Look at the sentences below:
I walk to school in the morning. (Present)
I walked to school yesterday. (Past)
The boy phones his friend every night. (Present)
The boy phoned his friend last night. (Past)
The man kills snakes any time he sees them. (Present)
The man killed the snake last year. (Past)
Brenda jumps over the fence now. (Present)
Brenda jumped over the fence one hour ago. (Past)
John’s mother calls him for dinner now. (Present)
John’s mother called him for dinner last night. (Past)
I advise you not to drink too much beer. (Present)
I advised you not to drink too much beer. (Past)
You behave badly in class. (Present)
You behaved badly in class. (Past)
I care about your feelings. (Present)
I cared about your feelings in the past. (Past)
If you notice, all the verbs above form their past tense by adding d OR ed to the base form of the verb. These are called regular verbs.
So regular verbs are verbs which form their past tense by added d or ed to the base form. But what are irregular verbs? Irregular verbs are verbs which form their past tense in some other way than adding d or ed. Sometimes, the entire structure of the word is changed. Sometimes one vowel is changed. Sometimes, the word remains the same in both present and past tenses. Here are some examples.
I bring you some gifts now. (Present)
I brought you some gifts yesterday. (Past)
I come in peace. (Present)
I came in peace. (Past)
The books cost one thousand dollars now. (Present)
The books cost five hundred dollars yesterday. (Past)
You do it now. (Present)
You did it yesterday. (Past)
The tree falls on the road now. (Present)
The tree fell on the road yesterday. (Past)
More on the verb:
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Article Location: Patrickcarpen.com >> English >> English Language >> Parts of Speech >> The Verb
Keywords: noun, verb, pronoun, adverb, adjective, preposition, conjunction, interjection, parts of speech, English, grammar, language
