Verb Tense and

Verb Use

VERB

A verb is a word that expresses action, a state of being or that asserts something. It is the heart of a sentence.

Verbs may consist of one word or a group of words called a verb phrase

Verbs can be a transitive or intransitive

Verbs have 5 Properties: › Number› Person› Tense› Voice› Mood

Transitive and Intransitive Verb Transitive Verbs are verbs that requires

a receiver of its action.› We are pies and cakes at her

afternoon party.› The mechanic repainted the car.› She saw a shadow moving

among the leaves. Intransitive verbs are verbs that does

not need a receiver of its action. › They play around the yard all

afternoon.› Hilda Cruz is coming to Manila

for a seminar.› The flowers have wilted in the

heat of the sun.

Linking verbs Linking verbs are intransitive

verbs that make no complete statement but link the subjects with their complement.

The most common is the verb “to be”.

Other linking verbs are those that are related to the senses such as taste, smell, feel, seem, appear, become, sound and look. › We will become great athletes

someday.› The cake tastes burnt.› He appeared calm and

collected. › You look terribly upset.

Verb phrases & Auxiliary Verbs

Verbs may consist of one word or a group of words called a verb phrase

Verb phrases are formed by a main verb with an auxiliary (helping) verb.

Common auxiliary verbs are: Have • may • can • will • should • would • could • must • ought to› We should try to be

punctual with our appointments.

› We will exhibit our paintings in June.

› We ought to notify the police about the robbery.

Subject and Verb Agreement Verbs should agree with their subjects in person

and in number. A plural subject requires a plural verb. A singular subject requires a singular verb.

› The dress fits her perfectly.› Imported goods cost money.

Except for the verb “to be” which is inflected for every person to its singular form, all verbs in the third person present tense, singular form, add “s” or “es” to its base form.

› The train runs by electricity.› The president affixes his signature on

every letter from his office. Words placed between the subject and verb,

such as parenthetical expressions or modifiers, do not affect the number of the subject.

› Ann, as well as her brothers, is attending the symposium.

› The house, which is surrounded by tall trees, has a Gothic tower.

Subject and Verb Agreement Subjects joined by “and” take a plural verb.

› Hammer and saw are tools of a carpenter.

› The rich and the poor take the same route to the grave.

However, if the multiple subjects is considered as unit or refers to the same person or thing, it is considered singular.› Black and white is the color of my pet

dog. › My English teacher and Department

Chairman is absent today. When “each or every” precedes a subject, the

verb is singular.› Each person has his own talents.› Every boy and girl in this school is free

to express his opinions. The pronouns “none” and “any” may take the

either singular or plural verbs, depending upon the sense of the sentence.

› Any of these dates is convenient.› Any of these suggestions are

acceptable.

Subject and Verb Agreement Subjects joined by or, either…or,

neither…nor, generally take a singular verb.

› Either your mother or your guardian signs these papers.

› Neither a doctor nor a nurse was available.

However if one subject is plural and the other is singular, the verb agrees with the one closer to it.

› Either the dog or the cats have eaten the food.

› Neither you nor your brothers are participating in the game.

“Here” and “there” are not nouns but are introductory adverbs or expletives. Therefore, they cannot serve as subjects in a sentence.

› Here comes the judge.› There goes my lord and master.

Subject and Verb Agreement Collective nouns may be either singular

or plural. If they are considered acting as a unit, they take a singular verb; if acting as separate individuals in a group, they take a plural verb. The family wishes to extend its

condolence to the widow. The committee have various

activities planned for August. Some nouns have plural forms but are

singular in meaning and, therefore, singular verbs.

› Aesthetics • civics • measles • semantics • mumps • news • ethics • economics

A title of a single work of art takes a singular verb. The Canterbury Tales was written

by Chaucer. Sunday Times is a magazine

published by the Manila Bulletin.

Subject and Verb Agreement

Addition or multiplication calculation may use either a singular or a plural verb.

› Four times five is twenty. (are)› Two plus two is four. (are)

But in subtraction and division, the verb is singular. › Ten minus six is four.› Fifteen divided by five is three.

Fractions, take a singular verb if the object of the “of phrase” is singular, and a plural verb if the object is plural.› About one fourth of the land area

remains underwater.› One half of the students have

submitted their reports

TENSES

Tenses indicates the time of the action or the time of the static condition expressed by the verb.

There are three divisions of time: Present, Past, and Future.

These time divisions are expressed in English by two sets of tenses, namely, the Simple Tenses and the Perfect Tenses.

The English language also recognizes the use of the Progressive Tense to indicate action in progress.

Present Form

Past Form

PastParticiple

Form

carry carried carried

order ordered ordered

smoke smoked smoked

swim swam swum

Principal Parts of Verbs

The present form of the verb is used for the present tense and the future tense, with the addition of "shall" or "will" for the future tense. The past form of the verb is use for the past tense. The past participle form is use for the perfect tenses with the auxiliary verb "have".

test tested chant chanted empty emptied

confuse confused enchant enchante

d

REGULAR AND IRREGULAR VERBS

Verbs are regular when they form the past and past participle with the addition of "d" or "ed" to the present form. If the verb ends in "y“, change "y" to "i" and add "ed“.

Irregular verbs do not follow a common pattern of inflection in forming the past and the past participle. A familiarity with these verbs is the only way to get to know them.write wrote written

ring rang rung

lie lay lain

bear bore born

weave wove woven

Past tense The past tense indicates action that is

finished or that is past and done › The rain flooded our streets.

It can also be indicated in the expression "used to" which shows action true in the past but no longer true in the present.› They used to have a musical band

called the Hell Cats. It may also expressed through the past

progressive tense. It is formed by the past form of the auxiliary verb "to be" plus the "ing" form of the verb. It shows action going on in the past before another past action › He was cutting the grass when the

coconut fell on his head. It may also be expressed through the past

emphatic with use of "did". › I did pay my bill.

Future tense indicates action that will take place some time

after the present. It is formed by using the present form of the

verb with the auxiliary verb "will" or "shall".› I shall be home soon.› The debate will last for two hours.

The English language relies upon other expressions to indicate futurity.

The present tense can be used, modified by an adverbial phrase.› The school year opens in June this year.› I fly to Cebu on Friday.

The infinitive can also be used to indicate the future tense.› We are to see the movie this weekend.› There is to be a fun run sponsored by

the Makati Athletic Club.

Present tense Present tense indicates present action, a general

fact or a permanent condition. › The sun sets in the west.

The present tense may also be used in narration to represent a series of events. This called the historical present.› The boy calls for the maid but she is nowhere

around. He looks for his mother in her bedroom. She is not there, either. He runs to the sala, to the dining room and finally to the kitchen. He shouts for help but there is no one in the house. Meanwhile, the monster peeps through the glass sliding door and licks his mouth in anticipation of a good meal.

The present tense may also be expressed through the Present Progressive Tense. The present progressive tense is formed by the present form of the auxiliary verb "to be" plus the "ing" form of the verb.› He is strumming the guitar.

The present tense may also be expressed through the Present Emphatic with the use of "do" for the emphasis or assertion.

I do wish you luck.

Perfect Tenses

Perfect Tenses indicate action that is already completed or perfected.

Usually, there are two actions involved in the perfect tenses and usually, also, one has already begun.

The three kinds of Perfect tenses are:

› Present Perfect Tense› Past Perfect Tense› Future Perfect Tense

Present Perfect Tense The present perfect tense indicates an

action or condition began in the past and just completed or still going on.

It is formed by using the auxiliary verb "have" or "has" with the past participle form.› We have satisfied our college faculty

with their salary adjustment. (Satisfied in the past until the present)

› The rain has stopped. (Rain which has begun sometime in the past has just ended)

› We have eaten our lunch. (Eating started few hours in the past and just finished)

Past Perfect Tense The past perfect tense indicates an

action or condition began in the past and completed also at some point in the past.

It is formed by using the auxiliary verb "had" with the past participle.

› He had worked on his thesis for eleven months. (Started working on his thesis in the past and finished it in the past).

› We had discussed the lesson when the brown-out occurred. (Discussion done in the past before the brown-out happened which is also in the past).

› The signal light had turned red when the car hit the electric post. (The signal light had already turned red in the past before the car hit the post, also in the past.)

Future Perfect Tense The future perfect tense indicates an

action or condition began in the past which will be completed at some future time.

It is formed by using the future of the auxiliary verb "have" (shall have or will have) with the past participle form.

› I shall have spent all my Christmas bonus by New Year's Day. (Spending began in the past and will be over in the future, i.e., by New Year.)

› We shall have graduated from St. Scholastica's College this school year. (Studying in order to graduate started a few years ago in the past and will be completed at the close of this school year.)

› My book will have sold fifty copies next month. (Selling begun in the past and fifty copies of the book will have been sold next month.)

VERBALS

The term Verbal is used to designate a grammatical form which is derived from a verb but functions as a noun, an adjective or an adverb.

Many confuse it for a verb because its form like a verb and it has some characteristics of a verb. However through careful analysis, one will find that verbals cannot make an independent predication or assertion as verbs can.

Verbals come in the forms of:› Gerunds › Participles› Infinitives

GERUND

is a verbal noun. It has the same form as the

present participle, i.e.,the infinitive stem plus "ing", but unlike the present participle it functions as a noun.

› Swimming is good exercise.› He resented my giving him an

advice.› The idea of dancing without

music is absurd.

Present Participle

Past Participle

Perfect Participle

Seeing Seen Having seenDoing Done Having doneFacing Faced Having faced

Participles Participles are verbals used as

adjectives. They have forms that are similar to

verbs. Participles come in three forms:

› Present Participle› Past Participle› Perfect Participle

Participle The Present Participle is form by adding "ing"

to the infinitive stem.› Running furiously through the field, the

man slipped and fell.› The boy felt disgraced, seeing his father in

a drunken stupor. The Past Participle is the third principal part of

any verb.› The Sherbet, listed on the menu, is an

original recipe.› Choreographed by Santiago, the Tales of

Pan, was a visual delight. The Perfect Participle is formed by using the

present participle of the auxiliary verb "to have" followed by the past participle.› Having chased the robber to a dead-end,

police-man drew his gun and fired.› His parents were happy, having seen the

last of their brood graduate.

Infinitive is a verbal that is used as a noun, an

adjective or an adverb. As Noun

› To see the world is my dream. › I have nothing to do with that

suggestion.› Her job, to feed the animals in the

farm, is fun. As Adjectives

› The power to rule is an important prerogative of a leader.

› He gave the command to fire at the crowd.

› His idea to flush out the hijacker was rejected.

As Adverb› We hid to escape from mother's

thrashing.› Hoping to establish a democratic form

of government, he ran for president.› Are you ready to listen to the teacher?

Infinitive

It is commonly preceded by the word "to" and followed by the present form of the verb.

However, "to" as a sign of the infinitive is omitted after such verbs as can, hear, help, may, must, see and watch.› I must do my work. ("to" omitted

after "must")› Can you help me with the dishes?

("to" omitted after "can")› Watch me create a work of art.

("to" omitted after "watch") The sentences that are formed by using

infinitives with the omitted "to" are normally in the imperative mood.

Infinitive

Split infinitives are to be avoided because they affect the clarity and accuracy of the sentence.

Awkward:› To dangerously live is many a

young man's fancy.› We would like to seriously talk

things over.› He promised to immediately give

the Christmas bonus. Better:

› To live dangerously is many young man's fancy.

› We would like to talk things over seriously.

› He promised to give immediately the Christmas Bonus.

VOICE

The property of a verb to indicate whether the subject is the doer or the receiver of the action is called voice.

The two distinctive type of voice is called the Active and the Passive voice.

If the subject performs the action, the verb is in the active voice.

If the subject is being acted upon, the verb is in the passive voice.

Active Voice and Passive Voice

Active Voice expresses dynamic, direct and vital action.

The storm rumbled through the village, uprooted and trees and crushed the nipa huts.

The pope blessed the children. Lolo smoke rolled cigars and

chews beetle nut. Passive Voice is formed by using the

auxiliary verb “to be” with the past participle of the verb. It is unemphatic, indirect and wordy. However, when performer is less important than the performance, the passive voice is preferred.

An investigation was conducted on the leakage of examination questions.

Dinner is served. Let the truth be heard.

MOOD

Mood is the property of verbs which show the attitude of the speaker toward what he says.

The English language has commonly three moods: the indicative, the imperative and the subjunctive.

Indicative Mood shows that the speaker regards the statement as fact and formulates it as a question or a statement.› We regard her as a second mother.› Metro Manila has become terribly

polluted. Imperative Mood has the same form as

the present infinitive but with the “to” omitted. Also omitted is the controlling subject pronoun which is “you”. And Imperative sentence states a request or a command.› Be early tomorrow. (You

“understood”, be early tomorrow.)› Please sign the paper. (You

“understood, please sign the paper.)

Mood Subjunctive Mood is used to express a condition contrary to fact, a supposition mood is used to express a condition contrary to fact, a supposition, an improbability or in “that” clauses expressing a recommendation, a parliamentary motion, a wish or a regret.› If he sing well, we shall invite him

to perform in our Christmas Party.› If it please you, we will have your

car simonized. Like the future perfect tense, the

subjunctive mood is also slowly disappearing from the Modern English.

It is now substituted by the indicative verb forms:› If he sings well, we shall invite

him to perform in our Christmas Party.

› If it pleases you, we will have your car simonized.

Mood There are also instances where the

subjunctive mood can be better expressed with the use of would, could, should, might, ought, need and other auxiliary verbs.› If I should decide to go, I shall let

you know› If you would consent to be my

girl, I shall marry you.› Even if you might hang me, I

would tell the truth. The English language, however, still

retains a number of subjunctive forms in sayings, a certain exclamations and wishes like:› Peace be to you.› God forbid.› So be it.› Come what may.