Introduction
Every sentence has a subject and a main verb. Verbs describe what the
subject is doing. To be able to show exactly what the subject does at
any time, verbs have different forms and tenses. In order to speak
and write English correctly, you must learn the various verb forms and
tenses.
Learning Hint:
To use verbs accurately, learn the standard verb forms and tenses.
Memorize common irregular verb forms that do not follow standard
forms.
Verb Forms
Verbs have five forms:
| Form |
Verb Example |
Irregular Verb Example |
| Infinitive |
walk |
run |
| Past tense |
walked |
ran |
| Past participle |
walked |
run |
| Present participle |
walking |
running |
| -s or -es form |
walks |
runs |
The only verb with more than 5 forms is
be
| Form |
Verb |
| Infinitive |
be |
| Past tense |
was (for I / he / she / it); were (for we / you / they) |
| Past participle |
be, been |
| Present participle |
being |
| -s / -es form |
-- |
The verb
be also has 3 present tense forms (
am, is, are) while all other verbs have one.
Infinitive Form
The infinitive form is the plain or dictionary form. It is used when
the verb's action happens in the present and the subject is a plural
noun or the pronouns I, we, you,
or they:
I
go to work.
You
cook very well.
We
live downtown.
They
help me.
Past Tense Form
The past tense shows the verb's action happened in the past. It is usually made by adding
-d or
-ed to the infinitive. The past tense is formed differently for most irregular verbs:
We
lived downtown.
They
helped me.
I
went to work. (
Irregular verb)
Past Participle and Present Participle Form
The past participle is used with the verb
have (have / has /
had) to create the present and past perfect tenses. The past
participle form is also used to modify nouns and pronouns. One example
is the phrase sliced bread.
The past participle is usually the same as the past tense form. Only
some irregular verbs have a past participle that is different than
their past tense form.
We
have lived downtown.
They
have helped me.
I
have gone to work. (
Irregular verb)
The present participle is made by adding
-ing to a verbs infinitive form:
Working
Buying
Eating
The present participle can modify nouns and pronouns. One example is
the phrase running water. When used as a noun (example: smoking is
bad), the present participle is known as a
gerund. The present participle is also used to create the progressive tense.
-S Form
The
-s form of a verb is made from the infinitive of the verb.
This form is used when the verb's action is in the present and the
subject is third-person singular. Third-person singular is a singular
noun (examples: desk, John), or a singular indefinite pronoun
(examples: everybody, someone), or the personal pronouns he / she /
it.
How the -s form is made depends on the last letter of the verb:
| Verb Ending |
To Make Third Person Singular |
Example |
| s |
add -es |
Pass - It passes |
| sh |
add -es |
Wish - Everyone wishes |
| ch |
add -es |
Watch - She watches |
| consonant + y |
change y to i and add -es |
Try - He tries |
| Any other letter |
add -s |
Drink - He drinks |
Verb Types
Irregular Verbs
Many verbs do not follow the rules to make the different forms. They
are called irregular verbs. No single rule explains how to make their
past tense and past participle forms. The irregular verbs must be
memorized. These are some of the common irregular verbs:
| Infinitive |
Past Tense |
Past Participle |
| choose |
chose |
chosen |
| do |
did |
done |
| drink |
drunk |
drank |
| eat |
ate |
eaten |
| give |
gave |
given |
| forget |
forgot |
forgotten |
| lie |
lay |
lain |
| let |
let |
let |
| see |
saw |
seen |
| sleep |
slept |
slept |
| throw |
threw |
thrown |
| write |
wrote |
written |
Helping Verbs
Another important type of verb is the helping or
auxiliary
verb. Helping verbs show tense and can show person, number, voice or
mood. These verbs combine with a main verb to form a verb phrase. A
main verb is an infinitive, a present participle or past participle.
These are verb phrase examples:
will give
has been working
can go
Some helping verbs combine with main verbs to show time and voice. These helping verbs are
shall, will, have (has /
had), do (does /
did) and the forms of
be (
am /
is /
are /
was /
were /
been /
being):
| We will live downtown. |
We did not live downtown. |
| They shall help me. |
They were helped. |
| I have been working. |
I had worked. |
Modal Verbs
Helping verbs such as
can, could, may, might, must, ought, shall, should, will, and
would are used to add extra meaning to main verbs. These helping verbs are called
modals. They show a necessity, possibility, ability, permission, prediction or responsibility:
| You should write that report. |
We must go. |
| He can carry heavy objects. |
I might leave. |
The helping verb
do (
does) or its past tense
did is used together with the infinitive of a verb to ask questions, make the negative form, or to show added importance:
| Does she work this week? |
Do they go to school? |
| Where does he live? |
Where did they live? |
| She does not sleep well. |
She did not sleep well. |
| You do work every day. |
He does run on weekends. |
Verbals
A verbal (nonfinite verb) is no longer a verb. It is a verb form used
as a noun, an adjective, or an adverb. A verbal can never be a main
verb.
| Verbal |
Example |
Verb Form |
| Noun |
Running is great exercise. |
present participle |
| Adjective |
Blocked printers cannot print. |
past tense |
| Adverb |
We were ready to work. |
to + infinitive |
Verb Tenses
Tense shows the time of a verbs action or being. There are three verb tenses:
simple,
perfect, and
progressive. Each tense has
past, present and
future forms.
Note: Because tense shows time, a time word in a sentence
helps to decide what tense is being used. Most time words can only go
with a certain tense. These are some examples:
| Present |
Past |
Future |
Progressive |
| often |
yesterday |
tomorrow |
now |
| every hour / day / week |
last week / month |
next week / month |
today |
| every month/year |
last year |
next year |
this month |
| usually |
amount of time + ago |
in + amount of time |
for + amount of time |
| sometimes |
|
|
|
| today |
|
|
|
| for + amount of time |
|
|
|
Simple Tense
The simple tenses show that an action or state of being is past,
present, or future. The present tense shows action that is happening
now as a person speaks or writes. The present tense is also used to
describe actions that are factual or habitual (commonly repeated over a
period of time). The present tense uses the verbs infinitive or the
-s form for third person singular subject.
The past tense shows action that has finished as a person speaks or writes. The past tense uses the verbs past tense form.
The future tense shows action that has not happened yet as a person speaks or writes. The future tense uses the helping verb
will or
shall plus the verbs infinitive.
| Tense |
Regular Verb: Walk |
Irregular Verb: Run |
| Present |
I / you / we / they walk.
He / she / it walks. |
I / you / we / they run.
He / she / it runs. |
| Past |
I / you / we / they / he / she / it walked. |
I / you / we / they / he / she / it ran. |
| Future |
I / you / we / they / he / she / it will walk. |
I / you / we / they / he / she / it will run. |
Perfect Tense
The perfect tenses show that an action was or will be finished BEFORE
another time or action happens. The perfect tenses are made with the
helping verb
have (
have / has / had) plus the verbs past participle. All subjects use
had for the past perfect tense. All subjects use
will have or
shall have for the future perfect tense. The infinitive
have or
has for singular third person is used for the perfect present tense.
Examples:
| Tense |
Regular Verb: Walk |
| Present Perfect |
I / you / we / they have walked.
He / she / it has walked. |
| Past Perfect |
I / you / we / they / he / she / it had walked. |
| Future Perfect |
I / you / we / they / he / she / it will have walked. |
| Tense |
Irregular Verb: Run |
| Present Perfect |
I / you / we / they have run.
He / she / it has run. |
| Past Perfect |
I / you / we / they / he / she / it had run. |
| Future Perfect |
I / you / we / they / he / she / it will have run. |
The present perfect tense can also show that an action started in the past and is still going on in the present.
Examples:
He
has lived downtown. (
Action is finished at the time it is written.)
He
has worked for three hours. (
Action started in the past and is still going on.)
She
has always written in a diary. (
Action started in the past but continues now.)
Progressive Tense
The progressive tenses show continuing action. They can also show how
long an action has been going on for an amount of time in the
present, past, or future. A verb's present participle joins with some
forms of the verb
be (
am, is, are, was, were) to make the simple progressive tenses.
| Tense |
Example |
| Present Progressive |
I am working.
You / we / they are working.
He / she / it is working. |
| Past Progressive |
I / he / she / it was working.
You / we / they were working. |
| Future Progressive |
I / he / she / it / they / we / you will be working. |
The past progressive can show an action that happened in the past and was not finished:
He
was doing his work. (
He was working, but he may not have finished the work.)
The perfect tense form plus
been plus the verbs present participle makes the perfect progressive tenses:
| Tense |
Example |
| Present Perfect Progressive |
I / you / we / they have been working.
He / she / it has been working. |
| Past Perfect Progressive |
I / he / she / it / they / we / you had been working. |
| Future Perfect Progressive |
I / he / she / it / they / we / you will have been working. |
Not all verbs can make a progressive tense. Verbs that have qualities
not able to show change cannot make the progressive tense. These are
some of the verbs:
| be |
guess |
seem |
see |
| believe |
include |
think |
smell |
| cost |
like |
understand |
taste |
| desire |
love |
want |
need |
| doubt |
remember |
wish |
have |
Examples:
Incorrect: She
is being pretty.
Correct: She
is pretty.
Incorrect: That
is owning to him.
Correct: He
owns that.
Incorrect: They
are wanting a raise.
Correct: They
want a raise.
this article is taken from http://www.testden.com/toeic/grammar-verb-tense.html
