Verb Forms in English: Complete List of V1, V2, V3, V4, and V5

Verbs are essential for describing the actions performed by a subject. For instance, as you engage in the act of reading this article, the verb 'read' is used to define your current action. In English grammar, verbs are modified into various forms to reflect the timing and context of an action. Understanding these verb forms allows you to identify whether an action occurs in the present, past, or future. This guide explores the different verb forms, their grammatical functions, and practical examples.

Verb Forms in English

A verb form refers to the specific variation of a verb that indicates the timing of the action. To master English tenses, you must understand how these forms function. In English Grammar, there are five primary verb forms: the base (root) form, third-person singular, present participle, past, and past participle.

1. Present (Root) form of a verb
2. Simple Past form of a verb
3. Present Participle form of a verb
4. Third -person singular Present form
5. Past Participle form of a verb

Five Forms of Verbs

There are three core forms of verbs: Present, Past, and Past Participle, commonly referred to as V1, V2, and V3. By adding specific suffixes or prefixes to the root verb, we create various tense-based forms. The root verb typically represents the simple present tense. Examples include: Read, Write, Walk, Play, Run, and Go. 

1. Present (Root) Form of a Verb

The root form is the base version of a verb used without modifications. It serves as the foundation from which all other verb forms are derived. In many instances, the root verb acts as the simple present tense form. This is widely known as the V1 form of the verb.

Examples of the Present (Root) form:

• Nisha love watching movies with my friends. (Base form – love)
• Preeti finish my homework before 6 p.m. every day. (Base form – finish)
• Chinki play really well. (Root verb – play)

2. Simple past form of a verb

The simple past form is used to describe completed actions that took place previously. This is commonly identified as the ‘V2’ form of the verb. It is typically created by appending (-ed) or (-d) to the base verb. 

Examples of the simple past verb form:

• When a root verb ends with ‘e’, then only (-d) is used to form the simple past form of the verb, (-ed) is used. For Example- Play- Played, Fill- Filled, Fix- Fixed, Skip- Skipped.
• There are some irregular forms of verbs that are being used in its root or base form of verbs to describe the action that took place in the past. For Example- Cut- Cut, Read-Read, Hurt- Hurt, Shut-Shut, Put-Put, etc.

Identifying the simple past form can be challenging with irregular verbs that do not follow the standard “-ed” or “-d” rule. These forms must be memorized. Key examples include: Sing-Sang, Buy-Bought, Lose-Lost, Think-Thought, Fly-Flew, Ring-Rang, Go-Went, and Find-Found.

3. Past participle form of a verb

The past participle form, also known as the ‘V3’ form, is essential for forming perfect tenses. Like the simple past, many past participles end in “-ed” or “-d,” though they always require an auxiliary verb. Just as with V2 forms, many irregular verb forms do not follow standard patterns and require memorization. Let's look at an example:

For Example:

"Mohan has taken his father to the hospital." In this sentence, "has taken" is the past participle form, distinguishing it from the simple past form took, as seen in "Mohan took his father to the hospital." 

4. Present Participle form of verb

The present participle form is formed by adding -ing to the base verb. It is used extensively in progressive (continuous) tenses across past, present, and future timeframes. This is classified as the V4 form of the verb.

Examples of the Present Participle verb form:

• When a verb ends with a vowel followed by a consonant, the last consonant of the word is doubled, and then the (-ing) is added. For example- Run- Running, Swim- Swimming, Cut- Cutting.
• When a verb ends with an ‘e’, then that last ‘e’ is removed, and the (-ing) is added. However, there are some verbs that retain the ‘e’ in the root form when converted to the present participle form of the verb. For example- Educate - Educating, Smile- Smiling, Bake- Baking. 

5. Third -Person Singular Present Form

The third-person singular present form is used in the simple present tense and is created by adding -s or -es to the root verb. This is recognized as the V5 form of the verb. 

Examples of the Third-Person singular present form:

• Rashmi plays badminton well ( Base form- Play, Third -Person Singular Present Form- Plays)
• Swati teaches English. (Base form- teach, Third -Person Singular Present Form- teaches)
• Usha loves to sing. ( Base form- love, Third -Person Singular Present Form- Loves)

Verb Forms List (A to Z)

V1 Present (Root)	V2 Past	V3 Past participle	ing-form
Gain	Gained	Gained	Gaining
Grant	Granted	Granted	Granting
Cool	Cooled	Cooled	Cooling
Believe	Believed	Believe	Believing
Bring	Brought	Brought	Bringing
Admire	Admired	Admired	Admiring
Fail	Failed	Failed	Failing
Break	Broke	Broken	Breaking
Act	Acted	Acted	Acting
Agree	Agreed	Agreed	Agreeing
Amaze	Amazed	Amazed	Amazing
Amuse	Amused	Amused	Amusing
Appear	Appeared	Appeared	Appearing
Arrive	Arrived	Arrived	Arriving
Ask	Asked	Asked	Asking
Behave	Behaved	Behaved	Behaving
Borrow	Borrowed	Borrowed	Borrowing
Blame	Blamed	Blamed	Blaming
Belong	Belonged	Belonged	Belonging
Believe	Believed	Believed	Believing
Call	Called	Called	Calling
Cool	Cooled	Cooled	Cooling
Carry	Carried	Carried	Carrying
Cause	Caused	Caused	Causing
Clear	Cleared	Cleared	Clearing
Climb	Climbed	Climbed	Climbing
Enjoy	Enjoyed	Enjoyed	Enjoying
Explain	Explained	Explained	Explaining
Hunt	Hunted	Hunted	Hunting
Ignore	Ignored	Ignored	Ignoring
FightImprove	FoughtImproved	FoughtImproved	FightingImproving
Impress	Impressed	Impressed	Impressing
Invite	Invited	Invited	Inviting
Jog	Jogged	Jogged	Jogging
Jump	Jumped	Jumped	Jumping
Join	Joined	Joined	Joining
Knock	Knocked	Knocked	Knocking
Last	Lasted	Lasted	Lasting
Label	Labelled	Labelled	Labelling
Learn	Learned	Learned	Learning
Live	Lived	Lived	Living
Look	Looked	Looked	Looking
Love	Loved	Loved	Loving
Mark	Marked	Marked	Marking
Match	Matched	Matched	Matching
Move	Moved	Moved	Moving
Notice	Noticed	Noticed	Noticing
GrowNote	GrewNoted	GrownNoted	GrowingNoting
Enjoy	Enjoyed	Enjoyed	Enjoying
Explain	Explained	Explained	Explaining
Open	Opened	Opened	Opening
Order	Ordered	Ordered	Ordering
Offer	Offered	Offered	Offering
DrawProtect	DrewProtected	DrawnProtected	DrawingProtecting
Push	Pushed	Pushed	Pushing
Prefer	Preferred	Preferred	Preferring
Plan	Planned	Planned	planning
Play	Played	Played	Playing
ThrowProvide	ThrewProvided	ThrewProvided	ThrowingProviding
RingRepair	RangRepaired	RungRepaired	RingingRepairing
Become	Became	Become	Becoming
Flee	Fled	Fled	Fleeing
ChooseRepeat	ChoseRepeated	ChosenRepeated	ChoosingRepeating
ThinkRest	ThoughtRested	ThoughtRested	ThinkingResting
SitShare	SatShared	SatShared	SittingSharing
Save	Saved	Saved	Saving
Slow	Slowed	Slowed	Slowing
Sneeze	Sneezed	Sneezed	Sneezing
Solve	Solved	Solved	Solving
Start	Started	Started	Starting
Stop	Stopped	Stopped	Stopping

Verb Forms that remain the same in all forms

While most verbs change to reflect the timing of an action through suffixes, some verbs remain in their base form even in the Simple Past and Past Participle forms.

V1  Present (Root Verb)	V2 Simple Past	V3 Past Participles
Bet	Bet	Bet
Hit	Hit	Hit
Cost	Cost	Cost
Put	Put	Put
Hurt	Hurt	HUurt
Hit	Hit	Hit
Let	Let	Let
Put	Put	Put
Quit	Quit	Quit
Set	Set	Set
Shut	Shut	Shut
Rain	Rain	Rain
Upset	Upset	Upset
Wed	Wed	Wed
Fit	Fit	Fit
Broadcast	Broadcast	Broadcast
Burst	Burst	Burst

Irregular Verb Forms 

Regular verbs follow predictable rules for tense changes, making them easy to identify. Conversely, irregular verbs do not follow these standard patterns. If a verb does not add -ed or -d to form the past tense, it is irregular and must be memorized to use it correctly in English grammar.

Some Examples of Irregular Verb Forms 

V1  Present	V2 Simple Past	V3 Past Participles
Become	Became	Become
Bend	Bent	Bent
Run	Ran	Run
Come	Came	Come
Beat	Beat	Beaten
Feel	Felt	Felt
Bite	Bit	Bitten
Bleed	Bled	Bled
Break	Broke	Broken
Bring	Brought	Brought
Fight	Fought	Fought
Choose	Chose	Chosen
Do	Did	Done
Sit	Sat	Sat
Grow	Grew	Grawn
Go	Went	Gone
Ring	Rang	Rung
Throw	Threw	Thrown
Draw	Drew	Drawn
Drink	Drank	Drunk
Eat	Ate	Eaten
Fall	Fell	Fallen
Feed	Fed	Fed
Fly	Flew	Flawn
Forgive	Forgave	Forgiven
Know	Knew	Known
Pay	Paid	Paid
Mistake	Mistook	Mistaken
See	Saw	Seen
Shake	Shook	Shaken
Slay	Slew	Slain
Smell	Smelt	Smelt

Some Examples of Verb Forms Used in Sentences

1. I am going to school.
2. They have been drawing for hours.
3. Mona loves pizza.
4. I bought a new phone today.
5. The books were stacked on the shelf.
6. I had forgiven him for his behavior.
7. Pawan was playing football yesterday.
8. He has rung the bell.
9. Why do you not come on time?
10. Gagan had lit candles all around the room.

Key Functions of Different Forms of Verbs

Different verb forms are vital in English, as they dictate tense, aspect, mood, voice, person, and number. Below, we highlight the key functions of these various forms.

1. Tense: Indicates the time of the action [Present, Past, and Future].
2. Aspect: Describes the flow or completeness of the action simple, continuous, perfect].
3. Mood: Expresses the mode or manner of the action [indicative, imperative, subjunctive]
4. Voice: Show whether the subject performs the action or is acted upon [active, passive].
5. Person and Number: Reflects who is performing the action and if it's singular or plural [I walk, he walks, we walk].

Parts of Speech in English Grammar
Pronoun	Adjective
Preposition	Noun
Adverb	Conjunction
Verb	Tenses