Verbs
There are 12 tenses in English. There are basically 4
different forms and each form has 3 different times--present,
past, and future--so this equals 12.
A sentence may have one single verb or a combination of verb
forms. The first verb in the sequence tells the time (present,
past, future) and the sequence of verbs tells the tense.
Verbs have a variety of forms that are combined to makes
tenses.
There are two types of verbs (Regular and Irregular) and 6
forms that verbs can take, but not all verb forms (verbals) act
as verbs in sentences.
Regular verbs:
All make the past tense by adding -ed: walked, hurried,
talked, worked, etc.
Irregular verbs:
All make the past tense in a variety of ways: ran, bought,
taught, drove, ate, etc.
| Simple |
S-form |
Past |
Present Participle |
Past Participle |
Infinitive |
| talk |
talks |
talked |
talking |
talked |
to talk |
| eat |
eats |
ate |
eating |
eaten |
to eat |
Note: the present participle and past
participle do not act as verbs without a helping or auxiliary
verb, and the infinitive is NEVER part of the verb.
Verb Tenses:
Simple: Verb
Since "simple" means easy, this is the easiest tense.
It is made of one verb, not counting "will," which
is added on for future time.
- Simple present: I
teach English.
- Simple past:
I taught English.
- Simple future: I
will teach English.
Note: BE + going + to VERB is an
idiomatic form of the future. It can be used to
indicate plans (not promises) in the near future.
I am going to go to the movies tonight.
(plan)
I will marry you. (promise)
Progressive: Be + VERB + ing
The progressive tenses are used to show continuing or ongoing
actions. The progressive is made of two parts: a form of
BE (is, am, are, was, were) and the present participle (Verb +
ing)
- Present Progressive:
He is working.
- Past Progressive:
He was working.
- Future Progressive:
He will be working.
Perfect: HAVE + Past Participle
The perfect tenses are used to show actions that occur in a
period of time rather than at a point in time.
The perfect tenses are made of two parts: a form of
HAVE (have, had, had) and the past participle.
- Present Perfect: She
has studied.
- Past Perfect:
She had studied.
- Future Perfect:
She will have studied.
Perfect Progressive: HAVE Been VERB + ing
The perfect progressive tenses are used to show actions that
continue over a period of time rather than at a point in time.
The perfect tenses are made of a combination of the perfect
and the progressive.
HAVE + past participle
BE
+ VERB + ing
= Have been
playing.
Present Perfect Progressive: They have
been playing.
Past Perfect Progressive:
They had been playing.
Future Perfect Progressive: They
will have been playing.
Note: The twelve tenses above are given in the
active voice. That is, the subject does the
action of the verb.
Tom kicked the ball. Who kicked it? Tom
did.
The twelve tenses all have a passive voice as well, and the
passive has a slightly different structure.
Passive: Tense + BE + past participle.
In the passive voice, the subject stands by passively while
someone or something else does something to it. Only verbs
with direct objects have a passive form.
The ball was kicked by the man. The
ball doesn't do a thing.
In order to determine tense in the passive voice, just ignore
the past participle at the end and the sequence that remains
determines the tense.
| Tense |
Active Voice |
Passive Voice |
| Simple: Present |
Tom writes a letter. |
The letter is written by Tom. |
|
Past |
Tom wrote a letter. |
The letter was written by Tom. |
|
Future |
Tom will write a letter. |
The letter will be written by
Tom. |
| Progressive:
Present |
Tom is writing a letter. |
A letter is being written by
Tom. |
|
Past |
Tom was writing a letter. |
A letter is being written by
Tom. |
|
Future |
Tom will be writing a letter. |
A letter will be being written
by Tom. |
| Perfect:
Present |
Tom has written a letter. |
A letter has been written
by Tom. |
|
Past |
Tom had written a letter. |
A letter had been written by
Tom. |
|
Future |
Tom will have written a letter. |
A letter will have been written
by Tom. |
| Perf. Prog.
Present |
Tom has been writing a letter. |
A letter has been being written
by Tom. |
|
Past |
Tom had been writing a letter. |
A letter had been being written
by Tom. |
|
Future |
Tom will have been writing a
letter. |
A letter will have been being
written by Tom. |
Note: while it is possible to change all of the
tenses into the passive voice, realistically the resulting
structure is often quite awkward.
Other verb structures:
Modals: Modal Verb
Modal is the term for a specific group of helping or
auxiliary verbs. There are 9 true modals:
- can, could
- shall, should
- will, would
- may, might, must
A modal cannot be a verb by itself; it must be followed
by the simple base form of the verb.
Modals indicate time, but in a different way than the normal
tenses.
For example:
I can work for you. This can mean right
now, or it can refer to the future.
I could work for you. This can refer to
the past, or it can refer to now when used to suggest a
possibility as in this sentence: I could work
for you if I wanted to, but I don't.
Modals are quite complicated. For now, one should
recognize that the modal is part of the verb and the other verb
forms that follow it are also part of the verb. The sense of the
sentence or time words indicate the time, except for "will",
which is used to indicate future time or promises.
Examples:
I might have gone, but you didn't ask me.
They should have studied harder.
He must not tell her what I
said.
This URL will link to a more detailed chart and explanation
for each modal: Modals.
http://www.mpcfaculty.net/essc/handouts/Modals %20Helping%20verbs.htm
Phrasal Verbs (two-part verbs):
Sometimes verbs are combined with what looks like a
preposition to make one meaning. For example, "on" is
usually a preposition, as in the following:
The book is on the table.
"On" is used to tell where the book is located, and "on the
table" is the complete prepositional phrase.
However, this sentence is different.
I turned on the light.
At first glance, it appears that "on the light" is a
prepositional phrase, but it has nothing to do with location in
space. There is nothing "on the light." Here,
"on" is part of the verb and must be considered part of the
action: turned on. There are many phrasal verbs in
English. They can occur joined or separated.
I looked up the word. I looked
the word up.
He turned down the TV. He turned
the TV down.
Tim stood his wife up.
Jorge looked the truck over
before he bought it.
This URL links to a PowerPoint presentation that gives more
detailed information about verbs (tense, mood, and voice):
Consistency Verb.
http://www.mpcfaculty.net/essc/presentations/consistency%20verb/ConsistencyVerb_files/frame.htm |