Verbs with Vowel Change Patterns- the A-I-U vowel change and beyond

 Verbs with Vowel Change Patterns and beyond 

A very common and recognizable pattern in English irregular verbs: the A-I-U vowel change. This means the vowel in the base form (V1) is 'I', it changes to 'A' for the simple past (V2), and then to 'U' for the past participle (V3).

This pattern is a helpful way to remember these irregular verb forms!

Here's a list of verbs that follow this A-I-U vowel change pattern:

1. begin - began - begun

   • Base Form (V1): I begin my work at 9 AM.
   • Simple Past (V2): The show began ten minutes ago.
   • Past Participle (V3): The race has begun.

2. drink - drank - drunk

   • Base Form (V1): I drink water every day.
   • Simple Past (V2): He drank all the juice.
   • Past Participle (V3): I have drunk too much coffee.

3. ring - rang - rung

   • Base Form (V1): Please ring the bell.
   • Simple Past (V2): The phone rang loudly.
   • Past Participle (V3): The bell has rung.

4. sing - sang - sung

   • Base Form (V1): Birds sing in the morning.
   • Simple Past (V2): She sang a beautiful song.
   • Past Participle (V3): We have sung that song many times.

5. shrink - shrank - shrunk

   • Base Form (V1): My clothes often shrink in the wash.
   • Simple Past (V2): His old shirt shrank in the dryer.
   • Past Participle (V3): The puddle has shrunk.

6. sink - sank - sunk

   • Base Form (V1): The boat might sink in the storm.
   • Simple Past (V2): The Titanic sank in 1912.
   • Past Participle (V3): The sun has sunk below the horizon.

7. spring - sprang - sprung

   • Base Form (V1): Water will spring from the ground.
   • Simple Past (V2): He sprang out of bed.
   • Past Participle (V3): He has sprung into action.

8. swim - swam - swum

   • Base Form (V1): I love to swim in the ocean.
   • Simple Past (V2): We swam in the lake yesterday.
   • Past Participle (V3): She has never swum in such cold water.

Note: While this is a very strong and common pattern, not all verbs with an 'i' in the base form follow this exact A-I-U progression. For example, write-wrote-written is 'i-o-i(tten)'. However, the ones listed above perfectly fit the A-I-U rule.

Now let's explore common vowel change patterns in irregular verbs beyond the A-I-U pattern. These patterns can often help you predict or remember the forms of many common verbs.

Here are some of the most prominent vowel change patterns:

1. (I-A-U) Pattern:

This is the one we just discussed, where the vowel changes from 'I' to 'A' to 'U'.

• begin - began - begun
• drink - drank - drunk
• ring - rang - rung
• sing - sang - sung
• shrink - shrank - shrunk
• sink - sank - sunk
• spring - sprang - sprung
• swim - swam - swum

2. (EE - E - E) Pattern:

The long 'ee' sound often shortens to an 'e' sound in the past and past participle forms, sometimes with a 't' or 'd' ending.

• bleed - bled - bled
• breed - bred - bred
• feed - fed - fed
• flee - fled - fled
• meet - met - met
• speed - sped - sped (also speeded)
• read - read - read (same spelling, different pronunciation: /riːd/ to /red/)

3. (I - O - EN) Pattern:

This pattern often involves an 'i' in the base form, an 'o' in the simple past, and then ends with '-en' (or sometimes just '-n') in the past participle.

• drive - drove - driven
• ride - rode - ridden
• rise - rose - risen
• shine - shone - shone (here the V2/V3 are the same, but it fits the vowel shift idea)
• strive - strove - striven
• write - wrote - written
• bite - bit - bitten (slightly different, but related 'i' to 'i/o' to '-en')

4. (AY - AI - AI) Pattern:

Verbs with a long 'ay' sound in the base form (often spelled 'ay' or 'ake') sometimes shift to an 'ai' sound in the past forms.

• break - broke - broken (vowel 'ea' but sound is similar to 'ay' in the shift)
• choose - chose - chosen (vowel 'oo' to 'o' to 'o+en')
• shake - shook - shaken
• take - took - taken
• wake - woke - woken

5. (OW - EW - OWN) Pattern:

Verbs with an 'ow' sound often change to 'ew' in the simple past and then add '-n' or '-wn' in the past participle.

• blow - blew - blown
• draw - drew - drawn
• fly - flew - flown
• grow - grew - grown
• know - knew - known
• throw - threw - thrown
• show - showed - shown (often showed for V2, but shown for V3 fits pattern)

6. (OUGHT / AUGHT) Pattern:

Many verbs ending in '-ch' or '-ing' sounds change to an 'ought' or 'aught' sound (and spelling) in the past and past participle.

• bring - brought - brought
• buy - bought - bought
• catch - caught - caught
• fight - fought - fought
• seek - sought - sought
• teach - taught - taught
• think - thought - thought

7. (Short Vowel - O - O) Pattern:

Many verbs with a short vowel in the base form change to 'o' in the past and past participle forms, often with an 'n' ending in V3.

• dig - dug - dug (already covered, but short 'i' to 'u-g')
• stick - stuck - stuck (short 'i' to 'u-ck')
• strike - struck - struck (short 'i' to 'u-ck')

This isn't an exhaustive list for every irregular verb, but understanding these common patterns can significantly help in recognizing and remembering the forms of a large number of them. When you encounter a new irregular verb, try to see if it fits one of these patterns!