24 Standard English Verbs
Introductory Project
Underline what you think is the correct form of the verb in each of the sentences below:
As a boy, he (enjoy, enjoyed) watching nature shows on television.
He still (enjoy, enjoys) watching such shows today as an adult.
When my car was new, it always (start, started) in the morning.
Now it (start, starts) only sometimes.
A couple of years ago, when Alice (cook, cooked) dinner, you needed an antacid tablet.
Now, when she (cook, cooks), neighbors invite themselves over to eat with us.
On the basis of the above examples, see if you can complete the following statements:
1. The first example in each pair refers to a (past, present) action, and the regular verb ends in __________.
2. The second example in each pair refers to a (past, present) action, and the regular verb ends in __________.
Answers are on page 728.
Many people have grown up in communities where nonstandard verb forms are used in everyday life. Such forms include I thinks, he talk, it done, we has, you was, and she don't. Community dialects have richness and power but are a drawback in college and the world at large, where standard English verb forms must be used. Standard English helps ensure clear communication among English-speaking people everywhere, and it is especially important in the world of work.
This chapter compares community dialect and standard English forms of one regular verb and three common irregular verbs.
Regular Verbs: Dialect and Standard Forms
The chart below compares community dialect (nonstandard) and standard English forms of the regular verb smile.
Smile
Community Dialect Standard English
(Do not use in your writing) (Use for clear communication)
Present tense
I smiles we smiles I smile we smile
you smiles you smiles you smile you smile
he, she, it smile they smiles he, she, it smiles they smile
Past tense
I smile we smile I smiled we smiled
you smile you smile you smiled you smiled
he, she, it smile they smile he, she, it smiled they smiled
One of the most common nonstandard forms results from dropping the endings of regular verbs. For example, people might say, “David never smile anymore” instead of “David never smiles anymore.” Or they will say, “Before he lost his job, David smile a lot,” instead of, “Before he lost his job, David smiled a lot.” To avoid such nonstandard usage, memorize the forms shown above for the regular verb smile. Then use the activities that follow to help make a habit of including verb endings when you write.
Present Tense Endings
The verb ending -s or -es is needed with a regular verb in the present tense when the subject is he, she, it, or any one person or thing. Consider the following examples of present tense endings.
He He yells.
She She throws things.
It It really angers me.
One person Their son storms out of the house.
One person Their frightened daughter crouches behind the bed.
One thing At night the house shakes.
Activity 1
All but one of the ten sentences that follow need -s or -es verb endings. Cross out the nonstandard verb forms and write the standard forms in the spaces provided. Mark the one sentence that needs no change with a C for correct.
Example __________ Dana always want the teacher's attention.
__________ 1. That newspaper print nothing but bad news.
__________ 2. Don't eat a fish that smell funny.
__________ 3. Claire plan to enter the contest.
__________ 4. Whole-wheat bread taste better to me than rye bread.
__________ 5. Bob weaken his lungs by smoking so much.
__________ 6. The sick baby scream whenever her mother puts her down.
__________ 7. You make me angry sometimes.
__________ 8. Troy run faster than anybody else on the track team.
__________ 9. She live in a rough section of town.
__________ 10. Martha like mystery novels better than romances.
Activity 2
Rewrite the short passage below, adding present -s or -es verb endings wherever needed.
Terri work in a big office downtown. Her cubicle sit right next to another worker's. This worker drive Terri crazy. He make more noise than you can imagine. Every day he bring a bag of raw carrots to work. The crunching noise fill the air. After he eat the carrots, he chew gum. He pop it so loud it sound like gunfire.
Past Tense Endings
The verb ending -d or -ed is needed with a regular verb in the past tense.
A midwife delivered my baby.
The visitor puzzled over the campus map.
The children watched cartoons all morning.
Activity 1
All but one of the ten sentences that follow need -d or -ed verb endings. Cross out the nonstandard verb forms and write the standard forms in the spaces provided. Mark the one sentence that needs no change with a C.
Example ____________ Yesterday I fail a chemistry quiz.
__________ 1. Lily carefully color her mouth with red lipstick.
__________ 2. The Vietnamese student struggle with the new language.
__________ 3. The sick little boy start to cry again.
__________ 4. The tired mother turned on the TV for him.
__________ 5. I miss quite a few days of class early in the semester.
__________ 6. The weather forecaster promise blue skies, but rain began early this morning.
__________ 7. Sam attempt to put out the candle flame with his finger.
__________ 8. However, he end up burning himself.
__________ 9. On the bus, Yolanda listen to music through the headphones of her Walkman.
__________ 10. As the photographer was about to take a picture of the smiling baby, a sudden noise frighten the child and made her cry.
Activity 2
Rewrite the short passage on the next page, adding past tense -d or -ed verb endings wherever needed.
I smoke for two years and during that time suffer no real side effects. Then my body attack me. I start to have trouble falling asleep, and I awaken early every morning. My stomach digest food very slowly, so that at lunchtime I seem to be still full with breakfast. My lips and mouth turn dry, and I swallow water constantly. Also, mucus fill my lungs and I cough a lot. I decide to stop smoking when my wife insist I take out more life insurance for our family.
Three Common Irregular Verbs: Dialect and Standard Forms
The following charts compare community dialect and standard English forms of the common irregular verbs be, have, and do. (For more on irregular verbs, see pages 409-417.)
Be
Community Dialect Standard English
(Do not use in your writing) (Use for clear communication)
Present tense
I be (or is) we be I am we are
you be you be you are you are
he, she, it be they be he, she, it is they are
Past tense
I were we was I was we were
you was you was you were you were
he, she, it were they was he, she, it was they were
Have
Community Dialect Standard English
(Do not use in your writing) (Use for clear communication)
Present tense
I has we has I have we have
you has you has you have you have
he, she, it have they has he, she, it has they have
Past tense
I has we has I had we had
you has you has you had you had
he, she, it have they has he, she, it had they had
Do
Community Dialect Standard English
(Do not use in your writing) (Use for clear communication)
Present tense
I does we does I do we do
you does you does you do you do
he, she, it do they does he, she, it does they do
Past tense
I done we done I did we did
you done you done you did you did
he, she, it done they done he, she, it did they did
Note: Many people have trouble with one negative form of do. They will say, for example, “He don't agree” instead of “He doesn't agree,” or they will say, “The door don't work,” instead of “The door doesn't work.” Be careful to avoid the common mistake of using don't instead of doesn't.
Activity 1
Underline the standard form of be, have, or do.
1. Crystal (have, has) such a nice singing voice that she often sings solos at our choir concerts.
2. The children (is, are) ready to go home.
3. Whenever we (do, does) the laundry, our clothes are spotted with blobs of undissolved detergent.
4. Rod and Arlene (was, were) ready to leave for the movies when the baby began to wail.
5. Our art class (done, did) the mural on the wall of the cafeteria.
6. If I (have, has) the time later, I will help you set up your new laser printer.
7. Jesse (be, is) the best Ping-Pong player in the college.
8. My mom always goes to the same hair stylist because she (do, does) Mom's hair just the way mom likes.
9. The mice in our attic (have, has) chewed several holes in our ceiling.
10. The science instructor said that the state of California (be, is) ready for a major earthquake any day.
Activity 2
Fill in each blank with the standard form of be, have, or do.
1. My car ____________ a real personality.
2. I think it ____________ almost human.
3. On cold mornings, it ____________ not want to start.
4. Like me, the car ___________ a problem dealing with freezing weather.
5. I don't want to get out of bed, and my car ____________ not like leaving the garage.
6. Also, we ____________ the same feeling about rainstorms.
7. I hate driving to school in a downpour, and so ____________ the car.
8. When the car ____________ stopped at a light, it stalls.
9. The habits my car ____________ may be annoying.
10. But they ____________ understandable.
Review Test 1
Underline the standard verb form.
1. Alex (argue, argues) just to hear himself talk.
2. Manuel and Yvonne (do, does) their grocery shopping first thing in the morning when the store is nearly empty.
3. The cheap ballpoint pen (leak, leaked) all over the lining of my pocketbook.
4. Dan (climb, climbed) up on the roof to see where the water was coming in.
5. If you (has, have) any trouble with the assignment, give me a call.
6. As soon as she gets home from work, Missy (boil, boils) some water to make tea.
7. My daughter often (watch, watches) TV after the rest of the family is in bed.
8. Two of the players (was, were) suspended from the league for ten games for using drugs.
9. Jeannie (has, have) only one eye; she lost the other years ago after falling on some broken glass.
10. I remember how my wet mittens (use, used) to steam on the hot school radiator.
Review Test 2
Cross out the two nonstandard verb forms in each sentence below. Then write the standard English verbs in the spaces provided.
Example ________ When our teacher be angry, his eyelid begin to twitch. ________
__________ 1. My mother work for the local newspaper; she take classified ads over the
__________ phone.
__________ 2. Last week the city tow away my car; this morning I paid sixty dollars and pick
__________ it up from the towing company.
__________ 3. When my wife be late for work, she rush around the house like a speeded-up
__________ cartoon character.
__________ 4. Henry love to go camping until two thieves in the campground remove his
__________ cooler, stove, and sleeping bag from his tent.
__________ 5. If the baby have a bad cold, I takes her into a steamy bathroom for a while to
__________ ease her breathing.
__________ 6. Although my little girls knows they shouldn't tease the cat, they often dresses
__________ up the animal in doll clothes.
__________ 7. When my brothers watches their favorite Star Trek reruns, they knows
__________ exactly what Captain Kirk is going to say next.
__________ 8. The hot, sweaty children jumps into the cool water of the pool and splashes
__________ around like a couple of happy seals.
__________ 9. I show the receipt to the manager to prove that the clerk had accidentally
__________ overcharge me.
__________ 10. As far as our son be concerned, oatmeal taste like soggy cardboard.
__________