A verb describes an action or state of being.

There are different verb forms:

• Base form
• Past simple form
• Past participle
• Present participle
• Third person

The base form (V1) of a verb is a verb without a prefix or suffix.

Base form examples:

• Eat
• Cook
• Play
• Sing
• Dance

The past simple form (V2) is the main verb in the present tense and past tense. The present simple form talks about an action that happened in the past.

Past simple form examples:

• Saw
• Ate
• Sang
• Enjoyed
• Listened

The past participle (V3) is the form of the verb typically ending in –ed. The past participle form describes an action that happened in the past. It is used with a helping verb.

Past participle form examples:

• Listened
• Belonged
• Caught
• Enjoyed
• Danced

➜ The present participle (V4) is the form of the verb typically ending in –ing. The present participle form can be used for the past tense, present tense, and future continuous tense. 

Present participle form examples:

• Listening
• Working
• Singing
• Exercising
• Dancing

➜ The third person (V5) is the form of the verb ending in the letter S or ES. 

Third person form examples:

• Cooks
• Plays
• Dances
• Sings
• Looks

It’s important to note that regular verbs follow the rule of adding ‘ed’ or ‘d’ to the base form of the verb when forming the simple past simple or past participle forms. Irregular verbs do not follow this rule as they have different past forms.

Let’s look at the difference between regular and irregular verbs.

Regular verbs

Irregular verbs