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Principal Parts of Verbs
This lesson will concentrate on the principal parts of the verb and then we will focus on using the simple present and the present continuous forms.

Most grammar teachers talk about three principal parts of the verb...
 
 
 

Present

Past

Past Participle 

ask

asked

asked

...but, I like to think of four principal parts of a verb:
 
 
 

Present 

Past 

Present Participle

Past Participle

ask

asked

asking

asked

need

needed

needing

needed

scrape

scraped

scraping

scraped

run

ran

running

run

give

gave

giving

given

go

went

going

gone

Spelling is a consideration when we talk about all these verb parts. Look at the chart above and think about this rule:

Double the final consonant when you add -ed or -ing to a verb that ends with one vowel followed by one consonant.

So, don't double the final consonant when you add -ing to need or ask, but double it when adding -ing to trap or run.

When a verb ends with an e, you must drop the e before adding -ing and you should only add a d for the regular past tense or past participle.

Drop the final e in give and scrape before adding the -ing and only add a -d when you make scrape a past tense verb.

Remember: ask, need, and scrape are regular verbs and run, give, and go are irregular verbs.
           Regular verbs always have -ed as a past tense ending.
           Irregular verbs have various (irregular) past tense endings.

Be careful not to overuse the present participle.

Use the present participle only with the progressive tenses and participial adjectives. Note the difference between the present tense and the present progressive tense.
 
 

 

Present Tense

 

Present Progressive Tense

Example

Bob runs every morning before work.

Example

Bob is running to catch the bus.

Explanation

Use the present tense to indicate that something happens on a regular basis. The present tense is used for habitual actions.

Explanation

Use the present progressive tense to indicate that something is happening right now. The progressive tense is sometimes called the continuous tense because it describes something that is continuing.

Note: Certain verbs cannot be used in the present progressive tense. These are verbs that indicate conditions or states. These verbs don't express action, so they cannot be in the present progressive. They are called stative verbs.
 

Stative Verbs
 

Descriptions 

Possession

Measurement

Senses

Emotions/
        attitudes

Ideas

seem

have

weigh

feel

love/need

know

be

own

measure

hear

like/want

think

look like

possess

equal

see

care/prefer

believe

sound like

belong to

cost

taste

hate/dislike

recognize

involve

owe

amount to

smell

mind/value

remember

consist of

depend on

 

hurt

appreciate

understand

contain

 

 

 

 

mean

Some of these verbs have a non-stative meaning also.

            Stative: I feel sad about your brother's problems.
                            The soup tastes too salty.
             Non-stative: The doctor is feeling my arm to see if it is broken.
                                    David is tasting the soup. He doesn't want it to taste too salty.
 

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