“Exception”al Verbs-Part 2 by Arlene Miller, The Grammar Diva

Two weeks ago I posted the first part of this topic — verbs that are exceptions to the rule in forming the past tense and the past participle. This post is the conclusion of the two-part series.
Verbs have several forms. Three of them are
1 The base, or what we use for the present tense — walk
2 The past tense, or what we use for simple past tense — walked
3 The past participle, or what we use for the perfect tenses — (have, had, will have) walked
The verb walk is regular. It simply adds -ed for the past tense and the past participle.
Obviously, if a verb already ends in e, we simply add the d — bake/baked. Still considered a regular verb.
If a verb ends in y, we change the y to an i before adding ed — study/studied. Still considered a regular verb.
Irregular verbs break those rules. Some irregular verbs have two different spellings for those three forms. The past tense and the past participle are the same:
• build/built/have built
• lend/lent/have lent
• lay/laid/have laid
Other irregular verbs have three different spellings for those three forms. Those are the irregular verbs that cause the most problems and that were the focus of Part 1 of this blog post.
• go/went/have gone
• swim, swam, have swum
• drink/drank/have drunk
• write/wrote/have written
This post talks about the other category of irregular verbs: those that don’t change at all from present tense to past tense to present participle. Here are some of those verbs:
• bet – I bet today/ I bet yesterday/I have bet every day.
• burst – The boy bursts his balloon/An hour ago the boy burst his balloon/The boy said he has burst his balloon.
• cost – It costs a dollar/Yesterday it cost a dollar/Every day it has cost a dollar.
• cut – He cuts his hair/Yesterday he cut his hair/Every month he has cut his hair.
• fit – I fit into a size 10/Yesterday I fit into a size 10/Every summer I have fit into a size 10. (But if your suit comes in at the waist, it is fitted. Go figure.)
• hit – She hits a home run/Yesterday she hit a home run/Every game this season she has hit a home run.
• hurt – She hurt my feelings/Yesterday she hurt my feelings/Every time we argue she has hurt my feelings.
• let – Let the cat in/Yesterday I let the cat in/Every night this week I have let the cat in.
• put -Put lemon in the cake/Yesterday I put lemon in the cake/I have always put lemon in the cake.
• shut – I shut my eyes/A minute ago I shut my eyes/I have shut my eyes and fallen asleep every evening.
• set – Set the flowers on the table/She set the flowers on the table/She has set the flowers on the table for you.
• shed – My dog sheds/This morning my dog shed all over my coat/My dog has shed all over the carpet since I got her.
• slit – Slit the top of the bag off/Yesterday she slit the top of the bag/Mistakenly she has slit the top of the bag.
• split – Split the donut in two/This morning I split the donut in two/Every morning I have split my donut in two.
• spread – I spread jam on my toast/A few minutes ago I spread jam on my toast/Every morning for as long as I can remember, I have spread jam on my toast.
Yes, some of those sample sentences sound a little odd, especially the present tense. We generally use the progressive present tense: I am letting the cat in. I am splitting the donut in two. Some of those present tense sentences actually sound like past tense. They are just examples to show the forms that do not change.
Then there are these verbs:
• knit — The past and past participle forms can be knit or knitted.
• rid — The past participle form can be either rid or ridded
• spit — The past tense and past participle can be either spit or spat.
• read — The spelling is the same for all three forms, but the pronunciation changes; in the past tense and past participle, the ea sounds like a short e (unlike lead, where the past tense spelling changes to led).
The difference in usage between the past tense and the present perfect tense (the second the third sentences in each example) has been covered in a previous post about tenses.

Exceptional Verbs-Part One By Arlene Miller, The Grammar Diva

Don’t be misled by the title of this post. We are not talking about verbs that are so exceptional that you should use them. We are talking about verbs that are exceptions to the rule. And often there are more exceptions than rules!

Specifically, we are talking about the forms of a verb. They are used to create various tenses, but we are not talking tenses here. For more information about when to use each tense, refer back to The Best Little Grammar Book Ever!

Verbs have several forms:

• Present tense: for example, walk
• Present participle: for example, walking
• Past tense: for example, walked
• Past participle: for example have walked (had walked, will have walked)

The “rule” (to put it loosely) is to add -ed to a present tense to make a past tense and a past participle: walked.

If the verb already ends in an e, all you have to do is add the d: bake/baked.

If the verb ends in a y, generally we turn the y into an i and add -ed: study/studied.

Many verbs do not follow this rule. Many of them have some type of “other” form that stays the same in both past and past participle forms. Here are some of those:

• sit, sat, have sat
• lead, led, have led
• bring, brought, have brought (as a kid, I did think it was brang and brung!)
• hang, hung, have hung
• lay, laid, have laid
• teach, taught, have taught
• catch, caught, have caught
• build, built, have built

You get the idea. And most of the time, people don’t have a problem with these. However, there are many verbs that have three different forms. The present is different from the past, which is different from the past participle. And with many of these verbs, people keep using the past tense form for the past participle. My seventh grade students were big offenders, but many educated adults I know — or have heard speak — do the same thing. 

You will know what I mean by this list. Here are some common of the more common mistakes:

• I ate, but I have eaten. Not I have ate some cake already.
• I began, but I have begun. Not I have began my speech.
• I bit, but I have bitten. Not I have bit into the cookie.
• I broke, but I have broken. Not I have broke the vase..
• I chose, but I have chosen. Not I have chose that dress.
• I drank, but I have drunk. Not I have drank all the water.
• I forgave, but I have forgiven. Not I have forgave her for lying.
• I froze, but I have frozen. Not I have froze the leftovers.
• I rode, but I have ridden. Not I have rode a horse before.
• I rang, but I have rung. Not I have rang the doorbell.
• I ran, but I have run. Not I have ran a mile.
• I sang, but I have sung. Not I have sangin front of an audience.
• I sank, but I have sunk. Not I have sank when I tried to swim.
• I spoke, but I have spoken. Not I have spoke to her about it.
• I stole, but I have stolen. Not I have stole the letters.
• I swam, but I have swum. Not I have swam every day this week.
• I wrote, but I have written. Not I have wrote him a letter.
• I went, but I have gone. Not I have went to work today.

Those are some of the common ones that people tend to misuse. And although I have used the pronoun I with all the examples, of course the verb is the same with you, he, she, they, them, it, and we.

Stay tuned for Part 2 next week. Or the week after.