. It will still display your correct and incorrect responses, though. Don’t worry about your calculated score. Just focus on learning.)
WRITING EXERCISE
1. Write a sentence that uses have followed by the correct participle form of the verb swim.
2. Write a sentence that uses had followed by the correct participle form of the verb write.
3. Write a sentence that uses has followed by the correct participle form of the verb drink.
4. Write a sentence that uses past tense for the verb drink (not in participle form).
5. In two tightly constructed sentences, explain your key takeaway from this chapter. Do not use any first-person pronouns (such as I, me, my or mine) in your writing.
