Principle Parts of a Verb - And How to Use Them Properly
Posted: Fri May 07, 2010 10:06 pm
Principle Parts of a Verb - And How to Use Them Properly
I been wanting to do a lesson on Verbs since I joined FW, but after I met my cowboy and after writing “The Wrote-Off Writer,” I wanted to do this lesson even more... so here it is.
I do understand that using the wrong verb tense is sometimes part of your particular “dialect,” and that is fine. For my cowboy, it's the vernacular; it's his language, and to me, it's rather endearing. It’s also okay to use for story dialogue. But for formal essays, and in general, for your fiction writing, it is NOT fine.
Verbs have three Principal Parts: Present, Past, and Past Participle.
I ask (Present)
I asked (Past)
I had asked (Past Participle)
I jump
I jumped
I had jumped
I love
I loved
I had loved
Get the idea?
Now, it’s all fine for regular verbs, which are the ones that you make into the past or past participle by adding “ed.” The trouble begins when you use irregular verbs... and knowing when to use the auxiliary verb “HAD.”
This is where my cowboy (real name = Dan) and the story “The Wrote-Off Writer” comes in. (And also a few of my other trapper / cowboy / farmer-type characters in a few of my stories.)
Because those people (and some of you) LEAVE OUT the auxiliary verb when using the PAST PARTICIPLE form of the verb
OR
ADD the auxiliary verb when using the SIMPLE PAST TENSE.
I had saw a bear. (Incorrect)
I seen a bear. (Incorrect)
(My eyes are bleeding just typing that out for you.)
The most common mistakes I hear - in public - from people who SEEM to be otherwise well-educated are:
She HAD WENT to town.
He HAD BROKE the cup.
The dog HAD TORE up the flower bed.
The cowboy HAD already RODE all over looking for the lost steer.
All the above are examples of ADDING an auxiliary with the PAST TENSE.
Here are some more:
The horse RUN around the field.
They BEGUN the concert at 7 p.m.
The choir SUNG four songs on Easter Sunday.
These examples show using the PAST PARTICIPLE WITHOUT an Auxiliary VERB
How do you know what to use?
YOU HAVE TO LEARN IRREGULAR VERBS. Yes, memorize them.
BOOKMARK this list as a reference.
Irregular Verbs
Anything in the third column (Past Participle) MUST USE an auxiliary verb.
I don’t even want to mention totally wrong forms of verbs, but I will because it is just as common.
frozed
shooked
drug (As in: The farmer DRUG the plough through the dirt.)
writed
swang
throwed
stang
choosed
drawed
Those words are FINE - IF you are writing AUTHENTIC dialogue, but even real cowboys or farmers wouldn’t use some of those words). And they are great if your four-year-old is learning to talk.
So... write me some sentences... incorrect AND correct... just let me know which are which.
I been wanting to do a lesson on Verbs since I joined FW, but after I met my cowboy and after writing “The Wrote-Off Writer,” I wanted to do this lesson even more... so here it is.
I do understand that using the wrong verb tense is sometimes part of your particular “dialect,” and that is fine. For my cowboy, it's the vernacular; it's his language, and to me, it's rather endearing. It’s also okay to use for story dialogue. But for formal essays, and in general, for your fiction writing, it is NOT fine.
Verbs have three Principal Parts: Present, Past, and Past Participle.
I ask (Present)
I asked (Past)
I had asked (Past Participle)
I jump
I jumped
I had jumped
I love
I loved
I had loved
Get the idea?
Now, it’s all fine for regular verbs, which are the ones that you make into the past or past participle by adding “ed.” The trouble begins when you use irregular verbs... and knowing when to use the auxiliary verb “HAD.”
This is where my cowboy (real name = Dan) and the story “The Wrote-Off Writer” comes in. (And also a few of my other trapper / cowboy / farmer-type characters in a few of my stories.)
Because those people (and some of you) LEAVE OUT the auxiliary verb when using the PAST PARTICIPLE form of the verb
OR
ADD the auxiliary verb when using the SIMPLE PAST TENSE.
I had saw a bear. (Incorrect)
I seen a bear. (Incorrect)
(My eyes are bleeding just typing that out for you.)
The most common mistakes I hear - in public - from people who SEEM to be otherwise well-educated are:
She HAD WENT to town.
He HAD BROKE the cup.
The dog HAD TORE up the flower bed.
The cowboy HAD already RODE all over looking for the lost steer.
All the above are examples of ADDING an auxiliary with the PAST TENSE.
Here are some more:
The horse RUN around the field.
They BEGUN the concert at 7 p.m.
The choir SUNG four songs on Easter Sunday.
These examples show using the PAST PARTICIPLE WITHOUT an Auxiliary VERB
How do you know what to use?
YOU HAVE TO LEARN IRREGULAR VERBS. Yes, memorize them.
BOOKMARK this list as a reference.
Irregular Verbs
Anything in the third column (Past Participle) MUST USE an auxiliary verb.
I don’t even want to mention totally wrong forms of verbs, but I will because it is just as common.
frozed
shooked
drug (As in: The farmer DRUG the plough through the dirt.)
writed
swang
throwed
stang
choosed
drawed
Those words are FINE - IF you are writing AUTHENTIC dialogue, but even real cowboys or farmers wouldn’t use some of those words). And they are great if your four-year-old is learning to talk.
So... write me some sentences... incorrect AND correct... just let me know which are which.