You can tell when to use ring, rang, or rung by whether you need the present, past, or past participle (used with has or have) form.

Present: ring

Example: I always ring the bell after I knock.
Example: He rings twice before entering.

Past: rang

Example: I rang the bell after I knocked.
Example: He rang twice before entering.

Past Participle: has or have rung

Past participles are used with all perfect forms of a verb.

Present Perfect Form

Examples: I have rung the bell. She has rung the bell.

Past Perfect Form

Examples: I had rung the bell. She had rung the bell.

Future Perfect Form

Example: I will have rung the bell by noon if the automated system is still malfunctioning.

Conditional Perfect Form

Example: I would have rung the bell if the automated system had still been malfunctioning.

The present participle of ring is ringing. Present participles are used with “to be” verbs.

Examples: I am ringing the bell. She was ringing the bell. We will be ringing the bell.

This entry was posted on Tuesday, June 10, 2008 at 4:55 am and is filed under Definitions. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.