Regular and Irregular Verbs
The distinction between regular verbs and irregular verbs is a very simple one:
Those verbs that form their past participle with ‘d’ or ‘ed’ are regular verbs. These verbs do not undergo substantial changes while changing forms between tenses.
- If the verb ends with a vowel, only ‘d’ is added. For example:
PRESENT TENSE | PAST TENSE |
Share | Shared |
Scare | Scared |
Dare | Dared |
- If the verb ends with a consonant, ‘ed’ is added. For example:
PRESENT TENSE | PAST TENSE |
Want | Wanted |
Shout | Shouted |
Kill | Killed |
Those verbs that undergo substantial changes when changing forms between tenses are irregular verbs. The changed forms of these verbs are often unrecognisably different from the originals. For example:
PRESENT TENSE | PAST TENSE |
Go | Went |
Run | Ran |
Think | Thought |
There is no way to tell what form an irregular verb is going to take in a changed tense; the only option for an English speaker is to commit the changes to memory. With practice, it will become a matter of habit.
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