Irregular Verbs

Irregular Verbs

• An Irregular Verb is a verb that doesn’t follow general rules for verb forms.

• Except for the verb be, all main verbs have 5 forms.

Verb Forms

• Base Form: Usually I walk.

• Past Tense: Yesterday I walked.

• Past Participle: I have walked many times.

• Present Participle: I am walking right now.

• - S Form: He walks.

Irregular Verbs

• For regular verbs, the past-tense and past-participle forms end in –ed or –d.

• For irregular verbs, the past tense and past participle are formed differently: rode, ridden; began, begun.

Past-Tense

• Here are some clues for you…

– The past tense always occurs alone, without a helping verb.

– It always expresses action that occurred entirely in the past: I rode to work yesterday. I walked to work last Tuesday.

Past Participle

• The past participle is used with a helping verb.

• It forms the perfect tenses with has, have, or had.

– perfect tense - a tense of verbs used in describing action that has been completed

• It forms the passive voice with be, am, is, was, were, being, or been.

Irregular Verbs

Distinguishing Among the Forms of Lie and Lay

• Writers and speakers frequently confuse the various forms of lie and lay.

• Lie is an intransitive verb; it does not take a direct object:– The tax forms lie on the table.

• Lay is transitive; it does take a direct object:– Please lay the tax forms on the table.

Standard Forms of Lie and Lay

Base Form Past Tense Past Present

Participle ParticipleLie Lay

Lain LyingLay Laid

Laid Laying

Standard Forms of Lie and Lay

• Sue was so exhausted that she ---- down for a nap.

• The patient had ---- in an uncomfortable position all night.

• The prosecutor ---- laid the pistol on a table close to the jurors.

• Letters dating from the Civil War were ---- in the corner of the chest.

Use –s (or –es) endings on present-tense verbs that have third-person singular subjects.

• When the subject of a sentence is third-person singular, its verb takes an –s or –es ending in the present tense.

• All singular nouns (such as boy) and the pronouns he, she, and it are third-person singular. Indefinite pronouns (such as everyone) are also third-person singular.

Irregular Verbs

SingularPlural

First Person I knowWe know

2nd Person You knowYou know

3rd Person He/she/it knows They know

Boy knowsParents know

everyone knows

Examples…

• Sulfur dioxide turn/turns leaves yellow, dissolve/dissolves marble, and eat/eats away iron and steel.

• I prepare/prepares program specifications and logic diagrams.

• The dirt floors require/requires continual sweeping.

Irregular Verbs (Third-Person Singular)

In nonstandard speech, the –s verb form has, does, or doesn’t is sometimes replaced with have, do, or don’t.

In standard speech, use has, does, or doesn’t with a third-person singular subject.* This respected musician always has/have a message in his work.* Do/Does she know the correct procedure for the experiment?* My uncle don’t/doesn’t want to change jobs right now.

Do Not Omit –ed Endings on Verbs

• Speakers who do not fully pronounce –ed ending sometimes omit them unintentionally in writing.

• Failure to pronounce –ed endings is common in many dialects and informal speech.

• When a verb is regular, both the past tense and the past participle are formed by adding –ed to the base form of the verb.

-ed Endings

• Use an –ed or –d ending to express the past tense of regular verbs. The past tense is used when the action occurred entirely in the past.– Over the weekend, Ed fix/fixed his car– Last summer my counselor advise/advised me to ask my

family for help.• Past Participles are used in three ways:– Following have, has, or had to form one of the perfect

tenses– Following be, am, is, are, was, were, being, or been– As adjectives modifying nouns or pronouns

Past Participles

• Robin has ask/asked me to go to California with her.

• Though it is not a new phenomenon, domestic violence is publicize/publicized more frequently than before.

• All aerobics classes end in a cool-down period to stretch tighten/tightened muscles.

The Subjunctive Mood

The Subjunctive Mood

• There are three moods in English:– The Indicative – used for facts, opinions, and

questions.– The Imperative – used for orders and advice– The Subjunctive – used in certain contexts to

express wishes, requests, or conditions contrary to fact.

Of these moods, the subjunctive is most likely to cause problems for writers.

Forms of the Subjunctive

• In the subjunctive mood, present-tense verbs do not change form to indicate the number and person of the subject.

• Instead, the subjunctive uses the base form of the verb with all subjects.– It is important that you are/be prepared for the

interview– We asked that she drive/drives more slowly.

The Subjunctive Mood

• Also, in the subjunctive mood, there is only one past-tense form of be: were (never was)

– If I was/were you, I’d proceed more cautiously.

Uses of the Subjunctive

• The subjunctive mood appears in only a few contexts: in contrary-to-fact clauses beginning with if or expressing a wish; in that clauses following verbs such as ask, insist, recommend, request, and suggest; and in certain set expressions.

In Contrary-To-Fact Clauses With If…

• When a subordinate clause beginning with if expresses a condition contrary to fact, use the subjunctive mood.– If I was/were a member of Congress, I would vote

for that bill.– We could be less cautious if Jake was/were more

trustworthy.• The verbs in these sentences express conditions that do

not exist: The writer is not a member of Congress, and Jake is not trustworthy

In Contrary-To-Fact Clauses With If…

• Do not use the subjunctive mood in if clauses expressing conditions that may or may not exist.

– If Dana wins the contest, she will leave for Spain in June.

In Contrary-to-Fact Clauses Expressing a Wish…

• In formal English, the subjunctive is used in clauses expressing a wish or a desire; in informal speech, however, the indicative is more commonly used.– Formal – I wish that Dr. Vaughn were my

professor.– Informal – I wish that Dr. Vaughn was my

professor.

In That Clauses Following Verbs Such as Ask, Insist, Recommend, Request, and Suggest

• Because requests have not yet become reality, they are expressed in the subjunctive mood.

– Professor Moore insists that her students are/be on time.

– We recommend that Lambert file/files form 1050 soon.