First Grammar Lessons: Part II, Lesson II

Lesson II

Other verbs do not change their tense for time as is, was, are, were, in the verb Be; but in a way which is called regular, as:

walk, walked.
call, called.
look, looked.

Some verbs add ed to show the past time.

For some other verbs there is no rule; they change altogether, as tell, told, and go, went,—words which you would hardly think belonged to each other at all.

Verbs cannot show the future time without help:

The boy will write.
The girl will go.
The orange will be nice.

The verbs write and go and be are helped by the verb will and they show the future time.

To be learnt.

Some verbs add “ed” to show the past time.

When “will” goes with a verb it shows future time.

Exercise II

1. How would you alter these words to make them speak of past time?

walk, dance, laugh, talk.

2. Give six sentences with verbs that take ‘ed’ for the past tense.

3. Make sentences with these verbs in the past tense:

say, hit, call, poke, make.

4. Make six sentences with verbs that have quite different words for the past tense.

5. Make six sentences using the future tense.