Using Verbs - Key Concepts 

Regular & Irregular Verbs

A regular verb is a verb that forms its past and past participle by adding -ed or -d to the present.

• Example:  He looked at the mountain.
  

An irregular verb forms its past and past participle by changing the spelling of the base word.

• Example:  She brought food to the party. (not bringed)

Active vs. Passive Voice

When a verb's subject performs the action expressed by the verb, the verb is in the active voice.

• Example:  Many people write poetry.

When a verb's subject receives the action expressed by the verb, the verb is in the passive voice.

• Example:  Poetry is written by many people.  (People are doing the writing, not the poetry.)

Principal Parts of a Verb

Every verb has four principal parts:

Present: take

Present participle: taking

Past: took

Past participle: taken

You use the principal parts to make all of the verb's tenses and forms.

Perfect Tenses

The three perfect tenses in English are the three verb tenses which show action already completed. (The word perfect literally means "made complete" or "completely done.")

They are formed by the appropriate tense of the verb to have plus the past participle of the verb.

Present Perfect: I have seen it.
(Present tense of to have plus participle. Action is completed with respect to the present.)

Past Perfect: I had seen it.
(Past tense of to have plus participle. Action is completed with respect to the past.)

Future Perfect: I will have seen it.
(Future tense of to have plus participle. Action is completed with respect to the future.)

Some authorities consider the passive voice of certain verbs that are always intransitive to be the perfect tense also.

Example: They are gone.

Example: He is risen.

Emphatic Forms

The two emphatic tenses get their name because they are used for emphasis.  More commonly, however, they are used with the negative not and with questions when the normal order is inverted.

Emphatic forms are made with the auxiliary verb to do in the present or past tense + the base form of the verb.

Past Emphatic - Did he work hard?

He didn't work very hard.

Present Emphatic - Does he run fast?

He does run very fast.

Progressive Tenses

The progressive tenses are the six tenses in English which show continuous or repeated actions. Sometimes the past progressive is called the "imperfect."

The six progressive tenses correspond to the three basic and three perfect tenses. They are formed by the appropriate basic or perfect tense of the verb to be followed by the present participle.

Present Progressive: I am coming.

Past Progressive: I was coming.

Future Progressive: I will be coming.

Present Perfect Progressive: I have been coming.

Past Perfect Progressive: I had been coming.

Future Perfect Progressive: I will have been coming.