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 VerbsIrregular 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 have different forms for the past and/or past participle.  See pages 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  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:  I am reading this horror story.  Use am/are/is + present participle.  Past Progressive Tense:  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  I talk.  Shows an action or a condition that is continuously true.  Present Progressive  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  I talked.  Shows actions that were completed in the past.  Past Progressive  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  I will talk.  Shows a condition that will occur in the future.  Future Progressive  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 VoicePassive Voice  When a verb’s subject performs the action expressed by the verb.  I threw the football to my friend.  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.