‘Project Smart
English’
Shaping Young Minds
Common Mistakes in use of English-Lesson 56
20 Troublesome Irregular
Verbs
In English, many verbs adapt simply to the past
tense with the attachment of either -d or -ed, as
in walk/walked or brake/braked. These are called
regular verbs.
Many other verbs, however, do not follow this
formula & undergo more changes to transform from present-tense to the past
tenses. Such words are called irregular verbs. Examples: go, went, gone or
come, came. come
The simple past, the tense form that describes what
has previously occurred, is fairly straightforward once one assimilates the
forms for each irregular verb. But complications set in when the past
participle — a verb assisted by an auxiliary verb, or a past-tense form of the
verb to be — is employed.
Some past-participle forms are easily distinguished
from their simple-past counterparts, as in the case of ate/eaten,
for example, or saw/seen (“I ate already”/“I had eaten
already”; “We saw the movie”/“We had seen the movie”). Others, however, often
literally give writers pause. Many of them are presented below in sample
sentences with simple-past usage for comparison:
1. “A problem arose.”
“A problem had arisen.”
“A problem had arisen.”
2. “They beat the odds.”
“They had beaten the odds.”
“They had beaten the odds.”
3. “She
bore it well.”
“She had borne it well.”
“She had borne it well.”
4. “He
broke the record.”
“He had broken the record.”
“He had broken the record.”
5. “My friend drank
three beers already.”
“My friend had drunk three beers already.”
“My friend had drunk three beers already.”
6. “You forsook us.”
“You had forsaken us.”
“You had forsaken us.”
7. “The
boy hid the ball.”
“The boy had hidden the ball.”
“The boy had hidden the ball.”
8. “I lay on the floor
for a moment.”
“I had lain on the floor for a moment.”
“I had lain on the floor for a moment.”
9. “We
rode far.”
“We had ridden far.”
“We had ridden far.”
10. “The
phone rang.”
“The phone had rung.”
“The phone had rung.”
11. “She rose to the
occasion.”
“She had risen to the occasion.”
“She had risen to the occasion.”
12. “She sang.”
“She had sung.”
“She had sung.”
13. “He shook it loose.”
“He had shaken it loose.”
“He had shaken it loose.”
14. “The shirt shrank
when I dried it.”
“The shirt had shrunk when I dried it.”
“The shirt had shrunk when I dried it.”
15. “We strode along
merrily the entire way.”
“We had stridden along merrily the entire way.”
“We had stridden along merrily the entire way.”
16. “The
team strove to come back from behind.”
“The team had striven to come back from behind.”
“The team had striven to come back from behind.”
17. “I
swore that I had not taken it.”
“I had sworn that I had not taken it.”
“I had sworn that I had not taken it.”
18. “They
swam to the other end and back.”
“They had swum to the other end and back.”
“They had swum to the other end and back.”
19. “He
took her back home.”
“He had taken her back home.”
“He had taken her back home.”
20. “My
sister tore the paper up.”
“My sister had torn the paper up.”
“My sister had torn the paper up.”
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