Verb forms (principal parts of verbs)
A while ago the Grammar Doctor overheard the governor of a certain state speaking on the radio. The governor said, " Here's what I shoulda did."
(The Grammar Doctor does not want to reveal which governor said this because he is afraid that the governor will give him a body slam.)
Most people would not make that mistake in language. However, we are all sometimes not sure about the correct form of a verb. On this page we will look at the different verb forms and see how we can find the correct form in a particular situation.
The principal parts of verbs are the forms that they take in several tenses, specifically
- base form (the infinitive)
- past
- past participle (the -ed, -en form that goes with a helping verb to create the perfect tenses)
- present participle (the -ing form)
- third person singular in the present tense
Here are two examples
| verb form | walk | go |
|---|
| base form |
walk |
go |
| past |
walked |
went |
| past participle |
walked |
gone |
| present participle |
walking |
going |
| third person singular |
walks |
goes |
" Walk" is a regular verb, which means it forms both the past and the part participle by adding -ed to the base form.
" Go" is irregular. The form changes for both the past and the past participle.
finding the correct form of the past and past participle
With irregular verbs (such as " do"), sometimes we aren't sure what the correct forms of the past and the past participle are. However, it is easy to find this information. The dictionary will show the forms of all irregular verbs. If the principle parts are not listed in the dictionary entry, we can assume that the verb is regular. In other words, it will form the past and the past participle by adding -ed to the base form as in
work, worked, worked
finding the correct form for the present participle
The dictionary can also help us to find the correct spelling of the present participle. For example, if the base form ends with a consonant, is the consonant doubled before adding " ing"?
Which is correct: shoveling or shovelling?
(According to Merriam Webster's Collegiate Dictionary, both are correct.)
Click here for a quiz on verb forms.
Do you still have questions? Email the Grammar Doctor
DrCarlPerrin@aol.com
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