verbforms

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Verb For ms I know you can But can you say hook , say took, hooked ... tooked?

This A verb form item on an presentation objective test might look covers the use like this ... of standard regular and irregular verb forms.

Sample Item Thomas sanngg aalloonngg uunnttiill tthhee CCDD eennddeedd;;tthheennaass A he was chhoooossininggaanneewwddisiskk, ,hheelolosst tccoonntrtorol loof f B the car and drriiovvveeeddininttooaaddititcchh.. C A. sung idoncfrpcohDiotrvIoimsorreroineesvdscdaeCita,nndvwfegbgixrhai,,bseido?cslrhy. B. chosing C. drroovvee D. No change is necessary.

Regular verbs have reliable forms. Infinitive Simple Simple Past Present Present Past to laugh laugh(s) laughed Participle Participle to start start(s) started to travel travel(s) traveled laughed laughing started starting traveled traveling Or to fish, fish(es), fished, fished, fishing!

Ir regular verbs, however, have no consistent patterns. Infinitive Simple Simple Past Present Present Past Participle Participle to drive drive(s) drove driven driving to think think(s) thought thought thinking to drink drink(s) drank drunk drinking to swim swim(s) swam swum swimming For example, to catch, catch(es), caught, caught, catching!

On many objective exams, you cannot use a dictionary to look up the correct form! X

When in doubt, rely on “gut” feelings. Your eyes have seen in print—and your brain has registered—all of the possible verb forms that you will encounter for this skill. If you don’t recognize the right answer, go with the one that feels right. Hey, I’ve seen that verb before!

Don’t confuse of and have. Instead of skipping class to go fishing, Yolanda should ohfasvtuedsietuddfioerdhfeorr her accounting exam. My grade was a disaster!

Confirm that used to is in the past tense. Now that he’s older, Fred has a full-time job, but he uusseetdo tsopespnednhdishsisumsummemrserfisshfiisnhgin. g. You’re a bad influence!

Quick Test Directions: In the items that follow, choose the option that corrects an error in the underlined portion(s). If no error exists, choose “No change is necessary.” Show me what you know.

Item 1 We knneeww tthhaatt CChhaarrlleeyy hhaadd hhididtdhtheeencctohooeokkiceioesosikninies in A BB his bedroom, so we sttoolleehhisiskkeeyyaannddsseeaarrcchheeddinin C all the dresser drawers. A. knowed B. hiiddddeenn C. stealed D. No change is necessary.

Item 2 If we had known that you were serving squid eyeball stew, we would off ccoommeefoforrddininnneerr!! A. of came B. have came C. havvee ccoommee D. No change is necessary.

Item 3 Priscilla usseedttootohhaahvvaeeveaaappeeptteppt aaprraaarkkaeekeette;;thh; eehrremrmmoottohhteehrre’’ssr’s AA story is that the bird escaped and flleewwaawwaayy,,bbuutt B Priscilla believes that the cat ate it. C A. usseedd B. flied C. eaten D. No change is necessary.

Item 4 Julissa was soaked during the afternoon thunderstorm because she had chhoooosseeddtotowwaalklktoto school rather than drive. A. chhoosseenn B. choosen C. chose D. No change is necessary.

Item 5 James brruuonnugghrrotossreoessseaasnndadnbbdeegbggegegedgdeffodorrgfgoivirvgeeinvneeesnsses,s,bsbu,utbt ut AA when Rhonda saww tthhaatt hheerr eexx ssttiillll hhaaddnn’’tt sshhaavveedd B his ridiculous mustache, she shhuutttthheeddoooorrininhhisis C face. A. brroouugghhtt B. seen C. shutted D. No change is necessary.

Item 6 If Toby had tooookkeennCChhaarrlelennee’s’saaddvvicicee,,ththaattbboottlteleooff soda wouldn’t have exploded all over the front of his new white shirt. A. took B. tooked C. takkeenn D. No change is necessary.

Item 7 Cooper laiidd tthhee 1100--ppaaggee ppaappeerr oonn PPrrooffeessssoorr A Cook’s desk; he had wrroiottteentthhetehlealaslsattsssteesnnettenentneccneecaeattat B 2:50 p.m., and then he rann aaccrroossss ccaammppuuss ttoo C deliver the work by the 3 o’clock deadline. A. layed B. wrriitttteenn C. run D. No change is necessary.

Item 8 We would havvee kknnoowweennththaat tDDr.r.CCaarlrslsoonnhhaadd moved up the date of the quiz if we attended her calculus class more frequently. A. of knowen B. havvee kknnoowwnn C. have knew D. No change is necessary.

Item 9 Margaret brreoeaakkkeeetddhetthhceeococokooioekkiaieenadanngddaggvaeavveheahlhafatlfolftoto AA B B the young man stuck in the elevator with her; they toollddssttoorriieessttooppaasssstthheettimimeeaassmmeecchhaannicicss C worked on the hydraulics. A. brrookkee B. gived C. telled D. No change is necessary.

Item 10 Meredith would havvee wweenntttotoththeeccoonncceerrt,t,bbuutt Gregory misplaced the tickets, which they still haven’t found. A. of went B. havvee ggoonnee C. have goed D. No change is necessary.

Grammar Bytes! provides additional handouts and exercises on irregular verb forms. Go to chompchomp.com!

The End. Don’t let the right verb form get away!