Question

For regular verbs in English, how is the past tense typically formed through inflection?

• A. A. By adding -ing
• B. B. By adding -s
• C. C. By adding -ed
• D. D. By internal vowel change

Answer 1

Answer:

C. C. By adding -ed

Formation of Past Tense for Regular Verbs

• The past tense of regular verbs in English is typically formed by adding the suffix -ed to the base form of the verb. This process is known as inflection, which is a change in the form of a word (usually by adding a suffix) to express a grammatical function or attribute such as tense, mood, person, number, case, or gender.

• Spelling Rules for Adding -ed:

  • If the verb ends in -e, only -d is added (e.g., love → loved, like → liked).
  • If the verb ends in a consonant + y, the -y is changed to -i before adding -ed (e.g., try → tried, study → studied).
  • If the verb ends in a vowel + y, simply add -ed (e.g., play → played, enjoy → enjoyed).
  • For verbs ending in a single vowel + single consonant (CVC pattern) and the stress is on the last syllable, the final consonant is usually doubled before adding -ed (e.g., stop → stopped, plan → planned, prefer → preferred). However, if the stress is not on the last syllable (e.g., open → opened) or if the verb ends in -w, -x, or -y (e.g., fix → fixed), the consonant is not doubled.
  • In British English, verbs ending in -l after a single vowel often double the -l (e.g., travel → travelled), even if the stress is not on the last syllable. In American English, the -l is usually not doubled (e.g., travel → traveled).

• Pronunciation of -ed:

  The pronunciation of -ed depends on the final sound of the base verb:
  • It is pronounced as /t/ after voiceless sounds (e.g., walked, jumped).
  • It is pronounced as /d/ after voiced sounds (e.g., played, loved).
  • It is pronounced as /ɪd/ or /əd/ after the sounds /t/ or /d/ (e.g., wanted, needed).

• Contrast with Irregular Verbs:

  • It is crucial for competitive exams to distinguish between regular and irregular verbs. Regular verbs follow the predictable -ed pattern.
  • Irregular verbs do not follow this pattern and form their past tense and past participle in various ways (e.g., go → went → gone, eat → ate → eaten, sing → sang → sung, put → put → put). Mastering irregular verb forms is a common area tested in English grammar sections of competitive exams.
• Understanding regular verb inflection is a fundamental aspect of English grammar, essential for constructing correct sentences in the past tense and forming past participles (e.g., for perfect tenses or passive voice: He has worked hard, The car was washed).