Verbs (verb, vt)
Verbs give many beginning writers problems. Common verb problems involve be verbs, regular and irregular verbs,
verb tense shifts, and standard and nonstandard verbs.
Be Verbs
Be verbs (is, am, was, were,
been, being) are troublesome. It is not uncommon to hear, even sometimes
read in college essays, the be verb
in this manner:
I be at my mother’s house when the child knocked at the door.
Despite this incorrect use of be verb, they make sentences tedious and
uninteresting. The ways to correct them
involve using action verbs, changing passive voice to active voice (See voice
in this Section.), changing nominalizations (See nominalizations in this
chapter.) to verbs, and combining sentences to form compound ones.
(Weak form of the be
verb): The
television network is planning to
broadcast five new
reality shows this fall.
(Better form of the be verb): The televisions network plans to
broadcast five new reality shows this fall.
Helping Verbs
On many occasions, verbs perform
their actions with some help from other verbs.
Common helping verbs are is, are,
was, are, were, will, be, have, has, had, do, does, did, can, could, may might,
must, shall, should, and could. They come before the main verbs. The helping the helping verb and the main
together are known as verbal phrases.
Regular and Irregular Verbs
Verbs can be either regular or irregular. Most verbs in the English language are
regular. These regular verbs have four principal parts: present, past, future,
past participle, and present participle.
For example,
Present Past Past Participle Present Participle
talk talked talked talking
call called called calling
cause caused caused causing
Two things should be noted about regular verbs.
- Past tense and past participles are formed by adding d or ed the present tense form of the verb. Talk becomes talked in the past and past
participle forms.
- Past participle forms have to employ helping verbs, such as
has, have, or had or is, are, was, or were. For example: Sara has talked to me about her plans to
attend a private university.
Irregular verbs can be confusing since the majority of them change their
spellings in the past and past participle forms. Some of them keep
the same spelling in the past and past participle forms as in the present
tense. Nonetheless, the present
participle is formed in the same way as is done in regular verbs by adding ing.
The following is a list of common irregular verbs that can be useful.
Present Past Past Participle Present Participle
be was,
were been being
beat beaten beaten, beat being
become became become becoming
begin began begun beginning
bite bit bitten, bit biting
blow blew blown blowing
break broke broken breaking
bring brought brought bringing
burst burst burst bursting
buy bought bought buying
catch caught caught catching
choose chose chosen choosing
come came come coming
cost cost cost costing
cut cut cut cutting
deal dealt dealt dealing
dig dug dug digging
dived dived,
dove dived diving
do did done doing
draw drew drawn drawing
eat ate
eaten eating
fall fell fallen falling
feel felt fallen feeling
find found found finding
fight fought fought fighting
fly flew flown flying
freeze froze frozen freezing
get got got, gotten getting
give gave given giving
go gone went going
grow grew grown growing
hang hung hung hanging
have had had having
hear heard heard hearing
hide hid hidden hiding
hit hit hit hitting
hurt hurt hurt hurting
keep kept kept keeping
know knew known knowing
lay laid laid laying
lead led led leading
lend lent lent lending
lie lay lain lying
lose lost lost losing
make made made making
mean meant meant meaning
pay paid paid paying
prove proved proved, proven proving
read read read reading
ride rode ridden riding
rise rose risen rising
run ran run running
say said said saying
see saw seen seeing
send sent sent sending
set set set setting
sell sold sold selling
shake shook shaken shaking
show showed showed, shown showing
shoot shot shot shooting
shrink shrank shrunk shrinking
sing sang sung singing
sink sank sunk sinking
sit sat sat sitting
sleep slept slept sleeping
speak spoke spoken speaking
spin spun spun spinning
sell sold sold selling
stand stood stood standing
steal stole stolen stealing
stick stuck stuck sticking
sting stung stung stinging
strike struck
struck, stricken striking
swear swore sworn swearing
swim swam swum swimming
take took taken taking
teach taught taught teaching
tell told
told telling
think thought thought thinking
throw threw thrown throwing
wake woke,
waked woken, waked waking
wear wore worn wearing
win won won winning
wring wrung wrung wining
write wrote written written