Weak Verbs - Learn What They Are, Their Definition, Formation with 100+ Examples

Have you heard of weak verbs? Why do you think they are called so? Learn what they are, their definition, and how they are formed and used, in this article. Go through the examples given and try out the practice questions to have a good understanding of weak verbs.

Table of Contents

• What Are Weak Verbs? – Meaning and Definition
• Formation of Weak Verbs
• Examples of 100+ Weak Verbs
• Check Your Understanding of Weak Verbs
• Frequently Asked Questions on Weak Verbs in English

What Are Weak Verbs? – Meaning and Definition

Weak verbs are those verbs whose past tense and the past participle forms are conjugated with the addition of ‘ed’, ‘t’ or ‘d’ to the end of the root verb. They are otherwise called regular verbs. According to the Oxford Learner’s Dictionary, “a weak verb forms the past tense and past participle by adding a regular ending and not by changing a vowel. In English this is done by adding -d, -ed or -t (for example walk, walked)”, and according to the Macmillan Dictionary, “a weak verb forms the past tenses in a regular way. Weak verbs in English do this by adding ‘-ed’, ‘-d’, or ‘-t’ to the infinitive”.

Formation of Weak Verbs

Weak verbs can be formed in three ways based on the verb endings. Have a look at the following points to understand.

• The past tense and past participle form of verbs that end with a consonant is formed with the addition of ‘ed’ at the end of the verb. For example, Check-checked.
• For verbs ending with a vowel (e), the past tense and past participle form of the verb is formed with the addition of the letter ‘d’ to the end of the verb. For example: Seclude – secluded.
• For some other verbs, the past tense and past participle form of the verb are formed by the addition of the letter ‘t’ to the end of the verb. For example: Send – sent

Examples of 100+ Weak Verbs

Here is a table with 100 examples to show you how weak verbs are formed.

Check Your Understanding of Weak Verbs

Go through the following sentences and fill in the blanks with the right form of the weak verbs given in brackets.

1. My brother always _________ of becoming a cyber analyst. (dream)

2. The little girl _________ out every word accurately. (spell)

3. Tina’s mom had already _________ when we got home. (sleep)

4. I _________ a rasmalai cake for my mom’s birthday. (bake)

5. All of us _________ under the tree for our get-together. (gather)

6. My friends and I _________ to explore new places this year. (decide)

7. We were _________ to carry a mobile phone for emergency purposes during the trip. (allow)

8. My sister _________ every penny of her salary to get our dad the car he had always _________. (spend, want)

9. They _________ with me about everything. (disagree)

10. We _________ together from the railway station to the park. (walk)

Find out if you used the verbs correctly from the answers given below.

1. My brother always dreamt of becoming a cyber analyst. (dream)

2. The little girl spelt out every word accurately. (spell)

3. Tina’s mom had already slept when we got home. (sleep)

4. I baked a rasmalai cake for my mom’s birthday. (bake)

5. All of us gathered under the tree for our get-together. (gather)

6. My friends and I decided to explore new places this year. (decide)

7. We were allowed to carry a mobile phone for emergency purposes during the trip. (allow)

8. My sister spent every penny of her salary to get our dad the car he had always wanted. (spend, want)

9. They disagreed with me about everything. (disagree)

10. We walked together from the railway station to the park. (walk)