Which of the following is the passive voice of the sentence "The cat chased the mouse"?

The mouse was chased by the cat.

Verb Forms

by Yogi P - October 16, 2023

Verb Forms in English: Main Verb Form List V1, V2, V3

Verbs are words that describe actions, states of being, or occurrences. They are an essential part of any language, and English is no exception. Basically there are mainly three forms of verb namely Present, Past, and Past Participle which are commonly named as V1, V2, and V3. Other forms of verb are created by adding or modifying prefixes or suffixes of base or root verb. Base verb or root verb is mainly used to represent the simple present tense. Some examples of base / root verb – Read, Write, Walk, Play, Run, Go

Let us discuss each form of verb one by one here

In English, there are five main verb forms:

Root verb: The root verb is the most basic form of the verb, without any conjugation. It is used to create the other verb forms.
Third person singular present form: The third person singular present form is used to indicate that the subject of the sentence is performing the action in the present tense.
Present participle form: The present participle form is used to indicate that the action is happening now or continuously.
Simple past form: The simple past form is used to indicate that the action happened in the past.
Past participle form: The past participle form is used to indicate that the action has already happened.

Root Verb with example

The root verb is the most basic form of the verb, without any conjugation. It is used to create the other verb forms. For example, the root verb of “to run” is “run.”

Root verb examples

Root Verb	Example
run	I run every morning.
run	The dog ran away.
run	He ran the race in record time.
walk	I walk to school every day.
walk	The baby is learning to walk.
talk	We talked for hours.
talk	The teacher is talking to the students.

How to Find the Root Verb

To find the root verb, remove the prefixes and suffixes from the verb. For example:

The root verb of “running” is “run.”
The root verb of “walking” is “walk.”
The root verb of “talking” is “talk.”

Usage of Root Verb

The root verb is used to create the other verb forms, such as the past participle, present participle, and infinitive. It is also used in the dictionary to define the verb.

Third Person Singular Present Form of verb with example

The third person singular present form is used to indicate that the subject of the sentence is performing the action in the present tense. It is formed by adding an “s” or “es” to the end of the root verb.

Third Person Singular Present Form examples

Subject	Root Verb	Third Person Singular Form
Tom	like	likes
Sheela	teach	teaches
My father	read	reads
The Sun	rise, set	rises, sets

Explanation

The third person singular present form of a verb is used to describe an action that is happening now or that happens regularly. To form the third person singular present form of a verb, we usually add an s or es to the end of the root verb.

Rules

If the root verb ends in s, x, z, ch, sh, or tch, add es to form the third person singular present form.
If the root verb ends in a consonant followed by a y, change the y to i and add es.

Otherwise, add s to form the third person singular present form.

Exceptions

There are a few irregular verbs that do not follow these rules. For example, the third person singular present form of the verb to be is is.

Usage

The third person singular present form of a verb is used to describe an action that is happening now or that happens regularly.

For example, we can say:

Tom likes having cereal for breakfast.
Sheela teaches English for sixth grade students.
My father reads the newspaper every day.
The Sun rises in the east and sets in the west.

We can also use the third person singular present form of a verb to talk about general facts or truths. For example, we can say:

Water boils at 100 degrees Celsius.
Birds fly through the air.
The Earth revolves around the Sun.

Present Participle Form of the verb with example

The present participle form is used to indicate that the action is happening now or continuously. It is formed by adding “ing” to the end of the root verb.

Examples of Present Participle Form of Verb

Root Verb	Present Participle Form	Example
run	running	I am running to the store.
bark	barking	The dog is barking at the squirrel.
work	working	They are working on a new project.
sing	singing	The bird is singing in the tree.
boil	boiling	The water is boiling.
fall	falling	The leaves are falling from the trees.

Simple Past Form of the verb with example

The simple past form of the verb is used to indicate that the action happened in the past. It is formed by adding “ed” to the end of the root verb. However, there are some irregular verbs that have different simple past forms.

Root Verb	Simple Past Form	Example
run	ran	I ran to the store yesterday.
bark	barked	The dog barked at the squirrel all day.
work	worked	They worked on the project for weeks.
sing	sang	The bird sang in the tree yesterday.
boil	boiled	The water boiled quickly.
fall	fell	The leaves fell from the trees last week.

Irregular Verbs

Some irregular verbs have different simple past forms. Here are a few examples:

Root Verb	Simple Past Form	Example
be	was, were	I was at the store yesterday.
do	did	They did their homework.
go	went	I went to the park yesterday.
have	had	She had a meeting this morning.
see	saw	I saw a movie last night.

Usage

The simple past form of the verb is used to talk about actions that happened at a specific time in the past or that happened over a period of time in the past.

For example, we can say:

I went to the store yesterday.
She lived in France for two years.
They played soccer last weekend.

We can also use the simple past form of the verb to talk about habits or routines in the past.

For example, we can say:

I used to walk to school every day.
She always went to bed early.
They never watched TV on weeknights.

Past Participle Form of the verb with example

The past participle form of verb is used to indicate that the action has already happened. It is formed by adding “ed” to the end of the root verb. However, there are some irregular verbs that have different past participle forms.

Root Verb	Simple Past Form	Example
be	was, were	I was at the store yesterday.
do	did	They did their homework.
go	went	I went to the park yesterday.
have	had	She had a meeting this morning.
see	saw	I saw a movie last night.

Irregular Verbs

Some irregular verbs have different past participle forms. Here are a few examples:

Root Verb	Past Participle Form(s)	Example
begin	begun	The project has begun successfully.
choose	chosen	She has chosen the best option.
drink	drunk	He has drunk his coffee already.
eat	eaten	We have eaten dinner.
take	taken	They have taken the last bus home.

Usage

The past participle form of the verb is used to form the present perfect tense, the past perfect tense, and the passive voice.

Usage in Present perfect tense:

The present perfect tense is used to talk about actions that have happened at some unspecified time in the past or that started in the past and continue to the present. To form the present perfect tense, we use the auxiliary verb have and the past participle form of the main verb.

For example:

I have run to the store many times.
She has lived in France for two years.
They have played soccer many times.

Usage in Past perfect tense:

The past perfect tense is used to talk about actions that happened before another action in the past. To form the past perfect tense, we use the auxiliary verb had and the past participle form of the main verb.

For example:

I had run to the store before my meeting.
She had lived in France for two years before she moved to the United States.
They had played soccer all day before they went to bed.

Usage in Passive voice:

The passive voice is used to emphasize the object of the sentence rather than the subject. To form the passive voice, we use the auxiliary verb be and the past participle form of the main verb.

For example:

The dog was barked at by the squirrel.
The project was worked on for months.

Using Verb Forms Correctly

Using verb forms correctly is essential for clear and effective communication.

Here are a few tips:

Use the present participle form to indicate that the action is happening now or continuously.

For example, “I am running to the store.”

Use the simple past form to indicate that the action happened in the past.

For example, “I ran to the store yesterday.”

Use the past participle form to indicate that the action has already happened.

For example, “I have run to the store many times.”

Be careful with irregular verbs. Irregular verbs have different forms for the simple past and past participle.

For example, the simple past form of “run” is “ran,” and the past participle form is “run.”

Verbs with the Same Spelling in Simple Past and Past Participle:

Root Verb	Simple Past	Past Participle
Hit	Hit	Hit
Throw	Threw	Threw
Set	Set	Set
Read	Read	Read
Hurt	Hurt	Hurt
Spread	Spread	Spread
Sit	Sat	Sat
Burst	Burst	Burst
Cut	Cut	Cut
Buy	Bought	Bought
Stand	Stood	Stood
Put	Put	Put
Cost	Cost	Cost
Think	Thought	Thought
Beat	Beat	Beat

Verbs with Different Spelling in Simple Past and Past Participle:

Root Verb	Simple Past	Past Participle
Choose	Chose	Chosen
Freeze	Froze	Frozen
Sing	Sang	Sung
Speak	Spoke	Spoken
Write	Wrote	Written
Break	Broke	Broken
Drive	Drove	Driven
Shake	Shook	Shaken
Fly	Flew	Flown
Hide	Hid	Hidden
Forbid	Forbade	Forbidden
Swim	Swam	Swum
Sing	Sang	Sung
Eat	Ate	Eaten
Take	Took	Taken
Speak	Spoke	Spoken
Grow	Grew	Grown

These examples showcase a variety of irregular verbs with different patterns for their simple past and past participle forms.

Some additional examples on how to use verb forms correctly in sentences:

Present participle:

I am cooking dinner.
The children are playing in the park.
The birds are singing in the trees.

Simple past:

I ate breakfast this morning.
She went to the store yesterday.
They worked on the project last week.

Past participle:

I have cooked dinner many times.
She has gone to the store several times today.
They have worked on the project for months.

Conclusion

Verb forms are an essential part of the English language. By understanding the different verb forms and how to use them, you can improve your communication skills and write more clearly and effectively.

FAQs for Verb Forms

Q1. What are verb forms?

Verb forms are different ways of conjugating a verb to indicate the tense, aspect, mood, and voice of the verb.

Q2. What are the different types of verb forms?

The different types of verb forms are:

Tense: Tense indicates when the action of the verb happened (past, present, future) or is happening (present progressive).
Aspect: Aspect indicates how the action of the verb is happening (completed, ongoing, habitual).
Mood: Mood indicates the speaker’s attitude towards the action of the verb (indicative, imperative, subjunctive).
Voice: Voice indicates whether the subject of the sentence is performing the action of the verb (active voice) or receiving the action of the verb (passive voice).

Q3. What are some examples of verb forms?

Here are some examples of verb forms:

Tense:

Past: I ran to the store.
Present: I am running to the store.
Future: I will run to the store.

Aspect:

Completed: I have run to the store many times.
Ongoing: I am running to the store right now.
Habitual: I used to run to the store every day.

Mood:

Indicative: I run to the store every day.
Imperative: Run to the store!
Subjunctive: If I were you, I would run to the store.

Voice:

Active: I threw the ball.
Passive: The ball was thrown by me.

Q4. How do I use verb forms correctly?

To use verb forms correctly, you need to know the tense, aspect, mood, and voice that you want to convey. You also need to know the rules for conjugating verbs in English.

Here are some tips for using verb forms correctly:

Make sure that the tense of the verb matches the tense of the other verbs in the sentence.
Use the correct aspect of the verb to indicate how the action is happening.
Use the correct mood of the verb to indicate your attitude towards the action of the verb.
Use the correct voice of the verb to indicate whether the subject of the sentence is performing or receiving the action of
the verb.
If you are unsure of how to use a particular verb form, you can consult a grammar book or online resource.

Q5. What is the difference between the present perfect and past perfect tenses?

The present perfect tense is used to talk about actions that have happened at some unspecified time in the past or that started in the past and continue to the present. The past perfect tense is used to talk about actions that happened before another action in the past.

Here are some examples:

Present perfect: I have seen that movie many times.
Past perfect: I had seen that movie before we went on a date.

Q6. What is the difference between the active and passive voice?

The active voice is used to emphasize the subject of the sentence. The passive voice is used to emphasize the object of the sentence.

Here are some examples:

Active: I threw the ball.
Passive: The ball was thrown by me.

Q7. What are some common mistakes that people make with verb forms?

Some common mistakes that people make with verb forms include:

Using the wrong tense to indicate when the action happened.
Using the wrong aspect to indicate how the action is happening.
Using the wrong mood to indicate your attitude towards the action of the verb.
Using the wrong voice to indicate whether the subject of the sentence is performing or receiving the action of the verb.

Q8. How can I improve my understanding of verb forms?

There are a few things you can do to improve your understanding of verb forms:

Read grammar books and online resources about verb forms.
Practice conjugating verbs in different tenses, aspects, moods, and voices.
Pay attention to how verb forms are used in your reading and writing.
If you are unsure of how to use a particular verb form, ask a teacher, tutor, or friend for help.