Regular verbs tell about actions, states, or events in English. They often stay in the same base form in a sentence, and that base form is the form listed in a dictionary. In a simple sentence, the verb anchors the meaning around what happens, who does it, or what state something is in. Verbs such as work, live, open, and stay are regular because their main forms follow a pattern. For the basic idea of how verbs function in English, see Verbs.

In the present simple, regular verbs add -s with he, she, and it. The pattern is subject + verb + -s form. I work becomes he works, she works, and it works. This form is common for daily routines, facts, and repeated actions: He walks to school, She studies at night, It rains often in spring. With other subjects, the verb stays in the base form: I work, you work, we work, they work.

Most regular verbs add -s directly: play becomes plays and read becomes reads. Verbs ending in s, sh, ch, x, or z add -es: wash becomes washes, watch becomes watches, fix becomes fixes, buzz becomes buzzes. Verbs ending in a consonant + y change y to i and add -es: study becomes studies, carry becomes carries. After a vowel + y, add only -s: play becomes plays. These spelling patterns appear in the present simple and in Irregular Verbs they do not change in the same way, because irregular verbs follow different forms.

Regular verbs form the past simple by adding -ed to the base form: work becomes worked, clean becomes cleaned, start becomes started. The past simple is the form used for finished actions and events in the past. In a sentence, it appears after the subject without an auxiliary verb: She worked late, They cleaned the room, The meeting started at noon. The past simple form is also the usual regular past participle, which becomes important in Past Simple and in perfect and passive structures.

Verbs ending in silent e add only d: live becomes lived, close becomes closed. Verbs ending in a consonant usually add ed: help becomes helped, call becomes called. Many verbs ending in consonant + y change y to i and add ed: study becomes studied, carry becomes carried. Verbs ending in a vowel + y keep the y: play becomes played. Some short verbs with one stressed vowel and one final consonant double the final consonant before ed: stop becomes stopped, plan becomes planned.

Pronunciation of regular past endings

Word	Notation	Description	Example
worked	t sound	Use the t sound after a voiceless final consonant such as k or p.	He worked quietly in the garden.
played	d sound	Use the d sound after a voiced final sound such as y or l.	She played violin at the concert.
wanted	id sound	Use the id sound after a final t or d sound.	They wanted more time to finish the puzzle.

The -ed ending has three common pronunciations. After voiceless sounds such as p, k, f, s, sh, and ch, it is usually pronounced /t/: worked, laughed, washed. After voiced sounds such as b, g, v, z, and vowels, it is usually pronounced /d/: played, called, lived. After t and d, it is pronounced /ɪd/: started, needed. The spelling stays the same, but the final sound changes to match the last sound of the verb.

For regular verbs, the past participle is usually the same as the past simple form: worked, cleaned, started. The -ing form adds -ing to the base verb: working, cleaning, starting. The -ing form is used in continuous structures and in many noun-like verb patterns. The past participle is used in perfect tenses and passive sentences. Regular verbs keep these patterns neatly, which makes them easy to recognize in reading and writing.

The -ing form appears after forms of be in progressive tenses: am working, is cleaning, were waiting. The structure is be + -ing form. The past participle appears after forms of have in perfect tenses: have worked, has cleaned, had started. The structure is have + past participle. In passive sentences, the past participle appears after be: The room was cleaned, The letter is sent, The windows were opened. These patterns are central in Present Participles and Past Participles, where the same verb forms also appear in many other grammar structures.

A regular verb has four forms that are easy to identify: the base form, the present simple -s form, the past simple -ed form, and the -ing form. Work, works, worked, and working are one complete set. Clean, cleans, cleaned, and cleaning are another. In writing, the ending usually shows the form clearly. In reading, the subject and nearby words show whether the verb is present, past, progressive, perfect, or passive.