Principal Parts

of Verbs
The four basic
forms of a
verb are called
the principal
parts
of the verb.
The four principal
parts of a verb
are the base
form, the present
participle, the
past, and the past
participle.
 Examples
Base Present
Part-
Past Past
Form iciple Partic
iple
start (is) start- (have)
started
starting ed

wear (is) wore (have)

worn
wear
-ing
 Note
• The words is and have
are included in the
chart on the previous
slide because present
participle and past
participle verb forms
require helping verbs
(forms of be and have)
to form tenses.
As you can see
from their
names, the
principal parts
of a verb are
used to express
time.
 Present Time
• She wears a blue
uniform.

• Ray has been

wearing his
baseball cap.
 Past Time
• Yesterday, we
wore sweaters.

• I had worn
braces for
three months.
 Future Time
• Jessica will wear her
new dress at the
party.

• By next spring, Joey

will have worn holes
in those shoes.
 A verb that forms its
past and past participle
by adding –d or –ed is
called a regular verb.
A verb that forms its
past and past participle
differently is called an
irregular verb.
 Regular Verbs
Base Present Past Past
Form Particip Particip
le le
Wash (is) washed (have)
washing washed

Hop (is) Hopped (have)

hopping hopped

Use (is) used (have)

using used
 Note
• Most regular verbs
that end in –e drop
the –e before adding
–ing. Some regular
verbs double the
final consonant
before adding –ing
or –ed.
 Examples
Cause Causing Caused

Drop Dropping Dropped

 One common
error in forming
the past or past
participle of a
regular verb is to
leave off the –d
or –ed ending.
 Example
• NONSTANDARD:
Josh was suppose
to meet us here.

• STANDARD: Josh
was supposed to
meet us here.
 Practice
Present Past Past
Participle
begin 1. __________ have begun
freeze 2. __________ have frozen
write wrote 3. _________
blow 4. __________ have blown
drive drove 5. _________
wear wore 6. _________
sing 7. __________ have sung
ride 8. __________ have ridden
 Practice
Present Past Past
Participle
choose chose 9. _________
go 10. _________ have gone
run 11. _________ have run
throw threw 12. ________
come came 13. ________
see saw 14. ________
speak 15. _________ have spoken
burst 16. _________ have burst
Practice
Present Past Past
Participle
choose chose 9.
go 10. have gone
run 11. have run
throw threw 12.
come came 13.
see saw 14.
speak 15. have spoken
burst 16. have burst
 Practice
Present Past Past
Participle
swim swam 17. ________
sink sank 18. ________
break 19. _________ have broken
bring 20. _________ have brought
 Practice
Present Past Past
Participle

swim swam 17.

sink sank 18.
break 19. have broken
bring 20. have brought