Main Verb and its Two Major Types—Regular and Irregular Verbs (English & Nepali Side-by-Side)

Main Verb and its Two Major Types—Regular and Irregular Verbs (English & Nepali Side-by-Side)

1. Main Verb (मुख्य क्रिया) - Recap & Deep Dive

English: A Main Verb (or Lexical Verb) is the primary verb in a sentence that carries the core meaning of the action or state of the subject. It is the most important word in the predicate. It can stand alone (e.g., He runs) or be accompanied by auxiliary verbs (e.g., He is running).

Nepali: मुख्य क्रिया भनेको वाक्यको प्रमुख क्रियापद हो जसले कर्ताको क्रिया वा अवस्थाको मूल अर्थ बोकेको हुन्छ। यो विधेय (predicate) को सबैभन्दा महत्त्वपूर्ण शब्द हो। यो एक्लै पनि आउन सक्छ (जस्तै: ऊ दौडिन्छ) वा सहायक क्रियासँगै पनि आउन सक्छ (जस्तै: ऊ दौडिरहेको छ)।

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2. Types of Main Verbs: Regular vs. Irregular

(मुख्य क्रियाका प्रकार: नियमित र अनियमित)

English: Main verbs are divided into two categories based on how they form their Past Simple (V2) and Past Participle (V3) forms.

Nepali: मुख्य क्रियाहरूलाई तिनीहरूको साधारण भूतकाल (V2) र भूतकालिक कृदन्त (V3) कसरी बनाउँछन् भन्ने आधारमा दुई वर्गमा विभाजन गरिन्छ।

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A. Regular Verbs (नियमित क्रियाहरू)

English: Regular verbs are those that form their past simple and past participle by simply adding "-ed" or "-d" to the base form (V1). They follow a fixed, predictable pattern.

Nepali: नियमित क्रियाहरू ती हुन् जसले आफ्नो साधारण भूतकाल र भूतकालिक कृदन्त मूल रूप (V1) मा "-ed" वा "-d" मात्र थपेर बनाउँछन्। यी एक निश्चित र अनुमानयोग्य ढाँचामा चल्छन्।

Spelling Rules for Regular Verbs (नियमित क्रियाका हिज्जे नियमहरू):

• Most verbs: Add -ed (Walk → Walked)
• Verbs ending in 'e': Add -d (Live → Lived)
• Verbs ending in 'y' (consonant + y): Change 'y' to 'i' and add -ed (Cry → Cried)
• One-syllable verbs ending in (consonant + vowel + consonant): Double the last letter and add -ed (Stop → Stopped)

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Detailed Table: Regular Verbs (नियमित क्रिया तालिका)

Base Form (V1) मूल रूप	Past Simple (V2) साधारण भूतकाल	Past Participle (V3) भूतकालिक कृदन्त	Meaning in Nepali (नेपाली अर्थ)
Walk	Walked	Walked	हिँड्नु / पैदल जानु
Talk	Talked	Talked	कुरा गर्नु / बोल्नु
Play	Played	Played	खेल्नु / बजाउनु
Love	Loved	Loved	माया गर्नु / प्रेम गर्नु
Study	Studied	Studied	पढ्नु / अध्ययन गर्नु
Try	Tried	Tried	प्रयास गर्नु / कोसिस गर्नु
Stop	Stopped	Stopped	रोक्नु / रोकिनु
Plan	Planned	Planned	योजना बनाउनु
Clean	Cleaned	Cleaned	सफा गर्नु
Watch	Watched	Watched	हेर्नु / नियाल्नु

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B. Irregular Verbs (अनियमित क्रियाहरू)

English: Irregular verbs are those that do not follow the standard "-ed" rule. Their past simple and past participle forms change in unpredictable ways. They must be memorized because there is no fixed formula. Some stay the same, some change vowels, and some change completely.

Nepali: अनियमित क्रियाहरू ती हुन् जसले मानक "-ed" को नियम पालना गर्दैनन्। तिनीहरूको साधारण भूतकाल र भूतकालिक कृदन्त अनुमान नगर्ने गरी परिवर्तन हुन्छ। यी कण्ठस्थ गर्नुपर्छ किनभने यसको कुनै निश्चित सूत्र हुँदैन। कोही उस्तै रहन्छन्, कोहीले स्वरवर्ण परिवर्तन गर्छन्, र कोही पूर्णै फेरिन्छन्।

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Three Main Patterns of Irregular Verbs (अनियमित क्रियाका तीन मुख्य ढाँचाहरू):

• All three forms are the same (सबै तीन रूप एउटै): Put – Put – Put
• Past simple and past participle are the same (भूतकाल र भूतकालिक कृदन्त एउटै): Tell – Told – Told
• All three forms are different (सबै तीन रूप फरक): Sing – Sang – Sung

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Detailed Table: Irregular Verbs (अनियमित क्रिया तालिका)

Base Form (V1) मूल रूप	Past Simple (V2) साधारण भूतकाल	Past Participle (V3) भूतकालिक कृदन्त	Meaning in Nepali (नेपाली अर्थ)
Be (am/is/are)	Was / Were	Been	हुनु / रहनु
Go	Went	Gone	जानु / हिँड्नु
Eat	Ate	Eaten	खानु / आहार गर्नु
Drink	Drank	Drunk	पिउनु
Speak	Spoke	Spoken	बोल्नु / भाषण दिनु
Write	Wrote	Written	लेख्नु
Break	Broke	Broken	भाँच्नु / फोड्नु
Choose	Chose	Chosen	छान्नु / रोज्नु
Forget	Forgot	Forgotten	बिर्सनु
Give	Gave	Given	दिनु / प्रदान गर्नु
Know	Knew	Known	जान्नु / थाहा पाउनु
See	Saw	Seen	देख्नु / हेर्नु
Take	Took	Taken	लिनु / लैजानु
Think	Thought	Thought	सोच्नु / विचार गर्नु
Buy	Bought	Bought	किन्नु / खरिद गर्नु
Bring	Brought	Brought	ल्याउनु
Catch	Caught	Caught	समात्नु / पक्रनु
Cut	Cut	Cut	काट्नु / चिर्नु
Hit	Hit	Hit	हिर्काउनु / ठोक्किनु
Put	Put	Put	राख्नु / थाप्नु
Set	Set	Set	सेट गर्नु / राख्नु
Read (pronounced reed)	Read (pronounced red)	Read (pronounced red)	पढ्नु / वाचन गर्नु
Ride	Rode	Ridden	सवारी गर्नु / चढ्नु
Ring	Rang	Rung	घण्टी बजाउनु
Run	Ran	Run	दौडनु / चलाउनु
Say	Said	Said	भन्नु / कथन गर्नु
Sit	Sat	Sat	बस्नु
Swim	Swam	Swum	पौडिनु
Teach	Taught	Taught	पढाउनु / सिकाउनु
Wake	Woke	Woken	ब्यूँझनु / उठाउनु

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Comparison Table: Regular vs. Irregular (तुलनात्मक तालिका)

Feature (विशेषता)	Regular Verbs (नियमित क्रिया)	Irregular Verbs (अनियमित क्रिया)
Rule (नियम)	Follows the fixed "-ed" / "-d" rule. (निश्चित "-ed" नियम पालन गर्छ।)	Does NOT follow any fixed rule. (कुनै निश्चित नियम पालना गर्दैन।)
Past Form (V2)	Always ends in -ed / -d. (सधैं -ed/-d मा अन्त्य हुन्छ।)	Changes unpredictably (vowel change, full change, or no change). (अनुमान नगर्ने गरी फेरिन्छ - स्वर, पूर्ण, वा उस्तै)
Past Participle (V3)	Always ends in -ed / -d. (सधैं -ed/-d मा अन्त्य हुन्छ।)	Different from V2 or same as V2 or same as V1. (V2 भन्दा फरक, V2 सँग उस्तै, वा V1 सँग उस्तै)
Memorization (कण्ठस्थ)	Easy; only one rule to remember. (सजिलो; एउटा मात्र नियम सम्झनु पर्छ।)	Difficult; must be memorized individually. (गाह्रो; प्रत्येकलाई छुट्टै कण्ठस्थ गर्नुपर्छ।)
Total Count (कूल संख्या)	Over 95% of English verbs. (अङ्ग्रेजीका ९५% भन्दा बढी क्रियाहरू)	Only about 200, but they are the most common words. (करिब २०० मात्र, तर यी सबैभन्दा धेरै प्रयोग हुने शब्द हुन्।)
Examples (उदाहरण)	Work → Worked → Worked	Go → Went → Gone
	Dance → Danced → Danced	Eat → Ate → Eaten
	Carry → Carried → Carried	Buy → Bought → Bought

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Example Sentences in Context (वाक्यमा प्रयोग)

English Sentence	Nepali Translation	Verb Type
I walked to school yesterday.	म हिजो स्कूल हिँडेर गएँ।	Regular (Walked)
She has cleaned the room.	उनले कोठा सफा गरेकी छिन्।	Regular (Cleaned)
They ate all the food.	उनीहरूले सबै खाना खाए।	Irregular (Ate)
He has written three books.	उनले तीन वटा पुस्तक लेखिसकेका छन्।	Irregular (Written)
We played football.	हामीले फुटबल खेल्यौं।	Regular (Played)
She broke the window.	उनले झ्याल भाँचिन्।	Irregular (Broke)

 

20 Regular Verbs and 20 Irregular Verbs with their 5 Forms (V1, V2, V3, V4, V5) in English & Nepali

Understanding the 5 Verb Forms (5 वटा क्रिया रूपहरू)

Before the tables, here is a quick guide to what each form means:

Form	Name (English)	Name (Nepali)	Usage (प्रयोग)
V1	Base Form	मूल रूप	Used in Present Tense (I eat). (वर्तमान काल)
V2	Past Simple	साधारण भूतकाल	Used for past actions (I ate). (भूतकाल)
V3	Past Participle	भूतकालिक कृदन्त	Used in Perfect Tenses & Passive Voice (I have eaten). (पूर्ण काल वा कर्मवाच्य)
V4	Present Participle / Gerund	वर्तमान कृदन्त / -इरहेको	Used in Continuous Tenses (I am eating). (निरन्तर काल)
V5	Third Person Singular	तेस्रो पुरुष एकवचन	Used with He/She/It in Present Tense (She eats). (उसको साथ प्रयोग)

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Table 1: 20 Regular Verbs (नियमित क्रियाहरूको तालिका)

Rule: V2 and V3 end in -ed or -d. V4 ends in -ing. V5 adds -s or -es.

V1 (Base)	V2 (Past)	V3 (Past Participle)	V4 (Present Participle)	V5 (3rd Person Sg.)	Meaning in Nepali (नेपाली अर्थ)
Walk	Walked	Walked	Walking	Walks	हिँड्नु / पैदल जानु
Talk	Talked	Talked	Talking	Talks	कुरा गर्नु / बोल्नु
Play	Played	Played	Playing	Plays	खेल्नु / बजाउनु
Love	Loved	Loved	Loving	Loves	माया गर्नु / प्रेम गर्नु
Hate	Hated	Hated	Hating	Hates	घृणा गर्नु
Study	Studied	Studied	Studying	Studies	पढ्नु / अध्ययन गर्नु
Try	Tried	Tried	Trying	Tries	प्रयास गर्नु / कोसिस गर्नु
Cry	Cried	Cried	Crying	Cries	रुनु / चिच्याउनु
Stop	Stopped	Stopped	Stopping	Stops	रोक्नु / रोकिनु
Plan	Planned	Planned	Planning	Plans	योजना बनाउनु
Clean	Cleaned	Cleaned	Cleaning	Cleans	सफा गर्नु
Watch	Watched	Watched	Watching	Watches	हेर्नु / नियाल्नु
Wash	Washed	Washed	Washing	Washes	धुनु / सफाई गर्नु
Open	Opened	Opened	Opening	Opens	खोल्नु
Close	Closed	Closed	Closing	Closes	बन्द गर्नु
Help	Helped	Helped	Helping	Helps	मद्दत गर्नु / सहायता गर्नु
Work	Worked	Worked	Working	Works	काम गर्नु
Cook	Cooked	Cooked	Cooking	Cooks	पकाउनु / भान्सा गर्नु
Dance	Danced	Danced	Dancing	Dances	नाच्नु
Listen	Listen	Listen	Listening	Listens	सुन्नु / ध्यान दिनु

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Table 2: 20 Irregular Verbs (अनियमित क्रियाहरूको तालिका)

Rule: V2 and V3 change unpredictably. V4 ends in -ing. V5 adds -s or -es.

V1 (Base)	V2 (Past)	V3 (Past Participle)	V4 (Present Participle)	V5 (3rd Person Sg.)	Meaning in Nepali (नेपाली अर्थ)
Be (am/are/is)	Was / Were	Been	Being	Is / Am / Are	हुनु / रहनु / अस्तित्वमा हुनु
Go	Went	Gone	Going	Goes	जानु / हिँड्नु
Eat	Ate	Eaten	Eating	Eats	खानु / आहार गर्नु
Drink	Drank	Drunk	Drinking	Drinks	पिउनु
Speak	Spoke	Spoken	Speaking	Speaks	बोल्नु / भाषण दिनु
Write	Wrote	Written	Writing	Writes	लेख्नु
Break	Broke	Broken	Breaking	Breaks	भाँच्नु / फोड्नु
Choose	Chose	Chosen	Choosing	Chooses	छान्नु / रोज्नु
Forget	Forgot	Forgotten	Forgetting	Forgets	बिर्सनु
Give	Gave	Given	Giving	Gives	दिनु / प्रदान गर्नु
Know	Knew	Known	Knowing	Knows	जान्नु / थाहा पाउनु
See	Saw	Seen	Seeing	Sees	देख्नु / हेर्नु
Take	Took	Taken	Taking	Takes	लिनु / लैजानु
Think	Thought	Thought	Thinking	Thinks	सोच्नु / विचार गर्नु
Buy	Bought	Bought	Buying	Buys	किन्नु / खरिद गर्नु
Bring	Brought	Brought	Bringing	Brings	ल्याउनु
Catch	Caught	Caught	Catching	Catches	समात्नु / पक्रनु
Cut	Cut	Cut	Cutting	Cuts	काट्नु / चिर्नु
Hit	Hit	Hit	Hitting	Hits	हिर्काउनु / ठोक्किनु
Put	Put	Put	Putting	Puts	राख्नु / थाप्नु

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Bonus: Special Irregular Verbs with V4 & V5 Changes (विशेष नियम)

Some irregular verbs have spelling changes in V4 (Present Participle) and V5 (Third Person Singular) that you must remember:

V1 (Base)	V2	V3	V4 (Change)	V5 (Change)	Nepali Meaning
Swim	Swam	Swum	Swimming (double 'm')	Swims	पौडिनु
Run	Ran	Run	Running (double 'n')	Runs	दौडनु
Sit	Sat	Sat	Sitting (double 't')	Sits	बस्नु
Read (reed)	Read (red)	Read (red)	Reading (no change)	Reads	पढ्नु
Ride	Rode	Ridden	Riding (drops 'e')	Rides	सवारी गर्नु
Wake	Woke	Woken	Waking (drops 'e')	Wakes	ब्यूँझनु / उठाउनु
Teach	Taught	Taught	Teaching	Teaches (adds 'es')	पढाउनु / सिकाउनु
Go	Went	Gone	Going	Goes (adds 'es')	जानु

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Example Sentences Using All 5 Forms (सबै ५ रूप प्रयोग गरिएका वाक्यहरू)

Tense / Form	Regular Verb Example (Play)	Irregular Verb Example (Eat)
V1 (Present)	I play football. (म फुटबल खेल्छु।)	I eat rice. (म भात खान्छु।)
V2 (Past)	I played yesterday. (मैले हिजो खेलेँ।)	I ate yesterday. (मैले हिजो खाएँ।)
V3 (Perfect)	I have played well. (मैले राम्रो खेलेको छु।)	I have eaten already. (मैले पहिले नै खाइसकेको छु।)
V4 (Continuous)	I am playing now. (म अहिले खेलिरहेको छु।)	I am eating now. (म अहिले खाँदै छु।)
V5 (He/She/It)	She plays daily. (उनी दैनिक खेल्छिन्।)	She eats slowly. (उनी बिस्तारै खान्छिन्।)

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Quick Summary (छिटो सारांश)

Feature	Regular Verbs	Irregular Verbs
V2 & V3	Always end in -ed / -d	Change unpredictably (vowel, full, or no change)
V4	Always ends in -ing (may double consonant if short vowel)	Always ends in -ing (may double consonant if short vowel)
V5	Adds -s or -es	Adds -s or -es (some change 'y' to 'ies')
Memorization	Easy (one rule)	Difficult (must memorize)
Examples	Played, Walked, Studied	Ate, Gone, Bought, Cut