Verbs
This lesson will concentrate on the principal parts of the verb and then we will focus on using the simple present and the present continuous forms.

Most grammar teachers talk about three principal parts of the verb:
              

Present Past Past Participle 
ask asked asked
 

I like to think of four principal parts of a verb:
 

Present  Past  Present Participle Past Participle
ask asked asking asked
need needed needing needed
scrape scraped scraping scraped
run ran running run
give gave giving given
go went going gone
Spelling is a consideration when we talk about all these verb parts. Look at the chart above and think about this rule:
Double the final consonant when you add -ed or -ing to a verb that ends with one vowel followed by one consonant.
Don't double the final consonant when you add -ing to need or ask, but double it when adding -ing to trap or run.
When a verb ends with an e, you must drop the e before adding -ing and you should only add a d for the regular past tense or past participle.
Drop the final e in give and scrape before adding the -ing and only add a -d when you make scrape a past tense verb.
 

Remember: ask, need, and scrape are regular verbs and run, give, and go are irregular verbs.
            Regular verbs always have -ed as a past tense ending.
            Irregular verbs have various (irregular) past tense endings.
 
Be careful not to overuse the present participle.

Use the present participle only with the progressive tenses and participial adjectives. Note the difference between the present tense and the present progressive tense.
 
 
Present Tense Present Progressive (Continuous) Tense
 
Example Bob runs every morning before work. Example Bob is running to catch the bus.
Explanation Use the present tense to indicate that something happens on a regular basis. The present tense is used for habitual actions. Explanation Use the present progressive tense to indicate that something is happening right now. The progressive tense is sometimes called the continuous tense because it describes something that is continuing.
 

Note: Certain verbs cannot be used in the present progressive tense. These are verbs that indicate conditions or states. These verbs don't express action, so they cannot be in the present progressive. They are called stative verbs. They include:

Stative Verbs
Descriptions  Possession Measurement Senses Emotions/
        attitudes		 Ideas
seem have weigh feel love/need know
be own measure hear like/want think
look like possess equal see care/prefer believe
sound like belong to cost taste hate/dislike recognize
involve owe amount to smell mind/value remember
consist of depend on hurt appreciate understand
contain mean

Some of these verbs have a non-stative meaning also.

              Stative: I feel sad about your brother's problems.
                            The soup tastes too salty.
              Non-stative: The doctor is feeling my arm to see if it is broken.
                                    David is tasting the soup. He doesn't want it to taste too salty.

Practice #1
Practice #2
Practice #3