REGULAR & IRREGULAR VERBS

REGULAR & IRREGULAR VERBS - RULES

English verb has three basic forms:

- The first form – the infinitive

- The second form – the Past tense form

The third form - the form of the past participle or participle II

All verbs form the past tense but in different ways. In accordance with the method of formation of these forms, verbs are divided into two groups - the regular and irregular verbs.

REGULAR VERBS are those verbs which past tense form, as well as the form of the past participle, is formed by adding -ed to the first form:

work --- > worked --- > worked

The rules of formation of the past form of regular verbs:

- If a verb ends in ‘a consonant + y’, then ‘y’ is changed to ‘i’, with the addition of end -ed: to study --- > studied

- If a verb ends in the silent ‘e,’ then ‘e’ is discarded at the end of the addition -ed: to like --- > liked

- If a verb after the stressed syllable ends in a consonant sound, the consonant is doubled: to stop --- > stopped

- If a verb ends with ‘L’, the letter (L) is always doubled: to cancel --- > cancelled

IRREGULAR VERBS are forming the past tense forms not according to the rule. There is a certain algorithm in a method of forming irregular verbs, but, in my opinion, the only sensible way to memorize irregular verbs is to learn them by heart.

There are many of irregular verbs, which are used in speech. It is believed that 60-80 irregular verbs must be learnt, while others may be memorised as learning the language.

This song is the best way to memorise Irregular verbs: