Ordinal numbers

R46 Here is a list of ordinal numbers. The list shows the patterns of forming ordinal numbers greater than 20.

1st 2nd 3rd 4th 5th 6th 7th 8th 9th 10th 11th 12th 13th 14th 15th 16th 17th 18th 19th 20th 21st 22nd 23rd 24th 25th

first second third fourth fifth sixth seventh eighth ninth tenth eleventh twelfth thirteenth fourteenth fifteenth sixteenth seventeenth eighteenth nineteenth twenty twenty-first twenty-second twenty-third twenty-fourth twenty-fifth

26th 27th 28th 29th 30th 31st 40th 41st 50th 51st 60th 61st 70th 71st 80th 81st 90th 91st 100th 101st 200th 1000th 1,000,000th 1,000,000,000th

twenty-sixth twenty-seventh twenty-eighth twenty-ninth thirtieth thirty-first fortieth forty-first fiftieth fifty-first sixtieth sixty-first seventieth seventy-first eightieth eighty-first ninetieth ninety-first hundredth hundred and first two hundredth thousandth millionth billionth

R47 As shown in the above list, ordinals can be written in abbreviated form, for example in dates or heading or in very informal writing. You write the last two letters of the ordinal after the number expressed in figures. For example, 'first' can be written as '1st', 'twenty-second' as '22nd', 'hundred and third' as '103rd', and 'fourteenth' as '14th'.

...on August 2nd.

...the 1st Division of the Sovereign's Escort.

Fractions and percentages

R48 You can write a fraction in figures, for example ½, ¼, ¾, and 2/3. These correspond to 'a half', 'a quarter', 'three-quarters', and 'two-thirds' respectively.

R49 Fractions are often given in a special form as a number of hundredths. This type of fraction is called a percentage. For example, 'three-hundredths', expressed as a percentage is 'three per cent'. It can also be written as 'three percent' or '3%'. 'A half' can be expressed as 'fifty per cent', 'fifty percent', or '50%'.

About 20 per cent of student accountants are women.

90 percent of most food is water.

Before 1960 45% of British trade was with the Commonwealth.

You can use percentages on their own as noun groups when it is clear what they refer to.

Ninety per cent were self employed.

...interest at 10% per annum.

Verb forms and the formation of verb groups

R50 Verbs have several forms. These forms can be used on their own or combined with special verbs called auxiliaries. When a verb or a combination of a verb and an auxiliary is used in a clause, it is called a verb group. Verb groups can be finite or nor-finite. If a verb group is finite, it has a tense.

Verb groups are used to refer to actions, states, and processes. The use of verb groups in clauses to make statements is explained in Chapter 3.

R51 Verb groups can be active or passive. You use an active verb group if you are concentrating on the performer of an action, and you use a passive verb group if you are concentrating on someone or something that is affected by an action. Further information on the use of passive verb groups is given in Chapter 10 (10.8 to 10.24).

R52 Regular verbs have the following forms:

• a base form EG walk

• an 's' form EG walks

• a present participle EG walking

• a past form EG walked

The base form of a verb is the form that is used in the infinitive. It is the form that is given first in a dictionary where a verb is explained, and that is given in the lists in this grammar.

The 's' form of a verb consists of the base form with 's' on the end.

The present participle usually consists of the base form with '-ing' on the end. It is sometimes called the '-ing' form.

The past form of a verb usually consists of the base form with '-ed' on the end.

In the case of regular verbs, the past form is used for the past tense and is also used as the past participle.

However, with many irregular verbs (see paragraph R72) there are two past forms:

• a past tense form EG stole

• a past participle form EG stolen

There are rules about the spelling of the different forms of verbs, depending on their endings. These are explained in paragraphs R54 to R70.

Certain verbs, especially common ones, have irregular forms. These are listed in paragraphs R72 to R75.

The forms of the auxiliaries 'be', 'have', and 'do' are given in paragraph R80.

R53 Each verb form has various uses.

The base form is used for the present tense, the imperative, and the infinitive, and is used after modals.

The 's' form is used for the third person singular of the present tense.

The present participle is used for continuous tenses, '-ing' adjectives, '-ing' nouns, and some non-finite clauses.

The past form is used for the simple past tense, and for the past participle of regular verbs.

The past participle is used for perfect tenses, passive tenses, '-ed' adjectives, and some non-finite clauses.

R54 The basic verb forms have been described in paragraph R52. The following paragraphs explain how the various forms of verbs are spelled. They also give details of verbs which have irregular forms. The forms of the auxiliaries 'be', 'have', and 'do' are dealt with separately in paragraphs R80 to R88.

R55 The 's' form of most verbs consists of the base form of the verb with 's' added to the end.

sing => sings

write => writes

When the 's' follows one of the sounds /f/, /k/, /p/, /t/, or /Ɵ/, it is pronounced /s/.

break => breaks

keep => keeps

When the 's' follows one of the sounds /s/, /z/, or /ʤ/, it is pronounced /ɪz/.

dance => dances

manage => manages

In most other cases the 's' is pronounced /z/.

leave => leaves

refer => refers

R56 With verbs whose base form ends in a consonant letter followed by 'y', you substitute 'ies' for 'y' to form the 's' form.

try => tries

cry => cries

R57 With verbs which end in 'sh', 'ch', 'ss', 'x', or 'zz', 'es' rather than 's' is added to the base form of the verb. The 'es' is pronounced /ɪz/.

diminish => diminishes

reach => reaches

pass => passes

mix => mixes

buzz => buzzes

echo => echoes

R58 With one-syllable verbs which end in a single 's', you add 'ses'.

bus => busses

gas => gasses

R59 Most verbs have present participles formed by adding 'ing' to the base form, and past forms formed by adding 'ed' to the base form.

paint => painting => painted

rest => resting => rested

With all present participles, the 'ing' is pronounced as a separate syllable /ɪŋ/.

With verbs whose base form ends with one of the sounds /f/, /k/, /p/, /s/, /ʃ/, or /ʧ/, the 'ed' of the past form is pronounced /t/. For example, 'pressed' is pronounced /prɛst/ and 'watched' is pronounced /wɒʧt/.

With verbs whose base forms ends with the sound /d/ or /t/, the 'ed' of the past form is pronounced /ɪd/. For example, 'patted' is pronounced /pætɪd/ and 'faded is pronounced /fɛɪdɪd/.

With all other verbs, the 'ed' of the past form is pronounced /d/. For example, 'joined' is pronounced /ʤɔɪnd/ and 'lived' is pronounced /lɪvd/.

R60 With most verbs which end in 'e', the present participle is formed by substituting 'ing' for the final 'e'. Similarly, you substitute 'ed' for the final 'e' to form the past form.

dance => dancing => danced

smile => smiling => smiled

fade => fading => faded

R61 In the case of a few verbs ending in 'e', you just add 'ing' in the normal way to form the present participle. You still substitute 'ed' for 'e' to form the past form.

singe => singeing => singed

agree => agreeing => agreed

Here is a list of these verbs:

age agree disagree

dye free knee

referee singe tiptoe

R62 To form the present participle of a verb which ends in 'ie', you substitute 'ying' for 'ie'.

tie => tying

Note that the past form of such verbs is regular, following the pattern in R60.

R63 To form the past form of a verb which ends in a consonant letter followed by 'y', you substitute 'ied' for 'y'.

cry => cried

Note that the present participle of such verbs is regular, following the pattern in R59.

R64 If the base form of a verb has one syllable and ends with a single vowel letter followed by a consonant letter, you double the final consonant letter before adding 'ing' to form the present participle or 'ed' to form the past form.

dip => dipping => dipped

trot => trotting => trotted

Note that this does not apply if the final consonant letter is 'w', 'x', or 'y'.

row => rowing => rowed

box => boxing => boxed

play => playing => played

R65 The final consonant letter of some two-syllable verbs is also doubled. This happens when the second syllable ends in a single vowel letter followed by a consonant letter, and is stressed.

refer => referring => referred

equip => equipping => equipped

R66 In British English, when a two syllable verb ends in a single vowel letter followed by a single 'l', the 'l' is doubled before 'ing' or 'ed' is added to it, even if there is no stress on the last syllable.

travel => travelling travelled

quarrel => quarrelling => quarrelled

A few other verbs also have their final consonant letter doubled.

program => programming => programmed

worship => worshipping => worshipped

hiccup => hiccupping => hiccupped

kidnap => kidnapping => kidnapped

handicap => handicapping => handicapped

R67 All the verbs described in R66, except 'handicap', can have their present participle and past form spelled with a single consonant letter in American English.

travel => traveling => traveled

worship => worshiping => worshiped

R68 Here is a list of the verbs whose final consonant letter is doubled before 'ing' and 'ed' in both British and American English:

ban bar bat beg blot blur bob brag brim bug cap chat chip chop clap clog clot cram crib crop cup dab dam dim din dip dot drag drop drug drum dub fan

fit flag flap flip flop fog fret gas gel glut grab grin grip grit grub gun gut hem hop hug hum jam jet jig jog jot knit knot lag lap log lop man

mar mob mop mug nag net nip nod pad pat peg pen pet pin pit plan plod plug pop prod prop rib rig rip rob rot rub sag scan scar scrap scrub ship

shop shred shrug shun sin sip skid skim skin skip slam slap slim slip slop slot slum slur snag snap snip snub sob spot squat stab star stem step stir stop strap strip

strut stun sun swab swap swat swig swot tag tan tap thin throd tip top trap trek trim trip trot vet wag wrap ~ abet abhor acquit admit allot commit compel confer control

defer deter distil embed emit enrol enthral equip excel expel incur instil occur omit outwit patrol propel rebel rebut recap recur refer regret remit repel submit transfer transmit ~ handicap

Note that verbs such as 're-equip' and 'unclog', which consist of a prefix and one of the above verbs, also have their final consonant letter doubled.

R69 Here is a list of verbs whose final consonant letter is doubled before 'ing' and 'ed' in British English but not always in American English:

cancel dial duel enamel enrol enthral equal fuel

funnel gambol grovel hiccup initial kidnap label level

libel marvel model panel pedal pencil program pummel

quarrel refuel revel rival shovel shrivel snivel spiral

stencil swivel total travel tunnel unravel worship

R70 With verbs ending in 'c', 'king' and 'ked' are usually added instead of 'ing' and 'ed'.

mimic => mimicking => mimicked

panic => panicking => panicked

R71 A large number of verbs have irregular past forms and past participles, which are not formed by adding 'ed' to the base form.

With regular verbs, the past participle is the same as the past form. However with some irregular verbs, the two forms are different.

R72 The table opposite gives a list of irregular verbs and their forms.

Note that the past form and past participle of 'read' appear the same as the base form but are pronounced differently. The base form is pronounced /riːd/ and the past form and past participle /rɛd/. See a Cobuild dictionary for the pronunciation, of irregular forms of verbs.

R73 Some verbs have more than one past form or past participle form. For example, the past form and past participle of 'spell' can be either 'spelled' or 'spelt', and the past participle of 'prove' can be either 'proved' or 'proven'.

He burned several letters.

He burnt all his papers.

His bandaged foot had swelled to three times normal size.

His wrist had swollen up and become huge.

R74 Some verbs have two forms which can be used as either the past form or the past participle. Here is a list of these verbs. The regular form is given first, although it may not be the more common one.

burn => burned, burnt bust => busted, bust dream => dreamed, dreamt dwell => dwelled, dwelt fit => fitted, fit hang => hanged, hung

kneel => kneeled, knelt lean => leaned, leant leap => leaped, leapt light => lighted, lit relay => relayed, relaid smell => smelled, smelt

speed => speeded, sped spell => spelled, spelt spill => spilled, spilt spoil => spoiled, spoilt wet => wetted, wet

R75 Here is a list of verbs with two past forms:

bid => bid, bade lie => lied, lay

wake => waked, woke weave => weaved, wove

Here is a list of verbs with two past participle forms:

bid => bid, bidden lie => lied, lain mow => mowed. mown prove => proved, proven

swell => swelled, swollen wake => waked, woken weave => weaved, woven

'Gotten' is often used instead of 'got' as the past participle of 'get in American English.

Note that some verbs appear in both the above lists as they have a different past form and past participle form, each of which has more than one form.

base form	past form	past participle	base form	past form	past participle	base form	past form	past participle
arise	arose	arisen	freeze	froze	frozen	shut	shut	shut
awake	awoke	awoken	get	got	got	sing	sang	sung
bear	bore	borne	give	gave	given	sink	sank	sunk
beat	beat	beaten	go	went	gone	sit	sat	sat
become	became	become	grind	ground	ground	slay	slew	slain
begin	began	begun	grow	grew	grown	sleep	slept	slept
bend	bent	bent	hear	heard	heard	slide	slid	slid
bet	bet	bet	hide	hid	hidden	sling	slung	slung
bind	bound	bound	hit	hit	hit	slink	slunk	slunk
bite	bit	bitten	hold	held	held	sow	sowed	sown
bleed	bled	bled	hurt	hurt	hurt	speak	spoke	spoken
blow	blew	blown	keep	kept	kept	spend	spent	spent
break	broke	broken	know	knew	known	spin	spun	spun
breed	bred	bred	lay	laid	laid	spread	spread	spread
bring	brought	brought	lead	led	led	spring	sprang	sprung
build	built	built	leave	left	left	stand	stood	stood
burst	burst	burst	lend	lent	lent	steal	stole	stolen
buy	bought	bought	let	let	let	stick	stuck	stuck
cast	cast	cast	lose	lost	lost	sting	stung	stung
catch	caught	caught	make	made	made	stink	stank	stunk
choose	chose	chosen	mean	meant	meant	strew	strewed	strewn
cling	clung	clung	meet	met	met	stride	strode	stridden
come	came	come	pay	paid	paid	strike	struck	struck
cost	cost	cost	put	put	put	string	strung	strung
creep	crept	crept	quit	quit	quit	strive	strove	striven
cut	cut	cut	read	read	read	swear	swore	sworn
deal	dealt	dealt	rend	rent	rent	sweep	swept	swept
dig	dug	dug	ride	rode	ridden	swim	swam	swum
draw	drew	drawn	ring	rang	rung	swing	swung	swung
drink	drank	drunk	rise	rose	risen	take	took	taken
drive	drove	driven	run	ran	run	teach	taught	taught
eat	ate	eaten	saw	sawed	sawn	tear	tore	torn
fall	fell	fallen	say	said	said	tell	told	told
feed	fed	fed	see	saw	seen	think	thought	thought
feel	felt	felt	seek	sought	sought	throw	threw	thrown
fight	fought	fought	sell	sold	sold	thrust	thrust	thrust
find	found	found	send	sent	sent	tread	trod	trodden
flee	flew	flown	set	set	set	understand	understood	understood
fling	flung	flung	sew	sewed	sewn	wear	wore	worn
fly	flew	flown	shake	shook	shaken	weep	wept	wept
forbear	forbore	forborne	shed	shed	shed	win	won	won
forbid	forbade	forbidden	shine	shone	shone	wind	wound	wound
forget	forgot	forgotten	shoe	shod	shod	wring	wrung	wrung
forgive	forgave	forgiven	shoot	shot	shot	write	wrote	written
forsake	forsook	forsaken	show	showed	shown
forswear	forswore	forsworn	shrink	shrank	shrunk

R76 In some cases, different past forms or past participle forms relate to different meanings or uses of the verb. For example, the past form and the past participle of the verb 'hang' is normally 'hung'. However, 'hanged' can also be used but with a different meaning. Check the different meanings in a Cobuild dictionary.

An iron Cross hung from a ribbon around the man's neck.

He had been found guilty of murdering his child and hanged.

They had bid down the chemical company's stock.

He had bidden her to buy the best.

Everyone gathered as he relayed the tragic news.

They carefully relaid the pavements.

R77 Some verbs consist of more than one word, for example 'browbeat' and 'typeset', and some consist of a prefix plus a verb, for example 'undo' and 'disconnect'.

His teachers underestimate his general ability.

Physical miracles of out time outdo their creators.

No-one knows better how you mismanage your time than those who live or work with you.

R78 Verbs which consist of more than one word or of a prefix plus a verb usually inflect in the same way as the verbs which form their final part. For example, the past form of 'foresee' is 'foresaw' and the past participle is 'foreseen', the past form and past participle of 'hamstring' is 'hamstrung', and the past form and past participle of 'misunderstand' is 'misunderstood'.

I underestimated him.

He had outdone himself.

I had misunderstood and mismanaged everything.

She had disappeared into the kitchen and reappeared with a flashlight.

R79 With many verbs of this sort, the fact that they consist of two parts does not make any difference to their forms. They follow the normal spelling rules.

Here is a list of verbs whose second part is an irregular verb:

browbeat broadcast forecast miscast recast typecast overcome undercut outdo overdo undo withdraw

overeat befall forego undergo outgrow overheat mishear behold uphold withhold mislay waylay

mislead remake repay misread override outrun overrun re-run foresee oversee outsell resell

beset reset typeset outshine overshoot oversleep misspell withstand hamstring mistake overtake retake

undertake foretell retell rethink overthrow misunderstand rewind unwind rewrite underwrite

Note the past forms and past participles of the verbs shown below, whose second part is a verb with alternative past forms and past participles.

refit => refitted => refitted

overhang => overhung => overhung

floodlight => floodlit => floodlit

Here is a list of compound verbs whose second part is an irregular verb:

bottle-feed breast-feed force-feed

spoon-feed baby-sit lip-read

proof-read sight-read ghost-write

R80 The different forms of the auxiliaries 'be', 'have', and 'do' are summarized in the table below.

	be		have		do
Simple present: with 'I'	am	'm	have	've	do
with 'you', 'we', 'they', & plural noun groups	are	're
with 'he', 'she', 'it' & singular noun groups	is	's	has	's	does
Simple past: with 'I', 'he', 'she', 'it' & singular noun groups	was		had	'd	did
with 'you', 'we', 'they', & plural noun groups	were
Participles: present participle past participle	being been		having had		doing done

R81 The present tense forms of 'be' can usually be contracted and added to the end of the subject of the verb, whether it is a noun or a pronoun. This is often done in spoken English or in informal written English.

I'm interested in the role of women all over the world.

You're late.

We're making some progress.

It's a delightful country.

My car's just across the street.

The contracted forms of *be' are shown in the table above.

R82 Contracted forms of 'be' are not used at the end of affirmative statements. The full form must be used instead. For example, you say 'Richard's not very happy but Andrew is'. You can not say 'Richard's not very happy but Andrew's'.

However, you can use a contracted form of 'be' at the end of a negative statement if it is followed by 'not'. For example, 'Mary's quite happy, but her mother's not'.

R83 When 'be' is used in negative clauses, either the verb or 'not' can be contracted. For more information on contractions in negative clauses, see paragraphs 4.55 to 4.56.

R84 The present tense and past tense forms of 'have' can also be contracted. This is usually only done when 'have' is being used as an auxiliary.

I've changed my mind.

This is the first party we've been to in months.

She's become a very interesting young woman.

I do wish you'd met Guy.

She's managed to keep it quiet.

We'd done a good job.

The contracted forms of 'have' are shown in the table at paragraph R80.

R85 's can be short for either 'is' or 'has'. You can tell what 's represents by looking at the next word. If 's represents 'is', it is followed by a present participle, complement, or adjunct. If it represents 'has', it is usually followed by a past participle.

She's going to be all right.

She's a lovely person.

She's gone to see some social work people.

R86 A noun ending in 's could also be a possessive. It is followed by another noun when this is the case. For more information on possessives see paragraphs 2.180 to 2.192.

R87 'Is' and 'has' are written in full after nouns ending in 'x', 'ch', 'sh', 's', or 'z', although in speech 'has' is sometimes pronounced as /əz/ after these nouns.

R88 'd can be short for either 'had' or 'would'. You can tell what 'd represents by looking at the next word. If 'd represents 'would', it is followed by the base form of a verb. If it represents 'had', it is usually followed by a past participle.

We'd have to try to escape.

'It'd be cheaper to get married,' Alan said.

At least we'd had the courage to admit it.

She'd bought new sunglasses with deep-blue tinted tenses.