Principal Parts of Verbs
The principal parts of verbs are the present, present participle, past, and past
participle.
For regular verbs, the present participle is formed by adding ing to the present. It is
used with a form of the helping verb be.
The past and past participle of regular verbs are formed by adding ed or d to the
present. The past participle uses a form of the helping verb have.
Examples:
Present Present Participle Past Past Participle
play (is, are, am) playing played (have, has, had) played
move (is, are, am) moving moved (have, has, had) moved
An irregular verb forms its past and past participle in other ways. A dictionary shows
the principal parts of these verbs.
Underline the main verb in each sentence. Write present, present participle,
past, or past participle to label the main verbs.
1.
Randy’s class studies world history. ________________________
2.
The students are reading about the Renaissance. ________________________
3.
The teacher has taught them about the art of that time. ________________________
4.
They have learned much about Renaissance painting. ________________________
5.
Yesterday they visited an art museum. ________________________
6.
They had always gone to a different museum before. ________________________
7.
They had seen a display of Egyptian art at the Egyptian Museum. ________________________
8.
The English teachers had read two new novels. ________________________
9.
The band director is planning the fall musical. ________________________
10.
The cafeteria monitor talks to the children. ________________________
Write the correct form of the verb in parentheses in each sentence. At the end
of each sentence, label the verb present, present participle, past, or past
participle.
11.
These days the class ________________________ something about history every week. (learn)
______________________________________________________________________________
12.
Today the students are ________________________ a movie about Leonardo da Vinci. (watch)
______________________________________________________________________________
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Steck-Vaughn Standards.
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Principal Parts of Verbs
Answer Key
1. studies—present
2. reading—present participle
3. taught—past participle
4. learned—past participle
5. visited—past
6. gone—past participle
7. seen—past participle
8. read—past participle
9. planning—present participle
10. talks—present
11. learns—present
12. watching—present participle
