Published on
June 28, 2024
by
Sophie Shores, MA
Revised on
November 15, 2024
All complete sentences have a subject and a predicate. The predicate is the part of the sentence that contains the verb and tells us about the subject, such as what it’s doing or what it is.
A predicate nominative (also called a predicate noun) is a noun or pronoun that identifies, describes, or redefines the subject within the predicate.
Predicate nominatives always follow linking verbs. Unlike action verbs, linking verbs (e.g., “be,” “become,” or “seem”) indicate conditions or states of being.
Predicate nominative examplesRamesh was a student.
Her dream became reality.
The bird with the largest wingspan is the wandering albatross.
Published on
June 28, 2024
by
Sophie Shores, MA
Revised on
March 7, 2025
We use the simple past tense form of a verb to talk about actions and events that were completed in the past (e.g., “I walked to work yesterday”).
For regular verbs, we usually form the simple past tense by adding “-ed” to the base form of the verb (e.g., “jump” becomes “jumped”). Irregular verbs form the simple past tense in a number of ways (e.g., “go” becomes “went”).
Almost all simple past tense verbs use the same form no matter the subject (e.g., “I called/she called/we called”).
Published on
June 28, 2024
by
Sophie Shores, MA
Revised on
March 7, 2025
The past progressive tense (aka the past continuous) is a past tense verb form used for actions that were ongoing in the past.
To form the past progressive, follow the subject with the simple past tense of the auxiliary verb “be” (i.e., “was/were”) and the present participle (the -ing form) of the main verb (e.g., “she was running,” “they were running”).
Published on
June 28, 2024
by
Sophie Shores, MA
Revised on
October 18, 2024
Stative verbs (sometimes called state verbs) describe a state, condition, or perception. The state can be physical, mental, or emotional (e.g., “be,” “believe,” “love”).
In contrast, action verbs (aka dynamic verbs) describe an action carried out by or on the subject (e.g., “eat,” “throw,” “run”).
Examples: Stative verbsI think he’s the one.
She has a nice car.
The coffee tastes delicious.
Published on
June 28, 2024
by
Sophie Shores, MA
Revised on
January 28, 2025
With regular verbs, we form the simple past and past participle forms by adding “-ed” to the end of the word (or “-d” if the verb already ends in “e”). Regular verbs can sometimes change their spelling in other ways (e.g., “try” becomes “tried”).
Regular verbs examplesI will clean the kitchen.
I cleaned the kitchen yesterday.
I will cook dinner.
I have cooked dinner every night this week.
Published on
June 28, 2024
by
Sophie Shores, MA
Revised on
March 13, 2025
With regular verbs, we form the simple past and past participle by adding “-ed” (or “-d” if the verb already ends in “e”).
Irregular verbs do not follow the regular rule of adding “-ed” or “-d” to form the simple past or the past participle forms.
Irregular verbs examplesI spoke to the principal about your concerns.
My cat has caught a mouse.
We sanghappy birthday, and then he blew out the candles and cut the cake.
What is an irregular verb?
Most English verbs are regular verbs, which we change to the simple past and past participle forms by adding “-ed” (or “-d” if the verb already ends in “e”). They sometimes change spelling in other ways, such as “try” becoming “tried.”
Although most verbs are regular, there are hundreds of irregular verbs that do not follow the regular rule of adding “-ed” or “-d” to form the simple past or the past participle forms. They can change in a variety of ways or not change at all.
Irregular verbs examplesYour brother will swim with you tomorrow.
My brother swam with me yesterday.
My brother has swum with me every day this week.
I will choose a movie.
I chose a movie.
I have chosen a movie.
I will cut the cake.
I cut the cake an hour ago.
I have cut the cake already.
NoteWe use the simple past tense to describe actions and events that were completed in the past (e.g., “I ate a lot last night”).
The past participle form of a verb has a few uses:
It’s used with a form of “have” in perfect verb tenses (e.g., “I have eaten already”).
It’s used for the passive voice (e.g., “the cake was eaten within minutes”).
It can be used as an adjective to modify a noun (e.g., “he threw away the half-eaten sandwich”).
Regular vs irregular verbs
Regular verbs are always the same in both the simple past and past participle forms, while the past and past participle forms of irregular verbs can be (but aren’t always) different.
Examples: Past and past participle formsHe will ask too much of me.
He asked too much of me.
He has asked too much of me.
I will do as you ask.
I did as you asked.
I have done as you asked.
I will send the message.
I sent the message.
I have sent the message.
Irregular verbs can change in similar ways (e.g., “keep” becomes “kept,” and “sleep” becomes “slept”), but there are no easy patterns or formulas that will help you learn every conjugation. The only way to learn them is through repetition, practice, and familiarity.
Below is a list of some common irregular verbs in their base, past, and past participle forms. We also have a more comprehensive irregular verbs list available for you to download.
Irregular verbs don’t follow the regular rules for forming the simple past tense and the past participle form. While regular verbs need the addition of “-ed” (or “-d” if the verb already ends in “e”), irregular verbs can change in a variety of ways or not change at all.
Here are some examples of irregular verbs in the simple past and past participle forms:
We change regular verbs to the simple past and past participle forms by adding “-ed” (or “-d” if the verb already ends in “e”). For example, “talk” becomes “talked” and “dance” becomes “danced.”
Some regular verbs change their spelling in other ways, such as doubling the final letter or replacing “-y” with “-ied,” but they still follow predictable patterns. Regular verbs are always the same in their past and past participle forms.
Irregular verbs don’t follow the regular rule of adding “-ed” or “-d” to form the simple past and the past participle forms. They can change in a variety of ways or not change at all, and their simple past and past participle forms can be (but aren’t always) different.
For example, “go” becomes “went” in the simple past but is “gone” as a past participle, while “hit” is the same in all three forms.
Published on
June 27, 2024
by
Sophie Shores, MA
Revised on
March 7, 2025
Auxiliary verbs (aka helping verbs) are verbs used alongside the main verb to change its tense, mood, or voice.
For example, in “the book was written,” “written” is the main verb and “was” is an auxiliary verb helping to form the passive voice, indicating that the subject of the sentence is receiving the action.
Auxiliary verbs also help to form tenses, including the perfect tenses (e.g., “I have eaten already”), and the progressive tenses (e.g., “they are coming”).
Examples: Auxiliary verbs in a sentenceDoes he write to you?
Published on
June 27, 2024
by
Sophie Shores, MA
Revised on
December 9, 2024
Linking verbs (aka copular verbs) link the subject of a sentence to a subject complement, which indicates the condition, state of being, or identity of the subject.
A linking verb describes or redefines the subject, while an action verb describes something the subject does or has done to it (e.g., “throw,” “dance,” “swim”).
