An irregular verb is a verb whose simple past and past participle do not follow specific conjugation rules.
In contrast to irregular verbs, regular verbs are verbs whose simple past and past participles are formed by adding “-ed” to the end of the verb (e.g., “talk” becomes “talked”).
A regular verb is a verb whose simple past and past participle are formed by adding the suffix “-ed” (e.g., “walk” becomes “walked”).
In contrast to regular verbs, irregular verbs are verbs whose simple past and past participles are formed in some way other than by adding “-ed” to the infinitive of the verb.
Published on
15 September 2023
by
Eoghan Ryan.
Revised on
1 November 2023.
The past tense is a verb tense used to talk about past actions, states of being, or events.
There are four past tense forms: the past simple (e.g., “you cooked”), the past progressive (e.g., “he was singing”), the past perfect (e.g., “I had arrived”), and the past perfect progressive (e.g., “They had been driving”).
Published on
9 September 2023
by
Eoghan Ryan.
Revised on
1 November 2023.
The past perfect tense is a verb form used to refer to a past action that occurred before another past action.
The past perfect is formed using “had” along with the past participle of the main verb (e.g., “I had run”). All verbs in the past perfect tense take this form regardless of the subject (e.g., “she had known”, ”we had known”).
Published on
30 August 2023
by
Eoghan Ryan.
Revised on
1 November 2023.
The past progressive tense is a verb form used to refer to an action that was ongoing at a time in the past.
The past progressive is formed using the past tense of the auxiliary verb “be” (i.e., “was/were”) along with the present participle (“ing” form) of a main verb (e.g., “I was thinking”).
Published on
28 August 2023
by
Eoghan Ryan.
Revised on
30 October 2023.
The past simple tense is a verb form used to refer to an action or series of actions that were completed in the past.
The past simple tense of regular verbs is formed by adding “-ed” to the infinitive form of the verb (e.g., “cook” becomes “cooked”). Most verbs in the simple past take the same form regardless of the subject (e.g., “He worked/we worked”).
Grawlix (also called “obscenicon” or “symbol swearing”) refers to the use of typographical symbols in place of an obscenity (e.g., “$%@!”).
Grawlix is frequently used in comic strips to indicate that a character is thinking or saying a swear word. It’s also used on social media platforms as a way to obscure inappropriate language. Grawlix can be used by itself or as part of a sentence.
Examples: Grawlix“#$@!”
“Where the %@#! is my car? I parked it right here.”
Published on
12 August 2023
by
Eoghan Ryan.
Revised on
26 October 2023.
A simile is a rhetorical device used to compare two things using the words “like”, “as”, or “than”.
Similes can be used to create vivid imagery or to draw surprising connections between two unrelated things. They’re commonly used in literature, advertising, and everyday speech and are closely related to metaphors and analogies.
Examples: SimilesAnthony used to be as strong as an ox.
Published on
11 August 2023
by
Eoghan Ryan.
Revised on
27 October 2023.
A metaphor is a figure of speech that implicitly compares two unrelated things, typically by stating that one thing is another (e.g., “that chef is a magician”).
Metaphors can be used to create vivid imagery, exaggerate a characteristic or action, or express a complex idea.
Metaphors are commonly used in literature, advertising, and everyday speech.
Published on
1 August 2023
by
Eoghan Ryan.
Revised on
27 October 2023.
In rhetoric, a tautology is the unnecessary repetition of an idea using different words (e.g., “a free gift”).
Tautologies are often considered to be a stylistic fault that should be avoided. However, they can also be used effectively as a rhetorical device or figure of speech.
The term may also refer to a logical tautology: a statement that is true in all circumstances because it includes all possibilities (e.g., “it will snow tomorrow or it will not”).
Example: Rhetorical tautologiesMark is an unmarried bachelor.
In my opinion, I think it’s a good book.
The party was an unexpected surprise.
The boat will depreciate in value.
NoteThe term “tautology” is often used interchangeably with “pleonasm”.
Some sources try to make a distinction between the two: pleonasms repeat the inherent quality of a thing but may involve different parts of speech (e.g., “burning fire”), while tautologies involve synonyms (e.g., multiple adjectives with the same meaning: “a big, huge truck”). However, this distinction is rarely followed in practice.
