Regular verbs in English are conjugated using
the infinitive for all forms, except that the past and past participle end in "ed",
the present participle ends in "ing", and the third person singular ends in "s".
Although these appear to be very simple rules,
the morphology of regular English verbs is affected by
phonetic and orthographic constraints that make it necessary
to follow several slightly different patterns for adding the endings to the verb stem.
Here are some of the most common patterns.
Verbs ending in a long vowel or diphthong followed by a consonant,
such as paint, claim, devour, or play. Or ending in a consonant cluster such as delight, or clamp.
Add "ed" to the infinitive form to create the past and past participle,
add "ing" to create the present participle,
and add "s" to create the 3rd person present.
Conjugation for "play":
Infinitive
play
Past
played
Present Participle
playing
Past Participle
played
Present:
I
play
You
play
He, She, It
plays
We
play
You
play
They
play
Verbs ending in a short vowel followed by a consonant such as chat,
chop, or compel.
Double the final consonant and add "ed" to the infinitive form to create the past
and past participle,
Double the final consonant and add "ing" to create the present participle,
and add "s" to create the 3rd person present.
Conjugation for "chop":
Infinitive
chop
Past
chopped
Present Participle
chopping
Past Participle
chopped
Present:
I
chop
You
chop
He, She, It
chops
We
chop
You
chop
They
chop
Verbs ending in a consonant followed by "e" such as dance, save, devote, or evolve.
Add "d" to the infinitive form to create the past and past participle,
replace the final "e" with "ing" to create the present participle,
and add "s" to create the 3rd person present.
Conjugation for "devote":
Infinitive
devote
Past
devoted
Present Participle
devoting
Past Participle
devoted
Present:
I
devote
You
devote
He, She, It
devotes
We
devote
You
devote
They
devote
Verbs ending in sibilants such as kiss, bless, box, polish, or preach.
Add "ed" to the infinitive form to create the past and past participle,
add "ing" to create the present participle,
and add "es" to create the 3rd person present.
Conjugation for "polish":
Infinitive
polish
Past
polished
Present Participle
polishing
Past Participle
polished
Present:
I
polish
You
polish
He, She, It
polishes
We
polish
You
polish
They
polish
Verbs ending in a consonant followed by "y" such as comply,
copy, or magnify.
Replace the final "y" of the infinitive with "ied" to create
the past and past participle,
add "ing" to create the present participle,
and replace the final "y" with "ies" to create the 3rd person present.