Regular and Irregular Verbs

Common Errors In English With Samuel Alimi

One of the most challenging aspects of learning the English language is its inconsistency, which can be extremely difficult for individuals who are not native speakers.  From the sounds to the grammar and other aspects, the language is filled with exceptions and rules that must be followed strictly in order to communicate effectively. While striving for perfection is important, it is not advisable to let the pursuit of perfection discourage you as a speaker. In fact, making mistakes is normal in language learning, and I believe that even native speakers make mistakes in their speech. Therefore, why should you be held back by fear?

A concerned English language graduate once reached out to me, asking questions about how to differentiate between regular and irregular verbs as she struggled to use them effectively. Troubled by the tone of her voice regarding her challenges with public speaking and shyness, I scheduled a class with her after receiving payment for the session. It was an interesting moment for both of us as I took the time to thoroughly explain the concepts. Fortunately, I will explain them today for better understanding.

Regular verbs have fixed endings. Simply put, their simple past and past participle are definite and certain.

 

Study the table below:

Base form/simple past/past participle

Dance/danced/ danced

 

She will dance well.

She danced yesterday.

 

Cook/cooked/cooked

 

My mother will cook delicious food for the family.

My mother cooked rice for the family.

 

Shout/shouted/shouted

The teacher will shout at her students.

The teacher shouted at her students.

 

Study/studied/studied

I will study English.

I studied English at the university.

 

Other examples:

Adeola prays to God every day. (Present tense)

Adeola prayed to God every day. (Simple past)

Adeola will pray to God today. (Future)

Adeola has prayed to God today. (Past participle)

 

Sulaimon cooks rice every Monday. (Present tense)

Sulaimon cooked rice on Monday. (Simple past)

Sulaimon will cook rice tomorrow. (Future)

Sulaimon has cooked rice for everyone. (Past participle)

In the examples above, it is obvious that ‘pray’ and ‘cook’ in their present (‘prays’ and ‘cooks’), simple past (‘prayed’ and ‘cooked’), future (‘will pray’ and ‘will cook’), and past participle (‘prayed’ and ‘cooked’) forms are perfect examples of regular verbs due to their consistency.

Verbs that end in -e are typically changed to the past tense by adding -d.

 

Examples:

Dance- danced

Rebuke – rebuked

Delete – deleted

Facilitate- facilitated

 

Verbs ending in ‘y’ are listed below:

 

Try- Tried

She will try the test tomorrow.

She tried the test yesterday.

 

Fry- Fried

We will fry ten pieces of meat on Wednesday.

We fried ten pieces of meat on Sunday.

For verbs of a single syllable that end in a vowel and a consonant, the consonant is usually doubled with -ed used for their past tenses.

 

Flip – flipped

Drag- dragged

Flag-flagged

Man – manned

 

Irregular Verbs

On the other hand, irregular verbs do not follow the same pattern. Sometimes, they are referred to as strong verbs. In simple terms, they are inconsistent because their endings are different. Therefore, it is imperative to fully understand before using them in one’s sentences or expressions, whether in writing or speaking. Imagine saying “I ‘goed’ home yesterday” instead of “I went home yesterday”. How does it sound? Do you think one would not be embarrassed by the audience’s reactions? If a verb does not add -ed, -ied, or -d to its past form, it is usually considered irregular.

 

Examples:

I had to sing the song on Saturday.

Have you sung the song?

I sang the song as planned.

In the above examples, ‘sing’ has been changed to ‘sang’ (simple past) and ‘sung’ (past participle) form. I hope you have gained enough clarification regarding these two verbs.

Some irregular verbs only change in the past tense. Examples:

 

I will run the race.

I ran the race.

I have run the race.

Did you notice that the past participle of ‘run’ is still ‘ran’?

Some irregular verbs do not change in any tense. A perfect example is ‘cut’.

 

Assignment

Choose the correct answers to each of the following questions:
_______ are verbs that do not have the same ending. (a) regular verbs (b) irregular verbs (c) stative verbs
_____is an example of an irregular verb. (a) hurt (b) attack (c) slap
_____ is an example of a regular verb. (a) like (b) come (c) run

Kindly forward your answers to samueltolulopealimi@gmail.com or send an SMS to 07049203179.
Names of those who answered the last questions correctly
Philip Moses, Bolanle Olusola, Jerry Solomon, Bala Aminat, Uchenna Eze, Eze Jeremiah, Rasheed Fatiu, Olive Alimi, Bello Sulaimon, Adaeze Beauty, Jeremiah Isaiah, Edward Israel, Solomon Moses, Shukurat Adekola, Feyisayo Akorede, Caroline Praise, Adesina Sofiyat, Aderibigbe Akorede, Abdullahi Nuhu, Mohammed Aishat and Samuel Glory.