| Learn to
Write English Clearly and Correctly
Lesson 11 |
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Lesson 11, Some Common Irregular Verbs: sing-sang, bring-brought, go-went
Most verbs in English follow a regular pattern:
| Present | Past | Progressive | Future | Compound |
| I want, you want, we want, they want | I wanted, you wanted, he wanted | I am wanting, he is wanting, we are wanting | I will want, you will want, he will want, they will want | I have wanted, you have wanted, he has wanted |
| he wants, she wants, it wants | we wanted, they wanted | she was wanting, they were wanting | I had wanted, it had wanted, you had wanted |
There are no surprises. Add 'S' for third person singular Present tense. Normal. Add '-ED' to form the Past Tense. Normal. Add '-ED' to form the Past Participle. Normal
However, many of the most common verbs in English do not follow the rules. Here are ten of them. Each will show Third Person Singular Present, Past, Past Participle and Continuous forms.
| TO BE: am (1st per. sing.), is, are, was, were, been, being | TO BRING: bring, brings, brought, brought, bringing |
| TO HAVE: have, has, had, had, having | TO GO: go, goes, went, gone, going |
| TO SING: sing, sings, sang, sung, singing | TO DRINK: drink, drinks, drank, drunk, drinking |
| TO THINK: think, thinks, thought, thought, thinking | TO TAKE: take, takes, took, taken, taking |
| TO DO: do, does, did, done, doing | TO MAKE: make, makes, made, made, making |
Some words seem to be part of a pattern (sing, sang, sung and ring, rang, rung), but you will be wrong if you use that pattern for bring. Take, takes and make, makes look like the beginning of a pattern, but the next forms are took, made. What this simply means is that you must Remember, Remember, Remember. There is no other way to be sure.
Exercise A: Fill in the missing words in the sentences below. All will be present tense.
He ________ with me. (go) = He goes with me. She is _______ to town. (go) = She is going to town.
1. I _________ homework every night. (do)
2. Tina __________ math is difficult. (think)
3. My friends are __________ cooking classes this year. (take)
4. Jonathan ____________ my friend. (be)
5. The boy is __________ difficulty riding his bicycle. (have)
6. My mother ___________ while she cleans the house. (sing)
7. I always _____________ many books home from school. (bring)
8. We are ______________ cookies for Christmas. (make)
9. Young men often ____________ too much soda. (drink)
10. Mary _____________ to the dentist every six months. (go)
Exercise B: Change the verbs in these sentences to Past Tense. Write the new sentences on the lines.
1. Robert makes coffee at the office.
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2. The clowns do funny tricks.
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3. The horse is drinking water from the pond.
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4. We bring flowers to the teacher.
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5. Martha goes shopping in the morning.
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6. The flowers are very pretty.
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7. Tom takes his girlfriend out every weekend.
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8. I am thinking about quitting school.
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9. My dog has fleas.
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10. Katrina sings terribly.
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Exercise C: Cross out the incorrect verbs in the following sentences.
1. My brother and sister (was singing) (were singing) in the choir.
2. The photographer (taked) (took) my picture yesterday.
3. Jules and I (is) (are) in the same class.
4, I (am gone) (am going) fishing in the morning.
5. Victoria and Juliet (making) (made) plans for their vacation.
6. The rabbit (went) (is gone) into a hole in the ground.
7. The nurse (was doing) (is doing) her paperwork last night.
8. The student (thank) (thought) about the test question.
9. We (was having) (are having) toast and hot chocolate for breakfast.
10. The policemen (brought) (brang) their prisoners to the jail.
Examination: In the spaces below, write in verbs that will correctly complete the sentences. You may use any of the verbs or forms from this lesson. There may be more than one correct answer.
1. The pilot of the small plane _________________ off from the grassy field.
2. The elephant _____________ a huge mess when it walked into the house.
3. Phillip and Marie ______________ too much champagne at the wedding.
4. Ten large trucks _____________ the circus to town yesterday.
5. The old actor ___________ a terrible time remembering his lines.
6. When we are at church, we _______________ many beautiful hymns.
7. The clerk in the store _____________ to the back room for more bags.
8. Mr. Smith ____________ many different things before he became a teacher.
9. Olga _______________ the last one on the bus.
10. You _____________ this old clock was broken, but it wasn't.
-The End-
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