Standard English Verbs
Use Standard English verb inflections in place of non-standard local forms
What a learner can do afterwards
- Correct 'we was playing' to 'we were playing' and explain why the standard form is needed in writing
- Choose the standard form in pairs such as 'I did / I done', 'she has / she have', 'they were / they was'
- Rewrite a short passage replacing three non-standard verb forms with their Standard English equivalents
1 · Read
You probably talk one way with friends and a different way in schoolwork, and that's normal. But written English has one standard set of verb forms everyone uses, like 'were' instead of 'was' with we, you, or they.
At home you might say 'We was playing tag.' In your writing, change it to 'We were playing tag,' because 'were' is the standard form that pairs with 'we.'
'I done it' becomes 'I did it' in your writing. 'She have a bike' becomes 'She has a bike,' just like 'he has' or 'it has.'
The pairing works both ways. 'Was' still belongs with I, he, she, and it, so 'I was' and 'she was' are standard. And 'have' belongs with I, you, we, and they, while 'has' stays with he, she, and it. One more helper: 'done' never stands alone, but 'I have done it' is standard.
Try swapping in 'he' to check: 'he have' sounds odd, but 'he has' sounds right. That trick also works for 'was' and 'were.'
In your writing, use 'were' with we/they, 'did' instead of 'done' alone, and 'has' with she/he.
More to read
Subject-verb agreement
Every sentence has a subject and a verb. The subject is the person or thing doing something. The verb is the action word or being word. In Standard English, the subject and the verb have to match. If the subject is just one person or thing, we say 'she runs' or 'he was.' If the subject is more than one, we say 'they run' or 'they were.' That is why we do not write 'they was' in Standard English. The matching form is 'they were.' The same idea works for have and has. One person has something, like 'she has a ball.' More than one person have it, like 'they have a ball.' When you write, always pick the verb form that matches your subject.
Verb tenses
Verb tenses tell us when something happens. Past tense is for things that already happened. For most verbs we just add -ed, like 'walked' or 'played.' But some verbs are irregular and change in their own special way. 'Go' becomes 'went.' 'Do' becomes 'did.' In Standard English we say 'I did my homework,' not 'I done my homework.' The word 'done' needs a helper like 'have' or 'had,' as in 'I have done it.' Present tense is for things happening now or things that happen all the time. Future tense is for things that have not happened yet, and it often uses the word 'will.' When you write, choose the standard form of the verb so everyone understands you.
Introduction to irregular verbs
Most verbs in English are regular. That means they follow a simple pattern. To make the past tense, we just add -ed. 'Walk' becomes 'walked.' 'Look' becomes 'looked.' Easy! But some verbs do not follow the pattern. They are called irregular verbs. 'Go' does not become 'goed.' It becomes 'went.' 'Do' becomes 'did,' and 'have' becomes 'had.' There is no shortcut for these tricky verbs. We learn them one at a time by reading, listening, and practicing. Knowing the irregular forms helps us write in Standard English, so we say 'I did it' and 'they went home' instead of forms that do not match.
2 · Watch
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