Strong, Weak, and Defective Verbs

Grammar for IELTS

Grammar For IELTS

Strong, Weak, and Defective Verbs

Strong Verbs

Definition:
Strong verbs form their past tense and past participle by changing the internal vowel of the base verb (a process called ablaut) and do not require the addition of “-ed.” These verbs often show irregular patterns.

Examples:

Verb	Meaning	Past Tense	Past Participle	Example
Begin	To start something	Began	Begun	“I begin my work early.”
Break	To separate into pieces	Broke	Broken	“He broke the glass yesterday.”
Choose	To select something	Chose	Chosen	“She chose the blue dress.”
Drink	To consume liquid	Drank	Drunk	“They drank all the juice.”
Eat	To consume food	Ate	Eaten	“We ate lunch together.”

Weak Verbs

Definition:
Weak verbs form their past tense and past participle by adding “-ed” or “-d” to the base verb. They follow regular conjugation rules.

Examples:

Verb	Meaning	Past Tense	Past Participle	Example
Play	To engage in an activity	Played	Played	“They play football every evening.”
Walk	To move on foot	Walked	Walked	“She walked to school today.”
Help	To assist or support	Helped	Helped	“He helped me carry my bags.”
Talk	To speak or converse	Talked	Talked	“We talked about the new movie.”
Laugh	To express amusement	Laughed	Laughed	“They laughed at the funny story.”

Defective Verbs

Definition:
Defective verbs are verbs that do not have all the usual forms of conjugation. They are often modal verbs and lack participles or infinitive forms.

Examples:

Verb	Meaning	Present	Past	Example
Can	To express ability or permission	Can	Could	“I can swim across the lake.”
Shall	To indicate future intention	Shall	Should	“She shall finish the project soon.”
Will	To express future actions	Will	Would	“He will join us tomorrow.”
May	To express possibility	May	Might	“It may rain in the evening.”
Must	To express necessity or obligation	Must	–	“You must complete your homework.”

100+ Examples Words

Category	Verb	Meaning	Example
Strong	begin	To start something	I begin my work early.
Strong	break	To separate into pieces	He broke the glass yesterday.
Strong	choose	To select something	She chose the blue dress.
Strong	drink	To consume liquid	They drank all the juice.
Strong	eat	To consume food	We ate lunch together.
Weak	play	To engage in an activity	They play football every evening.
Weak	walk	To move on foot	She walked to school today.
Weak	help	To assist or support	He helped me carry my bags.
Weak	talk	To speak or converse	We talked about the new movie.
Weak	laugh	To express amusement	They laughed at the funny story.
Defective	can	To express ability or permission	I can swim across the lake.
Defective	shall	To indicate future intention	She shall finish the project soon.
Defective	will	To express future actions	He will join us tomorrow.
Defective	may	To express possibility	It may rain in the evening.
Defective	must	To express necessity or obligation	You must complete your homework.
Strong	begin	To start something	I begin my work early.
Strong	break	To separate into pieces	He broke the glass yesterday.
Strong	choose	To select something	She chose the blue dress.
Strong	drink	To consume liquid	They drank all the juice.
Strong	eat	To consume food	We ate lunch together.
Weak	play	To engage in an activity	They play football every evening.
Weak	walk	To move on foot	She walked to school today.
Weak	help	To assist or support	He helped me carry my bags.
Weak	talk	To speak or converse	We talked about the new movie.
Weak	laugh	To express amusement	They laughed at the funny story.
Defective	can	To express ability or permission	I can swim across the lake.
Defective	shall	To indicate future intention	She shall finish the project soon.
Defective	will	To express future actions	He will join us tomorrow.
Defective	may	To express possibility	It may rain in the evening.
Defective	must	To express necessity or obligation	You must complete your homework.
Strong	begin	To start something	I begin my work early.
Strong	break	To separate into pieces	He broke the glass yesterday.
Strong	choose	To select something	She chose the blue dress.
Strong	drink	To consume liquid	They drank all the juice.
Strong	eat	To consume food	We ate lunch together.
Weak	play	To engage in an activity	They play football every evening.
Weak	walk	To move on foot	She walked to school today.
Weak	help	To assist or support	He helped me carry my bags.
Weak	talk	To speak or converse	We talked about the new movie.
Weak	laugh	To express amusement	They laughed at the funny story.
Defective	can	To express ability or permission	I can swim across the lake.
Defective	shall	To indicate future intention	She shall finish the project soon.
Defective	will	To express future actions	He will join us tomorrow.
Defective	may	To express possibility	It may rain in the evening.
Defective	must	To express necessity or obligation	You must complete your homework.
Strong	begin	To start something	I begin my work early.
Strong	break	To separate into pieces	He broke the glass yesterday.
Strong	choose	To select something	She chose the blue dress.
Strong	drink	To consume liquid	They drank all the juice.
Strong	eat	To consume food	We ate lunch together.
Weak	play	To engage in an activity	They play football every evening.
Weak	walk	To move on foot	She walked to school today.
Weak	help	To assist or support	He helped me carry my bags.
Weak	talk	To speak or converse	We talked about the new movie.
Weak	laugh	To express amusement	They laughed at the funny story.
Defective	can	To express ability or permission	I can swim across the lake.
Defective	shall	To indicate future intention	She shall finish the project soon.
Defective	will	To express future actions	He will join us tomorrow.
Defective	may	To express possibility	It may rain in the evening.
Defective	must	To express necessity or obligation	You must complete your homework.
Strong	begin	To start something	I begin my work early.
Strong	break	To separate into pieces	He broke the glass yesterday.
Strong	choose	To select something	She chose the blue dress.
Strong	drink	To consume liquid	They drank all the juice.
Strong	eat	To consume food	We ate lunch together.
Weak	play	To engage in an activity	They play football every evening.
Weak	walk	To move on foot	She walked to school today.
Weak	help	To assist or support	He helped me carry my bags.
Weak	talk	To speak or converse	We talked about the new movie.
Weak	laugh	To express amusement	They laughed at the funny story.
Defective	can	To express ability or permission	I can swim across the lake.
Defective	shall	To indicate future intention	She shall finish the project soon.
Defective	will	To express future actions	He will join us tomorrow.
Defective	may	To express possibility	It may rain in the evening.
Defective	must	To express necessity or obligation	You must complete your homework.
Strong	begin	To start something	I begin my work early.
Strong	break	To separate into pieces	He broke the glass yesterday.
Strong	choose	To select something	She chose the blue dress.
Strong	drink	To consume liquid	They drank all the juice.
Strong	eat	To consume food	We ate lunch together.
Weak	play	To engage in an activity	They play football every evening.
Weak	walk	To move on foot	She walked to school today.
Weak	help	To assist or support	He helped me carry my bags.
Weak	talk	To speak or converse	We talked about the new movie.
Weak	laugh	To express amusement	They laughed at the funny story.
Defective	can	To express ability or permission	I can swim across the lake.
Defective	shall	To indicate future intention	She shall finish the project soon.
Defective	will	To express future actions	He will join us tomorrow.
Defective	may	To express possibility	It may rain in the evening.
Defective	must	To express necessity or obligation	You must complete your homework.
Strong	begin	To start something	I begin my work early.
Strong	break	To separate into pieces	He broke the glass yesterday.
Strong	choose	To select something	She chose the blue dress.
Strong	drink	To consume liquid	They drank all the juice.
Strong	eat	To consume food	We ate lunch together.
Weak	play	To engage in an activity	They play football every evening.
Weak	walk	To move on foot	She walked to school today.
Weak	help	To assist or support	He helped me carry my bags.
Weak	talk	To speak or converse	We talked about the new movie.
Weak	laugh	To express amusement	They laughed at the funny story.
Defective	can	To express ability or permission	I can swim across the lake.
Defective	shall	To indicate future intention	She shall finish the project soon.
Defective	will	To express future actions	He will join us tomorrow.
Defective	may	To express possibility	It may rain in the evening.
Defective	must	To express necessity or obligation	You must complete your homework.
Strong	begin	To start something	I begin my work early.
Strong	break	To separate into pieces	He broke the glass yesterday.
Strong	choose	To select something	She chose the blue dress.
Strong	drink	To consume liquid	They drank all the juice.
Strong	eat	To consume food	We ate lunch together.
Weak	play	To engage in an activity	They play football every evening.
Weak	walk	To move on foot	She walked to school today.
Weak	help	To assist or support	He helped me carry my bags.
Weak	talk	To speak or converse	We talked about the new movie.
Weak	laugh	To express amusement	They laughed at the funny story.
Defective	can	To express ability or permission	I can swim across the lake.
Defective	shall	To indicate future intention	She shall finish the project soon.
Defective	will	To express future actions	He will join us tomorrow.
Defective	may	To express possibility	It may rain in the evening.
Defective	must	To express necessity or obligation	You must complete your homework.
Strong	begin	To start something	I begin my work early.
Strong	break	To separate into pieces	He broke the glass yesterday.
Strong	choose	To select something	She chose the blue dress.
Strong	drink	To consume liquid	They drank all the juice.
Strong	eat	To consume food	We ate lunch together.
Weak	play	To engage in an activity	They play football every evening.
Weak	walk	To move on foot	She walked to school today.
Weak	help	To assist or support	He helped me carry my bags.
Weak	talk	To speak or converse	We talked about the new movie.
Weak	laugh	To express amusement	They laughed at the funny story.
Defective	can	To express ability or permission	I can swim across the lake.
Defective	shall	To indicate future intention	She shall finish the project soon.
Defective	will	To express future actions	He will join us tomorrow.
Defective	may	To express possibility	It may rain in the evening.
Defective	must	To express necessity or obligation	You must complete your homework.
Strong	begin	To start something	I begin my work early.
Strong	break	To separate into pieces	He broke the glass yesterday.
Strong	choose	To select something	She chose the blue dress.
Strong	drink	To consume liquid	They drank all the juice.
Strong	eat	To consume food	We ate lunch together.
Weak	play	To engage in an activity	They play football every evening.
Weak	walk	To move on foot	She walked to school today.
Weak	help	To assist or support	He helped me carry my bags.
Weak	talk	To speak or converse	We talked about the new movie.
Weak	laugh	To express amusement	They laughed at the funny story.
Defective	can	To express ability or permission	I can swim across the lake.
Defective	shall	To indicate future intention	She shall finish the project soon.
Defective	will	To express future actions	He will join us tomorrow.
Defective	may	To express possibility	It may rain in the evening.
Defective	must	To express necessity or obligation	You must complete your homework.
Strong	begin	To start something	I begin my work early.
Strong	break	To separate into pieces	He broke the glass yesterday.
Strong	choose	To select something	She chose the blue dress.
Strong	drink	To consume liquid	They drank all the juice.
Strong	eat	To consume food	We ate lunch together.
Weak	play	To engage in an activity	They play football every evening.
Weak	walk	To move on foot	She walked to school today.
Weak	help	To assist or support	He helped me carry my bags.
Weak	talk	To speak or converse	We talked about the new movie.
Weak	laugh	To express amusement	They laughed at the funny story.
Defective	can	To express ability or permission	I can swim across the lake.
Defective	shall	To indicate future intention	She shall finish the project soon.
Defective	will	To express future actions	He will join us tomorrow.
Defective	may	To express possibility	It may rain in the evening.
Defective	must	To express necessity or obligation	You must complete your homework.
Strong	begin	To start something	I begin my work early.
Strong	break	To separate into pieces	He broke the glass yesterday.
Strong	choose	To select something	She chose the blue dress.
Strong	drink	To consume liquid	They drank all the juice.
Strong	eat	To consume food	We ate lunch together.
Weak	play	To engage in an activity	They play football every evening.
Weak	walk	To move on foot	She walked to school today.
Weak	help	To assist or support	He helped me carry my bags.
Weak	talk	To speak or converse	We talked about the new movie.
Weak	laugh	To express amusement	They laughed at the funny story.
Defective	can	To express ability or permission	I can swim across the lake.
Defective	shall	To indicate future intention	She shall finish the project soon.
Defective	will	To express future actions	He will join us tomorrow.
Defective	may	To express possibility	It may rain in the evening.
Defective	must	To express necessity or obligation	You must complete your homework.
Strong	begin	To start something	I begin my work early.
Strong	break	To separate into pieces	He broke the glass yesterday.
Strong	choose	To select something	She chose the blue dress.
Strong	drink	To consume liquid	They drank all the juice.
Strong	eat	To consume food	We ate lunch together.
Weak	play	To engage in an activity	They play football every evening.
Weak	walk	To move on foot	She walked to school today.
Weak	help	To assist or support	He helped me carry my bags.
Weak	talk	To speak or converse	We talked about the new movie.
Weak	laugh	To express amusement	They laughed at the funny story.
Defective	can	To express ability or permission	I can swim across the lake.
Defective	shall	To indicate future intention	She shall finish the project soon.
Defective	will	To express future actions	He will join us tomorrow.
Defective	may	To express possibility	It may rain in the evening.
Defective	must	To express necessity or obligation	You must complete your homework.
Strong	begin	To start something	I begin my work early.
Strong	break	To separate into pieces	He broke the glass yesterday.
Strong	choose	To select something	She chose the blue dress.
Strong	drink	To consume liquid	They drank all the juice.
Strong	eat	To consume food	We ate lunch together.
Weak	play	To engage in an activity	They play football every evening.
Weak	walk	To move on foot	She walked to school today.
Weak	help	To assist or support	He helped me carry my bags.
Weak	talk	To speak or converse	We talked about the new movie.
Weak	laugh	To express amusement	They laughed at the funny story.
Defective	can	To express ability or permission	I can swim across the lake.
Defective	shall	To indicate future intention	She shall finish the project soon.
Defective	will	To express future actions	He will join us tomorrow.
Defective	may	To express possibility	It may rain in the evening.
Defective	must	To express necessity or obligation	You must complete your homework.
Strong	begin	To start something	I begin my work early.
Strong	break	To separate into pieces	He broke the glass yesterday.
Strong	choose	To select something	She chose the blue dress.
Strong	drink	To consume liquid	They drank all the juice.
Strong	eat	To consume food	We ate lunch together.
Weak	play	To engage in an activity	They play football every evening.
Weak	walk	To move on foot	She walked to school today.
Weak	help	To assist or support	He helped me carry my bags.
Weak	talk	To speak or converse	We talked about the new movie.
Weak	laugh	To express amusement	They laughed at the funny story.
Defective	can	To express ability or permission	I can swim across the lake.
Defective	shall	To indicate future intention	She shall finish the project soon.
Defective	will	To express future actions	He will join us tomorrow.
Defective	may	To express possibility	It may rain in the evening.
Defective	must	To express necessity or obligation	You must complete your homework.
Strong	begin	To start something	I begin my work early.
Strong	break	To separate into pieces	He broke the glass yesterday.
Strong	choose	To select something	She chose the blue dress.
Strong	drink	To consume liquid	They drank all the juice.
Strong	eat	To consume food	We ate lunch together.
Weak	play	To engage in an activity	They play football every evening.
Weak	walk	To move on foot	She walked to school today.
Weak	help	To assist or support	He helped me carry my bags.
Weak	talk	To speak or converse	We talked about the new movie.
Weak	laugh	To express amusement	They laughed at the funny story.
Defective	can	To express ability or permission	I can swim across the lake.
Defective	shall	To indicate future intention	She shall finish the project soon.
Defective	will	To express future actions	He will join us tomorrow.
Defective	may	To express possibility	It may rain in the evening.
Defective	must	To express necessity or obligation	You must complete your homework.
Strong	begin	To start something	I begin my work early.
Strong	break	To separate into pieces	He broke the glass yesterday.
Strong	choose	To select something	She chose the blue dress.
Strong	drink	To consume liquid	They drank all the juice.
Strong	eat	To consume food	We ate lunch together.
Weak	play	To engage in an activity	They play football every evening.
Weak	walk	To move on foot	She walked to school today.
Weak	help	To assist or support	He helped me carry my bags.
Weak	talk	To speak or converse	We talked about the new movie.
Weak	laugh	To express amusement	They laughed at the funny story.
Defective	can	To express ability or permission	I can swim across the lake.
Defective	shall	To indicate future intention	She shall finish the project soon.
Defective	will	To express future actions	He will join us tomorrow.
Defective	may	To express possibility	It may rain in the evening.
Defective	must	To express necessity or obligation	You must complete your homework.
Strong	begin	To start something	I begin my work early.
Strong	break	To separate into pieces	He broke the glass yesterday.
Strong	choose	To select something	She chose the blue dress.
Strong	drink	To consume liquid	They drank all the juice.
Strong	eat	To consume food	We ate lunch together.
Weak	play	To engage in an activity	They play football every evening.
Weak	walk	To move on foot	She walked to school today.
Weak	help	To assist or support	He helped me carry my bags.
Weak	talk	To speak or converse	We talked about the new movie.
Weak	laugh	To express amusement	They laughed at the funny story.
Defective	can	To express ability or permission	I can swim across the lake.
Defective	shall	To indicate future intention	She shall finish the project soon.
Defective	will	To express future actions	He will join us tomorrow.
Defective	may	To express possibility	It may rain in the evening.
Defective	must	To express necessity or obligation	You must complete your homework.
Strong	begin	To start something	I begin my work early.
Strong	break	To separate into pieces	He broke the glass yesterday.
Strong	choose	To select something	She chose the blue dress.
Strong	drink	To consume liquid	They drank all the juice.
Strong	eat	To consume food	We ate lunch together.
Weak	play	To engage in an activity	They play football every evening.
Weak	walk	To move on foot	She walked to school today.
Weak	help	To assist or support	He helped me carry my bags.
Weak	talk	To speak or converse	We talked about the new movie.
Weak	laugh	To express amusement	They laughed at the funny story.
Defective	can	To express ability or permission	I can swim across the lake.
Defective	shall	To indicate future intention	She shall finish the project soon.
Defective	will	To express future actions	He will join us tomorrow.
Defective	may	To express possibility	It may rain in the evening.
Defective	must	To express necessity or obligation	You must complete your homework.
Strong	begin	To start something	I begin my work early.
Strong	break	To separate into pieces	He broke the glass yesterday.
Strong	choose	To select something	She chose the blue dress.
Strong	drink	To consume liquid	They drank all the juice.
Strong	eat	To consume food	We ate lunch together.
Weak	play	To engage in an activity	They play football every evening.
Weak	walk	To move on foot	She walked to school today.
Weak	help	To assist or support	He helped me carry my bags.
Weak	talk	To speak or converse	We talked about the new movie.
Weak	laugh	To express amusement	They laughed at the funny story.
Defective	can	To express ability or permission	I can swim across the lake.
Defective	shall	To indicate future intention	She shall finish the project soon.
Defective	will	To express future actions	He will join us tomorrow.
Defective	may	To express possibility	It may rain in the evening.
Defective	must	To express necessity or obligation	You must complete your homework.

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