210. If we examine the conjugation of the verb see, we shall discover that most of the tenses are formed by the use of auxiliary verbs, and that only four forms of the verb see itself are made use of; namely, see, sees, saw, seen. The form sees occurs only once, but the other three forms occur often. These three forms—see, saw, seen—are called the principal parts of the verb see.
The principal parts of any verb are the present indicative, as, go, take; the past indicative, as, went, took; and another form, as, gone, taken, called the past participle.
211. The past participle is used in forming all the perfect tenses. It is plain, then, that we should say I have gone (not have went), I had taken (not had took); since went and took are past tense forms, not past participles.
The past participle is never used in the primary tenses. That is why we say I saw (not seen), I did (not done).
Note.—The very common word ought is, as we use it to-day, an old past tense form of the verb owe, and not a past participle. Hence, we should say ought to go, or ought not to go (not had ought to go or hadn’t ought to go).
212. Most verbs form their past tense and past participle by adding d or ed to the present tense. The past tense and the past participle of move are moved and moved; of plow are plowed and plowed; of lift are lifted and lifted. Such verbs are called regular verbs.
213. Many verbs in very common use form their past tense or past participle, not by the addition of a suffix, but by some change within the word, such as a change in the vowel. The past tense and past participle of sing are sang and sung respectively; of leave are left and left; of write are wrote and written. These verbs are called irregular verbs.
214. Some verbs, like put and set, have the same form for each of their principal parts. These also are irregular verbs.
215. The verb be is very irregular. Its principal parts are: present tense am, past tense was, past participle been.
216. If we know the proper auxiliaries for the different tenses, we can conjugate any verb correctly by first ascertaining its principal parts. These can always be found in a dictionary.
Summary.—The principal parts of a verb are the present tense, the past tense, and the past participle.
A regular verb is one that forms its past tense and past participle by adding d or ed to the present tense.
An irregular verb is one whose past tense or past participle is formed in some other way than by adding d or ed to the present tense.
Note.—Webster’s New International Dictionary gives the present tense form of every verb. If the verb is irregular, the dictionary gives also the past tense form preceded by pret., and the past participle preceded by p.p. The abbreviation pret. stands for preterit, which means past tense. If the verb is regular, the abbreviations are omitted, and the form d or ed is printed but once.
Exercise.—Find in the dictionary the past tense and the past participle of each of the following verbs. Use the three forms of each verb correctly in sentences.
217. Many errors are made in using the different forms of irregular verbs.
Certain verbs, the meaning and principal parts of which are somewhat alike, occasion a good deal of trouble to some persons. The most important of these are lie and lay, sit and set, and rise and raise. The first word of each pair, lie, sit, and rise is an intransitive verb. The second verb of each pair, lay, set, and raise, is a transitive verb.
Exercise 1.—Supply the correct form of lie or lay in each of these sentences, and give your reason in each case.
Lie means to be at rest in a reclining position.
Lay means to place a thing down in a reclining position.
1. —— down, Phiz, and be a good dog.
2. Phiz —— at the foot of my couch and gazed out of the nearest window.
3. After he had —— there an hour or more, he whined to go out on the street.
4. Phiz brought in a notebook and —— it at my feet.
5. Go and —— it on your master’s chair, Phiz.
6. Did the soldiers —— on the damp ground?
7. This land —— too low for grain fields.
8. How long has my fan been —— on the window sill?
9. Grant —— in bed dictating his Memoirs.
10. The tools have —— here in the wet and are rusted.
Exercise 2.—Supply the correct form of sit or set in each of these sentences, and give your reason in each case.
Sit means to be in a sitting position.
Set means to place a thing down in a position of rest.
1. By and by we looked in, and there —— Miss Eugene.
2. Have you —— here long, or did you just come?
3. I will —— my suit case here, and then —— in your seat.
4. Why did you —— there so long without speaking?
5. Father —— the white hen to-day, so she will be —— for about three weeks.
6. The little bird —— and sings at his door in the sun.
7. Who has been —— in my chair?
Exercise 3.—Supply the correct form of rise and raise in each of these sentences, and give your reason in each case.
Rise means to move from a lower to a higher position.
Raise means to cause to rise.
1. The bread —— very slowly that cold day.
2. Bread —— because of the yeast in it.
3. After the bread had ——, we set the pans in the oven.
4. They —— the old house so as to put a furnace in the cellar.
5. The Black River —— sixteen inches yesterday.
6. If the river continues to ——, the dam will go out.
7. Shall we —— the flag at sunrise?
The present tense form of some verbs is misused for the past tense. We should say, “The tailor came (not come) last night,” “I ran (not run) a mile yesterday,” “And then he said (not says), ‘Hurry up.’” The verbs oftenest misused in this way are come, give, run, say, and see.
Study the following correct sentences:—
He came last night.
She came to meet me.
It came without warning.
I ran a mile yesterday.
He ran in front of me.
She ran out of sugar.
At last he said, “I will go.”
John said, “The schoolhouse is on fire.”
I said, “Ring the bells.”
He gave me a dollar.
I gave the child a penny.
She gave it to me.
They ran up a bill.
The dog ran behind.
The baby ran to his mother.
I saw the parade yesterday.
He saw me go out.
She saw them at the window.
I came, I saw, I conquered.
Some persons make a wrong past tense for certain verbs, and use such forms as blowed and drawed, when they should use blew and drew.
Exercise 4.—Supply the correct form for the past tense in each of these sentences:—
1. Blow. The wind soon —— the smoke away.
2. Draw. The boat —— four feet of water.
3. Grow. Lucy —— too fast to be strong.
4. Know. Nobody —— the right date but me.
5. Throw. Who —— the ball last?
Some persons use the past participle of see and do for the past tense. We should say, “I saw (not seen) my duty, and I did (not done) it.”
Study these correct sentences:—
I saw the boat go down.
Who saw the star first?
We saw the elephant dance.
He did his own work.
She did it too fast.
Everybody did what he could.
Another common error is the use of the past tense of a verb for the past participle, as in the expressions is broke and had froze.
Exercise 5.—Supply the correct form in each of these sentences:—
1. Begin. First we must finish what we have ——.
2. Break. Dear me! I have —— the bird’s seed dish.
3. Drink. Have you —— all the milk?
4. Freeze. If the lagoon is ——, we can go skating.
5. Steal. Why do you think that the purse was ——?
6. Swim. Have you ever —— out to the island?