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TO ENGLISH CLASS
VERB PHRASES
o Basic Verb Forms
o Verb Tenses
o Gerund & Infinitives
o The Passives
There are SIX basic verb forms that are used as the
raw material to make up the tense system in
English. They are:
o the base
o the present tense
o the past tense
o the infinitive
o the present participle
o the past participle
 VERB FORMS
BASE PRESENT PAST INFINITIVE
FORM TENSE TENSE
walk walk/ walks walked to walk
run run/ runs ran to run
go go/ goes went to go

PRESENT PAST
PARTICIPLE PARTICIPLE
walking walked
running run
going gone
BASE FORM
The base form is the form of the verb that is
entered into dictionary. For example if you try to
find the word ‘ran’ in the dictionary, it would refer
you to the base form ‘run’.

Since the basic form is identical to the present

tense, it is difficult to differentiate which one is the
base form and which one is the present tense.
There are four places in which the base form is
used:
1. to form infinitives
2. after modal auxiliary verbs
3. in imperative sentences (commands)
4. as part of the complement of some verbs
1. INFINITIVES
All infinitives are formed by putting ‘to’ in front of
the base form. For example:
• to have
• to go
• to talk
• to sing
2. MODAL AUXILIARY
We used the base form after a modal auxiliary. Here
are some examples:
• will have
• can go
• must talk
• should sing
3. IMPERATIVES (COMMANDS)
Imperative sentences use the basic form of the
verb. Here are some examples:
• Go away!
• Oh, stop that!
• Answer the question, please!
4. VERB COMPLEMENTS
Some verbs use basic forms as part of their
complements. Here are some examples:
• We made them walk to school.
• I let them finish early.
• John will have the office send you a copy.
 EXERCISE 1
THE FOLLOWING SENTENCES CONTAIN BASE FORMS
AS WELL AS NON BASE FORMS. IDENTIFY THE VERBS
AND DECIDE WHICH ONE IS THE BASE FORMS?
1) Drive carefully when you go home.
2) My grandmother let the kids help with the
cooking.
3) We asked them if they wanted to act in the play.
4) The teacher explained what they would do next.
5) Alice wants to arrive on time for the party.
PRESENT TENSE
With the exception of the verb ‘be’, the present
tense of all verbs is derived directly from the base
form.
However, the present tense differs significantly from
the base form in that all verbs in the present tense
must enter into a subject-verb agreement with
their subject.
Anita flies to Atlanta every week.
Anita and Jack fly to Atlanta every week.
 EXERCISE
WRITE THE 3RD PERSON SINGULAR FORM OF THE
BASE-FORM VERBS IN THE FIRST COLUMN.

1) admit 6. kiss 11. reduce

2) supply 7. have 12. approach
3) go 8. match 13. destroy
4) leave 9. identify 14. eliminate
5) annoy 10. declare 15. convince
EXERCISE
PAST TENSE
There are 2 different types of past-tense forms:
regular and irregular.

Regular past tense

The regular verbs form their past tense by adding -ed
(or -d if the word already ends in e) to the base form.

The -(e)d ending has 3 different, but completely

predictable pronunciations.
 PAST TENSE
• If the base ends in t or d, the -ed is pronounced as a
separate syllable /ed/. Here are some examples:
fainted, mended, parted, wanted
• If the base ends in -p, -(c)k, -s, -(t)ch, -x, -f, and -gh
(when pronounced /f/), the -ed is pronounced /d/.
Examples:
capped, packed, kissed, clutched, boxed, coughed
• If the base ends in a vowel or voiced consonants (y, b, z,
l, m, n, g, except for d), the -ed is pronounced /d/.
Examples:
smiled, annoyed, grabbed, buzzed, called,
calmed, banned, begged
HOW’S THE CORRECT PRONUNCIATION?
1) define 6. test 11. pick
2) wash 7. grant 12. extend
3) shout 8. save 13. rule
4) range 9. compare 14. tax
5) own 10. approve 15. permit
 PAST TENSE
Irregular past tense
The irregular verbs preserve older ways of forming the
past tense. In earlier forms of English, the irregular
verbs fell into well-defined patterns.
By modern times, however, the historical patterns had
collapsed together so that today it is not practical to
learn irregular verbs according to their historical
patterns.
 BASE FORM PAST SIMPLE PAST PARTICIPLE

arise arose arisen

awake awoke awoken

become became become

choose chose chosen

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VERBS
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The infinitive is completely regular (even for the verb
‘be’). The infinitive consists of ‘to’ followed by the base
form of the verb. Here are the examples:

Base form Infinitive

be to be
do to do
go to go
have to have
 PRESENT PARTICIPLE
The present participle is also completely regular. It is
formed by adding -ing to the base form.
Base form Present Participle
be being
do doing
go going
have having
sing singing
talk talking
 PRESENT PARTICIPLE
The rules of spelling sometimes cause the present
participle to be spelled differently from the base form.
Here are some common changes:

Final silent ‘e’

Base form Present Participle
enlarge enlarging
lose losing
save saving
tame taming
use using
 PRESENT PARTICIPLE
Doubled consonant
If the base ends in a single consonant preceded by a
short vowel, the consonant will double. For example:
Base form Present Participle
hit hitting
hop hopping
rub rubbing
run running
skid skidding
swim swimming
 EXERCISE
WRITE THE PRESENT PARTICIPLE FORM OF THE
FOLOWING BASE-FORM VERBS.

1) skip 6. reply
2) cry 7. spot
3) desire 8. admit
4) vote 9. shake
5) phrase 10. care
PAST PARTICIPLE
 PAST PARTICIPLE
There are 2 types of past participles: regular and
irregular. The regular forms are exactly the same as
the past tense; that is, they are the base + -ed. The
rules for spelling and pronunciation are exactly the
same as for the past tense.
Irregular past participle
In older periods of English, most irregular past
participles ended in -(e)n.
About the only generalization we can make now is that
if an irregular verb has -(e)n ending, then it is very
likely a past participle.
 PAST PARTICIPLE
Here are some examples:
Base form Past Participle
choose chosen
eat eaten
fall fallen
fly flown
freeze frozen
tear torn
see seen
As you can see the changes in vowels from base form
to past participle form are unpredictable.