English common verbs. Complete list of irregular English verbs. Examples of using irregular verbs

Everyone who studies a foreign language needs to speak quickly and does not want to deal with theory and boring rules. And this is a common mistake that slows down progress in learning and creates a “language barrier.”

A proven fact: without understanding the basic theoretical foundations and elements of the language, learning English is much more difficult, especially if you do it on your own. When choosing words to express your thoughts in a foreign language, it is very important to know what part of speech you need, what properties it has, how you can change it, what its function is, what place in the sentence to put it.

We have already become acquainted with the parts of speech in English and the basic concepts that every student should know in the article. Now it's time to focus on each part of speech.

In English, as in any other language, the central element of a sentence is usually a verb. That is why it has so many forms and times, and special attention is paid to it.

Almost anyone who attended public school should remember the rote definition of what a verb is. The simplest one is: A verb is a word that denotes an action and answers the question “What to do”?.

But in practice it turns out that not every verb answers this question, but still remains a verb. There are many classifications of verbs: by structure, by meaning, but, as I promised, we will not go into unnecessary theoretical details.

We will conditionally divide all the verbs that you will encounter in English into five categories:

1. Semantic verbs.
2. Phrasal verbs.
3. Modal verbs.
4. Auxiliary verbs.

1. Semantic verbs.

Semantic verbs - the most numerous category of verbs. These are exactly the words that answer the question: What to do?

All actions that we perform convey semantic verbs:

Semantic verbs cannot appear before the subject in an affirmative sentence; they can be used with modal verbs and auxiliary verbs to form different tenses:

I can work. - I can work. (modal + semantic)
He is sleeping. - He's sleeping. (auxiliary + semantic)

Semantic verbs cannot independently form negations and questions, so they always need auxiliary verbs, which are placed at the beginning of the sentence in questions and have a negative particle not in negations:

Do you read in English? - Do you read in English?
I do not read in English. - I don't read English.

Semantic verbs can add different endings. In it -s/es when talking about a third person (he reads, she sleeps, it works). The ending is added -ing(sitting, sleeping, working) . In the past tense (), (worked, looked) is added to regular semantic verbs, and irregular ones have three forms that need to be remembered (sit - sat - sat, write - wrote - written). By the way, if you still don’t know how to learn irregular verbs or are constantly confused by them, keep studying them.

2. Phrasal verbs.

Phrasal verbs differ from semantic ones in that they have two or three parts. First- an ordinary semantic verb, and rest: prepositions or adverbs that give a verb a different meaning.

For example:

Sit - sit
sit down - sit down
get - receive
get up - get out of bed

Often the meaning of a phrasal verb can be determined by the preposition in combination with the context, but in many cases the meaning of a phrasal verb cannot be guessed from these signs, since many phrasal verbs have more than one meaning.

At first, it seems that remembering phrasal verbs is simply unrealistic. But that's not true. Some phrasal verbs are used more often, some less frequently, and some have a narrow scope of use. Textbooks begin to introduce us to the most popular phrasal verbs from the level pre-intermediate. To level upper-intermediate there are many more of them. In colloquial speech it is difficult to do without phrasal verbs, so you will need to learn them one way or another.

If you are already faced with the problem of learning phrasal verbs, then I have something for you, from which you will learn several ways to determine the meaning of a phrasal verb. In addition, on the separate blog pages dedicated to phrasal verbs, you can find many articles in which phrasal verbs are divided into topics to make it easier for you to remember them.

3. Auxiliary verbs.

The essence and function of this linguistic phenomenon is already explained by its name. It serves to form various types of utterances. In English textbooks it is called auxiliary verb, and in my classes for convenience I use the name helping verb or assistant verb. These are not scientific terms, but you don’t need them, the main thing is to make it clear.

There is more than one auxiliary verb in English. There are three of them: do, be And have. And also their forms, of which there are many more. Verbs and forms vary depending on the tense in which you are speaking and the person you are speaking about. The verb do and its forms does And did- auxiliary in Simple group tenses, verb to be (am, is, are, was, were) used as an auxiliary in the Continuous tenses, and have (with forms has And had) is a required attribute of tenses of the Perfect group.

Below is a table of auxiliary verbs by tense and person.

Auxiliary verbs are not translated into Russian, but this does not free us from the need to remember and use them. It is with the help of auxiliary verbs that we show the time to which our statement refers.

In all tenses, without exception, negations and questions are formed using auxiliary verbs. In negatives, the particle not is added to the auxiliary verb, and in a question, it is the auxiliary verb that comes first in the sentence.

As for statements, auxiliary verbs are used in all tenses, with the exception of and.

It is important to note that in an English sentence the auxiliary verb has its place, and the place depends on. In an affirmative sentence the verb must be after the subject(actor):

I am reading a book. (Present Continuous)
We have done the task. (Present Perfect)
They will call you. (Future Simple)
She was sleeping. (Past Continuous)

In negation, all verbs are also found after the actor. The particle not is added to the auxiliary and modal verbs, followed by a semantic or phrasal verb:

I am not reading a book. (Present Continuous)
We have not done the task. (Present Perfect)
They will not call you. (Future Simple)
She was not sleeping. (Past Continuous)

In a question, the verb comes in front of the subject (auxiliary verb, modal verb, verb to be), and the semantic and phrasal verbs remain after the subject:

Am I reading a book? (Present Continuous)
Have we done the task? (Present Perfect)
Will they call you? (Future Simple)
Was she sleeping? (Past Continuous)

Auxiliaries are also used to form the passive voice and have shortened forms.

4. Verb to be.

This verb is so unique that I put it in a separate category. It can be both semantic and auxiliary. By itself, it acts as a semantic one in the present, past and future tense, and means “to be, to appear, to be,” although it is not translated into Russian in the present tense:

I am happy. - I (am) happy.
I was happy. - I was happy.
I will be happy. - I will be happy.

In combination with the ing form of the semantic verb, the verb to be forms group times Continuous, and its future tense form will participates in the formation of all future tenses of the English language.

5. Modal verbs.

Modal verbs - this is a separate group of verbs that are not used by themselves, but only in combination with semantic verbs. Modal verbs add some additional, modal meaning to the semantic verb: I can, I can, I will, I must do something. You probably know examples of modal verbs. Here they are: can, could, must, may, might, will, would, shall, should, ought. Often a modal verb cannot be translated without combining it with a semantic verb.

What do modal verbs have in common? They are all used with the infinitive without a particle to(Bare infinitive). There is one exception: verb ought to .

In addition, characteristic feature of modal verbs- the fact that they independently form interrogative and negative forms; they do not need auxiliary verbs.

The hardest part about learning modal verbs is understanding their meanings and functions. So that you can always accurately express your thought and the interlocutor understands you correctly, the choice of a modal verb plays a big role. Modal verbs usually have several meanings, and it would be very tedious to consider them all in one article, so I recommend that you get acquainted with each modal verb separately, which you can do on the pages of our blog Enginform.

If, after reading this material about verbs, you find gaps in your knowledge, then do not rush to bury yourself in textbooks; you do not need to cram all the rules that you find. It is enough to start classes, which will help you understand the intricacies of English grammar gradually, in parallel with practice. There is absolutely no need to go somewhere and waste your time. You can study comfortably at home or from the office whenever it suits you. If you want to try, leave it in Enginform.

In conclusion, I would like to remind you once again that the language you are learning is different from the one you are used to speaking, because each language is a unique and original system. Pay attention to the differences, do not forget about a minimum of theory and this will make your process of learning English easier!

When learning English, special attention should be paid to verbs. Firstly, the more verbs you know, the easier it will be for you to express your thoughts in English. After all, if any noun can be replaced by a pronoun, then the verb as a part of speech denoting an action or state cannot be replaced with anything. Secondly, it is impossible to communicate in English without having an understanding of the English verb tense system.

English verbs can be divided into four main groups:

• Semantic - express an action, a process, therefore they are always translated into Russian.
• Auxiliary - do not express actions and are not translated. They are used to form interrogative and negative sentences and complex verb forms.
• Modal - they express not the action itself, but the attitude towards it (should, can, etc.) They, as a rule, are translated.
• Linking verbs - do not express action, serve to connect the subject and the nominal part of the predicate, show tense, number and person.

In addition, verbs are divided into regular and irregular. Irregular Verbs- these are verbs in which the past tense form (Past tense form), as well as the past participle form (Past participle), is formed differently from regular verbs. Regular verbs form these forms by adding –ed to the first form. Forms of irregular verbs need to be learned by heart, especially since they include the most common verbs of everyday speech. As a rule, these verbs are in English-Russian dictionaries, where they are often presented in the form of special lists.

The initial form of all verbs is infinitive, i.e. indefinite form of the verb (answers the question “what to do?”, “what to do?”). Before undef. The form of the verb usually includes the particle to, which is not translated in any way. Example: to read - to read.

The peculiarity of an English sentence is that it always contains a verb. Example: He is a student. - He (is) a student. We see that if there is no verb in a Russian sentence, then in its English version there is a verb is - a linking verb.

Linking verb TO BE

The most common copula verb is the verb to be(to be, to be) This verb has several forms that depend on tense, number, person. Forms of the verb to be:

shall, will – auxiliary verbs of the future tense. The above verb forms must be learned by heart. The linking verb to be means “to be”, “to appear” and is most often not translated. Example: I am a pupil. - I (am) a student. I was a pupil. – I was a student.

Modal verbs (can, may, must)

Modal verbs express not an action, but an attitude towards an action (necessity, probability of some action). These verbs are usually not used independently and are usually placed before the semantic verb. Let's look at three main modal verbs.

Modal verb can(could – past tense form) – be able, be able, can, can, etc.
Examples: He can speak English. - He can (can) speak English.
Modal verb may(might – past tense form) – can, I can, you can, etc.
Examples: You may take the book. – You can take this book.

The verbs can and may should not be confused. The verb can implies the physical ability to do something, the ability to do something. The verb may means possibility, assumption. It is used to ask for permission or to give permission.

Modal verb must(there is no past tense form) – should, should, must, etc.
Examples: I must stop smoking. – I have to stop smoking.

Features of these modal verbs

• The particle to is not placed before modal verbs, and the particle to is not placed after modal verbs before semantic verbs in the indefinite form. Example: We must read. - We must read.
• The modal verb comes before the form of the main verb.
• Modal verbs do not receive the ending -s in the 3rd person singular form of the Present Simple.
• These modal verbs are used without the participation of any auxiliary verbs.
• When forming interrogative and negative sentences, the use of modal verbs has its own characteristics, which I will discuss in the appropriate section.

There are several other modal verbs in English that I am not covering here.

Verb in English- this is a part of speech that denotes the action or state of an object or person, and it is also the most terrifying part of speech. When they talk about the difficulties of the English language, they most often mean the terrible one, in which there are (at times) as many as 20 of them.

In fact, everything is much simpler, here 3 facts about the English verb that will cheer you up:

1. The English verb has 3 tenses, not 20: past, present, future.
2. The English verb differs favorably from its French, Spanish, and Russian counterparts in that it has almost no different endings that are required for memorization.
3. Having dealt with the verb, you will solve 80% of the “English Grammar” problem for yourself, because speech is based on the verb.

Classification of English verbs

Verbs in English are divided according to structure and meaning.

Classification of verbs

Classification of verbs by structure:

• Simple– consist of a base without prefixes and suffixes: to bake (oven), to leave (leave).
• Derivatives- are formed using prefixes and suffixes (see): to mislead (to mislead), to recharge (recharge).
• Complex- consist of two basics: to proofread (read, check).
• Phrasal– consist of a verb + adverb\preposition: to turn out (to appear), to look up (to find in the dictionary).

There are separate articles about phrasal verbs:

Classification of verbs by meaning:

• Semantic verbs– independent verbs that have their own meaning denote an action, a state. The vast majority of verbs in English are semantic.
• Function verbs– non-independent verbs, do not have their own meaning, serve to form various grammatical forms. These include:
  • Linking verbs– used in the formation of complex forms: (to be), to become (to become), etc.
  • Auxiliary verbs– are used when constructing a compound predicate: (to be), (to do), (to have), (used when constructing the future tense), etc.
  • Modal verbs- denote not the action itself, but the speaker’s attitude to the action: can (can), should (should), etc. Read more about modal verbs in this article: .

Note: Some service verbs can be used as semantic verbs, for example to be, to do, to have.

Three main verb forms

The English verb has three main forms. There are some discrepancies in the names of these forms; they are often simply called first, second and third.

• First form: the initial form of the verb, this is exactly how you see the verb in the dictionary: go, sleep, work, love, etc. Other synonymous names: infinitive form of the verb, dictionary form (meaning the infinitive without the particle to).
• Second form: past indefinite tense. Regular verbs are formed using the ending -ed: start ed, hand ed, notic ed. In the wrong ones it is formed in a special way. Other synonymous names: Past Indefinite, past tense form, simple past.
• Third form: past participle. In regular verbs, it is formed using the ending -ed and does not differ in appearance from the Past Simple form. Another synonym name: .

Regular and irregular verbs

Verbs forming the second and third forms according to the general rule (using the ending -ed), are called correct. Verbs that form these forms in a special way are called wrong– their second and third forms need to be taught separately.

The Russian verb has a lot of endings, foreigners have to learn them all, for example: playing, playing, playing, playing, playing, playing, playing, playing, playing and so on.

The fact is that in Russian, endings show person, number, tense and gender of the verb. Taking the word “played”, we can easily understand that it is 3rd person, singular, feminine, past tense (she played).

It's different in English. The endings of verbs do not have such broad functions; number, person and tense are indicated partly by their endings, but mainly by other signs. And there is practically no category of gender in English; it only applies to pronouns.

Let's take the example of the regular verb to dance- dance.

A regular verb can have the following endings:

1. Dance (no ending) - this can be either an indefinite form or an imperative form, as well as almost all persons and tenses.
2. Dance ed– past simple tense or Past Simple.
3. Dance ed– past participle or Past Participle (regular verbs have forms 2 and 3 the same, irregular verbs may differ).
4. Dance ing– an action taking place at a certain moment (present participle).
5. Dance s – 3rd person singular form (“She\she\it is dancing”).

There are no other options.

The endings of a regular verb, an irregular one, will have other forms instead of -ed.

Person and number of English verb

An English verb, like a Russian one, can have one of three singular or plural forms:

The peculiarity of the English verb, when compared with Russian, is that it is not conjugated, that is, it does not change in persons and numbers; in all forms it has the same ending (or rather, the absence of any ending). The only exception is the 3rd person singular form, where the ending is added -s\es:

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With practice, your vocabulary increases, replete with a variety of not only grammatical structures, but also a huge number of words. And at the same time, speech is transformed, acquiring expressiveness and liveliness. In this article we will look at the most commonly used verbs that will help construct any statement logically.

You probably already know what a verb is: a part of speech that expresses an action, a state and answers the question of what to do. In any phrase, it plays a very important role; without it, not a single sentence exists (remember the clear structure of the sentence). If you want to diversify your speech, you will have to learn more than a dozen English verbs with translations.

Ways to make memorization easier

We will divide all these parts of speech according to the nature of the action, according to what they convey. It’s better to learn English verbs with translation, look at examples and memorize them. And the easiest way to do this is in groups.

1. Verbs of motion form a group of those that convey a change in the state, position of an object or person. Let's look at the table, which presents the main English verbs of this group.

2. State verbs

Not all verbs convey movement. Some, for example, describe feelings, perceptions, and mental activities. Their main feature is (unlike the previous group) that they cannot emphasize the process or duration of an action, but are used only in special cases, which you can learn about from the article “Verbs not used in the Continuous”.

As you can see, there are quite a few English verbs, and that’s not all, but just the main ones. But you shouldn’t memorize them all at once. This will only cause irritation and disgust. Some you already know, and some you will have to learn, 4-5 per week, and believe me, soon your vocabulary will quickly increase in size. This means that you will not only be able to understand more, but also speak.

Verbs in English are divided into regular and irregular. The differences between them lie in the formation of their forms: for regular verbs, the second and third forms coincide and are formed in the same way for all verbs - using the ending -ed; for irregular verbs, the second and third forms may differ from the first and from each other. There are not so many basic verbs in English. Having learned the hundred most commonly used words, you will be able to communicate on everyday topics and compose complex sentences.

The most common verb in English is to be. Its popularity is due to the fact that in English there cannot be a sentence without a verb. Therefore, in all cases when it is necessary to convey the state or characteristic of an object, the verb to be is used. For example, in Russian we can do without a verb and say: “She is beautiful.” In English this sentence would look like this: “She is beautiful.” Literally this translates as “She is beautiful.” It doesn’t sound very good, so when translated into Russian, the verb to be in the present tense is almost always omitted, but this does not negate its important role.

Here are the rest of the English verbs that are used most often:

Free lesson on the topic:

Irregular English verbs: table, rules and examples

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