What is the difference between regular and irregular verbs?
• A regular verb is one that follows the pattern of
taking -ed for the past and past participle (-d if
the verb ends in -e; smoke smoked).
Base Form
Past
Past Participle
play
played
played
cook
cooked
cooked
work
worked
worked
dance
danced
danced
• An irregular verb does not follow the usual rules
for verb forms. It does not take the --ed ending
for the past and past participle forms.
The most famous English verb of all, the verb "to
be", is irregular.
Base Form
Past
Past Participle
eat
ate
eaten
write
wrote
written
give
gave
given
go
went
gone
be
was, were
been
• One good way to learn irregular verbs is study
a verb list to try sorting them into groups.
Observe the following examples:
Base Form
Past Simple
Past Participle
Sometimes the verb changes completely:
sing
sang
sung
Sometimes the verb changes but uses the same form twice:
buy
bought
bought
Sometimes there is no change:
cut
cut
cut
Simple Past: Verb Be
• It is important to keep in mind that the
formation of the past tense is different if you
are working with the verb to be.
• Let's discuss then the verb To Be. The past
form of the verb "to be" has two forms:
was
were
Simple Past: Verb Be
Look at these examples:
• She was worried about her grades in school.
• Maurice and Martha were in Washington last
week.
• Joseph was very tired, but now he is fine.
• Last Christmas, we were in my grandma's
house.
• You were very busy yesterday.
References
Retrieved from:
English Club. (1997-2013)
http://www.englishclub.com/vocabulary/irregular-verbs.htm
Geocities (2009)
http://www.geocities.com/gob72/grammarverbtenses.html