The Grammar Cracker

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Note:

"Regular verbs" are mentioned throughout the subject of conjugation. Most verbs in English are regular, referring to the standard way that they are conjugated. "Irregular" verbs do not follow the charted course for conjugation completely, especially in the past and perfect tenses. Compare the regular verb "talk" with the irregular verb "speak" in the three basic tenses: (notice that "speak" is irregular in the past tense, because it does not have an "ed" endings)

present 1st person singular: tense: 2nd person singular: 3rd person singular: 1st person plural: 2nd person plural: 3rd person plural:

talk (regular)

speak (irregular)

I talk You talk He/She/It talks We talk You (all) talk They talk

I speak You speak He/She/It speaks We speak You (all) speak They speak

past 1st person singular: I talked tense: 2nd person singular: You talked 3rd person singular: He/She/It talked 1st person plural: We talked 2nd person plural: You (all) talked 3rd person plural: They talked

I spoke You spoke He/She/It spoke We spoke You (all) spoke They spoke

future 1st person singular: I will talk tense: 2nd person singular: You will talk 3rd person singular: He/She/It will talk 1st person plural: We will talk 2nd person plural: You (all) will talk 3rd person plural: They will talk

I will speak You will speak He/She/It will speak We will speak You (all) will speak They will speak

Examples: Regular verb I have started school already. James received a letter. He had reported the fall. The boys will have walked far.

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Irregular verb I have begun school already. James got a letter today. He had given a fall report. The boys will have gone far.


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