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English in Use/Verbs
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English in Use
General Contents •
Introduction

Parts of Articles •
speech Nouns •
Verbs •
Gerunds and
participles •
Pronouns •
Adjectives •
Adverbs •
 Prepositions,
Conjunctions
and
Interjections

Other Orthography
topics •
Punctuation
• Syntax •
Figures of
Syntax •
Glossary

External Resources
Verbs are often called action words that show what the
subject (a noun or pronoun) is doing. A verb is a word that
signifies to be, to act, or to be acted on: as, I am, I rule, I
am ruled, I love, you love, he loves. Verbs are so called,
from the Latin verbum, a word; because the verb is that
word which most essentially contains what is said in any
clause or sentence. Although described as "action words",
they can describe abstract concepts. They are a
requirement of any sentence. Verbs have modifications of
four kinds: moods, tenses, persons and numbers.

Morphological forms
An English verb has four morphological forms (forms of
word formation) ever needful to be ascertained in the first
place: the present, the past, the present participle, and the
past participle. The third person singular is the fifth
morphological form.

The present is that form of the verb, which is the root of

all the rest; the verb itself; or that simple term which we
should look for in a dictionary: as, be, act, rule, love,
defend, terminate.
The past is that simple form of the verb, which denotes
time past; and which is always connected with some
noun or pronoun, denoting the subject of the assertion:
as, I was, I acted, I ruled, I loved, I defended.

The present participle is that form of the verb, which

ends commonly in ing, and implies a continuance of the
being, action, or passion: as, being, acting, ruling, loving,
defending, terminating.

The past participle is that form of the verb, which ends

commonly in d or ed, and implies what has taken place:
as, been, acted, ruled, loved.

Regularity
English, like many Germanic languages, contains both
strong (or irregular, which is not quite the same as strong)
and weak (regular) verbs. Irregular verbs are one of the
most difficult aspects of learning English. Each irregular
verb must be memorized, because they are not often easy
to identify otherwise.

Verbs are divided, with respect to their regularity, into four

classes: regular and irregular, redundant and defective.
A regular verb is a verb that forms the past and the past
participle by assuming d or ed: as, love, loved, loving,
loved.

An irregular verb is a verb that does not form the past

and the past participle by assuming d or ed: as, see, saw,
seeing, seen.

A redundant verb is a verb that forms the past or the past

participle in two or more ways, and so as to be both
regular and irregular: as, thrive, thrived or throve, thriving,
thrived or thriven.
A defective verb is a verb that forms no participles, and is
used in but few of the moods and tenses: as, beware,
ought, quoth.

Persons and numbers

The person and number of a verb are those modifications
in which it agrees with its subject. There are three
persons and two numbers: thus,

1. Singular first person. I love.

2. Singular third person. He loves.
 3. Plural first person. We love.
4. Plural second person. You love.
5. Plural third person. They love.

Where the verb is varied, the third person singular in the

present tense, is regularly formed by adding s or es: as, I
see, he sees; I give, he gives; I go, he goes; I fly, he flies; I
vex, he vexes; I lose, he loses.

Where the verb is not varied to denote its person and

number, these properties are inferred from its subject: as,
if I love, if he love; if we love, if you love, if they love.
 Tenses
Tenses are those modifications of the verb, which
distinguish time. There are six tenses; the present, the
past, the present perfect, the past perfect, the first-future,
and the second-future. One could even say there are
twelve tenses because each of those comes in simple
and in progressive forms, which have different meaning.

The past tense is sometimes called imperfect, but the

names perfect and imperfect do not fit their meaning.
These names were derived from Latin where they were
correct.
The present tense simple is that which expresses what
now exists, is normal or correlated to senses. It is used
with adverbs like always, generally.

"There is a house in New Orleans."

"I read a book every week."
"I hear a noise."

The present tense continuous is that which expresses

what is temporary:

"I am reading a letter."

"The car is running at high speed."
 "Someone is always working."

The past tense simple is that which expresses what took

place in time fully past. It is used with adverbs like
yesterday, last week.

"Last week, I read several of Shaw's novels."

The past tense continuous is that which expresses what

was taking place when (suddenly) something else
occurred.

"I saw him yesterday, and hailed him as he was

passing."
 "I was giving a presentation when the microphone
broke."

The present perfect tense simple is that which expresses

what has taken place, within some period of time not yet
fully past, or is still valid. It is used with adverbs like ever,
never, today, this week.

"I have read several of Shaw's novels."

"I have seen him today; something must have detained
him."
"Have you ever tried fugu fish?"
The present perfect tense continuous is that which which
started in the past and has not yet finished.

"Since I have been standing here, five planes took off."

The past perfect tense simple is that which expresses

what had taken place, at some past time mentioned,
before something other happened.

"I had seen him, when I met you."

"As soon as my car had been repaired, I could continue
my trip."
The past perfect tense continuous is that which
expresses what had started before and was still going on,
when something else occurred.

"I had been listening to the radio when she dropped in."

The first-future tense simple is that which expresses

what will take place hereafter.

"I shall see him again, and I will inform him."

The first-future tense continuous is that which expresses

what will be currently taking place at a certain time in
future.
 "I will be swimming in the sea by the time you'll awake."

The second-future tense simple is that which expresses

what will have taken place at some future time
mentioned.

"I shall have seen him by tomorrow noon."

The second-future tense continuous is that which

expresses what will have started at some time and will
still be ongoing, at some future time mentioned.

"I will have been swimming in the sea for four hours by
the time you'll awake tomorrow."
 Signification
An active verb is a verb in an active sentence, in which
the subject performs the verb: as,

"I hit the dog."

An active verb can be transitive or intransitive, but not

passive or neuter.

Verbs are divided again, with respect to their signification,

into four classes: transitive, intransitive, passive, and
neuter.
A transitive verb is a verb that expresses an action which
has some person or thing for its object: as,

"Cain slew Abel."

"Cassius loved Brutus."

An intransitive verb is a verb that expresses an action

which has no person or thing for its object: as,

"John walks."
"Jesus wept."
A passive verb is a verb in a passive sentence (passive
voice) that represents its subject, or what the nominative
expresses, as being acted on: as,

"I am compelled."
"Caesar was slain."

In a passive sentence, the action is performed on the

subject.

"I hit the dog,"

"The dog was hit by me."
These sentences have the same denotative meaning, but
their connotative meaning is quite different; active verbs
are much more powerful and personal.

A neuter verb or impersonal passive verb is a verb that

expresses neither action nor passion, but simply being, or
a state of being: as,

"There was light."

"The babe sleeps."

Voice
Voice of speech can be active or passive. Principally in
passive voice the same tenses can be used as in active
voice. There are two forms of passive voice (the second
form is preferred):

"He gave me the book." =>

"The book was given to me,"
"I was given the book."

There are however some things to note.

"They build a house."

"The house is built."
Here active and passive do not really have the same
meaning. If for example you describe a picture where
people build a house, the first sentence is perfectly
correct. The second sentence however will be interpreted
as the static perfect of the sentence

"The house has been built—it is built now."

This is, the house is now ready and not under

construction. So the correct passive form is

"The house is being built."

Passive voice can be built quite formally by adhering to
some rules. You will however not find normally all tenses
as in active voice. Formal rules will lead you to
monstrosities like the following, you will certainly never
hear (already the active sentence is quite monstrous):

"The speech will have been being held for four hours
when finally you'll arrive."
"The president will have been holding a speech for four
hours when finally you'll arrive."

Moods
Moods are different forms of the verb, each of which
expresses the being, action, or passion, in some particular
manner.

There are five moods; the infinitive, the indicative, the

potential, the subjunctive, and the imperative.

The infinitive mood is that form of the verb, which

expresses the being, action, or passion, in an unlimited
manner, and without person or number: as,

"To die,—to sleep;—to sleep!—perchance, to dream!"—

from Hamlet by William Shakespeare.
The indicative mood is that form of the verb, which
simply indicates or declares a thing: as,

"I write,"
"You know."

or asks a question: as,

"Do you know?"

"Know you not?"

The potential mood is that form of the verb which

expresses the power, liberty, possibility, or necessity, of
the being, action, or passion: as,

"I can walk."

"He may ride."
"We must go."

The subjunctive mood is that form of the verb, which

represents the being, action, or passion, as conditional,
doubtful, and contingent: as,

"If you go, see that you offend not."

"See you do it not."—Rev., xix, 10.
 "God save the queen."
"It is a requirement that ... be done."
"It's high time you were in bed."
"If I were you,..."

The imperative mood is that form of the verb which is

used in commanding, exhorting, entreating, or permitting:
as,

"Depart you."
"Be comforted."
"Forgive me."
 "Go in peace."

Conjugation
The conjugation of a verb is a regular arrangement of its
moods, tenses, persons, numbers, and participles.

An auxiliary, or a sign of a verb, is a short verb prefixed to

one of the morphological forms of another verb, to
express some particular mode and time of the being,
action, or passion. The auxiliaries are do, be, have, shall,
will, may, can, and must, with their variations. Do, be, and
have express the indicative mood.
Most often, the auxiliaries are used in the following way:

When talking about actions that take place in the future,

add the word will before the verb.
To describe an action that is temporary, add the
appropriate form of the verb be before the verb and add
ing to the end of the verb root.
To describe an action that has taken place, put the verb
in the past tense and add the appropriate form of the
verb have before the verb.
You can combine the previous two auxiliaries by putting
the appropriate form of have before been, and putting
 both of them before the verb.

Do

Present tense, sign of the present. I do, he does, we do,

you do, they do.
Past tense, sign of the past. I did, he did, we did, you
did, they did.

Be

Present tense, sign of the present. I am, he is, we are,

you are, they are.
 Past tense, sign of the past. I was, he was, we were, you
were, they were.

Have

Present tense, sign of the perfect. I have, he has, we

have, you have, they have.
Past tense, sign of the past perfect. I had, he had, we
had, you had, they had.

Shall and will

Often confused with each other in modern English. These

auxiliaries have distinct meanings, and, as signs of the
future, they are interchanged thus:

Present tense, sign of the indicative first-future.

Simply to express a future action or event: I shall, he

will, we shall, you will, they will.
To express a promise, command, or threat: I will, he will,
we will, you will, they will.

Past tense, sign of aorist, or indefinite.

Used with reference to duty or expediency: I should, he

should, we should, you should, they should.
 Used with reference to volition or desire: I would, he
would, we would, you would, they would.

See also: Shall and will by Wikipedia

May

Present tense, sign of the potential present. I may, he

may, we may, you may, they may.
Past tense, sign of the potential past. I might, he might,
we might, you might, they might.

Can
 Present tense, sign of the potential present. I can, he
can, we can, you can, they can.
Past tense, sign of the potential past. I could, he could,
we could, you could, they could.

Must

Present tense, sign of the potential present. I must, he

must, we must, you must, they must.

If must is ever used in the sense of the past tense, the

form is the same as that of the present: this word is
entirely invariable.
Is being

English grammar has changed,

"The house is being built."

no longer means the same as

"The house is built."

The first sentence refers to an ongoing action, the second

to a completed one.
 "If the expression, 'Is being built,' be a correct form of
the present indicative passive, then it must be equally
correct to say in the perfect, 'Has been being built;' in
the past perfect, 'Had been being built;' in the present
infinitive, 'To be being built;' in the perfect infinitive, 'To
have been being built;' and in the present participle,
'Being being built;' which all will admit to be
expressions as incorrect as they are inelegant, but
precisely analogous to that which now begins to
prevail."—Bullions's Principles of English Gram., p. 58.

Forms of conjugation
Verb may be conjugated in four ways:

Affirmatively: as, I write, I do write, or, I am writing; and

so on.
Negatively: as, I write not, I do not write, or, I am not
writing.
Interrogatively: as, write I? do I write? or, am I writing?
Interrogatively and negatively: as, write I not? do I not
write? or, am I not writing?

The verbs would be conjugated affirmatively, unless said

otherwise.
 Love, conjugated in simple form
The verb love is a regular active verb.

Simple form, active or neuter

The simplest form of an English conjugation, is that

which makes the present and past tenses without
auxiliaries; but, even in these, auxiliaries are required for
the potential mood, and are often preferred for the
indicative.
Morphological forms

Present Past Present Participle Past Participle

Love Loved Loving Loved

Participles

Present Past Past Perfect

Loving Loved Having loved.

Infinite mood
The infinitive mood is that form of the verb, which
expresses the being, action, or passion, in an unlimited
manner, and without person or number. It is used only in
the present and perfect tenses.

Present tense

This tense is the root, or radical verb; and is usually

preceded by the preposition to, which shows its relation
to some other word: thus,

To love.

Perfect tense
This tense prefixes the auxiliary have to the past
participle; and, like the infinitive present, is usually
preceded by the preposition to: thus,

To have loved.

Indicative mood

The indicative mood is that form of the verb, which simply

indicates or declares a thing, or asks a question. It is used
in all the tenses.

Present tense
The present indicative, in its simple form, is essentially
the same as the present infinitive, or radical verb; except
that the verb be has am in the indicative.

The simple form of the present tense is varied thus:

I love, he loves, we love, you love, they love.

This tense may also be formed by prefixing the auxiliary

do to the verb: thus,

I do love, he does love, we do love, you do love, they do

love.
Past tense

This tense, in its simple form is the past; which, in all

regular verbs, adds d or ed to the present, but in others is
formed variously.

The simple form of the past tense is varied thus:

I loved, he loved, we loved, you loved, they loved,

This tense may also be formed by prefixing the auxiliary

did to the present: thus,
 I did love, he did love, we did love, you did love, they did
love.

she did love ‿

Perfect tense

This tense prefixes the auxiliary have to the past

participle: thus,

I have loved, he has loved, we have loved, you have

loved, they have loved.

Past perfect tense

This tense prefixes the auxiliary had to the past participle:
thus,

I had loved, he had loved, we had loved, you had loved,

they had loved.

First-future tense

This tense prefixes the auxiliary shall or will to the

present: thus,

Simply to express a future action or event: I shall love,

he will love, we shall love, you will love, they will love.
 To express a promise, volition, command, or threat: I
will love, he shall love, we will love, you shall love, they
shall love.
Second-future tense

This tense prefixes the auxiliaries shall have or will have to

the past participle: thus,

I shall have loved, he will have loved, we shall have

loved, you will have loved, they will have loved.

Potential mood
The potential mood is that form of the verb, which
expresses the power, liberty, possibility, or necessity of
the being, action, or passion. It is used in the first four
tenses; but the potential past is properly an aorist: its
time is very indeterminate: as,

"He would be devoid of sensibility were he not greatly

satisfied."—Lord Kames, El. of Crit., Vol. i, p. 11.
Present tense

This tense prefixes the auxiliary may, can, or must, to the

radical verb: thus,
 I may love, he may love, we may love, you may love,
they may love.
Past tense

This tense prefixes the auxiliary might, could, would, or

should, to the radical verb: thus,

I might love, he might love, we might love, you might

love, they might love.

Perfect tense
This tense prefixes the auxiliaries, may have, can have, or
must have, to the past participle: thus,

I may have loved, he may have loved, we may have

loved, you may have loved, they may have loved.

Past perfect tense

This tense prefixes the auxiliaries, might have, could have,

would have, or should have, to the past participle: thus,

I might have loved, he might have loved, we might have

loved, you might have loved, they might have loved.
Subjunctive mood

The subjunctive mood is that form of the verb, which

represents the being, action, or passion, as conditional,
doubtful, or contingent. This mood is generally preceded
by a conjunction: as, if, that, though, lest, unless, except.
But sometimes, especially in poetry, it is formed by a
mere placing of the verb before the nominative: as,

"Were I," for, "If I were;"

"Had he," for, "If he had;"
"Fall we" for, "If we fall;"
 "Knew they," for, "If they knew."

It does not vary its termination at all, in the different

persons. It is used in the present, and sometimes in the
past tense; rarely, and perhaps never properly, in any
other. As this mood can be used only in a dependent
clause, the time implied in its tenses is always relative,
and generally indefinite: as,

"It shall be in eternal restless change, self-fed, and self-

consumed: if this fail, the pillared firmament is
rottenness."—Milton, Comus, l. 596.
Present tense
This tense is generally used to express some condition on
which a future action or event is affirmed. It is therefore
erroneously considered by some grammarians, as an
elliptical form of the future.

If I love, if he love, if we love, if you love, if they love.

In this tense, the auxiliary do is sometimes employed: as,

"If you do prosper my way."—Genesis, xxiv, 42.

"If he do not utter it."—Leviticus, v, 1.
"If he do but intimate his desire."—Murray's Key, p. 207.
 "If he do promise, he will certainly perform."—Ib., p. 208.
"An event which, if it ever do occur, must occur in some
future period."—Hiley's Gram., 3d Ed., Lond., p. 89.
"If he do but promise, you are safe."—Ib., 89.
"Until old experience do attain to something like
prophetic strain."—Milton: Il Penseroso.

Past tense

If I loved, if he loved, if we loved, if you loved, if they

loved.
This tense, like the past of the potential mood, with which
it is frequently connected, is properly an aorist, or
indefinite tense; for it may refer to time past, present, or
future: as,

"If therefore perfection were by the Levitical priesthood,

what further need was there that an other priest should
rise?"—Heb., vii, 11.
"They must be viewed exactly in the same light, as if the
intention to purchase now existed."—Murray's Parsing
Exercises, p. 24.
 "If it were possible, they shall deceive the very elect."—
Matt., xxiv, 24.
"If the whole body were an eye, where were the
hearing?"—1 Corinthians, xii, 17.
"If the thankful refrained, it would be pain and grief to
them."—Atterbury.

Imperative mood

The imperative mood is that form of the verb, which is

used in commanding, exhorting, entreating, or permitting.
It is commonly used only in the second person of the
present tense.

Love [you,] or do you love.

See, conjugated in simple form

The verb see is an irregular active verb.

Morphological forms

Present Past Present ParticiplePast Participle

See. Saw.Seeing. Seen.
Participles

Present Past Past Perfect

Seeing. Seen. Having seen.

Infinitive mood

Present tense. To see.

Perfect tense. To have seen.

Indicative mood

Present tense. I see, he sees, we see, you see, they see.

 Past tense. I saw, he saw, we saw, you saw, they saw.
Perfect tense. I have seen, he has seen, we have seen,
you have seen, they have seen.
Past perfect tense. I had seen, he had seen, we had
seen, you had seen, they had seen.
First-future tense. I shall see, he will see, we shall see,
you will see, they will see.
Second-future tense. I shall have seen, he will have
seen, we shall have seen, you will have seen, they will
have seen.

Potential mood
 Present tense. I may see, he may see, we may see, you
may see, they may see.
Past tense. I might see, he might see, we might see,
you might see, they might see.
Perfect tense. I may have seen, he may have seen, we
may have seen, you may have seen, they may have
seen.
Past perfect tense. I might have seen, he might have
seen, we might have seen, you might have seen, they
might have seen.

Subjunctive mood
 Present tense. If I see, if he see, if we see, if you see, if
they see.
Past tense. If I saw, if he saw, if we saw, if you saw, if
they saw.

Imperative mood

Present tense. See [you,] or do you see.

Be, conjugated in simple form

The verb be is an irregular neuter verb.
Morphological forms

Present Past Present Participle

Past Participle.
Be. Was. Being.
Been.

Participles

Present Past Past Perfect

Being. Been. Having been.
Infinitive mood

Present tense. To be.

Perfect tense. To have been.

Indicative mood

Present tense. I am, he is, we are, you are, they are.

Past tense. I was, he was, we were, you were, they were.
Perfect tense. I have been, he has been, we have been,
you have been, they have been.
Past perfect tense. I had been, he had been, we had
been, you had been, they had been.
 First-future tense. I shall be, he will be, we shall be, you
will be, they will be.
Second-future tense. We shall have been, he will have
been, we shall have been, you will have been, they will
have been.

Potential mood

Present tense. I may be, he may be, we may be, you

may be, they may be.
Past tense. I might be, he might be, we might be, you
might be, they might be.
 Perfect tense. I may have been, he may have been, we
may have been, you may have been, they may have
been.
Past perfect tense. I might have been, he might have
been, we might have been, you might have been, they
might have been.

Subjunctive mood

Present tense. If I be, if he be, if we be, if you be, if they

be.
Past tense. If I were, if he were, if we were, if you were,
if they were.
Imperative mood

Present tense. Be [you,] or do you be.

Read, conjugated in progressive form

The verb read is an irregular active verb.

Compound or progressive form

Active and neuter verbs may also be conjugated, by

adding the present participle to the auxiliary verb be,
through all its changes: as,
 "I am writing a letter."
"He is sitting idle."
"They are going."

This form of the verb denotes a continuance of the action

or state of being, and is, on many occasions, preferable to
the simple form of the verb.

Morphological forms of the simple verb

Present Past Present Participle

Past Participle
 Read. Read. Reading.
Read.

Participles

Present Past Past Perfect

Being reading. ———————— Having been
reading.

Infinitive mood

Present tense. To be reading.

 Perfect tense. To have been reading.

Indicative mood

Present tense. I am reading, he is reading, we are

reading, you are reading, they are reading.
Past tense. I was reading, he was reading, we were
reading, you were reading, they were reading.
Perfect tense. I have been reading, he has been reading,
we have been reading, you have been reading, they have
been reading.
 Past perfect tense. I had been reading, he had been
reading, we had been reading, you had been reading,
they had been reading.
First-future tense. I shall be reading, he will be reading,
we shall be reading, you will be reading, they will be
reading.
Second-future tense. I shall have been reading, he will
have been reading, we shall have been reading, you will
have been reading, they will have been reading.

Potential mood
Present tense. I may be reading, he may be reading, we
may be reading, you may be reading, they may be
reading.
Past tense. I might be reading, he might be reading, we
might be reading, you might be reading, they might be
reading.
Perfect tense. I may have been reading, he may have
been reading, we may have been reading, you may have
been reading, they may have been reading.
Past perfect tense. I might have been reading, he might
have been reading, we might have been reading, you
 might have been reading, they might have been reading.

Subjunctive mood

Present tense. If I be reading, if she be reading, if we be

reading, if you be reading, if they be reading.
Past tense. If I were reading, if he were reading, if we
were reading, if you were reading, if they were reading.

Imperative mood

Be you reading, or do you be reading.

Be loved, conjugated in simple form

The verb be loved is a regular passive verb.

Form of passive verbs

Passive verbs, in English, are always of a progressive

form; being made from transitive verbs, by adding the
past participle to the auxiliary verb be, through all its
changes: thus from the active transitive verb love, is
formed the passive verb be loved.

Morphological forms of the active verb

 Present Past Present Participle Past Participle
Love Loved Loving Loved Loving

Infinitive mood

Present tense. To be loved.

Perfect tense. To have been loved.

Indicative mood

Present tense. I am loved, he is loved, we are loved, you

are loved, they are loved.
Past tense. I was loved, he was loved, we were loved,
you were loved, they were loved.
Perfect tense. I have been loved, he has been loved, we
have been loved, you have been loved, they have been
loved.
Past perfect tense. I had been loved, he had been loved,
we had been loved, you had been loved, they had been
loved.
First-future tense. I shall be loved, he will be loved, we
shall be loved, you will be loved, they will be loved.
 Second-future tense. I shall have been loved, he will
have been loved, we shall have been loved, you will
have been loved, they will have been loved.

Potential mood

Present tense. I may be loved, he may be loved, we may

be loved, you may be loved, they may be loved.
Past tense. I might be loved, he might be loved, we
might be loved, you might be loved, they might be
loved.
Perfect tense. I may have been loved, he may have
been loved, we may have been loved, you may have
 been loved, they may have been loved.
Past perfect tense. I might have been loved, he might
have been loved, we might have been loved, you might
have been loved, they might have been loved.

Subjunctive mood

Present tense. If I be loved, if he be loved, if we be

loved, if you be loved, if they be loved.
Past tense. If I were loved, if he were loved, if we were
loved, if you were loved, if they were loved.

Imperative mood
 Present tense. Be you loved, or do you be loved.

Love, conjugated negatively

Form of negation

A verb is conjugated negatively, by placing the adverb not

and participles take the negative first: as, not to love, not
to have loved; not loving, not loved, not having loved.

First person singular

 Indicative. I love not, or I don't love; I loved not, or I
didn't love; I haven't loved; I hadn't loved; I shalln't, or
won't, love; I shalln't, or won't, have loved.
Potential. I may, can, or mustn't love; I might, could,
would, or shouldn't love; I may, can, or mustn't have
loved; I might, could, would, or shouldn't have loved,
Subjunctive. If I love not, if I loved not, if they loved.

Third person singular

Indicative. He loves not, or he doesn't love; he loved not,

or he didn't love; he hasn't loved; he hadn't loved; he
shalln't, or won't, love; he shalln't, or won't, have loved.
 Potential. He may, can, or mustn't love; he might, could,
would, or shouldn't love; he may, can, or mustn't have
loved; he might, could, would, or shouldn't have loved.
Subjunctive. If he love not, if he loved not.

Love, conjugated interrogatively

Form of question

A verb is conjugated interrogatively, in the indicative and

potential moods, by placing the nominative after it, or
after the first auxiliary: as,
First person singular

Indicative. Love I? or do I love? loved I? or did I love?

have I loved? had I loved? shall I love? shall I have
loved?
Potential. May, can, or must I love? might, could, would,
or should I love? may, can, or must I have loved? might,
could, would, or should I have loved?

Third person singular

Indicative. Loves he? or does he love? loved he? or did

he love? has he loved? had he loved? shall or will he
 love? will he have loved?
Potential. May, can, or must he love? might, could,
would, or should he love? may, can, or must he have
loved? might, could, would, or should he have loved?

Love, conjugated interrogatively and

negatively
Form of question with negation

A verb is conjugated interrogatively and negatively, in the

indicative and potential moods, by placing the nominative
and the adverb not after the verb, or after the first
auxiliary: as,

First person plural

Indicative. Love we not? or do we not love? loved we

not? or did we not love? have we not loved? had we not
loved? shall we not love? shall we not have loved?
Potential. May, can, or must we not love? might, could,
would, or should we not love? may, can, or must we not
have loved? might, could, would, or should we not have
loved?
Third person plural

Indicative. Are they not loved? were they not loved?

have they not been loved? had they not been loved?
shall or will they not be loved? will they not have been
loved?
Potential. May, can, or must they not be loved? might,
could, would, or should they not be loved? may, can, or
must they not have been loved? might, could, would, or
should they not have been loved?

Irregular verbs
An irregular verb is a verb that does not form the past and
the past participle by assuming d or ed: as, see, saw,
seeing, seen. Of this class of verbs there are about one
hundred and ten, beside their several derivatives and
compounds.

Methods of learning irregular verbs:

To remember verbs:
1. Learn them by heart.
2. Write a reference lists of verbs.
3. Say the verbs aloud (not silently).
 4. Set yourself targets, e.g. learn one verb a day.
5. Learn these verbs in groups.
6. Test yourself.
To learn how to use them:
1. Write your own example sentences.
2. Collect some examples of use for each verb, e.g.
from books, magazines or newspapers.
3. Use an English grammar.

List of the top irregular verbs: