Verb Forms

English verbs come in several forms. For example, the verb sing can be: sing, sang, sung, singing or sings. This is a total of 5 forms. Not many, considering that some languages (French, for example) have more than 30 forms for an individual verb. English tenses may be quite complicated, but the forms that we use to make the tenses are actually very simple! With the exception of the verb be, English main verbs have only 3, 4 or 5 forms. Be has 8 forms. Helping verbs have even fewer forms as most of them never change.

In this lesson we look at the forms of main verbs and helping verbs followed by a quiz to check your understanding.

Forms of Main Verbs

Main verbs (except the verb "be") have 3, 4 or 5 forms. The verb "be" has 8 forms. In the table below, the # column shows the actual number of forms for the given verb.

We use these forms to make all the tenses and other verb structures, in all moods, aspects and voices.

	base V1	past simple V2	past participle V3	present participle	3rd person singular present simple	#
reg.	work	worked		working	works	4
irreg.	cut			cutting	cuts	3
	make	made		making	makes	4
	sing	sang	sung	singing	sings	5
	have	had		having	has	4
	do	did	done	doing	does	5
	base	past simple (2 forms)	past participle	present participle	present simple (3 forms)	#
	be	was were	been	being	am are is	8

In the above examples:

cut has 3 forms: cut, cutting, cuts
work has 4 forms: work, worked, working, works
sing has 5 forms: sing, sang, sung, singing, sings
be has 8 forms: be, was, were, been, being, am, is, are

Note that in dictionaries the headword for any given verb entry is always in the base form.

Infinitive
There are two possibilities for the infinitive:

base form (the "bare infinitive")
to + base form (the "to-infinitive")

For example, sing and to sing are both infinitives. As they are identical in form to the base form, and "to" is not part of the verb, we do not list the infinitive as a separate form.

Note that the "to" is NOT a preposition. It is an "infinity marker" or "particle".

At school, students often learn by heart the base, past simple and past participle (sometimes called V1, V2, V3, meaning Verb 1, Verb 2, Verb 3) for irregular verbs. They may spend many hours chanting: sing, sang, sung; go, went, gone; have, had, had; etc. They do not learn these for regular verbs for one very simple reason - the past simple and past participle are always the same: they are formed by adding "-ed" to the base.

They do not learn the present participle and 3rd person singular present simple for regular or irregular verbs for another very simple reason - they never change. The present participle is always made by adding "-ing" to the base, and the 3rd person singular present simple is always made by adding "s" to the base (though there are some variations in spelling).

Note that "have", "do" and "be" also function as helping or auxiliary verbs, with exactly the same forms.

Example Sentences

These example sentences use main verbs in different forms.

Base - Infinitive

She helped him work on his homework.
We heard them sing their national anthem.
I want to have a drink.
To be, or not to be, that is the question:

Base - Imperative

Work well!
Make this.
Have a nice day.
Be quiet!

Base - Present simple
(except 3rd person singular)

I work in London.
You sing well.
They have a lot of money.

Base - After modal auxiliary verbs

I can work tomorrow.
You must sing louder.
They might do it.
You could be right.

Past simple

I worked yesterday.
She cut his hair last week.
They had a good time.
They were surprised, but I was not.

Past participle

I have worked here for five years.
He needs a folder made of plastic.
It is done like this.
I have never been so happy.

Present participle

I am working.
Singing well is not easy.
Having finished, he went home.
You are being silly!

3rd person singular present simple

He works in London.
She sings well.
She has a lot of money.
It is Vietnamese.

Forms of Helping Verbs

We use helping verbs (auxiliary verbs) with main verbs. The tables on this page show the forms of all helping verbs.

There are 2 groups of helping verbs:

1. Primary helping verbs

We use primary helping verbs to change the tense or voice of the main verb, and to make questions and negatives. There are only three primary helping verbs: do, have, be. These verbs can also function as main verbs. When we use them as helping verbs, here are the forms that we use:

base	3rd person singular present simple	past simple
do	does	did
have	has	had
base	present simple (3 forms)	past simple (2 forms)	present participle	past participle
be	am are is	was were	being	been

Look at these example sentences using primary helping verbs with main verbs:

Do you like him?
He does go home sometimes.
I did not see her.
They have finished their homework.
Has he arrived yet?
John had not called for three weeks.
They will be eating when we arrive.
I am feeling sick.
Are you working at the moment?
Jo is not watching TV.
Tara was cooking when I phoned.
Were you expecting me?
My car is being repaired.
I have been working all day.

2. Modal helping verbs

We use modal helping verbs to change the "mood" of the main verb. As you see, modal verbs have only one form each. They never change.

	invariable
modal verbs	can could
	may might
	will would
	shall should
	must
	ought to
semi-modal verbs	need
	dare
	used to

We use the word "form" to mean the "shape" or "writing" of the actual verb itself. Do not confuse verb forms with tenses. We use the different verb forms to make the tenses and other verb structures, but they are not the same thing.