Definition:
A verb that forms its past tense and past participle by adding -d or -ed (or in some cases -t) to the base form. (Also known as a weak verb.) Contrast with Irregular Verb.
The majority of English verbs are regular. They have four different forms:
- base form: the form found in a dictionary
- -s form: used in the singular third person, present tense
- -ed form: used for the past tense and past participle
- -ing form: used for the present participle
See also:
- Building an Essay With Regular and Irregular Verbs
- Exercise in Combining Sentences With Regular Verbs
- Forming the Past Tense of Regular Verbs
- Ten Quick Questions and Answers About Verbs and Verbals in English
- Verb Tense Exercise: Completing and Combining Sentences With Regular Verbs
- What Is the Difference Between a Weak Verb and a Strong Verb?
Examples:
- "If I have a thousand ideas and only one turns out to be good, I am satisfied."
(Alfred Nobel) - "I've searched all the parks in all the cities and found no statues of committees."
(Gilbert K. Chesterton) - "I had no idea of the character. But the moment I was dressed, the clothes and the make-up made me feel the person he was. I began to know him, and by the time I walked onto the stage he was fully born."
(Charlie Chaplin) - "For a long time now I have tried simply to write the best I can. Sometimes I have good luck and write better than I can."
(Ernest Hemingway) - "Ever tried. Ever failed. No matter. Try Again. Fail again. Fail better."
(Samuel Beckett) - "Creationists make it sound as though a 'theory' is something you dreamt up after being drunk all night."
(Isaac Asimov) - "If I talked about Watergate, I was described as struggling to free myself from the morass. If I did not talk about Watergate, I was accused of being out of touch with reality."
(Richard M. Nixon)
Also Known As: weak verb
