Verb Tense
ConsistencyHistorical Present and Literary Present
Regular and Irregular VerbsPerfect Tenses
Consistency of Tense
• Past, present, future – you can’t switch without a very good reason!
• Example:• Because Jerry saw the man walking hurriedly
toward him, he turns and runs into his house.
• How would you fix this?
• Because Jerry saw the man walking hurriedly toward him, he turned and ran into his house.
• OR
• Because Jerry sees the man walking hurriedly toward him, he turns and runs into his house.
Historical Present
• This is one time we might switch tenses in a sentence. This tense is used to indicate something that is always true.
• EX:
• After Mark had completed his research, he reported to his class that the Himalayas are the tallest mountains in the world.
Historical Present
• These are harder – take a look:
• Chess is a very interesting game.– You can’t say “was” because that means that the game of
chess no longer exists or that it is no longer interesting.
• Walking is one of the best forms of exercise.– It is an opinion, but it has been and still is a widely held
belief of the medical community. Until something changes, it requires historical present tense.
Literary Present
• When you’re are talking about fiction literature, you must use present tense.
• Think of it like this: every time you open a novel, the setting becomes a place and the characters come to life.
• The character in this novel tells an intriguing story about her life.
• The plot of the story deals with man’s hostility toward other men.
Practice
How would you change this sentence to
Historical Present?
• The information in his report did not support
the fact that light traveled faster than sound.
Practice
How would you change this sentence to
Historical Present?
• Sue was the only one in class who knew that
that Nile River was the longest river in the
world.
Practice
How would you change this sentence to Literary
Present?
• Yesterday I read a wonderful story that told of
three young women in Paris.
Practice
How would you change this sentence to Literary
Present?
• When Janice reported on Huckleberry Finn,
she indicated that Huck saw Jim as a friend.
Regular Verbs
• Regular verbs simply add –ed to the past and past participle forms.
• All verbs form the present participle by adding –ing to the present form.
• Ex:Present Past Past Participle Present Participle
carry carried carried carryinglaugh laughed laughed laughing
Irregular Verbs• Irregular verbs actually change form to show tense.
• There is no pattern to these verbs – you just have to memorize them! You have a handout to help!
• The difference between the Past and the Past Participle forms is that the Past Participle requires a helping verb has, have, or had.
• Ex:Present Past Past Participle Present Participle
begin began begun beginninggo went gone going
Practice
How would you correct the verb tense in this
sentence?
• Do you know if John has already wrote that
letter for me?
Practice
How would you correct the verb tense in this
sentence?
• Before the music ended the audience begun to
clap.
Practice
How would you correct the verb tense in this
sentence?
• Will you please sit that glass on the table for
me?
Practice
How would you correct the verb tense in this
sentence?
• Before my mom asked, I had already began to
clean my room.
Perfect Tenses
• The perfect tenses use a form of the helping verb have. We use these forms every day in our conversations.
Present PerfectPast Perfect
Future Perfect
Present Perfect Tense
• Used to express the idea that an action occurred at an unspecified time before now.
• Ex: I have visited France.
• Ex: He has taken his medicine.
Present Perfect Tense
• Notice the difference between the past form of a verb and the present perfect form.
• simple past tense: Bob ran for five hours.– This suggests that he ran in the past but is no longer
running.
• present perfect: Bob has run for five hours.– This suggests that he began running in the past and is
still running.
Past Perfect Tense
• Used to express the idea that one action occurred before another action in the past.
• If you have a sentence that has two separate actions, you must tell your reader which one occurred first by adding the word “had.”
• Ex: Kay went to her friend’s house after she had completed her homework.
• Ex: I wasn’t interested in the movie because I had seen it already.
Future Perfect Tense
• Indicates an action that will have been completed at some specific time in the future.
• simple future tense: Jason will study his math.
• future perfect: Jason will have studied his math by 8 o’clock.– The action to be completed at a specific time.
Practice
How would you change the verb tense to Past
Perfect in this sentence?
• Before Bob took the job, he researched the
company thoroughly.
Practice
How would you change the verb tense to Future
Perfect in this sentence?
• Mary sang three times tonight.
Practice
How would you change the verb tense to Present
Perfect in this sentence?
• The dog ate his food.
Practice
How would you change the verb tense to Future
Perfect in this sentence?
• By 12 o’clock we ________ here for five hours.
Practice
How would you change the verb tense to Past
Perfect in this sentence?
• After we _____ home, James started the movie.
Practice
How would you change the verb tense to Present
Perfect in this sentence?
• We ________ his questions already.
Review Verb TensesConsistency: Don’t switch tense without a very good reason.
Historical Present: Indicates something that is always true.
Literary Present: Every time you open a novel, the setting becomes a place and the characters come to life, so you must use present tense.
Regular Verbs: Regular verbs simply add –ed to the past and past participle forms.
Irregular Verbs: Irregular verbs actually change form to show tense. You just have to memorize them!
Present Perfect: Used to express the idea that an action occurred at an unspecified time before now.
Past Perfect: Used to express the idea that one action occurred before another action in the past.
Future Perfect: Indicates an action that will have been completed at some specific time in the future.
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