Irregular Verb Forms, Active vs. Passive Voice, and Modal Auxiliary Verbs

ACCUPLACER ESL Language Use Study Guide Exam

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1 Chapter 1: Overview, Test Mechanics & Sentence Basics

Current Exam Facts & Format Essential Sentence Components: Subjects, Predicates, and Clauses Identifying and Fixing Sentence Fragments, Run-On Sentences, and Comma Splices

2 Chapter 2: Nouns, Pronouns, and Agreement

Noun Categories, Pluralization Rules, and Count vs. Non-Count Nouns Pronoun Cases: Subjective, Objective, Possessive Pronouns vs. Possessive Adjectives Pronoun-Antecedent Agreement and Ambiguous Reference Resolution

3 Chapter 3: Verbs and Tense Mechanics

Subject-Verb Agreement Rules, Intervening Phrases, and Compound Subjects Primary Verb Tenses: Simple, Progressive, Perfect, and Perfect Progressive Tenses Irregular Verb Forms, Active vs. Passive Voice, and Modal Auxiliary Verbs

4 Chapter 4: Adjectives, Adverbs, and Modifiers

Adjective vs. Adverb Distinctions, Usage Rules, and Sentence Placement Comparative and Superlative Formations, Irregular Modifiers, and Usage Constraints Misplaced and Dangling Modifiers: Identification, Traps, and Revision Strategies

5 Chapter 5: Coordination, Subordination, and Sentence Combining

Coordinating Conjunctions (FANBOYS), Correlative Conjunctions, and Compound Sentence Construction Subordinating Conjunctions, Complex Sentences, and Punctuation Rules Advanced Sentence Combining: Transitions, Conjunctive Adverbs, and Relative Clauses

6 Chapter 6: ESL Grammar Traps, Prepositions, and Exam Strategies

Preposition Selection for Time, Place, Movement, and Dependent Preposition Phrases Common ESL Challenges: Articles (a/an/the), Negation, and Word Order Exam-Day Strategies: Analyzing Fill-in-the-Blank and Sentence-Combining Items

Irregular Verb Forms, Active vs. Passive Voice, and Modal Auxiliary Verbs

Key Takeaways Explain This Topic AI

Irregular verbs do not form their past simple and past participle with standard '-ed' endings; mastering their three principal parts is essential for verb accuracy.

Confusable irregular pairs like 'lie/lay' (intransitive vs. transitive) and 'rise/raise' require identifying whether the verb takes a direct object.

The canonical passive ('to be' + past participle) shifts emphasis onto the receiver of an action and is used when the agent is unknown, obvious, or less important.

Intransitive verbs (e.g., 'occur', 'happen', 'arrive') cannot be converted into the passive voice because they do not take direct objects.

Modal auxiliary verbs ('can', 'must', 'should', 'might') are followed by the base form of a verb without 'to' and never take subject-agreement suffixes.

Last updated: August 2026

Irregular Verb Forms and Confusable Principal Parts

While regular English verbs form both their simple past tense and past participle by adding the suffix -ed ( walk / walked / walked ), irregular verbs undergo internal vowel changes, consonant mutations, or zero inflections across their three principal parts : Base Form (Infinitive), Simple Past (V2), and Past Participle (V3).

Principal Part Categorizations of Challenging Irregular Verbs

Base Form (V1) Simple Past (V2) Past Participle (V3) Common ESL Error / Confusion
begin began begun Confusing V2 and V3 ( "He has began" => "He has begun" )
break broke broken Using base form with auxiliary ( "was breaked" )
choose chose chosen Misspelling V2 ( chose ) vs V1 ( choose )
freeze froze frozen Incorrect V3 form ( "had froze" => "had frozen" )
lead led led Misspelling past form as lead (confused with the metal)
drink drank drunk Using V3 for past simple ( "she drunk yesterday" => "she drank yesterday" )
swim swam swum Confusing V2 ( swam ) with V3 ( swum )
write wrote written Omitting double consonant in V3 ( written )
Confusable Verb Pairs: Transitive vs. Intransitive

Distinguishing transitive uses (which take a direct object) from intransitive uses (which do not) helps select the correct verb and voice.

1. Lie vs. Lay

Lie (Intransitive - To recline or rest): Does NOT take a direct object.

Principal Parts: lie / lay / lain / lying
Present: "The research documents lie on the desk."
Past Simple: "Yesterday, the patient lay in bed all morning."
Present Perfect: "The ruins have lain undisturbed for centuries."

Lay (Transitive - To place or put something down): MUST take a direct object.

Principal Parts: lay / laid / laid / laying
Present: "Please lay the heavy packages (direct object) on the floor."
Past Simple: "The technician laid the instruments (direct object) on the tray."
Present Perfect: "She has laid her work (direct object) aside."
2. Rise vs. Raise

Rise (Intransitive - To move upward or ascend): No direct object.

Principal Parts: rise / rose / risen
Example: "Smoke rose from the chimney." / "Prices have risen rapidly."

Raise (Transitive - To lift something up or elevate): Requires a direct object.

Principal Parts: raise / raised / raised
Example: "The university raised tuition fees (direct object) this year."
3. Sit vs. Set
Sit (Intransitive - To rest in a seated position): sit / sat / sat ("Please sit here.")
Set (Transitive - To place something in a location): set / set / set ("She set the laptop on the table.")