Regular Verbs in English Grammar

Contents

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Regular verbs are essential in English, especially for forming sentences in the past tense. Regular verbs follow a specific pattern, making it easy for learners to recognize and apply them in different contexts. In this post, we’ll cover what regular verbs are, how to form their past tense, the difference between regular and irregular verbs, a comprehensive list of common regular verbs, and an exploration of why regular verbs are also called “weak verbs.”

What is a Regular Verb?

A regular verb in English is one that forms its past tense and past participle by adding “-ed” to the base form of the verb. This consistency makes regular verbs easier to learn than irregular verbs, which have unique forms for their past tense.

For instance:

Base form: walk
Past tense: walked
Past participle: walked

This structure is predictable and helps learners apply the rule to other verbs that follow the same pattern.

Creating the Past Forms of Regular Verbs

Add “-ed” to Most Verbs
- Example: clean → cleaned
- Example: wait → waited
One-Syllable Verbs with Consonant-Vowel-Consonant (CVC) Pattern
If a one-syllable verb ends with a consonant-vowel-consonant (CVC), double the final consonant and add “-ed.”
- Example: plan → planned
- Example: slip → slipped
Exceptions for “w,” “x,” and “y” in One-Syllable Verbs
If the final consonant is “w,” “x,” or “y,” do not double it.
- Example: mow → mowed
- Example: play → played
- Example: fix → fixed
Stressed Last Syllable in Longer Verbs with CVC Pattern
When the last syllable of a longer verb is stressed and ends in a consonant-vowel-consonant, double the last consonant and add “-ed.”
- Example: admit → admitted
- Example: refer → referred
Unstressed Last Syllable in Longer Verbs with CVC Pattern
If the first syllable is stressed in a longer verb ending with CVC, just add “-ed” without doubling the final consonant.
- Example: listen → listened
- Example: answer → answered
Verbs Ending in “e”
If a verb ends with “e,” simply add “d.”
- Example: hope → hoped
- Example: trade → traded
Verbs Ending in Consonant + “y”
When a verb ends with a consonant followed by “y,” change the “y” to “i” and add “-ed.”
- Example: marry → married
- Example: apply → applied

Regular vs. Irregular Verbs

Regular verbs and irregular verbs differ in how they form their past tenses and past participles.

Regular Verbs

With regular verbs, the simple past tense and past participle are formed by adding “-ed” to the base form. The simple past and past participle forms are the same.

Regular Verb	Simple Past Tense	Past Participle
clean	cleaned	has cleaned
jump	jumped	has jumped
enjoy	enjoyed	has enjoyed
watch	watched	has watched
walk	walked	has walked

These examples illustrate how regular verbs maintain a consistent structure in both the simple past and past participle forms.

Irregular Verbs

Irregular verbs, on the other hand, do not follow a standard rule for forming the simple past and past participle. The past forms of irregular verbs may be the same or different.

Irregular Verbs with Different Simple Past and Past Participle Forms

Irregular Verb	Simple Past Tense	Past Participle
drive	drove	has driven
sing	sang	has sung
speak	spoke	has spoken
write	wrote	has written
fly	flew	has flown

These verbs change their forms completely between the base, simple past, and past participle.

Irregular Verbs with the Same Simple Past and Past Participle Forms

Some irregular verbs keep the same form in both the simple past and past participle, but differ from the base form.

Irregular Verb	Simple Past Tense	Past Participle
bring	brought	has brought
think	thought	has thought
teach	taught	has taught
catch	caught	has caught
leave	left	has left

These examples demonstrate the variety in how irregular verbs form past tenses, contrasting sharply with the predictable pattern of regular verbs.

Regular Verbs List

To assist learners, here’s a helpful list of some common regular verbs that you’ll likely encounter in daily English:

Base Form	Past Tense	Past Participle
ask	asked	asked
clean	cleaned	cleaned
help	helped	helped
jump	jumped	jumped
listen	listened	listened
love	loved	loved
move	moved	moved
talk	talked	talked

These regular verbs follow the same rule of adding “-ed” for past forms, making them reliable for new English learners.

Regular Verbs Are Weak Verbs

In linguistic terms, regular verbs are often referred to as weak verbs. This classification comes from the fact that they do not change form dramatically or “strongly” as irregular verbs do. Instead, they follow a “weak” pattern, consistently adding “-ed” without modifying the verb’s core structure.

For example: