The spelling of a regular plural is determined by its pronunciation. If the plural is pro-nounced as a single sibilant sound pronounced either as /s/ or /z/, then the plural is spelled -5. However, if the plural is pronounced as a separate unstressed syllable /oz/ rhyming with "buzz/1 then the plural is spelled -cs. | Basic Verb Forms 125 Present participle The present participle is also completely regular. It is formed by adding -ing to the base form. Here are some examples Base form be do Present participle being doing go have sing talk going having singing talking The rules of spelling sometimes cause the present participle to be spelled differently from the base form. Here are the most common changes Final silent e If the base form ends in a final silent e the e will drop. For example Base form Present participle enlarge enlarging lose losing save saving tame taming time timing use using Doubled consonant If the base ends in a single consonant preceded by a short vowel the consonant will double. For example Base form Present participle hit hitting hop hopping rub rubbing run running skid skidding swim swimming 126 Verb Phrases Exercise Write the present participle form of the following base-form verbs. Base form Present participle range ranging 1. skip 2. cry 3. desire 4. vote 5. phrase 6. reply 7. spot 8. admit 9. shake 10. care Past participle There are two types of past participles regular and irregular. The regular forms are exactly the same as the past tense that is they are the base - e d. The rules for spelling and pronunciation are exactly the same as for the past tense. Irregular past participles In older periods of English most irregular past participles ended in - e n. Today only about one-third of irregular past participles still end in - e n. About the only generalization we can make now is that if an irregular verb has an - e n ending then it is very likely a past participle. Here are some examples Base Past participle choose chosen eat eaten fall fallen Basic Verb Forms 127 fly flown freeze frozen hide hidden rise risen see seen speak spoken swear sworn tear torn wake woken As you can see from the examples the changes in vowels from base form to past participle form are unpredictable. Two common past participles have unpredictable pronunciations been .
