Level: beginner
Verbs in English have four basic parts:
| Base form | -ing form | Past tense | Past participle |
|---|---|---|---|
| work | working | worked | worked |
| play | playing | played | played |
| listen | listening | listened | listened |
Most verbs are regular: they have a past tense and past participle with –ed (worked, played, listened). But many of the most frequent verbs are irregular.
Level: beginner
Basic parts
Verbs in English have four basic parts:
| Base form | -ing form | Past tense | Past participle |
|---|---|---|---|
| work | working | worked | worked |
| play | playing | played | played |
| listen | listening | listened | listened |
Most verbs are regular: they have a past tense and past participle with –ed (worked, played, listened). But many of the most frequent verbs are irregular.
Verb phrases
Verb phrases in English have the following forms:
- a main verb:
| main verb | ||
|---|---|---|
| We | are | here. |
| I | like | it. |
| Everybody | saw | the accident. |
| We | laughed. |
The verb can be in the present tense (are, like) or the past tense (saw, laughed).
| auxiliary be | -ing form | |
|---|---|---|
| Everybody | is | watching. |
| We | were | laughing. |
A verb phrase with be and –ing expresses continuous aspect. A verb with am/is/are expresses present continuous and a verb with was/were expresses past continuous.
- the auxiliary verb have and a main verb in the past participle form:
| auxiliary have | past participle | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| They | have | enjoyed | themselves. |
| Everybody | has | worked | hard. |
| He | had | finished | work. |
A verb phrase with have and the past participle expresses perfect aspect. A verb with have/has expresses present perfect and a verb with had expresses past perfect.
- a modal verb (can, could, may, might, must, shall, should, will, would) and a main verb:
| modal verb | main verb | |
|---|---|---|
| They | will | come. |
| He | might | come. |
- The verb phrase 1
- The verb phrase 2
Level: intermediate
- the auxiliary verbs have and been and a main verb in the –ing form:
| auxiliary have been | -ing form | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Everybody | has been | working | hard. |
| He | had been | singing. |
A verb phrase with have been and the -ing form expresses both perfect aspect and continuous aspect. A verb with have/has expresses present perfect continuous and a verb with had expresses past perfect continuous.
- a modal verb and the auxiliaries be, have and have been:
| modal | auxiliary | verb | |
|---|---|---|---|
| They | will | be | listening. |
| He | might | have | arrived. |
| She | must | have been | listening. |
- the auxiliary verb be and a main verb in the past participle form:
| auxiliary be | past participle | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| English | is | spoken | all over the world. |
| The windows | have been | cleaned. | |
| Lunch | was being | served. | |
| The work | will be | finished | soon. |
| They | might have been | invited | to the party. |
A verb phrase with be and the past participle expresses passive voice.
- The verb phrase 3
- The verb phrase 4
Level: advanced
We can use the auxiliaries do and did with the infinitive for emphasis:
It was a wonderful party. I did enjoy it.
I do agree with you. I think you are absolutely right.
We can also use do for polite invitations:
Do come and see us some time.
There will be lots of people there. Do bring your friends.
Comments
Dear Peter,
Thank you for the help, thank you.
Hello dear team,
Teach them briefly the irregular forms ask for feedback (from) the learners.
Can I use (from) in this sentence?
Thank you
Hello Hosseinpour,
It's fine to say 'ask for feedback from the learners'. You could also say 'get feedback from the learners'.
Peter
The LearnEnglish Team
Good morning ,Could I ask " somebody,someone,everyone, anyone" always belonging to ( has or had)? Thank you in advance.
Hello Backlight,
I'm not sure I understand your question. If you are asking whether a singular or plural verb is needed with these words then the answer is singular: indefinite pronouns like these are grammatically singular, so we say
everybody has
not
*everybody
have*Peter
The LearnEnglish Team
Hello,
I would like to ask which of the following is correct
1.He/she does not pay attention during the lesson
2.He can't focus on the lesson ( during the lesson)
3.He doesn't concentrate during the lesson
Thank you in advance
Hello angi,
All three sentences are grammatically correct. Which would be best in a given context would depend upon that context, of course.
Peter
The LearnEnglish Team
Hello,
I would like to ask if the following is correct
1.The house has got a lot of windows that let the light in.
Is it correct?
Especially that let the light in?
Thank you in advance
Hello,
I would like to ask if the following is correct.
My house has got a lot of windows that let the light in.
Is the sentence correct, especially the second part:.. That let the light in?
Thank you in advance
Hello agie,
The sentence is fine.
Peter
The LearnEnglish Team
Pages