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Basic Tenses: Irregular Verb

Irregular verbs list

This page shows the basic tenses with the irregular verb sing. It includes the affirmative or positive form (+), the negative form (-) and the interrogative or question form (?).

The basic structure is:

positive:+subject + auxiliary verb + main verb
negative:-subject + auxiliary verb + not + main verb
question:?auxiliary verb + subject + main verb

These are the forms of the main verb that we use to construct the tenses:

base verbpastpast participlepresent participle -ing
singsangsungsinging
 
pastpresentfuture
SIMPLE
do + base verb
(except future:
will + base verb)
+I did sing
I sang
I do sing
I sing
I will sing
-I did not singI do not singI will not sing
?Did I sing?Do I sing?Will I sing?
SIMPLE PERFECT
have + past participle
+I had sungI have sungI will have sung
-I had not sungI have not sungI will not have sung
?Had I sung?Have I sung?Will I have sung?
CONTINUOUS
be + -ing
+I was singingI am singingI will be singing
-I was not singingI am not singingI will not be singing
?Was I singing?Am I singing?Will I be singing?
CONTINUOUS PERFECT
have been + -ing
+I had been singingI have been singingI will have been singing
-I had not been singingI have not been singingI will not have been singing
?Had I been singing?Have I been singing?Will I have been singing?
 
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The basic structure of tenses for regular verbs and irregular verbs is exactly the same (except to be). The only difference is that with regular verbs the past and past participle are always the same (worked, worked), while with irregular verbs the past and past participle are not always the same (sang, sung). But the structure is the same! It will help you a great deal to really understand that.

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Irregular verbs list

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