Regular Verbs + Irregular Verbs: How To Use + 30 Examples

Regular verbs are one of the most common types of verbs in English. They follow a predictable pattern when changing from the present to the past tense, making them easier to use in different situations. By adding “-ed” or “-d” to the base verb, they form their past tense. Today, we’ll practice how to identify and use regular verbs correctly, from forming their past tense to using them in sentences. We will also be having a look at the difference between them and irregular verbs a bit later on, too, although the main main focus of this article is on regular verb forms.

Regular Verbs

Regular verbs are verbs that follow a consistent pattern when forming their past tense. Unlike irregular verbs, which can change in unpredictable ways, these verbs only require the addition of “-ed” or “-d” to their base form to create the past tense. This makes them one of the easiest verb types to learn and use. Let’s check out a few examples in sentences. Pay attention to how the verb changes when we move from the present to the past tense.

1. Timothy walked to the store.
2. They played outside all day.
3. I talked with my friends yesterday.
4. We cleaned the house on Saturday.
5. Liam finished his work early.
6. The children watched TV in the evening.
7. My parents visited their friends in New York last week.
8. We helped our neighbors move.
9. Eve studied hard for the test.
10. Darren cooked dinner for the family last night.

As you can see, the past tense of each verb is formed by simply adding “-ed” or “-d” to the base verb, which makes regular verbs predictable and straightforward.

Related: Topic Sentences: Better English Writing

How to Use Them In Sentences

Using them in sentences is easy once you know how to form the past tense. The process is straightforward—just add “-ed” or “-d.” However, you must be careful with spelling, as some verbs may require small changes before adding “-ed.” Let’s go through a few more examples to see how they work in different sentence structures:

11. I watched a great movie last night.
12. They visited the museum yesterday.
13. She closed the door before leaving.
14. We arrived late to the party.
15. He laughed at the joke.
16. I worked on my project all evening.
17. They played chess together after school.
18. She cleaned her room this morning.
19. We stayed at a hotel for the weekend.
20. He helped his brother with homework.

Notice that the past tense is formed by adding “-ed” or “-d,” depending on the verb. The most important thing to remember is that these verbs do not change depending on the subject (he, she, I, they). The past tense form is always the same for all subjects.

Related: 50 Examples Of Sentence Structure For Better English

Regular verb examples list

When it comes to forming the past tense of regular verbs, the rule is simple: add “-ed” or “-d” to the base verb. However, there are some special rules to follow based on the last letter of the verb.

Here are some examples:

• If a verb ends in “e,” you only need to add “d.”
  • Example: love → loved, live → lived.
• If a verb ends in a consonant + “y,” change the “y” to “i” and then add “-ed.”
  • Example: carry → carried, cry → cried.
• If a verb ends in a single vowel + a consonant, double the consonant before adding “-ed.”
  • Example: hop → hopped, plan → planned.

Here’s a regular verb examples list that shows how they change

Regular verb examples list	Past Tense	Example
Talk	Talked	She talked to her friend.
Dance	Danced	They danced at the party.
Love	Loved	I loved the movie.
Live	Lived	We lived in New York.
Hope	Hoped	He hoped to see her soon.
Plan	Planned	We planned the event for next month.
Visit	Visited	They visited the museum.
Cry	Cried	She cried during the movie.
Stop	Stopped	He stopped by the store.
Study	Studied	I studied for the test.

By following these simple rules, you can confidently form the past tense of regular verbs and use them correctly in your sentences.

Common Mistakes

While regular verbs are easy to use, learners sometimes make mistakes when forming the past tense. Here are some common errors and tips to avoid them:

1. Forgetting to add “-ed”: Sometimes, learners forget to add “-ed” or “-d” to the verb.
   Example: Incorrect: I walk to the store.
   Correct: I walked to the store.
2. Incorrect spelling: Some regular verbs change their spelling when adding “-ed.” For example, verbs ending in “y” change the “y” to “i” before adding “-ed.”
   Example: Incorrect: She cryed when she heard the news.
   Correct: She cried when she heard the news.
3. Doubling the final consonant incorrectly: If a verb ends in a single vowel + consonant, double the consonant before adding “-ed.”
   Example: Incorrect: She stoppeded the car.
   Correct: She stopped the car.

Common Mistakes with Regular verbs	Corrected
I walk to the store.	I walked to the store.
She cryed when she heard the news.	She cried when she heard the news.
She stoppeded the car.	She stopped the car.
He playd with his friends.	He played with his friends.
They needded help.	They needed help.
I hoppen to see you last night.	I happened to see you last night.
She dancedd all night long.	She danced all night long.
He commited himself to studying English.	He committed himself to studying English.

Using Regular Verbs in Different Tenses

In addition to the past tense, they can be used in other tenses too. Let’s look at how they work in the present and future tenses:

• Present tense: For the present tense, regular verbs are used in their base form (unless the subject is third-person singular, in which case we add “-s” or “-es”).
  Example:
  • I walk to work every day.
  • She plays tennis on the weekends.
• Future tense: To talk about future actions, we use the auxiliary verb “will” along with the base form of the verb.
  Example:
  • I will talk to her tomorrow.
  • They will visit their grandmother next month.

It’s helpful to practice them in different tenses so that you can use them confidently in all situations.

Regular Verbs vs. Irregular Verbs: Compare and Contrast

Regular verbs and irregular verbs are both essential components of the English language, but they function differently when it comes to forming their past tense.

• Regular Verbs: These follow a simple, predictable pattern. To form their past tense, you add “-ed” or “-d” to the base verb. This makes them easier to learn and use. Examples include “walk” (walked), “play” (played), and “talk” (talked).
• Irregular Verbs: Unlike regular verbs, irregular verbs do not follow a specific rule when changing from the present tense to the past tense. Their past tense forms can be quite different from the base verb and must be memorized. Examples include “go” (went), “eat” (ate), and “see” (saw).

Key Differences:

1. Forming Past Tense:
   • Regular verbs: Add “-ed” or “-d.”
   • Irregular verbs: Change in unpredictable ways.
2. Examples:
   • Regular verb: She played soccer yesterday.
   • Irregular verb: He went to the store yesterday.
3. Predictability:
   • Regular verbs: Predictable, as the past tense always follows the same rule.
   • Irregular verbs: Unpredictable, each verb has its own past tense form.

In summary, regular verbs are easier to work with due to their consistent rules, while irregular verbs require more attention because their past tense forms do not follow a set pattern.

Regular vs irregular verbs

When learning English, it’s important to understand the difference between regular and irregular verbs, especially when forming the past tense. Regular verbs follow a predictable pattern by adding “-ed” or “-d” to the base form (e.g., “talk” becomes “talked”). However, irregular verbs don’t follow this rule and often change completely (e.g., “go” becomes “went”). Pay attention to these patterns and memorize the irregular forms to avoid mistakes, as they are commonly used in both spoken and written English.

Regular Verb	Irregular Verb
Walk → Walked	Go → Went
Talk → Talked	Eat → Ate
Play → Played	Drink → Drank
Call → Called	See → Saw
Watch → Watched	Take → Took
Help → Helped	Run → Ran
Work → Worked	Begin → Began
Clean → Cleaned	Come → Came

Irregular Verbs: Example Sentences

Here are 10 example sentences using irregular verbs in the past tense. As you can see, the past tense forms of these verbs are not formed by simply adding “-ed” or “-d.”

21. Ava went to the store yesterday.
22. Tom ate his dinner quickly.
23. They saw the movie last night.
24. I took the bus to work this morning.
25. We came home late after the party.
26. He had a meeting earlier today.
27. I ran five miles this morning.
28. They flew to Paris last summer.
29. She wrote a letter to her friend.
30. We bought a new car last week.

As you can see, the past tense of each verb changes in unique ways, which is characteristic of irregular verbs. Unlike regular verbs, these forms must be memorized because they don’t follow the standard rules of adding “-ed” or “-d.”

Why Learning Regular Verbs Is Important

Learning regular verbs is essential for speaking and writing in English. Since they follow a predictable pattern, once you learn the rules, you can easily form past tense sentences. This makes communication smoother and more effective. Mastering the use of them will also help you sound more fluent and natural when speaking English. By practicing them, you’ll improve your ability to express actions in the past, making your English skills stronger overall. It’s equally important to practice irregular verbs, though. While they don’t follow a set pattern, learning them will make your English more flexible and natural, allowing you to communicate with greater ease in a variety of situations. Thanks for stopping by and practicing English here at Natural English Central today!