Irregular Verbs and Past Participle

A past participle indicates past or completed action or time. It is often called the 'ed' form as it is formed by adding d or ed, to the base form of regular verbs, however it is also formed in various other ways for irregular verbs.

It can be used to form a verb phrase as part of the present perfect tense.

I have learnt English. (Learnt is part of the verb phrase 'have learnt')
It can be used to form the passive voice.

Her hair was well brushed.
It can also be used as an adjective.

As an adjective: He had a broken arm. (Broken is used here as an adjective.)
Here is a comprehensive list of irregular verbs.

Past perfect conti The past perfect continuous tense is used to talk about longer situations that continued up to the moment in the past we are talking about.

Past Perfect Continuous Timeline


For Example:

• "By the time I left England we had been living in Bristol for five years."
• "Her back was sore because she had been sitting at the computer all day."
• It is also used to say how long something went on for, up to a time in the past.

For Example:

• We apologised because we had kept them waiting for 3 hours.
• We apologised because we had kept them waiting since lunchtime.

!Note It is always for a length of time and since a point in time.