Regular Verbs List: Definitions, Examples, and Conjugation Rules

Regular verbs are the backbone of English grammar, making it easy to form the past tense and past participle by simply adding -ed or -d to the base form. Unlike irregular verbs, which can be tricky to remember, regular verbs follow a simple pattern, making them perfect for English learners. In this guide, you’ll find a comprehensive list of regular verbs, their meanings, and how to use them in sentences. Whether you’re learning English as a second language or just need a quick refresher, this page has everything you need to master regular verbs effortlessly!

regular verbs – meaning

Regular verbs are words that follow a simple, consistent pattern for both the past simple and past participle tenses. They’re the easy ones to learn because they follow a rule that actually works every time! This rule tells us exactly how to form the past tense by adding the right ending to the verb. While most regular verbs are action words, some can also be stative, describing states or feelings rather than actions. Plus, their past participle form is just as predictable, making them even easier to master!

regular verb examples

We already know that before a verb is modified, it looks like this: to + infinitive

 

The rule for regular verbs is to add an ‘ed’ on to the end of the infinitive. This rule applies to the past tense and the participle (second and third columns). The only tricky part is pronouncing the ‘ed’, but we’ll get onto that later.

Let’s take a look at a few examples.

• infinitive – allow
  past simple – allowed
  past participle – allowed
• infinitive – call
  past simple – called
  past participle – called
• infinitive – guide
  past simple – guided
  past participle – guided
• infinitive – help
  past simple – helped
  past participle – helped
• infinitive – pause
  past simple – paused
  past participle – paused
• infinitive – play
  past simple – played
  past participle – played
• infinitive – remind
  past simple – reminded
  past participle – reminded
• infinitive – try
  past simple – tried
  past participle – tried

Let’s take a look at some examples of regular verbs in action. I’ve included the infinitive and a picture example in the past simple or past participle.

I’ve been called to an emergency.

I climbed up; now I can’t get down.

I slightly overcooked the chicken.

They are parked over two bays.

I’ve just slipped on a banana skin.

I’ve trekked all over the Andes.

They’ve worked hard all week, so I’ll let them finish early today.

I’ve wrapped her present.

regular past tense verb ending rules

I know what you’re thinking, this seems too good to be true? Well, you’re right (kind of)! Take a look at my tips for spelling regular verbs in the past simple and the past participle.

Once you’ve learnt these three regular past tense verbs ending rules, you’ve cracked regular verbs.

When the infinitive ends in ‘e’, just add ‘d’

We’ll start with an easy one…If the infinitive ends with an ‘e’, we simply add a ‘d’.

 

Let’s look at some examples.

• bake + d = baked
• close + d = closed
• guide + d = guided
• raise + d = raised
• save + d = saved
• type + d = typed
• waste + d = wasted

If the infinitive ends in a consonant + y, change the ‘y’ to an ‘i’ and add ‘ed’

Rule number 2… If the infinitive ends in a consonant + y, we change the ‘y’ to an ‘i’ and add ‘ed’.

 

HOT TIP – A consonant is ANY letter of the alphabet that isn’t a, e, i, o, or u.

 

Let’s see some examples.

• bury becomes buried
• copy becomes copied
• hurry becomes hurried
• rely becomes relied
• try becomes tried

Double the consonant and add ‘ed’ if a short vowel is followed by a consonant in a one-syllable verb

Finally it’s rule number 3 (the trickier one)… If a single consonant follows a short vowel at the end of a one syllable verb, you double the consonant and add ‘ed’.

 

HOT TIP – Vowels have long and short sounds, they can be difficult for English learners to grasp. Luckily for you, I have an article that can help, click here to find out more.

 

Let’s take a look at some examples.

• grab becomes grabbed (‘grab’ is one syllable and the ‘a’ is a short vowel sound)
• plan becomes planned (‘plan’ is one syllable and the ‘a’ is a short vowel sound)
• stop becomes stopped (‘stop’ is one syllable and the ‘o’ is a short vowel sound)

pronouncing ‘ed’ of past tense regular verbs

I may have told a little white lie, you haven’t quite cracked regular verbs yet. There is one more thing you have to learn…

You know how to spell these verbs, but do you know how to pronounce them? A lot of my students find pronouncing these very difficult. This is because the ‘ed’ is not pronounced like the ‘ed’ in ‘Edward’ as one would think. The good news is there is a fool proof formula for working out the pronunciation.

So, there are three ways of pronouncing the ‘ed’ for past tense regular verbs, participles and adjectives. I’ve illustrated them below. You should learn voiced and voiceless sounds to help you differentiate between the endings.

You can test this rule by choosing a verb, find the ending, and practice pronouncing it.

the voiced ‘D’

First up we have the voiced ‘d’ which is pronounced deep in your throat using your vocal cords. To pronounce these verbs correctly, simply say the verb in full and add a voiced ‘d’ at the end as in day, dog, or dream.

 

Any regular verb ending in these sounds G, L, N, R, S, V, W, Y, Z follow this rule.

Practise saying these examples at natural speaking speed.

the voiceless ‘T’

Next we have the voiceless ‘t’ which is pronounced using your mouth and tongue. To pronounce these verbs correctly, simply say the verb in full and add a voiceless ‘t’ at the end as in talk, time, or tea.

 

Any regular verb ending in these sounds C, K, P, X, CH, GH, SH, SS, TH follow this rule.

the ‘ID’ sound

Finally, we have the ‘id’ ending. To pronounce these verbs correctly, say the verb apart from the final ‘t’ or ‘d’ and add it to the ‘id’. This sound is the same as pronounced in bid, did, kid, or lid.

This rule works for all verbs ending in ‘t’ or ‘d’.

regular verb list with pronunciation instructions

Wouldn’t it be good if someone made a list of all the regular verbs and colour-coded it so you know how to pronounce the ending?

Your wish is my command.

Here is a colour-coded list which corresponds to the below picture with examples. Go ahead and practice pronouncing them.

Watch this video if you’d like to hear what pronouncing the different ‘ed’ endings sound like.