Regular Verbs
They form their past tenses by adding 'ed/d'.Examples are:| Present Tense | Past Tense |
|---|---|
| Accept | Accepted |
| Add | Added |
| Agree | Agreed |
| Swallow | Swallowed |
| Count | Counted |
| Guard | Guarded |
| Happen | Happened |
| Harm | Harmed |
| Interest | Interested |
| Join | Joined |
| Judge | Judged |
| Mine | Mined |
| Move | Moved |
| Mark | Marked |
| Plant | Planted |
| Plant | Planted |
Irregular Verbs
They form past tense in different ways, and not by adding of 'ed/d'to the word. Some form past tense by changing the vowel, while others do not change at all.| Present Tense | Past Tense |
|---|---|
| Arise | Arose |
| Breed | Bred |
| Go | Went |
| Know | Knew |
| Put | Put |
| Grow | Grew |
| Run | Ran |
| Write | Wrote |
| Strike | Struck |
| Begin | Begun |
Modal Verbs
Modal verbs are used to express ideas as:- Probability
- Ability
- Permission
- request, Offers and invitations
- Suggestions and obligations
They can be in positive (affirmative) or negative such as:
| Postive (Affirmative) | Negative |
|---|---|
| Can | Cannot (Can't) |
| Should | Should not (Shouldn't) |
| Ought | Ought not |
| Will | Will not (Won't) |
| Could | Could not (couldn't) |
| Might | Might not (mightn't) |
Asking, Giving or Refusing Permission
We can use can or may or might when asking for or giving permission.Examples
1. Can we go home now?
2. May I go to the bathroom?.
3. Students may travel for free.
We can use can't or may not when refusing permission.
Examples
1. You can't go home now.2.
You may go to the bathroom.
Suggestions and Obligations
We can use should and must to show suggestion or obligationExamples
1. To save lives, drivers should not drink and drive.2.
You must stop when the traffic light turns red.
Express Desire in the Future
We can use shall, should, will and would to express future desire or aspiration.Examples
1. In order to succeed, I shall always work hard.2.
I will be joining the football team next term.
To Show Probability
We can use may, might, could and can to express probability.Examples
1. I can comfortably see take the exam.2.
The team might practise ahead of tomorrow's game.
To Show Conditional Expression
We can use should to show that one action is dictated entirely by another.Examples
1. Should you fail the exam, you will repeat it.2.
Should it rain, the team will not practise ahead of tomorrow's game.
There are many types of verbs including action verbs, compound verbs, auxillary verbs, helping verbs, linking verbs and more. We will discuss them in other topics.