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.

ExamplesBase

Form

Present

Part-iciple

Past Past Participle

start

(is)starti

ng

start-ed

(have)starte

d

wear

(is) wear-

ing

wore

(have) worn

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 VerbsBase Form

Present

Participle

Past Past Partici

ple

Wash (is) washi

ng

washed

(have) washe

d

Hop (is) hoppi

ng

Hopped

(have) hoppe

d

Use (is) using

used (have) 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.

ExamplesCause 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.