The verbs in English

One of the obstacles that must be overcome when we want to learn a language well and master it completely is the tricky subject of grammar.

No one is excited about repeating a series of verbs over and over again until they are memorized, but the reality is that knowing the verbal conjugation by heart is essential to making sentences correctly and being able to communicate with any native of the foreign language that we study, so don't There is an excuse.

the verbs in English

English verbs have several points in common with those of Spanish: they are conjugated in a personal way, that is, there is a pronoun for each of the people (I โ†’

I

, you โ†’

you

, he / she / you โ†’

he /she

, we โ†’

we

, you โ†’

you

, they / they / you โ†’

they

), and there are also some irregular verbs.

To be more or less exact, there are about 200 irregular verbs in English, such as the verb TO BE, which would be something like our SER or ESTAR, and which is one of the first we use, the most basic of all, because with it We can give a lot of information about ourselves when introducing ourselves:

Say the name: "

I am Pedro

" (I'm Pedro)

Inform of nationality: "

We are Spanish

" (We are Spanish)

Give the age: โ€œAnd

ou are 20 years old

" (you are 20 years old)

Talk about the profession: "

She is a teacher

โ€(She is a teacher)

But before we dive into learning about irregular verbs in English, let's first take a look at the regular ones. 

Regular verbs in English

The general rule of thumb for regular verbs is that in

Simple Present

a final -s is added to the form for him / her, which is not carried by the rest of the verbal persons, as is the case with the verb โ€œexplainโ€ '

TO EXPLAIN

":

I explain โ†’

I explain

                               We explain โ†’

We explain

You explain โ†’

You explain

                        You explain โ†’

You explain

He / she explains โ†’

He / she explains

       They explain โ†’

They explain

As all people, except him / her, have the same verb form, it is very important to name the subject (you, we ...) to know who is being referred to in the sentence, which is not the case with Spanish, which it can be elided more frequently as differentiation is not necessary.

(Click on the image to enlarge)
regular verbs in English

In regular ones, the gerund ends in -ing (

explaining

) and the participle in -ed (

explained

).

There is a lot of verbs in English completely regular that are used on a day-to-day basis. All of them, and many more, are conjugated in the same way as

TO EXPLAIN

:

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For example, we say โ€œ

I need help

" (I need help), "

Iโ€™m learning English

โ€(I'm learning English) orโ€œ I cooked chicken

โ€(I have cooked chicken).

Irregular verbs in English

However, as we have already pointed out previously, we find many other verbs of much use that are irregular, and that, therefore, do not follow the conjugation rules or have a particular way of being conjugated that differs from that of the verbs in English considered as regular.

(Click on the image to enlarge)irregular verbs in English

Where this irregularity is most appreciated is in the past:

Simple Past

y

Past Participle

, which in this case do not follow any specific rule.

A small list of the most common, and that can help us to remember them, is:

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So far everything seems quite affordable and does not seem to involve too many difficulties, as long as we look closely at these details and try to use these verbs correctly.

Phrasal verbs in English

Another thing that usually causes more headaches are the so-called

Phrasal Verbs

, famous for not being precisely the best friends of English learners, but rather an avowed enemy.

With a little help you will see that the lion is not as fierce as it is painted and that controlling them is not that difficult.

But what exactly are these types of verbs in English and why are they so marked by fire for many of the learners.

phrasal verbs in english

Well, to better understand this matter, we could begin by equating them to something similar that the Spanish language has and which are verbal periphrases, which is the union of a verb in the personal form and another word, which is usually a preposition or a adjective.