In March, August and November of last year I published the first three installments of my mini-series on the use and abuse of irregular verbs in English. Here’s the fourth and second last installment:
The English language is famous (or infamous!) for its many irregular verbs. For irregular verbs, most dictionaries list all of the irregular forms along with the base form of the verb. If you aren’t sure whether a verb is regular or irregular, and the dictionary only lists the base form, you can assume it is a regular verb. Following is a list of some of the most common irregular verbs (beginning with the letters “s”), along with a usage example for each tense.
For each verb, the three forms listed are: Base Form, Past Tense, and Past Participle.
say, said, said
– I will say it when the time is right.
– She said she was hungry after we arrived.
– I would have said it then, had I known everything.
see, saw, seen
– I can see it from here.
– They saw it the moment they got there.
– At one time, that would have been seen easily from there.
send, sent, sent
– I send you my very best wishes.
– She sent the package to you yesterday.
– By the time we arrived he had already sent it.
set (as in “to place”), set, set
– Please set the table for dinner.
– We set out on our hike at dawn.
– Had that happened, we would have been all set.
shake, shook, shaken
– Before you use it, shake the bottle vigorously.
– The explosion shook the building to its foundations.
– She was very shaken up after the accident.
shoot, shot, shot
– Shoot directly at the center of the target.
– He shot the rapids without losing his balance once.
– There was a time when he would have been shot by firing squad.
shrink, shrank, shrunk, shrunken
– You can shrink it by adding warm water.
– After the rain storm hit, the tent shrank by five per cent.
– He shrunk it so much that it eventually fit him.
– By the time we got there it was a shrunken hulk.
sing, sang, sung
– She will sing the national anthem at the game tonight.
– At last year’s competition they sang their hearts out.
– They had already sung the overture by the time we arrived.
sink, sank, sunk
– Let the container sink to the bottom by itself.
– Ten minutes after the collision, it sank to the river bed.
– By the time we got there his hopes were already sunk.
sit (as in “be seated”), sat, sat
– You can sit on the bench over there.
– We sat in the left-field bleachers.
– I would have sat there all night if necessary.
slay, slew, slain
– Anyone can slay large animals with that massive sword.
– He slew the bear in front of the cave.
– She had been slain by a group of mercenaries.
sleep, slept, slept
– I can sleep right here on the couch.
– They slept fitfully while the storm raged outside.
– I was so tired after that ordeal I would have slept anywhere.
speak, spoke, spoken
– Please speak to me.
– We spoke about the problem after the service was over.
– Had I been aware, I would have spoken about it then.
spin, spun, spun
– I see that you can spin a baton with flair.
– As soon as it hit the ice the car spun out of control.
– If Frank had been there he would have spun you a good tale.
spring, sprang, sprung
– They plan to spring him from jail tonight.
– The moment the door opened they sprang into action.
– Had I known it was safe, I would have sprung right up there.
The simple examples given above are provided to show how these verbs can be used in typical situations using the base form, the past tense, and the past participle.
To see my previous blog posts on common irregular verbs, please check: March 2014 (letters “a” to “c”), August 2014 (letters “d” to “g”), and November 2014 (letters “h” to “r”).
I will be posting one more article in this irregular verbs series in a few months.
Simply question: Exlain what is a past participle?
Good job, Shaun,
I think that this kind of information is very valuable. So many people don’t seem to have ever learned how to use irregular verbs. I shudder when I hear even tv news reporters destroying the English language with made-up past tenses of verbs.
Thank you for sharing your knowledge with me, your’e right it tends to run into every day life when least expected.
The lesson for me is about how I use it in all aspects of my life.
Ngarie
Nice, keep it up.
Food for thought Shaun.
I have just finished my children’s novel so will re-read it again for any correction of irregular verbs.
Thanks
I love to read about Montreal, especially how cold it is. It makes here (Lancashire, UK) feel tropical.
Keep up the good work.
Hello again Shaun,
I’m very happy to be on your list. I thank to God that I learn a lot from your articles.
They are full of crucial and important words. I would like to thank u again for this information.
Best regards,
Mariam
Thank you very much for the information. It is very important to know the different between these verbs. God richly bless you my teacher.
Dear Shaun
When I joined sometime ago I wasn’t able to do weekly reporting or my daily updates, but now I am different able to write concise reports on a daily basis.
It is so helpful that I have learned a lot, please keep doing the good works. In our daily activities we make use of these irregular verbs wrongly thinking we are right when we speak.
I remain,
Victor
Shaun,
Your information is so helpful. I don’t think I could have made it through some of my communications without referencing your information.
Thank you and Keep up the good work!
I have been called the grammar nazi and was impressed, there were some in this article I had forgotten. Thanks for the heads up….Always helps to refresh your memory!
Thanks Mr. Writinghelpguy – was just having a problem with “slew”, so this clarified things.
— dawesio, edmonton, alberta, canada.
Shaun… it is nice to get a whiff of the extreme living that you are experiencing in Montreal … your posts have always been really helpful … more so as I am working upon my debut novel this comes handy whenever I am editing and redoing my stuff …
THANKS FOR THIS GREAT JOB
…Prateek, India
Thank you a lot for your explanation about irregular verbs. There is no specific age for learning. Your post is very helpful and I am very grateful to you for your sense of sharing.
Thanks and very nice. Its very helpful to me.
It was really very nice and very useful reminding for those irregular important verbs
Thank you for your valuable information. I find it really useful to me. I like the way you arrange and post this kind of irregular verbs.
Thanks!
Thanks Mr. Shaun it is very helpful for me.
I am so glad to be one of your students. God bless you mr shaun.
I don’t usually comment but i really enjoyed this article so wanted to share this with you.