Main content
The truly irregular verbs
Some irregular verbs just won't be categorized. They don't fit into neat little boxes. These are those verbs.
Want to join the conversation?
Huh? Confused here! Please Help! I don't get it! Can someone explain this and more detail?(9 votes)
So, basically what David was explaining was weird irregular verbs. Thus far, we have learned about verbs that translate to "ed" in past tense, verbs that have a vowel shift and change in the vowel sound when they go from present to past to past perfect tense, and verbs that add on an "en" at the end of the past tense version. This lesson was all about irregular verbs that do not conform to those rules. The chart that he made were all of those non-conforming verbs in English. I know that it is confusing, but these are the only ones like this, so if you memorize this you should be good. You can also usually guess the past tense from picking things up in conversation and by ear. I hope this helps and I love your username.(5 votes)
Mr David Rhenstrom, can you give me a list of Irregular Verbs?(1 vote)
bet, set, and hurt!
but I guess there are some verbs that are ALL SAME with "past perfect" right?
pre = past = past.p(8 votes)- so.... in proper English, is swam the past form of swim, or is swum the past form?(8 votes)
Swam is used for the simple past tense, swum is the participle in the present perfect and past perfect tense.I swam yesterday.
I have just swum a kilometer.
I had swum for hours before they rescued me.
So both refer to activities you did in the past, and when there is have/had/has you need swum, and otherwise you use swam. (You cannot say: !"I swum faster than David." It should either be: "I swam faster" or "I have swum faster")(2 votes)
- @2:44, who else is a grammar champion? ;)(2 votes)
- Lol. Around0:14you hear lightning, perfect for the theme of these verbs :^)>(7 votes)
- Hold up, "Fled" is not an irregular "ED" verb?(5 votes)
- With said would you also be able to say sayed(4 votes)
- No, the verb
to sayis irregular andsaidis correct for past tense, not sayed.(5 votes)
Is 'read' also a past = present word?(3 votes)
Yes, read is the present, the past and the past participate at the same time.(2 votes)
For the model auxiliary verbs, can I both say
'It may rain today' and
'It might rain today'?
My school english teacher said that model auxiliaries don't have tenses...*Is that true?*
And also, can I both say
'I will do this for you.'and
' I would do this for you.'? Is there a difference or something?
And, does model auxiliaries have the past perfect form since its a verb?
Im really confused someone please explain this mess to me. Thank you very much...(3 votes)- The helping/auxiliary verb may expresses permission, not a possibility, so in that case I wouldn't say that.
The auxiliary verb might expresses probability, and it is more apt in that example you gave (there is a chance of rain).
As far as I know, yes that is true. That doesn't just mean you can stick in the word might in any tense though! You still need to use the proper grammar in that context.
Present: I might go to the store (right now).
Past: I might have gone to the stone, but I was low on time.
Future: In 2 weeks, we might go to the store!
As you might be able to tell, the helping verb might gives a feel of right now into the future, if you know what I mean. Like if I say "I might go to the store" that gives a connotation of anytime soon (in the future) I will go to the store. So a present tense of might doesn't make much sense. If someone else has a better explanation of this then please share. :-)
Saying "I will..." is statement, you are saying that you will do something.
Saying "I would..." is also a statement, but you are setting yourself up for another explanation.
What I mean is that saying "I would do this for you." is a dependent clause; it doesn't make any sense unless you explain further. You would have but what? What stopped you from doing it?
I hope these explanations are to some avail in helping you,
- Convenient Colleague(2 votes)
2:44Video transcript
- [Voiceover] Hello grammarians. Welcome to the last and strangest part of the irregular verb,
the truly irregular. Yes friends, here I have
compiled all the weirdest, all of the wooliest, all
the eeriest and spookiest forms of verbs that don't otherwise fall into other categories. So we can't say that they
end with a changed -ed, we can't say that they end with an -en, and we can't say that
there's a vowel shift. We've already covered those. This is the time for the weird stuff. First up, -ught. Huh, what a strange collection of letters that is to be found in English. So we take a word like teach, and in the past tense it's taught. Likewise, catch becomes caught. And bring becomes brought. Yes, that's really strange. There are only a couple of
words that behave that way. It's also pretty weird and pretty rare for there to be a vowel shift
from the present to the past, and also a "d" sound. So for example we take the word flee, which means to run away,
and in the past it's fled. Likewise in the present, we say say, and in the past, we say said. So that "a" becomes "ai",
and the "ee" becomes "e", and it's this weird vowel
shift that's also followed up by a "d" sound. There are some words for
whom time does not exist. These are verbs for whom the present tense is the same as the past tense. Prepare to have your mind blown. The past tense of bet is bet. The past tense of set is set. The past tense of hurt is hurt. Yeah, it's weird. Finally, there are some helper verbs, or auxiliary verbs called
models, that are super weird, and have these properties
that aren't repeated anywhere else in English. So present tense can
becomes past tense could. I can stand on my head, or I could stand on my
head when I was five. May becomes might in the past. Shall becomes should. And will becomes would. And what's super weird about these L's in could, should, or would, is listen to me saying them! You don't pronounce the L's, and this is the only place in English where that silent L shows up. It's so strange! Ah, I love it! These are the irregular verbs. And these, in fact, are the
most irregular of the irregular. If you can master these, you
will be a grammar champion. And I believe in you because
you can learn anything. David, out.