Mastering Modal Verbs and Irregular Verbs in English
Modal Verbs Explained
Modal verbs express ability, possibility, necessity, or obligation. Here’s a breakdown:
- Ability: can (present), will be able to (future), could, be able to (past)
- Possibility and Deduction: could, may, might, must (present); could have, may have, might have, must have (past)
- Advice: should, ought to, had better (present)
- Obligation and Necessity: must, have to, need to (present)
- Prohibition: mustn’t, can’t
- Lack of Obligation: don’t have to, needn’t
- Permission: can, be allowed
English Verb Tenses and Irregular Verb Forms
English Verb Tenses and Forms
Present Simple
The present simple tense is formed by adding “-s” to the third-person singular form. Negative forms use “don’t” or “does not.” Common time expressions include yesterday, last night, and a week ago.
Present Continuous
The present continuous tense uses the verb “to be” + -ing. Negative forms add “not.” Common time expressions include now, right now, and at the moment.
Past Simple
The past simple tense is generally formed by adding “-ed” to the base form of the
Read MoreIrregular Verb Forms: Base, Past Simple, and Participle
Irregular Verb Forms: Base, Past Simple, and Past Participle
Here’s a list of common irregular verbs in English, showing their base form, simple past form, and past participle form:
| Base Form | Simple Past | Past Participle |
|---|---|---|
| be | was / were | been |
| become | became | become |
| begin | began | begun |
| bite | bit | bitten |
| blow | blew | blown |
| break | broke | broken |
| bring | brought | brought |
| build | built | built |
| burn | burned / burnt | burned / burnt |
| buy | bought | bought |
| catch | caught | caught |
| choose | chose | chosen |
| come | came | come |
| cost | cost | cost |
| cut | cut | cut |
| do | did | done |
| draw | drew | drawn |
| drink | drank | drunk |
| drive | drove | driven |
| eat | ate | eaten |
| fall | fell | fallen |
| feed | fed | fed |
| feel | felt | felt |
| fight | fought | fought |
| find | found | found |
| fly | flew | flown |
| forget | forgot | forgotten |
| forgive | forgave | forgiven |
| get | got | gotten |
| give | gave | given |
| go | went | gone |
| grow | grew | grown |
| have | had | had |
| hear | heard | heard |
| hit | hit | hit |
| hold | held | held |
| hurt | hurt | hurt |
| keep | kept | kept |
| know | knew | known |
| learn | learned |
Essential English Irregular Verbs: Forms and Translations
Essential English Irregular Verbs
Here’s a table of common English irregular verbs, showing their infinitive, past simple, and past participle forms, along with translations.
| Infinitive | Past Simple | Past Participle | Translation |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. Be | was / were | been | Ser, estar |
| 2. Become | became | become | Tornar-se, arribar a ser, fer-se |
| 3. Begin | began | begun | Començar, iniciar |
| 4. Blow | blew | blown | Bufar |
| 5. Break | broke | broken | Trencar |
| 6. Bring | brought | brought | Portar |
| 7. Build | built | built | Edificar |
| 8. Burn | burnt | burnt | Cremar, calar foc a, incendiar |
| 10. Catch | caught | caught | Agafar, |
Irregular English Verbs: A Quick Reference
Irregular English Verbs
Here’s a list of common irregular verbs in English, showing their infinitive, past simple, and past participle forms:
| Infinitive | Past Simple | Past Participle |
|---|---|---|
| be | was, were | been |
| become | became | become |
| begin | began | begun |
| break | broke | broken |
| build | built | built |
| burst | burst | burst |
| buy | bought | bought |
| catch | caught | caught |
| come | came | come |
| cost | cost | cost |
| do | did | done |
| drink | drank | drunk |
| drive | drove | driven |
| eat | ate | eaten |
| fall | fell | fallen |
| feel | felt | felt |
| find | found | found |
| flee | fled | fled |
| fly | flew | flown |
| get | got | got |
| give | gave | given |
| go | went | gone, been |
| hang | hung | hung |
| have | had | had |
| hide | hid | hidden |
| hit | hit | hit |
| know | knew | known |
| learn | learnt, |
Irregular English Verbs: A Quick Reference List
Irregular English Verbs
Here’s a list of common irregular verbs in English, showing their base form, past simple, and past participle:
- Be – was/were – been
- Become – became – become
- Come – came – come
- Do – did – done
- Find – found – found
- Go – went – gone
- Shoot – shot – shot
- Sit – sat – sat
- Slide – slid – slid
- Stand – stood – stood
- Understand – understood – understood
- Have – had – had
- Hear – heard – heard
- Tell – told – told
- Dig – dug – dug (creuser)
- Hang – hung – hung
- Sting – stung – stung (piquer)
- Win – won – won
- Pay