Have you ever thought what communication would be like if verbs didn’t exist? And ¿How would we express events in time?
Verbs are one of the main parts of a sentence. They express actions, states of being, and occurrences.
They are so important that you cannot make a sentence without a verb; that is because verbs signal activity. For example, in the sentence ‘I study English’ study is the action, and without it the idea is not complete.
Verbs also show the tense of a sentence. In other words, the tense shows when the actions take place. The three major tenses are past, present and future.
By the end of the topic you will:
• Know how to use regular and irregular verbs in affirmative, negative and interrogative in present perfect sentences. As well as using time expressions and trying to find the equivalent in Spanish.
The present perfect is a grammatical combination of the present tense and perfect aspect that is used to express a past event that has present consequences. To show this time, in Spanish we used the auxiliary haber followed by a verb in participle, in the same way; in English, we used the auxiliary to have followed by a verb in the past participle.
For example, observe in the sentence I have visited Canada. Have is the auxiliary and visited is the main verb in the past participle.
It is essential, then, that you learn the base form of verbs and their past and present participle forms so that you can express your ideas more clearly and accurately.
Next, you will be able to study the rules of use of verbs in the participle.
There are two types of verbs in English: regular and irregular. Each kind of verb follows specific rules.
Click on each tab to review the rules to modify these verbs properly.
It is easy to conjugate regular verbs in past participle; just add the ending ed.
Example:
Fill = Filled
Call = Called
Talk = Talked
Visit = Visited
Put in context:
I visit my uncle.
I have visited my uncle in Ireland twice this year.
consonant |
+ |
ed |
= |
ed |
Verbs ending in e, only add d
Example:
Live = Lived
Move = Moved
Dance = Danced
Arrive = Arrived
Put in context:
I live in Mexico.
I have lived in Mexico my entire life.
e |
+ |
d |
= |
ed |
Verbs that end in consonant y. Change y into i and add ed
Example:
Try = Tried
Fry = Fried
Marry = Married
Multiply = Multiplied
Put in context:
I try to find cheap tickets to Venice.
I have tried to find cheap tickets to Venice, but they’re so expensive these days!
y |
Change y into i |
i | + |
d |
= |
ed |
NOTICE! That this rule DOES NOT apply for verbs with vowel-y:
Play = Played
Stay = Stayed
Annoy = Annoyed
Verbs that end in CVC: Consonant – Vowel – Consonant, repeat the last consonant and add -ed
Example:
Stop = Stopped
Knot = Knotted
Clap = Clapped
Slip = Slipped
Drop = Dropped
Prefer = Preferred
Regret = Regretted
Program = Programmed
Put in context:
Peter stops smoking.
Peter has stopped smoking and he is feeling better now.
cvc |
Repeat last consonant c | cc | + |
ed |
= |
cced |
NOTICE! You need to pay attention to the pronunciation of verbs with CVC, because this rule only applies if theCVCis stressed; if not, then the verb must follow rule ed
Travel = Traveled
Listen = Listened
Answer = Answered
When pronouncing regular verbs in the past participle, you need to pay attention to the last SOUND of the verb before adding ed.
Click the play button below each sentence. You can hear the sound of each verb in past participle
What about irregular verbs? What rules should you follow to conjugate them?
This type of verbs do not have specific rules, therefore, we recommend that you download the following list of verbs.
There you will find a list of irregular verbs and their conjugations.
Now that you have studied the conjugation and use of verbs in their participle forms, you can talk about experiences that influence your behavior and personality. Let’s put it to the test!
Activity 1
As explored before, verbs are words that refer to actions. In the following extract, some of the actions are missing. Read the text, but before answering, think about the main idea of the article. If necessary, check the rules for verbs in the past participle.
Activity 2
Besides studying the past participle, we learned how regular verbs are pronounced (voiced and unvoiced). Then we explored how to modify irregular and regular verbs.
Now listen to the following verb recording, and pay attention to the sound of the verb endings. Identify the type of sound (voiced or unvoiced) and classify them accordingly.
Follow the rules you have studied, to solve the exercise. You can listen to the audio as many times as necessary before you doing it.
Activity 3
Your first experience!!
Imagine you are writing a project for your school about emotions and sensations caused by first-time experiences. The title of the text must start with one of the following questions:
Choose one of the following experiences and develop a text that includes the following elements:
After that, grade yourself by ticking the corresponding options in the rubrics. Every Yes answer gives you 0.5 points and every No gives you 0 points.
Activity 4
In previous activities, you have practised the use of past tense verbs as well as their pronunciation. As we have reviewed, the correct use of verbs allows us to express the actions we have taken to make sense of our conversations.
In this activity, you are going to have the opportunity to demonstrate your speaking abilities.
Read the following questions and choose 5. Write your answers and record them in the free application vocaroo.com Once the recording is finished, listen to it carefully and evaluate yourself based on the rubrics.
Choice 5 questions
Have you ever..?
You have studied verbs and their participle conjugations. Now you are able to talk about experiences that influence who you are today, or are you? Well, let’s put it to the test.
Read the verb in simple form and select the correct conjugation for their participle form. Once you have finished, check your results. You can do the exercise twice.
Aarts, B. (2011) Oxford Modern English Grammar. USA: Oxford University Press.
Ralston, A. (2004) Between A Rock And A Hard Place. USA: Atria Books.
Azar, B. & Hagen, S. (2009) Understanding and Using English Grammar 4th Edition. USA: Pearson Education.
Murphy, R. (2005) English Grammar in Use 3rd Edition. England: Cambridge University Press.
Clare, A. & Wilson, J. (2012) Speakout Pre-interediate. England: Pearson Education.
Soars, J. & Soars, L. (2003) New Headway Intermediate. USA: Oxford University Press.