Principle Parts of Verbs
The forms of a verb that must be learned in order to conjugate that verb correctly. For example, the verb to love follows a regular pattern (love, loves, loving, loved), so only one principle parts needs to be memorized. Irregular verbs, such as to sing, which follow unusual patterns (sing, sang, sung) require that three principle parts be memorized for proper conjugation.
VERBS: Principal Parts
The three principal parts of verbs are the present tense form, the past tense form, and the past participle. (The present participle or "-ing" form is sometimes considered a fourth principal part.)
Present Tense indicates an action in the present:Now the class begins.She walks to class.
Past Tense indicates an action that occurred in the past:We wanted to see the show.She blew a bubble.
The Past Participle can be used as an adjective or modifier. It is typically formed by adding 'd' or 'ed' to the base form. Many times, this form is identical to the past tense of the verb:
Since the dishes were washed, we left the kitchen. The broken vase sat unceremoniously on the kitchen table.
Common Mistakes
There are many irregular verbs (about 250) that confuse writers when forming past tense and past participles. Here is a sample of irregular verbs.
| Present Tense | Past Tense | Past Participle |
| drink | drank | drunk |
| be | was, were | been |
| eat | ate | eaten |
| see | saw | seen |
| swim | swam | swum |
Auxiliary Verbs
Auxiliary or helping verbs are verbs that are used to help form verb phrases but cannot do so independently. There are four basic auxiliary verb groups: to be to have modal auxiliaries to do
Modal Auxiliaries
These auxiliaries affect the mood of the verb; that is, they determine whether a verb is a fact, desire, possiblity, or command. They are most commonly used to represent degrees of freedom or severity.
Most common modal auxiliaries: will, shall, can, may, need (to), dare, would, should, could, might, must, ought (to)
Permission: I may run.
To DoThis verb is used when the main verb of the sentence requires aid of an auxiliary, but there is no other helping verb that will fit. It is often used in questions, negative or emphatic statements:
Does he drive? He drives, doesn't he? Despite his flat tire he does drive.
Perfect and Progressive Verb Forms
The perfect form is the verb tense used to indicate a completed, or "perfected," action or condition. Verbs can appear in any one of three perfect tenses: present perfect, past perfect, and future perfect.
Verbs in the perfect form use a form of "have" or "had" + the past participle. (It is the form of the helping verb that indicates the tense.)
Present Perfect: I have finished my homework already.
Past Perfect: He had watched TV for an hour before dinner.
Future Perfect: Nancy will have finished by the time her parents return.
The progressive form is a verb tense used to show an ongoing action in progress at some point in time. It shows an action still in progress. Verbs can appear in any one of three progressive tenses: present progressive, past progressive, and future progressive.
The perfect and progressive forms can be combined, as in the following examples (again, the form of the helping verbs indicates the tense):Present Perfect Progressive: I have been running for an hour.
Past Perfect Progressive: I had been running for an hour.
Future Perfect Progressive: I will have been running for an hour.
Regular and Irregular VerbsVerbs are subdivided into two groups, regular verbs and irregular verbs, on the basis of how their past tense and past participles are formed.
Regular Verbs Most verbs are regular verbs. Regular verbs are those whose past tense and past participles are formed by adding a -d or an -ed to the end of the verb. To roll is a good example of a regular verb:roll rolled rolled
The Principal Parts of Verbs
Every verb has three main parts. These are called principal parts of the verb. All other forms of the verb are based on these principal parts.
The principal parts of every verb are the present tense, the past tense, and the past participle.
The principal present tense is the same as the simple present tense.
The principal past tense is the same as the simple past tense.
The principal past participle is the same as the simple past tense.
| Principal Present Tense (same as simple present tense) | Principal Past Tense (same as simple past tense) | Principal Past Participle (same as simple past tense) |
| talk | talked | talked |
| jump | jumped | jumped |
| add | added | added |
| climb | climbed | climbed |
The past participle is put together with the helping verbs have, has, or had to make the three perfect tenses.
present perfect (I have clapped)
past perfect (I had clapped)
future perfect (I will have clapped)
The past and past participle forms of most verbs are the same. You can see this in the chart above. These are the regular verbs.
In all regular verbs, the past and past participle are made by adding –d or –ed to the simple present verb.
| Simple Present | Add: | Simple Past | Past Participle |
| divide | -d | divided | had/have divided |
| talk | -ed | talked | had/have talked |
Sometimes regular verbs change their spelling when –d or –ed is added to them. These changes follow regular spelling rules.
| Simple Present Tense | Add: | Spell: |
| knit | -ed | knitted |
| pat | -ed | patted |
| try | -ed | tried |
| hurry | -ed | hurried |
