Unlock the Secret Code of English Verbs – Speak & Write Like a Pro

Verbs and Their Forms: Complete Guide (V1–V5) with Rules & Practice

Verbs describe an action or a state of being. Mastering verb forms is essential for accurate grammar in every tense.

Table of Contents

1) What Is a Verb? 2) Verb Forms: V1–V5 3) Regular vs Irregular Verbs 4) Key Spelling Rules 5) Person, Number, and Tense 6) Third-Person -s / -es 7) Common Warnings & Confusions 8) Practice Exercises

1) What Is a Verb?

A verb shows what someone or something does (action) or is/feels (state). Examples: run, think, be, have.

2) Verb Forms: V1–V5

Form	Name	Notes & Examples
V1	Base form	Eat, cook, play, sing, dance — no suffix; base for infinitive & imperatives.
V2	Past simple	Saw, ate, sang, enjoyed, listened — used for finished past actions.
V3	Past participle	Listened, belonged, caught, enjoyed, danced — used with auxiliaries (have/has/had).
V4	Present participle	Listening, working, singing — “-ing” form for continuous tenses.
V5	3rd person singular	Cooks, plays, dances, sings, looks — ends with -s/-es in present simple.

3) Regular vs Irregular Verbs

Regular: add -ed for V2/V3 (work → worked, play → played).
Irregular: change form (go → went → gone; bring → brought → brought; put → put → put).

4) Key Spelling Rules (Regular Verbs)

• Base ends in -e: add -d (move → moved; like → liked). “-e” drops in -ing (move → moving).
• Consonant + y: change y → ied for V2/V3 (study → studied); keep y for -ing (studying).
• Vowel + single consonant (stressed last syllable): double consonant (refer → referred; run → running). If not stressed, don’t double (open → opened).
• Vowel + l: double l (travel → travelled).

5) Person, Number, and Tense

Person: I/we (1st), you (2nd), he/she/it/they/nouns (3rd). Regular verbs share forms except 3rd person singular present adds -s.

Number: singular vs plural — forms same except 3rd singular present adds -s.

Tense: present vs past — regular past ends in -ed for all persons (They loved; She lived; I worked).

6) Third-Person -s / -es

Add -es if the verb ends in -ch, -s, -ss, -sh, -x, -z (watch → watches; miss → misses). Otherwise add -s (play → plays).

7) Common Warnings & Confusions

• lose (verb) vs loose (adjective): “I don’t want to lose contact,” not “loose.”
• Always keep the e in -ed: happened, not happend.

8) Practice Exercises

A) Identify the verb form (V1–V5):

1. She works at a bank.
2. They have gone home.
3. I was studying all night.
4. He took the test yesterday.
5. Please sit down.

Answers: 1) V5 2) V3 3) V4 4) V2 5) V1

B) Regular or Irregular?

1. bring → brought → brought
2. play → played → played
3. go → went → gone
4. move → moved → moved
5. put → put → put

Answers: 1) Irregular 2) Regular 3) Irregular 4) Regular 5) Irregular

C) Fix the form/spelling:

1. He studyed for hours. → ______
2. She happend to see me. → ______
3. They stoped talking. → ______
4. I don’t want to loose my notes. → ______
5. She watchs the news daily. → ______

Answers: 1) studied 2) happened 3) stopped 4) lose 5) watches

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