Learning English verb forms is one of the most important steps toward improving grammar, speaking, writing, and comprehension. Verbs are the words that show an action, state, or occurrence, and they change their forms depending on tense, subject, and sentence structure.

This article provides a list of 100 of the most common and useful English verbs with their five important forms:

• V1 – Base Form
• V2 – Past Simple
• V3 – Past Participle
• V4 – Present Participle / -ing Form
• V5 – Third-Person Singular Form
• Meaning – Tamil meaning

These verbs are useful for spoken English, academic English, school examinations, essays, assignments, and everyday communication.

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What Are Verb Forms?

A verb can have different forms depending on how it is used in a sentence.

For example:

Verb: WRITE

• V1: write
• V2: wrote
• V3: written
• V4: writing
• V5: writes

Examples:

• I write every day.
• I wrote a letter yesterday.
• I have written the answer.
• I am writing a letter.
• She writes very well.

Understanding these forms makes it easier to use English tenses correctly.

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V1, V2, V3, V4 and V5 – What Do They Mean?

Form	Name	Example
V1	Base Form	go
V2	Past Simple	went
V3	Past Participle	gone
V4	-ing Form	going
V5	s/es Form	goes

Example: GO

V1: go
V2: went
V3: gone
V4: going
V5: goes

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100 Most Common & Useful Verb Forms

V1 – Base	V2 – Past	V3 – Past Participle	V4 – -ing Form	V5 – s/es Form	Meaning
be	was/were	been	being	is	இரு
have	had	had	having	has	உடையிரு / பெறு
do	did	done	doing	does	செய்
say	said	said	saying	says	சொல்
go	went	gone	going	goes	செல்
get	got	got/gotten	getting	gets	பெறு
make	made	made	making	makes	உருவாக்கு / செய்
know	knew	known	knowing	knows	அறி
think	thought	thought	thinking	thinks	சிந்தி
take	took	taken	taking	takes	எடு
see	saw	seen	seeing	sees	பார்
come	came	come	coming	comes	வா
want	wanted	wanted	wanting	wants	விரும்பு
look	looked	looked	looking	looks	பார் / நோக்கு
use	used	used	using	uses	பயன்படுத்து
find	found	found	finding	finds	கண்டுபிடி
give	gave	given	giving	gives	கொடு
tell	told	told	telling	tells	சொல் / கூறு
ask	asked	asked	asking	asks	கேள்
work	worked	worked	working	works	வேலை செய்
seem	seemed	seemed	seeming	seems	தோன்று
feel	felt	felt	feeling	feels	உணர்
try	tried	tried	trying	tries	முயற்சி செய்
leave	left	left	leaving	leaves	விட்டுச் செல்
call	called	called	calling	calls	அழை
need	needed	needed	needing	needs	தேவைப்படு
become	became	become	becoming	becomes	ஆகு
put	put	put	putting	puts	வை
mean	meant	meant	meaning	means	பொருள்படுத்து
keep	kept	kept	keeping	keeps	வைத்திரு
let	let	let	letting	lets	அனுமதி கொடு
begin	began	begun	beginning	begins	தொடங்கு
help	helped	helped	helping	helps	உதவு
talk	talked	talked	talking	talks	பேசு
turn	turned	turned	turning	turns	திருப்பு / மாறு
start	started	started	starting	starts	தொடங்கு
show	showed	shown/showed	showing	shows	காட்டு
hear	heard	heard	hearing	hears	கேள்
play	played	played	playing	plays	விளையாடு / வாசி
run	ran	run	running	runs	ஓடு / நடத்து
move	moved	moved	moving	moves	நகரு / நகர்த்து
live	lived	lived	living	lives	வாழ்
believe	believed	believed	believing	believes	நம்பு
bring	brought	brought	bringing	brings	கொண்டு வா
happen	happened	happened	happening	happens	நட
write	wrote	written	writing	writes	எழுது
provide	provided	provided	providing	provides	வழங்கு
sit	sat	sat	sitting	sits	உட்கார்
stand	stood	stood	standing	stands	நில்
lose	lost	lost	losing	loses	இழ
pay	paid	paid	paying	pays	செலுத்து
meet	met	met	meeting	meets	சந்தி
include	included	included	including	includes	உள்ளடக்கு
continue	continued	continued	continuing	continues	தொடரு
set	set	set	setting	sets	அமை / நிர்ணயி
learn	learned/learnt	learned/learnt	learning	learns	கற்றுக்கொள்
change	changed	changed	changing	changes	மாற்று / மாறு
lead	led	led	leading	leads	வழிநடத்து
understand	understood	understood	understanding	understands	புரிந்துகொள்
watch	watched	watched	watching	watches	கவனி / பார்
follow	followed	followed	following	follows	பின்தொடர்
stop	stopped	stopped	stopping	stops	நிறுத்து
create	created	created	creating	creates	உருவாக்கு
speak	spoke	spoken	speaking	speaks	பேசு
read	read	read	reading	reads	வாசி
allow	allowed	allowed	allowing	allows	அனுமதி கொடு
add	added	added	adding	adds	சேர்
spend	spent	spent	spending	spends	செலவிடு
grow	grew	grown	growing	grows	வளர் / வளர்த்து
open	opened	opened	opening	opens	திற
walk	walked	walked	walking	walks	நட
win	won	won	winning	wins	வெல்
offer	offered	offered	offering	offers	வழங்கு / முன்வை
remember	remembered	remembered	remembering	remembers	நினைவில் கொள்
love	loved	loved	loving	loves	நேசி
consider	considered	considered	considering	considers	கருத்தில் கொள்
appear	appeared	appeared	appearing	appears	தோன்று
buy	bought	bought	buying	buys	வாங்கு
wait	waited	waited	waiting	waits	காத்திரு
serve	served	served	serving	serves	சேவை செய் / பரிமாறு
die	died	died	dying	dies	இற
send	sent	sent	sending	sends	அனுப்பு
expect	expected	expected	expecting	expects	எதிர்பார்
build	built	built	building	builds	கட்டு
stay	stayed	stayed	staying	stays	தங்கு
fall	fell	fallen	falling	falls	விழு
cut	cut	cut	cutting	cuts	வெட்டு
reach	reached	reached	reaching	reaches	அடை
remain	remained	remained	remaining	remains	நிலைத்திரு
suggest	suggested	suggested	suggesting	suggests	பரிந்துரை செய்
raise	raised	raised	raising	raises	உயர்த்து
pass	passed	passed	passing	passes	கடந்து செல் / தேர்ச்சி பெறு
require	required	required	requiring	requires	தேவைப்படு
report	reported	reported	reporting	reports	அறிக்கை செய்
decide	decided	decided	deciding	decides	முடிவு செய்
pull	pulled	pulled	pulling	pulls	இழு
return	returned	returned	returning	returns	திரும்பு
explain	explained	explained	explaining	explains	விளக்கு
develop	developed	developed	developing	develops	உருவாக்கு / மேம்படுத்து
improve	improved	improved	improving	improves	மேம்படுத்து

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Regular and Irregular Verbs

The verbs in English can generally be divided into regular verbs and irregular verbs.

1. Regular Verbs

Regular verbs usually form their V2 and V3 by adding -ed.

Example: WORK

• V1 – work
• V2 – worked
• V3 – worked
• V4 – working
• V5 – works

Other examples:

• play → played → played
• work → worked → worked
• open → opened → opened
• explain → explained → explained
• improve → improved → improved

2. Irregular Verbs

Irregular verbs do not follow a single standard pattern when changing into the past form.

Example: GO

• V1 – go
• V2 – went
• V3 – gone
• V4 – going
• V5 – goes

Other examples:

• see → saw → seen
• write → wrote → written
• take → took → taken
• speak → spoke → spoken
• give → gave → given
• begin → began → begun
• understand → understood → understood

These verbs need to be learned through regular practice.

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How to Use the Five Verb Forms

V1 – Base Form

The base form is used in the simple present with I, you, we, and they, and after modal verbs and some auxiliary structures.

Examples:

• I work every day.
• They study English.
• We play football.
• You should learn these verbs.

V2 – Past Simple

V2 is used to talk about an action that happened in the past.

Examples:

• She went to school yesterday.
• They completed the project.
• He wrote a letter.
• We visited Chennai last week.

V3 – Past Participle

V3 is commonly used with have, has, had and in the passive voice.

Examples:

• I have finished my work.
• She has written the answer.
• They had completed the project.
• The report was prepared by the students.

V4 – -ing Form

The V4 form is used in continuous tenses and can also function as a gerund or present participle.

Examples:

• I am learning English.
• She is writing a letter.
• They were playing football.
• Reading is a useful habit.

V5 – s/es Form

V5 is generally used with he, she, it, or a singular noun in the simple present tense.

Examples:

• He works hard.
• She speaks English.
• The teacher explains the lesson.
• My brother plays cricket.

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Easy Way to Remember Verb Forms

A simple formula can help students remember the five forms:

V1 → Base
V2 → Past
V3 → Past Participle
V4 → -ing
V5 → s/es

For example:

TAKE

take → took → taken → taking → takes

SPEAK

speak → spoke → spoken → speaking → speaks

STUDY

study → studied → studied → studying → studies

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Common Mistakes in Verb Forms

Mistake 1: Using V2 after “has”

❌ She has went to school.

✅ She has gone to school.

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Mistake 2: Using V1 with “he/she/it”

❌ He go to school every day.

✅ He goes to school every day.

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Mistake 3: Using V2 after “did”

❌ Did you went there?

✅ Did you go there?

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Mistake 4: Confusing V2 and V3

❌ I have wrote a letter.

✅ I have written a letter.

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Mistake 5: Forgetting the -ing form

❌ She is write a letter.

✅ She is writing a letter.

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20 Essential Verb Forms Students Should Learn First

If you are a beginner, don’t try to memorize all 100 verbs at once. Start with these highly useful verbs:

V1	V2	V3	V4	V5
be	was/were	been	being	is
have	had	had	having	has
do	did	done	doing	does
go	went	gone	going	goes
come	came	come	coming	comes
make	made	made	making	makes
take	took	taken	taking	takes
give	gave	given	giving	gives
see	saw	seen	seeing	sees
know	knew	known	knowing	knows
get	got	got/gotten	getting	gets
write	wrote	written	writing	writes
speak	spoke	spoken	speaking	speaks
read	read	read	reading	reads
find	found	found	finding	finds
think	thought	thought	thinking	thinks
understand	understood	understood	understanding	understands
learn	learned/learnt	learned/learnt	learning	learns
explain	explained	explained	explaining	explains
improve	improved	improved	improving	improves

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Practice Activity

Try to complete the missing forms.

Exercise 1

1. go – ______ – gone – going – goes
2. write – wrote – ______ – writing – writes
3. take – ______ – taken – taking – takes
4. speak – spoke – ______ – speaking – speaks
5. see – ______ – seen – seeing – sees
6. give – gave – ______ – giving – gives
7. begin – ______ – begun – beginning – begins
8. understand – understood – ______ – understanding – understands
9. buy – ______ – bought – buying – buys
10. fall – fell – ______ – falling – falls

Answers

1. went
2. written
3. took
4. spoken
5. saw
6. given
7. began
8. understood
9. bought
10. fallen

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Frequently Asked Questions

What are V1, V2, V3, V4 and V5?

V1 is the base form, V2 is the past form, V3 is the past participle, V4 is the -ing form, and V5 is the s/es form used mainly with third-person singular subjects in the simple present.

How many verb forms are there in English?

For basic grammar learning, verbs are commonly taught using five forms: V1, V2, V3, V4, and V5. However, English grammar contains many different tense and verb constructions.

What is the difference between V2 and V3?

V2 is normally used for the simple past, while V3 is used with auxiliary verbs such as have, has, and had, and in many passive constructions.

Example:

• I wrote a letter. → V2
• I have written a letter. → V3

Which verbs should students learn first?

Students should begin with common verbs such as be, have, do, go, come, get, make, take, give, see, know, think, write, speak, read, understand, learn, explain, and improve.

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Conclusion

Learning the 100 most common and useful English verb forms can significantly improve your grammar and communication skills. These verbs appear frequently in everyday conversations as well as in academic writing, examinations, assignments, and presentations.

Instead of memorizing the forms randomly, learn each verb as a complete group:

V1 → V2 → V3 → V4 → V5

For example:

write → wrote → written → writing → writes

Practice these verbs regularly by creating your own sentences. The more you use them in real situations, the more naturally you will remember their forms.

Learn the verb forms. Practice them in sentences. Use them confidently. Improve your English.