The Best Way to learn Conjugation of Verbs: A Kid’s Guide!

Verbs are like the superheroes of our sentences. They show action, express states of being, and help us communicate effectively. But did you know that verbs can change form depending on who is doing the action and when it’s happening? This magical transformation is called verb conjugation, and today, we’re going to explore it in detail!

What is Verb Conjugation?

Verb conjugation is the process of changing a verb to match the subject of a sentence, as well as its tense (when the action happens). In simpler terms, it’s like giving the verb a different costume depending on who’s using it and when they’re using it.

Kinds of conjugation of verbs:

There are two main kinds of conjugation of verbs-

1. Weak verbs or Regular verbs
2. Strong verbs or Irregular verbs

Weak verbs or Regular verbs

Verbs that form their past tense by adding -ed, -d or -t to the present, with or without any inside change are called weak or regular verbs.

• Regular Verb Example:
  • Infinitive: to play
  • Present Tense: I play, you play, he/she/it plays, we play, they play
  • Past Tense: I played, you played, he/she/it played, we played, they played.

Conjugation of Regular Verbs to Form Simple Past and past participle

1)We often add -ed to verbs (regular verbs) to make the past simple and past participle:

Regular verbs	simple past	past participle
add	add	added
allow	allowed	allowed
appear	appeared	appeared
ask	asked	asked
boil	boiled	boiled
borrow	borrowed	borrowed
cheer	cheered	cheered
clean	cleaned	cleaned
climb	climbed	climbed
delay	delayed	delayed
discuss	discussed	discussed
dream	dreamed	dreamed
end	ended	ended
enjoy	enjoyed	enjoyed
fail	failed	failed
fill	filled	filled
hang	hanged	hanged
jump	jumped	jumped
look	looked	looked

2) We often add -d only if a verb ends in -e to make the past simple and past participle:

Regular verbs	simple past	past participle
agree	agreed	agreed
close	closed	closed
divide	divided	divided
hope	hoped	hoped
lie	lied	lied
die	died	died
loose	loosed	loosed
love	loved	loved
place	placed	placed
complete	completed	completed
change	changed	changed
compare	compared	compared
care	cared	cared
dare	dared	dared
dance	danced	danced
arrange	arranged	arranged
divide	divided	divided
gaze	gazed	gazed
charge	charged	charged

3)If a verb ends in consonant  -y, change -y to -i and add -ed to make the past simple and past participle:

Regular verbs	Simple past	Past participle
bury	buried	buried
carry	carried	carried
cry	cried	cried
dry	dried	dried
fry	fried	fried
try	tried	tried
hurry	hurried	hurried
marry	married	married
lay	laid	laid
pay	paid	paid
say	said	said
marry	married	married
multiply	multiplied	multiplied
identify	identified	identified

4)If a verb ends in a consonant-vowel-consonant (CVC) pattern, double the final consonant and add -ed.

Regular verbs	past form	past participle
beg	begged	begged
drop	dropped	dropped
hop	hopped	hopped
emit	emitted	emitted
nod	nodded	nodded
pat	patted	patted
plan	planned	planned
refer	referred	referred
rub	rubbed	rubbed
stop	stopped	stopped
travel	travelled	travelled
quarrel	quarreled	quarreled

5) Make verb by making some changes or adding -t

Regular verbs	Past from	Past participle
bend	bent	bent
build	built	built
burn	burnt	burnt
buy	bought	bought
catch	caught	caught
fight	fought	fought
deal	dealt	dealt
dream	dreamt	dreamt
dwell	dwelt	dwelt
feel	felt	felt
keep	kept	kept
kneel	knelt	knelt
learn	learnt	learnt
leave	left l	left
lend	lent	lent
lose	lost	lost
mean	meant	meant
seek	sought	sought
send	sent	sent
sleep	slept	slept
smell	smelt	smelt
spell	spelt	spelt
spend	spent	spent
sweep	swept	swept
teach	taught	taught
think	thought	thought

Strong verbs or Irregular verbs

A strong verb, also known as an irregular verb, is a verb in which the past tense is formed by a change in the vowel of the verb root, rather than by adding -ed or -d to the end of the word as in regular verbs. These verbs typically don’t follow a consistent pattern in their conjugation, and their past tense forms often need to be memorized.

Examples:

1. Go (present) -> Went (past)
2. Eat (present) -> Ate (past)
3. Sing (present) -> Sang (past)
4. Drive (present) -> Drove (past)
5. Break (present) -> Broke (past)

Base	Simple Past Tense	Past Participle
arise	arose	arisen
awake	awoke	awoken
be	was/were	been
bear	bore	borne
beat	beat	beaten
become	became	become
begin	began	begun
bend	bent	bent
bet	bet	bet
bind	bound	bound
bid	bid	bid
bite	bit	bitten
bleed	bled	bled
blow	blew	blown
break	broke	broken
breed	bred	bred
bring	brought	brought
broadcast	broadcast	broadcast
build	built	built
burst	burst	burst
buy	bought	bought
cast	cast	cast
catch	caught	caught
choose	chose	chosen
cling	clung	clung
come	came	come
cost	cost	cost
creep	crept	crept
cut	cut	cut
deal	dealt	dealt
dig	dug	dug
dive	dove/dived	dived
do	did	done
draw	drew	drawn
dream	dreamed (sometimes “dreamt”)	dreamed (sometimes “dreamt”)
drink	drank	drunk
drive	drove	driven
eat	ate	eaten
fall	fell	fallen
feed	fed	fed
feel	felt	felt
fight	fought	fought
find	found	found
flee	fled	fled
fling	flung	flung
fly	flew	flown
forbid	forbade	forbidden
forget	forgot	forgotten
forgive	forgave	forgiven
freeze	froze	frozen
get	got	got
give	gave	given
go	went	gone
grind	ground	ground
grow	grew	grown
hang	hung	hung
have	had	had
hear	heard	heard
hide	hid	hidden
hit	hit	hit
hold	held	held
hurt	hurt	hurt
keep	kept	kept
kneel	knelt	knelt
know	knew	known
lay	laid	laid
lead	led	led
leave	left	left
lend	lent	lent
let	let	let
lie (as in “lie down”)	lay	lain
light	lit/lighted	lit/lighted
lose	lost	lost
make	made	made
mean	meant	meant
meet	met	met
mistake	mistook	mistaken
mow	mowed	mown/mowed
overtake	overtook	overtaken
pay	paid	paid
proofread	proofread	proofread
put	put	put
quit	quit	quit
read	read	read
reset	reset	reset
ride	rode	ridden
ring	rang	rung
rise	rose	risen
run	ran	run
say	said	said
see	saw	seen
seek	sought	sought
sell	sold	sold
send	sent	sent
set	set	set
sew	sewed	sewn/sewed
shake	shook	shaken
shave	shaved	shaven
shed	shed	shed
shine	shone	shone
shoot	shot	shot
show	showed	shown
shrink	shrank	shrunk
shut	shut	shut
sing	sang	sung
sink	sank	sunk
sit	sat	sat
slay	slew	slain
sleep	slept	slept
slide	slid	slid
sling	slung	slung
sneak	snuck	snuck
sow	sowed	sown/sowed
speak	spoke	spoken
speed	sped	sped
spend	spent	spent
spill	spilt/spilled	spilt/spilled
spin	spun	spun
spit	spat	spat
split	split	split
spread	spread	spread
spring	sprang	sprung
stand	stood	stood
steal	stole	stolen
stick	stuck	stuck
sting	stung	stung
stink	stank	stunk
strike	struck	struck
string	strung	strung
strive	strove	striven
swear	swore	sworn
sweep	swept	swept
swell	swelled	swollen/swelled
swim	swam	swum
swing	swung	swung
take	took	taken
teach	taught	taught
tear	tore	torn
think	thought	thought
throw	threw	thrown
thrust	thrust	thrust
tread	trod	trodden
understand	understood	understood
upset	upset	upset
wake	woke	woken
wear	wore	worn
weave	wove	worn
weave	wove	woven
weep	wept	wept
wet	wet/wetted	wet/wetted
win	won	won
wind	wound	wound
wring	wrung	wrung
write	wrote	written

Common irregular verbs that don’t change

Base Form	Past Form	Past Participle
bet	bet	bet
bid	bid	bid
burst	burst	burst
cast	cast	cast
cost	cost	cost
cut	cut	cut
hit	hit	hit
hurt	hurt	hurt
let	let	let
put	put	put
quit	quit	quit
read	read	read
set	set	set
shut	shut	shut
spread	spread	spread
thrust	thrust	thrust
broadcast	broadcast	broadcast
telecast	telecast	telecast

Rules of Verb Conjugation:

1. Subject Agreement: Verbs must agree with their subjects in number (singular or plural). If the subject is singular, the verb form will be different from when the subject is plural.
   • Example:
     • Singular: The cat jumps.
     • Plural: The cats jump.
2. Tense: Verbs can also change based on when the action is happening. There are three main tenses: past, present, and future.
   • Present Tense: Actions happening now.
     • Example: The bird sings.
   • Past Tense: Actions that have already happened.
     • Example: The dog barked.
   • Future Tense: Actions that will happen later.
     • Example: The sun will shine.
3. Regular vs. Irregular Verbs: Most verbs follow a pattern when conjugated, but some don’t! Regular verbs follow a predictable pattern when changing form, while irregular verbs have unique forms for each tense.
   • Regular Verb Example:
     • Infinitive: to play
     • Present Tense: I play, you play, he/she/it plays, we play, they play
     • Past Tense: I played, you played, he/she/it played, we played, they played
   • Irregular Verb Example:
     • Infinitive: to go
     • Present Tense: I go, you go, he/she/it goes, we go, they go
     • Past Tense: I went, you went, he/she/it went, we went, they went

Now that we’ve learned the rules, let’s practice a bit:

1. Fill in the blanks with the correct form of the verb:
   • Yesterday, she ___________ (eat) a delicious cake.
   • We ___________ (swim) in the pool every summer.
   • The flowers ___________ (bloom) beautifully in spring.
2. Identify the tense of the following sentences:
   • They will go to the park tomorrow. (Future Tense)
   • She dances gracefully on stage. (Present Tense)
   • He finished his homework last night. (Past Tense)

Worksheet 1: Regular Verbs

Directions: Identify the regular verbs in the sentences below. Circle the regular verbs.

1. The cat __________ (jump) onto the chair.
2. We always __________ (play) soccer in the park.
3. She __________ (read) a book every night.
4. The sun __________ (shine) brightly in the sky.
5. I __________ (bake) cookies for the school party.

Worksheet 2: Irregular Verbs

Directions: Fill in the blanks with the correct form of the irregular verbs given in brackets.

1. Yesterday, I __________ (go) to the zoo and __________ (see) a giraffe.
2. We __________ (eat) dinner at Grandma’s house last night.
3. The children __________ (swim) in the pool for hours.
4. She __________ (run) so fast that she __________ (win) the race.
5. My dog __________ (dig) a hole in the backyard and __________ (hide) his bone.

Conclusion:

Understanding verb conjugation is like unlocking a secret code in language. By mastering how verbs change to fit different situations, you’ll be able to express yourself more clearly and confidently. So, keep practicing, and soon you’ll be a verb conjugation superhero too!