Gateway to Grammar: Verb Families Part 8 - The “Ell” Family

It’s verb family time, and if you are wondering why we have gone from part 2 to part 8, I recommend looking at the whole series here. Basically 2 of them went for a walk and I have no idea where they are. I’m a PROFESSIONAL.

The “Ell” Verb Family

  • Infinitive/Present Simple → Past Simple → Present Perfect/Past Participle

  • Tell → Told → Told

  • Sell → Sold → Sold

That’s it! It’s a very simple little group and the past simple and past perfect forms are the same.

Why You Should Learn Irregular Verbs in Families

One of the easiest ways to remember things is to split them into groups that sound the same. This is because our brains can learn in lots of different ways, and adding “sounds the same” to “these 2 belong together” means our brains have two different ways to find and access the information we are trying to remember. It’s also helpful because when you are learning languages the sounds of words are very important to the meaning, especially in English. So, learning them in groups helps you to remember how to pronounce them as well.

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Wright English is entirely run by me, Lana Williams, and I don’t earn any money for the free English teaching and learning materials that I create. Part of my mission at Wright English is to help create useful and accurate English learning materials for teachers and students around the world, and for it to be available for free for everyone. This does mean that it can get a little difficult to buy food sometimes though, especially as I have not yet convinced my dachshund to sell cuddles on the street for cash. If you can give a little to support Wright English, please head over to my Facebook page and give some stars, but only do this if you can do it comfortably. Thank you for your support =)

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Vocabulary Showcase: Synonyms for ‘Mistake’