Overview
This lecture covers vowel shifting in irregular English verbs, examining how vowel sounds change across present, past, and past perfect tenses.
Vowels and Their Production
- A vowel is a sound made without the tongue touching the lips, teeth, or roof of the mouth.
- English vowels are written as A, E, I, O, U, and sometimes Y.
- Vowels are produced from the front, center, or back of the mouth.
Vowel Shifting in Irregular Verbs
- Irregular verbs often change their internal vowel sound between tenses.
- Some verbs have unique forms for present, past, and past perfect (e.g., sing, sang, sung).
- The vowel sound in these verbs often moves from the front to the back of the mouth as you move from present to past perfect.
Examples of Vowel Shift Patterns
- Present: sing / Past: sang / Past Perfect: sung.
- Present: drink / Past: drank / Past Perfect: drunk.
- Present: ring / Past: rang / Past Perfect: rung.
Verbs with Same Past and Past Perfect Forms
- Some verbs have the same form for past and past perfect, but still shift vowels from the present.
- Present: win / Past & Past Perfect: won.
- Present: find / Past & Past Perfect: found.
- Present: sit / Past & Past Perfect: sat.
- Present: sneak / Past & Past Perfect: snuck.
- Present: run / Past: ran / Past Perfect: run (he had run, not he had ran).
Key Terms & Definitions
- Vowel — A sound produced without the tongue touching the lips, teeth, or roof of the mouth.
- Irregular verb — A verb that does not follow the standard pattern for forming past and past perfect tenses.
- Vowel shift — A change in the vowel sound within a verb as its tense changes.
- Past perfect — A tense formed by combining "have" with the past participle to show a completed action in the past.
Action Items / Next Steps
- Review and practice recognizing vowel shifts in common irregular verbs.
- Create your own list of irregular verbs showing their present, past, and past perfect forms.