Verb Forms V1 V2 V3 V4 V5: 250+ Verb List With Examples

English main verbs do not always stay in the same form. Write becomes wrote, written, writing, or writes depending on how the verb is used. Regular verbs are usually more predictable, while irregular verbs such as go, take, see, and write change in ways that need to be learned.

The labels V1, V2, V3, V4, and V5 are commonly used in English-learning materials to organize these forms. On this page, V1 is the base form, V2 is the past form, V3 is the past participle, V4 is the -ing form, and V5 is the third-person singular present form.

V1 V2 V3 V4 V5 Quick Chart

Here is one verb in all five forms:

Compare the forms in sentences:

I write every morning.

I wrote three pages yesterday.

I have written the introduction.

I am writing the next section now.

Maya writes before breakfast.

A Note About V4 and V5

The V1–V5 labels are classroom shorthand rather than universal grammatical terms. Some books and websites use V4 for the -ing form and V5 for the third-person singular present form, while others reverse those two labels.

This page uses:

• V1 = Base form
• V2 = Past form
• V3 = Past participle
• V4 = -ing form
• V5 = Third-person singular present

The grammatical form names are more important than the numbers, so check the convention whenever you use a different textbook or reference.

Most English main verbs can be described using these five forms. Core modal verbs such as can, may, must, shall, should, will, and would do not have the full five-form pattern, so they are not included in the table below.

What Is V1? The Base Form

V1 is the base form of a verb. It is the form you normally find as the main dictionary entry.

Examples include:

work
carry
eat
write
go

The base form appears in several common structures.

With I, you, we, they, and plural subjects in the simple present:

They work from home.

After modal verbs such as can, should, will, and must:

This truck can carry a heavy load.

With to in an infinitive:

We want to leave early.

It can also be used for commands:

Close the door carefully.

V1 is therefore best understood as the base form, not simply as a “present form.”

What Is V2? The Past Form

V2 is the past form of a verb, commonly used for completed actions and situations in the simple past.

Emma walked to the station.

Noah bought a new notebook.

For regular verbs, V2 usually ends in -ed, although spelling may change:

work → worked
live → lived
study → studied
stop → stopped

Irregular verbs do not follow one standard pattern:

go → went
see → saw
take → took
bring → brought

The detailed rules for using these forms belong with the simple past tense and the distinction between regular and irregular verbs.

What Is V3? The Past Participle

V3 is the past participle form of a verb.

For regular verbs, V2 and V3 are normally identical:

work → worked → worked
clean → cleaned → cleaned

Many irregular verbs have a different V3 form:

write → wrote → written
take → took → taken
break → broke → broken
speak → spoke → spoken

The past participle is used with forms of have in perfect constructions:

She has written the report.

We had finished before noon.

It is also used with forms of be or get in many passive constructions:

The window was broken during the storm.

The documents were sent yesterday.

A past participle has several grammatical uses, so the full topic is covered separately under participles in English grammar.

What Is V4? The -ing Form

V4 is the -ing form of the verb in the convention used on this page.

Examples:

work → working
write → writing
run → running
lie → lying
dye → dyeing

The -ing form is used as a present participle in progressive constructions:

Ava is reading.

They were waiting outside.

We have been working since morning.

The same -ing form can appear in other grammatical structures as well, so it is better to call V4 the -ing form rather than assume every occurrence has exactly the same grammatical function.

Spelling sometimes changes when -ing is added:

make → making
run → running
die → dying
tie → tying

The larger list and detailed spelling patterns are covered in the ing form of verbs.

What Is V5? The Third-Person Singular Present Form

V5 is the form used with a third-person singular subject in the simple present.

That usually means subjects such as he, she, it, Maya, the dog, or my brother.

I work.
Maya works.

They study.
Noah studies.

We watch.
She watches.

Most verbs add -s or -es, but spelling may change:

play → plays
wash → washes
carry → carries
study → studies

A few very common verbs have special forms:

have → has
do → does
be → is

The verb be is especially unusual because its present forms also include am and are. In this V1–V5 system, however, V5 specifically refers to the third-person singular present, so the V5 form of be is is.

Regular and Irregular Verb Forms

A regular verb forms its past and past participle in a predictable way, usually with -ed.

talk → talked → talked
open → opened → opened
carry → carried → carried

An irregular verb changes differently:

begin → began → begun
drink → drank → drunk
know → knew → known

Some irregular verbs do not change at all in V1, V2, and V3:

cut → cut → cut
put → put → put
set → set → set

Others change only partly:

come → came → come
run → ran → run

The table below includes both regular and irregular verbs. For a focused reference to irregular V1, V2, and V3 forms, see the irregular verbs list.

250+ Verb Forms V1 V2 V3 V4 V5 List

The table gives the five forms of more than 250 English verbs, including common regular and irregular verbs.

An asterisk (*) marks a form that needs a short note because its use may depend on meaning, dialect, or context.

Verb Forms A–C

Verb Forms D–H

Verb Forms I–M

Verb Forms N–R

Verb Forms S–Z

Important Verb Form Notes

A table is useful for quick lookup, but a few English verbs need more explanation because their forms depend on meaning or variety of English.

Be: Why Is V5 “Is”?

The verb be has more forms than an ordinary English verb:

I am ready.

You are ready.

She is ready.

Its five forms in the convention used here are:

be → was/were → been → being → is

V5 specifically means the third-person singular present form, which is why is appears in that column. Am and are are other present forms of be, not V5 forms.

Bear: Borne or Born?

The usual past participle of bear is borne.

She has borne the responsibility for years.

Born is used in the special construction connected with birth:

Maya was born in July.

So:

bear → bore → borne

but:

be born

when talking about birth.

Bid: Bid or Bade/Bidden?

For the common meaning of making an offer, especially at an auction, the normal forms are:

bid → bid → bid

He bid $200 for the painting.

Older or literary bade and bidden occur mainly with meanings such as commanding, inviting, or saying farewell.

For a modern general verb list, bid → bid → bid is the most useful primary pattern.

Cost: Cost or Costed?

For the ordinary meaning of having a particular price, the usual forms are:

cost → cost → cost

The repairs cost more than expected.

When cost means to calculate or estimate how much something will cost, costed is used.

The proposal was carefully costed before approval.

The form therefore depends on the meaning of the verb.

Get: Got or Gotten?

The past form is:

get → got

The past participle varies.

Got is common in British English:

Things have got worse.

Gotten is widely used in American English in many meanings:

She has gotten much better at chess.

That is why the table shows:

get → got → got/gotten

Hang: Hung or Hanged?

For objects and most ordinary meanings, use:

hang → hung → hung

We hung the picture above the desk.

Hanged is conventionally used when referring to execution by hanging:

The prisoner was hanged.

The distinction depends on meaning, not simply on whether the sentence is British or American English.

Prove: Proved or Proven?

The past form is normally:

prove → proved

For V3, both proved and proven occur:

The method has proved effective.

The method has been proven effective.

Proven is especially common in American English and before nouns in combinations such as a proven method.

Saw: Sawn or Sawed?

The past form of the verb meaning “cut with a saw” is:

saw → sawed

The past participle may be sawn or sawed:

The boards had been sawn to length.

The boards had been sawed to length.

Both forms occur, with usage varying by region and context.

Shine: Shone or Shined?

Both shone and shined are established forms, but meaning can affect the choice.

For giving or reflecting light, shone is especially common:

The moon shone through the clouds.

Shined is common in uses involving polishing:

He shined his shoes before the ceremony.

It also appears in some other transitive uses.

Strike and Stricken

The normal general forms are:

strike → struck → struck

The ball struck the wall.

Lightning has struck the tower before.

Stricken also occurs in particular expressions involving severe illness, disaster, grief, or distress.

Aid was sent to the flood-stricken region.

For a general V1–V5 table, struck is the main V3 form to learn.

Wake: Woke, Woken, or Waked?

The most familiar pattern is:

wake → woke → woken

I woke early.

She has woken already.

Waked is also an established past and past participle form, though it is less common in many everyday contexts.

Weave: Wove, Woven, or Weaved?

For making cloth or intertwining material, the traditional forms are:

weave → wove → woven

She wove the fibers into a basket.

The fabric was woven by hand.

Weaved is also used, particularly for movement in and out of a path:

The cyclist weaved through the traffic.

Meaning therefore affects which form sounds most natural.

Read: Same Spelling, Different Pronunciation

The forms of read are written the same way:

read → read → read

But the pronunciation changes.

V1 read rhymes with need:

I read every evening.

V2 and V3 read rhyme with bed:

I read the book yesterday.

I have read it twice.

Lie and Lay Are Different Verbs

These two verbs are frequently confused.

Lie, meaning to recline, has these forms:

lie → lay → lain → lying → lies

I lie down after lunch.

Yesterday I lay down early.

I had lain there for an hour.

Lay normally means to put something somewhere and usually takes an object:

lay → laid → laid → laying → lays

Please lay the book on the desk.

She laid it there yesterday.

The confusing part is that lay is both:

• V1 of lay
• V2 of lie

Burned or Burnt? Learned or Learnt?

Some verbs have two established forms, often with differences in regional preference.

Examples include:

burned / burnt
dreamed / dreamt
kneeled / knelt
learned / learnt

Both forms may be correct. American English often favors forms such as burned, dreamed, and learned, while forms such as burnt, dreamt, and learnt remain common in British English and other varieties.

The table includes both when the variation is useful enough to mention.

Canceled or Cancelled?

Some spelling differences affect V2, V3, and V4 rather than the basic grammatical pattern.

For example:

canceled / cancelled
canceling / cancelling

and:

traveled / travelled
traveling / travelling

American English commonly uses the single l forms, while British English commonly doubles the l.

Both are standard when used consistently.

More Verb Lessons

Once you are comfortable with verb forms, these lessons can help you see how verbs work in larger structures and sentences:

• Verb Phrase: Definition, Structure, and Examples explains how main verbs and helping verbs work together in a verb phrase.
• Active Voice vs. Passive Voice shows how verb forms change when the focus moves between the doer of an action and the person or thing affected by it.
• Gerund vs. Infinitive explains why some verbs are followed by an -ing form while others are followed by to + base verb.
• Transitive Verbs explains which verbs take a direct object and how to recognize them in sentences.

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