UNIT 2 -VERBS
The verb is the most important part of a sentence. It makes statements about the subject.
Every complete sentence must have a verb. If the verb expresses action performed by the
subject, it is called an action verb.
Carlos ran around the gym.
Some verbs make statements by linking the subject and a word in the predicate to make the
subject more definite. These verbs are called state-of-being verbs.
Carlos is a great athlete.
When a verb consists of more than one word, it is called a verb phrase.
I should have written my mother a letter.
Every verb has three principal parts: the present, the past, and the past participle. The first
principal part forms the present and future tenses. The second principal part forms the past
tense. The third principal part with the auxiliary verbs have, has, and had form the perfect
tenses.
You have already studied kinds of verbs in your work with the three basic patterns. They are
intransitive, transitive and linking.
Verbs can be regular or irregular. Regular verbs form their past and their past participle by
adding –ed or –d to the present forms.
Principal Parts
Regular Verbs
Present Tense Past Tense Past Participle
Ask asked asked
Laugh laughed laughed
Shop shopped shopped
Work worked worked
Note that the past and the past participle have the same form.
Irregular Verbs
These verbs are called irregular because they form their past and past participle in various ways.
Some irregular verbs have the same present, past, and past participle.
Present Tense Past Tense Past Participle
Burst burst burst
Cut cut cut
Set set set
Some irregular verbs have the same past tense and past participle.
Buy bought bought
Flow flowed flowed
Hold held held
Keep kept kept
Leave left left
Lost lost lost
Lend lent lent
Stand stood stood
Strike struck struck
Some irregular verbs change completely.
Arise arose arisen
Break broke broken
Shrink shrank shrunk
Steal stole stolen
Swim swam swum
Take took taken
Throw threw thrown
Write wrote written
Tense
Verbs also indicate the time an action takes place.
Mary will write a letter.
This means that in some future time she plans to write a letter.
Mary wrote him a letter.
This means that the activity took place sometime in the past.
Every verb has six tenses: present, past, future, present perfect, past perfect, and future perfect.
To put verbs in their various tense is called the conjugation of verbs. It is important to memorize
the tense of verbs and know how they are formed.
Singular Plural
First Person I we
Second Person you you
Third Person he, she, it they
Conjugation of a Regular Verb
Singular Plural
Present Tense I laugh we laugh
(note the s on the You laugh you laugh
third person singular.) He laughs they laugh
Past Tense I laughed we laughed
You laughed you laughed
He laughed they laughed
Future Tense I will laugh we will laugh
You will laugh you will laugh
He will laugh they will laugh
Present Perfect Tense I have laughed we have laughed
You have laughed you have laughed
He has laughed they have laughed
Past Perfect Tense I had laughed we had laughed
You had laughed you had laughed
He had laughed they had laughed
Future Perfect Tense I will have laughed we will have laughed
You will have laughed you will have laughed
He will have laughed they will have laughed
Conjugation of an Irregular Verb
Present Tense
I take we take
You take you take
He takes they take
Past Tense
I took we took
You took you took
He took they took
Future Tense
I will take we will take
You will take you will take
He will take they will take
Present Perfect Tense
I have taken we have taken
You have taken you have taken
He has taken they have taken
Past Perfect Tense
I had taken we had taken
You had taken you had taken
He had taken they had taken
Future Perfect Tense
I will have taken we will have taken
You will have takenyou will have taken
He will have taken they will have taken
Note: add s to the third person singular in the present and present perfect tenses.
He writes she sends
He has written she has sent
Exercise 37
Directions: Write the tense of the following verbs.
Example: have given present perfect
1.
2. Will leave
3. Had written
4. Has sent
[Link]
5. Worked
[Link] fly
6. Takes
[Link] have flown
7. Give
[Link]
8. Will have written
[Link]
9. Will write
[Link] chosen
[Link] delivered
[Link]
[Link] lost
[Link] given
[Link] play
[Link]
