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(ordered by seriousness) ESL Vocabulary Lists Parts of Speech Lists A-Z Idioms and Proverbs Tests and Games Top Tip Install a grammar checker
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(ordered by seriousness) ESL Vocabulary Lists Parts of Speech Lists A-Z Idioms and Proverbs Tests and Games Top Tip Install a grammar checker
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Regular Verbs
What Are Regular Verbs? (with Examples)
A regular verb is one that forms its simple past tense and its past participle by adding "-ed" or "-d" to the base form of the verb. For example:Base Form | Simple Past Test | Past Participle |
---|---|---|
clean | cleaned | has cleaned |
close | closed | closed |
- John cleaned the table.
- Anne closed the door.
- I have cleaned the table already.
- The prize is behind the closed door.
Table of Contents
- Find the Regular Verb Test
- Spell the Regular Verbs Test
- Creating the Past Forms of Regular Verbs
- Comparing Regular Verbs to Irregular Verbs
- The Most Common Regular Verbs
- Why Regular Verbs Are Important
- Printable Test

Find the Regular Verb Test
It's your go! Select the regular verb.(Hint: Find the verb whose past forms end "-ed" or "-d.")
Spell the Regular Verbs Test
Click on the green letters to spell the past tense and then the past participle of the regular verb shown.Regular Verb | |
---|---|
Past Tense | Past Participle |
Creating the Past Forms of Regular Verbs
For regular verbs, the "simple past tense" and "past particle" are formed like this:Add "ed" to most verbs:
- jump > jumped
- paint > painted
- chat > chatted
- stop > stopped
- sew > sewed
- play > played
- fix > fixed
- incur > incurred
- prefer > preferred
- open > opened
- enter > entered
- swallow > swallowed
- thrive > thrived
- guzzle > guzzled
- cry > cried
- fry > fried
Comparing Regular Verbs to Irregular Verbs
Regular verbs contrast with irregular verbs, which form their simple past tenses and past participles in a variety of ways.With a regular verb, the simple past tense and the past participle are the same. For example:
Regular Verb | Simple Past Tense | Past Participle |
---|---|---|
cook | cooked | has cooked |
play | played | has played |
dance | danced | has danced |
With irregular verbs, however, the past forms can be same or different. For example:
Irregular Verb | Simple Past Tense | Past Participle |
---|---|---|
begin | began | has begun |
break | broke | has broken |
buy | bought | has bought |
Read more about irregular verbs.
The Most Common Regular Verbs
Oddly, the most common verbs in English are all irregular. More specifically, the most common verbs in English are be, have, and do.
The ten most common regular verbs are
- want, look, use, work, start, try, ask, need, talk, and help.
Regular Verbs Are Weak Verbs
A regular verb is a type of weak verb.
The terms "regular verb" and "weak verb" are not synonyms (i.e., they do not mean the same). Similarly, the terms "irregular verb" and "strong verb" are not synonyms.
Here is an infographic explaining how verbs are classified:
Somewhat counter-intuitively, the most common verbs in English are the irregular verbs. They are a pain, but if you're learning or teaching English, you must embrace them. That said, there are some extremely useful regular verbs.
When learning or teaching English, it is a good practice to start with the regular verbs to understand the concept of tense and the role of participles. You can tackle those ghastly irregular verbs, once you've cracked how the tenses work.
Good luck!
- Start with regular verbs to understand the function of participles and how tense works.
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