USING VERBS Language Network – Chapter 6

THE PRINCIPAL PARTS OF A VERB

   Each verb has four principal parts: the present, the present participle, the past, and the past participle.

The following are based on the verb “to look”:     Present – look Present Participle – (is) looking Past – looked Past Participle – (has) looked Some verbs are irregular, such as “to break”:  Present – break    Present Participle – (is) breaking Past – broke Past Participle – (has) broken

REGULAR AND IRREGULAR VERBS Regular Verbs

 Regular verbs will use the present form to create the other principal parts of the verb.

 Present Participle  (is) look + ing  Past  Look + ed  Past Participle  (has) look + ed

Irregular Verbs

 Irregular verbs have different forms for the past and/or past participle.

 See pages 131-132 in Language Network for a list of common irregular verbs and their forms.

FORMING VERB TENSES

 Verb tense shows the time of an action or a condition. They are formed from the verb’s principal parts.

 There are three verb tenses:  Simple Tenses   Perfect Tenses Progressive Tenses

SIMPLE TENSES

   The present tense shows that an action or condition    Occurs regularly or is generally true:  Good stories transport us across time and space.

Is occurring in the present:  I have the new book by Stephen King.

Occurs regularly:  Every night, I read several chapters of this chilling tale.

The past tense shows that an action or condition occurred in the past:  King published Carrie, his first novel, in 1974.

The future tense shows that an action or condition will occur in the future:  I will lend you King’s new book next week.

PERFECT TENSES

   The present perfect tense shows that an action or condition   Was completed at one or more indefinite times in the past:  King has published several books under the pen name of Richard Bachman.

Began in the past and continues in the present:   King has written more than 30 novels in the last 30 years.

The present perfect tense is formed by using have/has + past participle.

The past perfect tense shows that an action or a condition in the past preceded another past action or condition:  King had written two novels that were rejected by publishers before he published Carrie.

 The past perfect tense is formed by using had + past participle. The future perfect tense shows that an action or a condition in the future will precede another future action or condition:   By next summer, I will have read half of King’s books.

The future perfect tense is formed by using will (shall) have + past participle.

PROGRESSIVE FORM

   The progressive form of a verb expresses an event in progress.

Each tense has a progressive form, made by using the corresponding tense of the verb to be with the present participle.

 Present Progressive Tense:     Use am/are/is + present participle. Past Progressive Tense:  I am reading this horror story.

A group of friends were camping in the Maine woods.

 Use was/were + present participle. Future Progressive Tense:  You will be learning until the end of the school day.

 Use will (shall) be + present participle. Progressive forms can also be used with perfect tenses, such as:  You shall have been sitting for 50 minutes by the time the bell rings. (future perfect progressive).

USING VERB TENSES

 When writing, you will use different verb tenses to describe single events and ongoing actions that are related.  Verb tenses allow you to show how a series of events are related in time.

 The following verb tenses can be used:     Simple Tense Progressive Form Perfect Tense Perfect Progressive Form

PRESENT TENSES

    Simple Present   Shows an action or a condition that is continuously true.

Present Progressive  I talk.

I am talking.

 Shows action that is now in progress.

Present Perfect  I have talked.

 Shows an action or a condition that began in the past and continues into the present.

Present Perfect Progressive   I have been talking.

Shows an action that began in the past and is still in progress.

PAST TENSES

    Simple Past   Shows actions that were completed in the past.

Past Progressive  I talked.

I was talking.

 Shows actions that continued over time in the past.

Past Perfect  I had talked.

 Shows an action in the past that came before other actions in the past.

Past Perfect Progressive   I had been talking.

Shows an action that was in progress in the past when another action happened.

FUTURE TENSES

    Simple Future   Shows a condition that will occur in the future.

Future Progressive  I will talk.

I will be talking.

 Shows an action that will be in progress in the future.

Future Perfect  I will have talked.

 Shows an action in the future that will occur before another action.

Future Perfect Progressive   I will have been talking.

Shows an action in progress in the future when another action will happen.

SHIFTS IN TENSE

 In some situations, you may need to shift tenses within a sentence.

 You can shift from a progressive form to a simple form to describe an ongoing action interrupted by a single event.

 I was talking when my brother interrupted me.

 When you describe an event as a point of reference for another event, shift from a perfect tense to a simple tense.

 I had been talking for a few moments before I realized that no one was listening.



Avoid shifting from present to past, past to present, etc.

ACTIVE AND PASSIVE VOICE Active Voice

 When a verb’s subject performs the action expressed by the verb.

 I threw the football to my friend.

Passive Voice

 When a verb’s subject receives the action expressed by the verb.

 The football was thrown to my friend by me.

 Passive voice will use a form of “to be” and the preposition “by.”

THE MOOD OF A VERB

    Indicative Mood makes statements and asks questions.

 I like to watch movies.

 Where are my glasses?

Imperative Mood makes a request or gives a command. The subject (you) is omitted.

 Run a lap around the track.

Subjunctive Mood expresses a wish or states a condition that is contrary to fact.

 You will use the word were instead of was.

 I wish I were smarter.

Subjunctive Mood can also give a command.

  Use the base form of a verb.

The school requires that all students be in first period by 8 A.M.