VERBS
49. A Verb has already been defined as a word stating something about the subject.
Verbs are inflected or changed to indicate the time of the action as past, present, or future;
as, I talk, I talked, I shall talk, etc. Verbs also vary to indicate completed or incompleted
action; as, I have talked, I shall have talked, etc. To these variations, which indicate the
time of the action, the name Tense is given.
The ful verbal statement may consist of several words; as, He may have gone home.
Here the verb is may have gone. The last word of such a verb phrase is caled the Principal
Verb, and the other words the Auxiliaries. In the sentence above, go (gone) is the principal
verb, and may and have are the auxiliaries.
50. In constructing the ful form of the verb or verb phrase there are three distinct parts
from which al other forms are made. These are caled the Principal Parts.
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The First Principal Part, since it is the part by which the verb is referred to as a word, may
be caled the Name-Form. The folowing are name-forms: do, see, come, walk, pass.
The Second Principal Part is caled the Past Tense. It is formed by adding ed to the
name-form; as, walked, pushed, passed. These verbs that add ed are caled Regular Verbs.
The verb form is often entirely changed; as, done (do), saw (see), came (come). These
verbs are caled Irregular Verbs.
The Third Principal Part is caled the Past Participle. It is used mainly in expressing
completed action or in the passive voice. In regular verbs the past participle is the same in Page 47
form as the past tense. In irregular verbs it may differ entirely from both the name-form and
the past tense, or it may resemble one or both of them. Examples: done (do, did), seen (see,
saw), come (come, came), set (set, set).
51. The name-form, when unaccompanied by auxiliaries, is used with al subjects, except
those in the third person singular, to assert action in the present time or present tense; as, I
go, We come, You see, Horses run.
The name-form is also used with various auxiliaries ( may, might, can, must, will, should,
shall, etc.) to assert futurity, determination, possibility, possession, etc. Examples: I may go,
We shall come, You can see, Horses should run.
By preceding it with the word to, the name-form is used to form what is caled the
Present Infinitive; as, I wish to go, I hope to see.
What may be caled the s-form of the verb, or the singular form, is usualy constructed by
adding s or es to the name-form. The s-form is used with singular subjects in the third person;
as, He goes, She comes, It runs, The dog trots.
The s-form is found in the third personal singular of the present tense. In other tenses, if
present at al, the s-form is in the auxiliary, where the present tense of the auxiliary is used to
form some other tense of the principal verb. Examples: He has (present tense), He has gone
(perfect tense), He has been seen.
Some verbs have no s-form; as, will, shall, may. The verb be has two irregular s-forms:
Is, in the present tense, and was in the past tense. The s-form of have is has.
52. The past tense always stands alone in the predicate; i. e., it should never be used
with any auxiliaries. To use it so, however, is one of the most frequent errors in grammar.
The folowing are past tense forms: went, saw, wore, tore. To say, therefore, I have saw, I
have went, It was tore, They were wore, would be grossly incorrect.
53. The third principal part, the past participle, on the other hand, can never be used as Page 48
a predicate verb without an auxiliary. The folowing are distinctly past participle forms:
done, seen, sung, etc. One could not then properly say, I seen, I done, I sung, etc.
The distinction as to use with and without auxiliaries applies, of course, only to irregular
verbs. In regular verbs, the past tense and past participle are always the same, and so no
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error could result from their confusion.
The past participle is used to form the Perfect Infinitives; as, to have gone, to have
seen, to have been seen.
54. The folowing is a list of the principal parts of the most important irregular verbs. The
list should be mastered thoroughly. The student should bear in mind always that, the past
tense form should never be used with an auxiliary, and that the past participle form
should never be used as a predicate verb without an auxiliary.
In some instances verbs have been included in the list below which are always regular in
their forms, or which have both regular and irregular forms. These are verbs for whose
principal parts incorrect forms are often used.
PRINCIPAL PARTS OF VERBS
Name-form
Past Tense
Past Participle
awake
awoke or awaked
awaked
begin
began
begun
beseech
besought
besought
bid (to order or to greet)
bade
bidden or bid
bid (at auction)
bid
bidden or bid
blow
blew
blown
break
broke
broken
burst
burst
burst
choose
chose
chosen
chide
chid
chidden or chid
come
came
come
deal
dealt
dealt
dive
dived
dived
Name-form
Past Tense
Past Participle
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do
did
done
draw
drew
drawn
drink
drank
drunk or drank
drive
drove
driven
eat
ate
eaten
fal
fel
falen
flee
fled
fled
fly
flew
flown
forsake
forsook
forsaken
forget
forgot
forgot or forgotten
freeze
froze
frozen
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get
got
got (gotten)
give
gave
given
go
went
gone
hang (clothes)
hung
hung
hang (a man)
hanged
hanged
know
knew
known
lay
laid
laid
lie
lay
lain
mean
meant
meant
plead
pleaded
pleaded
prove
proved
proved
ride
rode
ridden
raise
raised
raised
rise
rose
risen
run
ran
run
see
saw
seen
seek
sought
sought
set
set
set
shake
shook
shaken
shed
shed
shed
shoe
shod
shod
sing
sang
sung
sit
sat
sat
slay
slew
slain
sink
sank
sunk
speak
spoke
spoken
Name-form
Past Tense
Past Participle
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steal
stole
stolen
swim
swam
swum
take
took
taken
teach
taught
taught
tear
tore
torn
throw
threw
thrown
tread
trod
trod or trodden
wake
woke or waked
woke or waked
wear
wore
worn
weave
wove
woven
write
wrote
written
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NOTES.— Ought has no past participle. It may then never be used with an auxiliary. I had
ought to go is incorrect. The idea would be amply expressed by I ought to go.
Model conjugations of the verbs to be and to see in al forms are given under §77 at the
end of this chapter.
EXERCISE 29
In the following sentences change the italicized verb so as to use the past tense, and
then so as to use the past participle:
Example: (Original sentence),
The guests begin to go home.
(Changed to past tense),
The guests began to go home.
(Changed to past participle), The guests have begun to go home.
1. Our books lie on the mantel.
2. John comes in and lays his books on the desk.
3. I see the parade.
4. He runs up the road.
5. They set their chairs in a row.
6. The noise wakes me.
7. Cæsar bids him enter.
8. If they prove their innocence, they should be discharged.
9. His friends plead strongly for him.
10. Do you know what they mean by that?
11. I awake early every morning.
12. He begins to think of strange things.
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13. The children beseech me to go with them.
14. My mother bids me to say that she wil be here at six.
15. Smith bids fifty dolars for the chair.
16. My servants break many dishes.
17. They choose their associates.
18. The box bursts open.
19. His mother chides him for his misbehavior.
20. He comes here every day.
21. I deal there this week.
22. The boys dive beautifuly.
23. You do so much more than is necessary.
24. They draw lots for the watch.
25. Jones drinks this wine very seldom.
26. They drive over to Milton once a week.
27. They drive a sorrel horse.
28. The cows eat grass.
29. The Gauls flee before Cæsar.
30. The swalows al fly into the chimney at evening.
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31. They forsake the cause without any reason.
32. Cæsar gives them no answer.
33. They get no money for their services.
34. You forget that we have no right to do that.
35. Water freezes at thirty-two degrees Fahrenheit.
36. The bal goes to the opposing team.
37. You hang the rope on the tree.
38. The sheriff hangs the murderer at noon.
39. I know of nothing more worrying.
40. She lays the knife on the table.
41. They lie in bed until eleven.
42. Why they rise so late, I do not know.
43. They raise no objection.
44. John runs very rapidly.
45. You sit very quietly.
46. Cæsar seeks to learn the intention of the enemy.
47. The politician vigorously shakes al hands.
48. The roof sheds water in al storms.
49. The blacksmith shoes horses.
50. The choir sings for each service.
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51. You speak too rapidly to be easily understood.
52. Few men steal because they want to.
53. I swim one hundred yards very readily.
54. They teach al the elementary branches there.
55. You take al subscriptions for the concert.
56. Those clothes tear readily.
57. They tread the grapes in making wine.
58. Who throws paper on the floor?
59. I always wear old clothes in which to work.
60. She writes to her mother daily.
61. They weave the best rugs in Philadelphia.
EXERCISE 30
Write original sentences containing the following verbs, correctly used:
Begun, blew, bidden, bad, chose, broke, come, dealt, dived, drew, driven, flew, forsook,
froze, given, give, gave, went, hanged, knew, rode, pleaded, ran, seen, saw, shook, shod,
sung, slew, spoke, swum, taken, torn, wore, threw, woven, wrote, written.
EXERCISE 31
Insert the proper form of the verb in the following sentences. The verb to be used is
in black-faced type at the beginning of each group:
1. Begin. He —— to act at once. The reports —— to disturb him a little. He has ——
to feel hurt over them.
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2. Bid. The proprietor —— us a pleasant good day. No matter how much he —— the
auctioneer wil not hear him. We were —— to enter.
3. Blow. The cornetist —— with al his might. The ship was —— about al day. The
wind does —— terrificaly sometimes. It may —— to-night. The wind —— al last
night.
4. Break. He fel and —— his leg. It is wel that his neck was not ——.
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5. Burst. During the battle the shels frequently —— right over us. Oaken casks have
often ——.
6. Chide. He —— us frequently about our actions. He was never —— himself.
7. Choose. They —— him president. They have —— wisely.
8. Come. He —— at nine to-day. He has always —— earlier heretofore. Let him ——
when he wishes.
9. Deal. Before explaining the game, he —— out the cards.
10. Dive. Twice last summer he —— off the bridge.
11. Do. Thou canst not say I —— it. He often —— it.
12. Draw. The picture was —— by a famous artist. He formerly —— very wel, but I
think that now he —— very poorly.
13. Drive. The horse was —— twenty miles. He almost —— it to death.
14. Eat. He —— everything which the others had not ——. How can he —— that?
15. Flee. Since the cashier has ——, they think that a warrant would be useless.
16. Fly. The air-ship —— three hundred miles on its first trip. That it has —— so far is
sufficient proof of its success.
17. Forsake. He —— his new friends just as he had —— al the others.
18. Freeze. The man was —— stiff. He evidently —— to death so easily because he had
been so long without food.
19. Give. She was not —— as much as her sisters. Her father —— her less because of
her extravagance. But, he now —— her enough to make it up.
20. Go. She —— to school to-day. She —— yesterday. She has —— every day this
month.
21. Know. He —— that he cannot live. As long as I have —— him, this is the first time I
ever —— he was married.
22. Mean. He —— to do right, and has always —— to do so.
23. Ride. They —— as if they had —— a long distance. They say that they —— from
Larimer this morning.
24. Plead. The mother —— an hour for her son's life.
25. Prove. They —— him a thief in the eyes of the people, even if he was not —— so to
the satisfaction of the jury.
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26. Run. John —— the race as though he had —— races al his life. The race was ——
very rapidly. Soon after that race, he —— in another race.
27. See. Smith, who has just arrived, says he —— two men skulking along the road. He
was not —— by them. That play is the best I ever ——.
28. Seek. The detectives —— al through the slums for him. Now they —— him in the
better parts of the city. No criminal was ever more eagerly ——.
29. Shake. During the day his hand was —— five hundred times. He —— hands with al
who came.
30. Shoe. The entire army was —— with Blank's shoes.
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31. Sing. The choir —— the anthem as they had never —— it before. They always ——
it wel.
32. Sink. The stone —— as soon as it is in the water. The ship was —— in forty fathoms
of water. They —— the ship in 1861.
33. Speak. Though they claimed that they always —— to her, she was realy never ——
to by any member of the family.
34. Steal. The money was ——; whether or not he —— it I do not know. Everyone
believes that he has frequently —— goods from the store.
35. Take. I was —— for him several times that day. No one ever —— me for him
before.
36. Teach. John —— school every day. He has —— for ten years. He first —— when
he was eighteen years old.
37. Tear. The dog —— at the paper until it was —— entirely to pieces. He —— up
everything he finds.
38. Throw. He was —— by a horse which never before —— anyone.
39. Wear. The trousers were —— entirely out in a month, but I —— the coat and vest
for six months.
40. Weave. This carpet was —— at Philadelphia. The manufacturers say they never
—— a better one, and they —— the best in the country.
41. Write. Although he has —— several times, he has never —— anything about that. He
—— to me just last week. He —— at least once a month.
EXERCISE 32
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Correct the errors in the use of verbs in the following sentences:
1. He plead al day to be released.
2. The horse was rode to death.
3. The letter was wrote before he knowed the truth.
4. He was immediately threw out of the room.
5. She run around al day and then was sick the next day.
6. I never seen anything like it.
7. He was very much shook by the news.
8. The matter was took up by the committee.
9. The horse has been stole from the owner.
10. Goliath was slew by David.
11. The words have been spoke in anger.
12. I have went to church every day.
13. Was the river froze enough for skating?
14. He begun to take notice immediately.
15. The umbrela was blew to pieces.
16. I have broke my ruler.
17. Jones was chose as leader of the class.
18. He said he come as soon as he could.
19. I done it.
20. I have never did anything so foolish.
21. I have ate al that was in the lunch-box.
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22. The horse was drove ten miles.
EXERCISE 33
Write sentences in which the following verb forms are properly used:
begun, blew, broke, chose, come, came, done, did, drew, drunk, drove, ate, flew,
forsook, froze, forgot, gave, give, went, hang, hung, knew, rode, run, shook, sung, slew,
spoke, stole, took, tore, threw, wore, wrote.
55. Transitive and Intransitive Verbs. A Transitive Verb is one in which the action of
the verb goes over to a receiver; as, He killed the horse, I keep my word. In both these Page 56
sentences, the verb serves to transfer the action from the subject to the object or receiver of
the action. The verbs in these sentences, and al similar verbs, are transitive verbs. Al others,
in which the action does not go to a receiver, are caled Intransitive Verbs.
56. Active and Passive Voice. The Active Voice represents the subject as the doer of
the action; as, I tell, I see, He makes chairs. The Passive Voice represents the subject as
the receiver of the action; as, I am told, I am seen, I have been seen, Chairs are made by
me. Since only transitive verbs can have a receiver of the action, only transitive verbs can
have both active and passive voice.
57. There are a few special verbs in which the failure to distinguish between the transitive
and the intransitive verbs leads to frequent error. The most important of these verbs are the
folowing: sit, set, awake, wake, lie, lay, rise, arise, raise, fell, and fall. Note again the