Irregular Verbs

These are the forms of the main verb that we use to construct the tenses:
base verb | past | past participle | present participle – ing |
swim | swam | swum | swimming |
past | present | future | ||
SIMPLE do + base verb (except future: will + base verb) |
+ | She did swim. She swam. |
She does swim. She swims. |
She will swim. |
– | She didn’t swim. | She does not swim. | She will not swim. | |
? | Did she swim? | Do you swim? | Will you swim? | |
SIMPLE PERFECT have + past participle |
+ | I had swum. | I have swum. | I will have swum. |
– | She had not swum. | She has not swum. | She will not have swum. | |
? | Had she swum? | Has she swum? | Will she have swum? | |
CONTINUOUS be + ing |
+ | She was swimming. | She is swimming. | She will be swimming. |
– | She was not swimming. | She is not swimming. | She will not be swimming. | |
? | Was she swimming? | Is she swimming? | Will she be swimming? | |
CONTINUOUS PERFECT have been + –ing |
+ | She had been swimming. | She has been swimming. | She will have been swimming. |
– | She had not been swimming. | She has not been swimming. | She will not have been swimming. | |
? | Had she been swimming? | Has she been swimming? | Will she have been swimming? |
The difference between regular and irregular verb tenses is that regular verbs, such as play are always the same.
For example:
play, played, playing
Irregular verbs such as sing use different words all together to refer to tense.
For example:
sing, sang, sung, singing.