EXERCISE 1. THE FOLLOWING SENTENCES SHOW INCONSISTENT USE OF TENSE, MI...
12. The players slip up behind the winning coach and dumped a bucket of Gatorade on
him.
Principal Parts of Verbs
Question:What do we mean by “principal parts”?
Answer:The principal parts of a verb are those parts used to form tenses.
Except for helping verbs (can, be, may, have, etc.), all English verbs have four principal
parts—the infinitive (without the “to”), present, past, and past participle. In our language,
verbs can be regular or irregular.
Regular Verbs
Most verbs are regular. They form tenses (express time of an action) in regular,
predictable ways.
I play my music loudly.
(Expresses an action taking place or an action always true; play is present tense.)
I played my music loudly.
(Expresses an action gone by; played is past tense.)
I have played my music loudly.
(Expresses an action completed at the time of speaking; have played is a
helping verb, have, plus the past participle played.)
P R O B L E M S W I T H V E R B S 177Irregular Verbs
Some verbs are irregular. They cause trouble because they do not form their tenses in
the usual way.
I see a UFO.
(Expresses an action taking place; see is present tense.)
I saw a UFO.
(Expresses an action gone by; saw is past tense.)
I have seen a UFO.
(Expresses an action completed at the time of speaking; have seen is a
helping verb, have, plus the past participle seen.)
Principal Parts of Irregular VerbsA speaker or writer of correct English must know the principal parts of irregular verbs.
For example,
WE DON
’
T SAY
: We swimmed to the shore.
WE
DO
SAY
: We swam to the shore.
WE DON
’
T SAY
: Mom has went to the office.
WE
DO
SAY
: Mom has gone to the office. (Has is a helping verb.)
WE DON
’
T SAY
: The girls have ate their lunch.
WE
DO
SAY
: The girls have eaten their lunch. (Have is a helping
verb.)
Here is a list of the trickiest irregular verbs. Study them thoroughly.
PRINCIPAL PARTS OF 40 IRREGULAR VERBS
PRESENT
PAST
PAST PARTICIPLE