1. Principal Parts of Verbs; Irregular Verbs
Grammar 2.3
Principal Parts of Verbs; Irregular Verbs

2. Main Ideas There are four principal parts of verbs: Present
Present participle
Past
Past participle
Some verbs are irregular because they do not follow the traditional construction of the parts. These are often the verbs we most commonly use.

3. Before we begin … She sings. She is singing. She sang. She had sung.
She will sing.
She will be singing.
Are these sentences written in the present, past, or future tense?
Notice that there are multiple ways to write the present, past, and future.

4. Principal Parts of Verbs
Every verb has four basic forms called its principal parts:
the present: describes an unchanging, repeated, or recurring action that exists only now. It can also represent a widespread truth.
I sail the Seven Seas.
Democracy is our form of government.
the present participle: describes an action that is ongoing.
I am sailing the Seven Seas.
Senators are debating.
the past: represents an action that started and has finished in the past.
I sailed the Seven Seas.
Our forefathers signed the Constitution.
the past participle: references completed action.
I have sailed the Seven Seas.
These principal parts are used to make all of the forms and tenses (or conjugations) of the verb.

5. Principal Parts of a Verb (cont.)
Present Present Participle Past Past Participle
sail (is) sailing sailed (has) sailed
lift (is) lifting lifted (has) lifted
Notice that helping verbs are used with the present and past participle.

6. Principal Parts of Verbs (cont.)
There are two kinds of verbs, in regard to conjugations: regular and irregular.
A regular verb is a verb whose past and past participle are formed by adding -ed or -d to the present. A regular verb forms the present participle by adding -ing to the present.
Present Present Participle Past Past Participle
succeed (is) succeed+ing succeed+ed (has) succeed+ed

7. Principal Parts of Verbs (cont.)
Identify each underlined principal part as the present, the present participle, the past, or the past participle:
Piccard and Jones (1) traveled in a combination hot-air and helium balloon called Breitling Orbiter 3. In terms of comfort, the balloon great (2) outclasses earlier aircraft. Inside a pressurized, heated cabin, engineers have (3) equipped the balloon with a bunk bed, toilet, and kitchen. When one pilot is (4) sleeping, the other (5) sits at the control panel. Then the pilots (6) switch places. Other equipment on the flight (7) included a fax machine and satellite telephones. Solar-charged batteries (8) provided power for the onboard equipment. Other pilots have (9) used similar balloons in around-the-world attempts. Engineers are continually (10) improving the design of high-altitude balloons.
1. Past Present 9. Past participle
2. Present Present Present participle
3. Past participle Past
4. Present participle 8. Past

8. Irregular Verbs
Irregular verbs are verbs whose past and past participle forms are not made by adding -ed or -d to the present.
These verbs are very common, which is why they are the most irregular. Words that are used over and over again in language are often the words that see the most change.
Language Network: pg
There are many more. English is renowned for its irregular verbs and is one of the reasons why English is so difficult to learn.

9. You Try.
In the sentences below, choose the correct forms of the verbs in parentheses:
American bicyclist Lance Armstrong (win, won) the Tour de France in 1999.
→ won
Several years earlier, doctors (give, gave) him less than a 40% chance of surviving cancer.
→ gave
Armstrong (chose, chosen) an aggressive treatment plan.
→ chose
Now Armstrong has (beat, beaten) the disease.
→ beaten