In English, verbs have five main forms:
- Plain/Base form (live, work, study, break)
- Preterite/Past Simple (lived, worked, studied, broke)
- Past Participle/ 3rd Form (lived, worked, studied, broken)
- Present Participle/ Gerund (living, working, studying, breaking)
- 3rd Person Singular Present (lives, works, studies, breaks)
Coursebooks usually present the first three forms in useful tables, so that learners can memorize the irregular forms easily:
Base form – Past Simple – Past Participle
break-broke-broken
drink-drank-drunk
give-gave-given
(If you’d like to see a list of the most common irregular verbs, please click here.)
On the other hand, it’s quite easy to learn the three forms of regular verbs, as the second and third one are always the same- formed by adding -d or –(i)ed to the verb.
live- lived- lived
work- worked- worked
study- studied- studied
The Past Participle is used to form Perfect Tenses (Present, Past and Future Perfect):
PRESENT PERFECT
HAVE/HAS + Past Participle
- I have broken mum’s vase.
- She has just drunk a glass of wine.
- They have given me free tickets.
For more examples, click here.
PAST PERFECT
HAD + Past Participle
- I had broken mum’s vase just before she got home.
- She had drunk a glass of wine so she couldn’t drive.
- They had given me free tickets so I went to the concert.
For more examples, click here.
FUTURE PERFECT
WILL HAVE + Past Participle
- I will have finished dinner by 8pm. You can call me then.
- His plane will have landed by the time we arrive at the airport.
- They will have been married for thirty years next month.
For more examples, click here.
The Past Participle is also used when making PASSIVE constructions:
BE + PAST PARTICIPLE
- This house was built a hundred years ago.
- I was given a watch for my birthday.
- They have been invited to the party.
For more examples, please click here.
