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Irregular verbs: Editor's Notes #158 January 31, 2014 |
| Hello, even though irregular verbs make up only 3 per cent of the language. --Erez Lieberman Aiden In this issue: 1. Irregular verbs 2. Tickled my funnybone 3. Interesting Web site 4. Letters to the editor ========== 1. Irregular verbs In English, most verbs form the simple past and the past participle by adding -ed (jump, jumped, had jumped). But there is a group of irregular verbs, also known as strong verbs, that do not follow this simple rule. Most English speakers internalize the correct forms of the past of irregular verbs by osmosis. We hear the people around us speaking, and we speak the same way. Then, when we learn to read and write, we rely on our spoken language to help us through literacy. In some cases, we get confused. If you ever find your hand poised over the page or the keyboard wondering exactly which form of the verb you need, you are probably dealing with an irregular verb. Do I need lie, lay, or lain, for example. Or what about shone and shined? When I am dealing with native English speakers, most tense problems show confusion related to forming the past for irregular verbs. I started out to make you a downloadable list of the irregular verbs and their past forms. Then I found a much more extensive list than the one I was preparing. I decided simply to point you to it. http://www.englishpage.com/irregularverbs/irregularverbs.html =========== 2.Tickled my funnybone Flatulence, n. Emergency vehicle that picks up someone who has been run over by a steamroller. =========== 3. Interesting Web site For more on irregular verbs, vist http://www.englishpage.com/irregularverbs/info.html#5 =========== 4. Letters to the editor =========== Join Writer's Helper Facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/WritersHelperEditor Follow me on Twitter @AudreytheEditor =========== If you know a writer who would appreciate receiving Editor's Notes, forward this issue. If someone has passed this on to you, you can get your own free subscription by signing up at https://www.writershelper.com/newsletter.html |
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