Regular Verbs
Regular verbs are conjugated to easy to learn rules.
They all have a base form. e.g. to look
A gerund (ing) form where ing is added to the end of the verb. e.g. looking
An -s form where s is added to the end of the verb. e.g. looks
A past tense form where ed is added to the end of the verb. e.g. looked .
A past participle form where ed is added to the end of the verb. e.g. looked (Here the spelling rules)
Regular Verbs Simple Past / Past Participle Spelling Rules
The simple past tense is formed by adding -ed to the end of the verb. However there are several rules depending on the spelling of the verb, these are:-
If the base of the verb ends in:-
- -e only add -d (raid - raided)
- a consonant plus -y the y is turned into -ied (study - studied / try - tried)
- -c add -ked (panic - panicked)
- a single vowel plus a consonant and is stressed on its final syllable the consonant is usually doubled and -ed added (plan - planned)
- -p, g or -m the consonant is usually doubled and -ed added (ram - rammed / tap - tapped / gag - gagged)
- -l the consonant is usually doubled (travel - travelled)
Regular Verbs
| Base Form | To walk |
| Present Simple | I walk every day. |
| Present Progressive/Continuous | I am walking. (now) |
| Present Perfect Simple | I have walked twice so far today. |
| Present Perfect Progressive/Continuous | I have been walking for 2 hours. |
| Past Simple | I walked yesterday. |
| Past Progressive/Continuous | I was walking yesterday when I saw a bear. |
| Past Perfect Simple | I had walked for five miles by the time I got home. |
| Past Perfect Progressive/Continuous | I had been walking for 2 hours when I saw the bear. |
| Future Simple | I will go for a walk tomorrow. |
| Future Progressive/Continuous | I am walking tomorrow. |
| Future Perfect Simple | I will have already gone for a walk by the time I meet my friends. |
| Future Perfect Progressive | I will have been walking for 2 hours by the time I meet my friends. |
Irregular Verbs
There are no rules for the spelling of irregular verbs, for example:-
| Base Form | To run |
| Present Simple | I run every day. |
| Present Progressive/Continuous | I am running. (now) |
| Present Perfect Simple | I have run twice so far today. |
| Present Perfect Progressive/Continuous | I have been running for 2 hours. |
| Past Simple | I ran yesterday. |
| Past Progressive/Continuous | I was running yesterday when I saw a bear. |
| Past Perfect Simple | I had run for five miles by the time I got home. |
| Past Perfect Progressive/Continuous | I had been running for 2 hours when I saw the bear. |
| Future Simple | I will go for a run tomorrow. |
| Future Progressive/Continuous | I am running tomorrow. |
| Future Perfect Simple | I will have already gone for a run by the time I meet my friends. |
| Future Perfect Progressive | I will have been running for 2 hours by the time I meet my friends. |