Verbs are words or groups of words that express action or a state of being or condition. They provide the power or drive for sentences.
- They smashed through the door. (action)
- The ambassador filed a formal protest. (action)
- Shawn seems unhappy today. (state of being)
- The truck looks almost new. (condition)
Verbs that express a state of being or condition are called linking verbs. These verbs link the subject with a noun, pronoun, or adjective that describes or identifies it. The word or words linked to the subject are referred to as a subject complement. In general, a verb is a linking verb if it can be substituted for some form of the verb seem.
- You look (seem) calm enough—are you?
- She felt (seemed) ill at ease in the doctor’s office.
The most common linking verb is be and its forms am, is, are, was, were, being, and been. Other common linking verbs include the following.
Common Linking Verbs
appear
become
feel
grow
remain
hear
seem
look
smell
sound
stay
taste
Basic Verb Forms
A few verb forms are the basis for all verb tenses and phrases. These forms are as follows:
Base form: | Children play in the park. |
Infinitive: | Tell them to play here. |
Past tense: | They played all day yesterday. |
Past participle: | He has played too long. |
Present participle: | I am playing with her today. |
Gerund (noun form) | Playing is children’s “work.” |
Auxiliary Verbs
The past and present participles of the verb are also part of a word group that comprises a complete verb form: has played, am playing. The verbs used with these participles are called auxiliary verbs (also known as helping verbs). They signal a change in tense (he walked, he has walked) or a change in voice (we told, we were told). Following is a list of the most commonly used auxiliary verbs.
Auxiliary | Auxiliary + Main Verb |
|---|---|
has/have | The jury has rendered a verdict. The defendants have heard the sentence. |
is/are | The satellite is boosting the signal. They are receiving it in Hawaii. |
can/could | He can operate in the morning. The patient could come home in a week. |
should/would | The flight should land in New Jersey. We would like to arrive in New York. |
do/did | I do remember you. We did meet last week. |
will/shall | I will tell them to take the furniture away. Shall we buy the stuffed moose? |
must/ought | They must report any suspicious activity. She ought to call the security guard. |
Verb Tenses
Verb tenses allow us to talk about time, to place an action or state of being in the past, present, or future (I called, I call/I am calling, I will call). They also allow us to talk about intention, what would, could, or should be done (I would have called, I can call, I will have called).
Learning to use the right verb tense is important to convey intentions and the time of an action or state of being accurately and clearly. The various tenses in English are formed using the basic elements of the verb.
Base form: | march |
Past tense: | marched |
Present participle: | marching |
Past participle: | marched |
Auxiliary verbs: | am (was) marching, have (had) marched, will march |
English has regular and irregular verbs. Learn the basic verb forms of these words to create the proper tenses and to avoid mixing tenses in writing.
Regular Verbs
Regular verbs follow the same pattern when moving from one tense to another. English has six basic tenses: present, past, future, present perfect, past perfect, and future perfect. In addition, the progressive and conditional forms are used for special functions. The progressive form (I am singing, I was singing, I will be singing) is used to indicate continuity of action rather than its completion. For example, compare I wrote a letter with I was writing a letter. The first sentence simply states that an action was completed in the past, while the second sentence implies that the action is connected to another event. Adverbs are often used with progressive forms to stress the continuous nature of the action or state of being (He is always singing in the shower). Progressive forms can be used with all six tenses. The conditional form (I can sing, I could sing, I could have sung) conveys intention to do or be something.
Following is a complete conjugation of the verb to watch. The function of each tense is discussed following the conjugation.
Present Tense
Singular | Plural | |
|---|---|---|
First person: | I watch | we watch |
Second person: | you watch | you watch |
Third person: | he/she/it watches | they watch |
Present progressive form:
- I am (you are) watching, etc.
Present conditional form:
- I can (I could) watch, etc.
Past Tense (Base Form of the Verb d or ed)
Singular | Plural | |
|---|---|---|
First person: | I watched | we watched |
Second person: | you watched | you watched |
Third person: | he/she/it watched | they watched |
Past progressive form:
- I was watching, etc.
Past conditional form:
- I could have watched, etc.
- I could have been watching, etc.
Future Tense (Will or Shall + the Base Form of the Verb)
Singular | Plural | |
|---|---|---|
First person: | I will (shall) watch | we will (shall) watch |
Second person: | you will watch | you will watch |
Third person: | he/she/it will watch | they will watch |
Future progressive form: I will (shall) be watching, etc.
Present Perfect Tense (Have or Has + the Past Participle)
Singular | Plural | |
|---|---|---|
First person: | I have watched | we have watched |
Second person: | you have watched | you have watched |
Third person: | he/she/it has watched | they have watched |
Progressive form: I have been watching, etc.
Past Perfect Tense (Had + the Past Participle)
Singular | Plural | |
|---|---|---|
First person: | I had watched | we had watched |
Second person: | you had watched | you had watched |
Third person: | he/she/it had watched | they had watched |
Progressive form: I had been watching, etc.
Future Perfect Tense (Will Have or Shall Have the Past Participle)
Singular | Plural | |
|---|---|---|
First person: | I will (shall) have watched | we will (shall) have watched |
Second person: | you will have watched | you will have watched |
Third person: | he/she/it will have watched | they will have watched |
Progressive form: I will have been watching, etc.
Functions of the Six Tenses
The six tenses show differences in the time of an action or a state of being, and using different tenses changes the meaning of a sentence.
Present Tense. The present tense is used to express an action or to state a fact that is occurring at the present time. The present tense also can be formed using auxiliary verbs for emphasis or to express intention.
- I live here.
- I am living here. (progressive)
- I do live here. (emphatic)
- I can live here. (conditional)
The present tense also is used to indicate habitual action or something that is true at all times.
- She goes out every evening.
- My grandfather believed that silence is (instead of was) golden.
Writers occasionally use the present tense when reviewing the contents of a book or describing past events to bring them vividly to life for the reader. This form of the present tense is known as the literary or historical present.
- In his book on Alexander the Great, the Greek historian Arrian dismisses romantic legend and concentrates on sifting truth from fiction.
Past Tense. The past tense is used to express action or to help make a statement about something that occurred in the past and has not continued into the present.
- I lived there.
- I was living there while I was in school. (progressive)
- I did live there. (emphatic)
Future Tense. The future tense is used to express an action or to help make a statement about something that will occur in the future.
- I will (shall) live there.
- I will be living there. (progressive)
- I am going to be living there. (progressive)
- I can be living there. (conditional)
The distinction between will and shall is no longer observed by most people. The two verbs can be used interchangeably for the simple future tense in the first person. However, in some cases, such as when asking for permission or consent, shall is the only form used.
- Shall we go to the movie?
- Shall I put the box here?
To use will in these sentences would change the meaning. However, except for such special uses, will and shall are equally correct.
- I shall call him.
- I will call him.
Perfect Tenses. Perfect tenses describe actions or states of being that hap- pened at one time but are seen in relation to another time. For example, I gave a donation to the Girl Scouts is a simple statement about a past event and would be used to tell someone what happened in the past. I have given a donation to the Girl Scouts connects the past event to the present and can be used to imply a habitual or continuous action.
Present Perfect Tense. The present perfect tense is used to express an action or to help make a statement about something occurring at an indefinite time in the past or something that has occurred in the past and continues into the present.
- I have lived here for a long time.
- I have lived here for three months. (The speaker is still living there.)
- I have been living here for three months. (progressive)
- I could have been living here instead of where I am now. (conditional)
Past Perfect Tense. The past perfect tense is used to express an action or to help make a statement about something completed in the past before some other past action or event.
- After I had lived here for three months, they raised the rent.
- After I had been living here for three months, they raised the rent. (progressive)
Future Perfect Tense. The future perfect tense is used to express an action or to help make a statement about something that will be completed in the future before some other future action or event.
- By this October, I will have lived here for six months.
- By this October, I will have been living here for six months. (progressive)
Irregular Verbs
Irregular verbs follow no fixed rules for forming the various past, present, and future tenses. You simply have to memorize them or consult your dictionary. Here are a few examples of common irregular verbs that show the variety of their forms.
Base Form | Past Tense | Past Participle | Present Participle |
|---|---|---|---|
be | was | been | being |
break | broke | broken | breaking |
fly | flew | flown | flying |
lie (as in recline) | lay | lain | lying |
ring | rang | rung | ringing |
Common Errors in Using Verb Tenses
People often mix their tenses or use the wrong verb form when speaking. Although these errors may be overlooked in conversation, they are painfully evident in written communication. They often confuse the reader and affect the tone of the message. Study the following incorrect and correct sentences:
1. Use the correct verb form with each tense.
Incorrect: He checked on the order and has went to pick it up.
Correct: He checked on the order and has gone to pick it up. (Gone is the past participle of the verb to go and is the correct form to use with the auxiliary verb has. Went is the past tense form and is incorrect.)
_________
Incorrect: I done the work last night and handed it in this morning.
Correct: I did the work last night and handed it in this morning. (Done, the past participle, is incorrect—the verb should be in the simple past tense did.)
_________
Incorrect: Barb and Louise have ordered the tickets, wrote their friends about the concert, and gave away pictures of the band.
Correct: Barb and Louise have ordered the tickets, written their friends about the concert, and given away pictures of the band. (The auxiliary verb have requires the past participle for each verb in this sentence—have ordered, [have] written, [have] given. Wrote and gave are past tense forms of the verbs and are incorrect.)
_________
Incorrect: The book is fascinating reading. It provided a detailed study of how cultures were created.
Correct: The book is fascinating reading. It provides a detailed study of how cultures are created. (The writer refers to the book in the present tense in the first sentence. All references that follow should also be in the literary or historical present tense.)
2. When describing two events in the past that did not occur at the same time, use the past perfect tense to refer to the event or action in the more distant past.
Incorrect: I suddenly remembered (past) that I left (more distant past) my purse at the office.
Correct: I suddenly remembered (past) that I had left (past perfect) my purse at the office. (Because leaving the purse at the office preceded remembering the fact, the past perfect form of had left should be used.)
__________
Incorrect: Apartments now existed (past) where a city dump was (more distant past). (Using the past tense for both verbs suggests that the apartments and city dump are there together.)
Correct: Apartments now existed (past) where a city dump had been (past perfect). (The past perfect makes it clear that the city dump preceded the apartments.)
3. Do not use would have in “if clauses” that express the earlier of two past actions. Use the past perfect.
Incorrect: If he would have thought of it, he would have asked you to ride with us.
Correct: If he had thought of it, he would have asked you to ride with us.
____________
Incorrect: If I would have studied harder, I’d have passed the course.
Correct: If I had studied harder, I’d have passed the course.
4. Use the present infinitive (to play, to see, etc.) to express action following another action.
Incorrect: I was disappointed because I had hoped to have gone with you. (Did the speaker hope to have gone or to go?)
Correct: If he had thought of it, he would have asked you to ride with us.
____________
Incorrect: If I would have studied harder, I’d have passed the course.
Correct: If I had studied harder, I’d have passed the course.
5. Use the perfect infinitive (to have written, to have seen, etc.) to express action before another action.
Correct: He was happy to have seen Ralph. (The speaker saw Ralph first; then he was happy about seeing him. Therefore the perfect infinitive to have seen is the proper form to use.)
6. In participial phrases, use having with the past participle to express action before another action.
Incorrect: Giving my bike to Angela, I couldn’t ride to the beach later that day. (The present participle giving is incorrectly used to express an action completed before the second action in the sentence.)
Correct: Having given my bike to Angela, I couldn’t ride to the beach later that day.
_____________
Incorrect: Painting the front porch, he slept the rest of the day.
Correct: Having painted the front porch, he slept the rest of the day. (He had to paint the porch before he could go to sleep. This could also be expressed by saying After painting the front porch, he slept all day.)
Mood
Verbs can be used to express differences in the intention or mood of the speaker or writer. There are three moods in English: indicative, imperative, and subjunctive. Each has a specific function.
The indicative mood is used when the speaker or writer wishes to make a statement or ask a question.
- He is leaving tomorrow.
- Does this plane fly to London?
The imperative mood is used for commands or requests.
- Call Fredericks and cancel that shipment.
- Please return the book to the library.
- Turn right at the corner, and then go left.
The subjunctive mood uses a different form of the past and present to express matters of urgency, formality, possibility, or speculation.
Urgency:
- I demanded that she see me immediately. (The indicative mood would use the form sees or can see— for example, I want to know if she can see me immediately.)
Formality:
- He recommended that the zoning law be adopted. (The indicative mood would use is adopted—for example, the vote is 44 to 3; the law is adopted.)
Possibility:
- If I were to sign the contract, we could not sell our own CDs. (The phrase If I were to sign expresses a future possibility. It has no reference to the past, even though were is a past tense verb form. Compare this sentence to Because I signed the contract, we could not sell our own CDs. In this sentence, the indicative mood describes an action that took place in the past.)
Speculation:
- If he were king, he would make football the national pastime. (The subjunctive mood expresses something that is not true, a statement contrary to fact. The indicative mood, on the other hand, simply states a fact—for example, If he was the king, then his brother was a prince.)
Active and Passive Voices
If the subject of a sentence performs an action, the verb is in the active voice. If the subject receives the action, the verb is in the passive voice.
Active voice: | She sold a box of candy. (The subject she performs the action.) |
Passive voice: | She was sold a box of candy. (The subject she receives the action.) |
Active voice: | We have delivered the mail. (The subject we performs the action.) |
Passive voice: | The mail was delivered by us. (Mail is now the subject and receives the action.) |
The active voice adds interest and liveliness to a message. In general, use the active voice. Avoid weak and awkward passive verb constructions or long passages in which all the verbs are passive.
The passive voice, however, does have its contribution to make. It can be used to express an action in which the actor is unknown, when a more objective or diplomatic tone is required, or when it is desirable not to dis- close the actor.
Active voice: | Jim locked the front door before we left home. |
Passive voice: | The front door had been locked before we left home. |
Active voice: | Our sales manager made a mistake in completing your order. |
Passive voice: | A mistake was made in completing your order. |
Active voice: | We have examined your application and must decline your request for credit. |
Passive voice: | Your application has been reviewed and at this time your request for credit must be declined. |
In the final example, the passive voice emphasizes the recipient of the action and minimizes the writer’s role. Using the passive voice can make the decision seem less personally directed toward the reader. The speaker can then discuss the reasons for declining the application.
Subject-Verb Agreement
Just as pronouns must agree with their antecedents in person, case, and number, verbs also must agree with their subjects in person and in number.
The first person subject is the person or persons speaking in a sentence (I, we). The second person subject is the person or persons addressed (you, you). The third person subject refers to the person or thing spoken about and may be any noun or third-person pronoun (he, she, it, they).
Agreement in Person
First: | I am hot. We are cold. |
Second: | You look fantastic. |
Third: | The car rusts. She drives fast. They laugh a lot. |
Verbs must agree with their subjects in number. Therefore, a singular subject takes a singular verb; a plural subject takes a plural verb.
Agreement in Number
Singular | Plural |
|---|---|
The window is open. | The windows are open. |
She walks quickly. | They walk quickly. |
I am going home. | We are going home. |
You can come along. | All of you can come along. |
Special Subject-Verb Agreement Cases
Compound subjects, collective nouns, and plural nouns used as titles of courses or subject areas can create confusion regarding subject-verb agreement. Following are guidelines for using a singular or plural verb in such cases.
Compound Subjects Joined by and—Singular Verb. Use the singular verb for compound subjects joined by and (1) when the subject is consid- ered a unit (research and development) and (2) when both parts of the subject are modified by each or every.
- The secretary and treasurer has filed the minutes. (The secretary and treasurer is one person.)
- Each player and every team receives a prize for competing in the games.
Compound Subjects Joined by and—Plural Verb. Except for the cases already noted, compound subjects joined by and take a plural verb.
- Rain and snow were falling at the same time.
- Tom and Samira have resigned as co-leaders.
- There are one book and two paintings on the floor.
- Are the computer and the printer compatible?
Compound Subjects Joined by or or nor—Singular Verb. Use the singular verb (1) if the subject next to the verb is considered singular or (2) if both parts of the subject are singular.
- The drawers or the closet is the place to look.
- Is the cat or the ferret in the garage?
- Neither Alan nor Julie remembers seeing my PalmPilot.
Compound Subjects Joined by or or nor—Plural Verb. The plural verb is used if the subject nearest the verb is plural or if both parts of the subject are plural.
- The closet or the drawers are the place to look.
- The directors or the producers receive all the credit.
- Neither the girls nor their teachers were aware of the approaching high tide.
Plural Nouns—Singular Verbs. Plural nouns used as the titles of courses or subject areas or as measurements or units of quantity (dollars, pounds, inches) take a singular verb.
- Humanities has a long reading list.
- I weighed myself, and twelve pounds has to go!
- Five hundred miles seems a long way to drive in one day.
- Is $2,500 too much for this rug?
Collective Nouns—Singular or Plural Verbs. To emphasize the collective noun as a unit, use the singular verb. To refer to individuals within the group, use the plural verb.
- The fleet sails tomorrow at 4:30.
- The Seventh Fleet have three days to repair their vessels.
- Everyone knows how hard the council works.
- The council are divided about the tax-reform issue.
- When is the team going to play its next home game?
- The team need to recuperate from their injuries.
Prepositional Phrases and Other Matters Set Off from the Subject. Prepositional phrases following the subject or material set off from the subject by commas generally does not influence subject-verb agreement. To decide whether to use a singular or plural verb form, simply block out the prepositional phrase or additional material and look only at the sub- ject and verb.
- None of the facts has been proved true. (None of the facts has.)
- Any of these students writes well. (Any [one] of these students writes.)
- Many flowers, such as the tulip, grow in northern climates. (Many flowers, such as the tulip, grow.)
- My house, unlike those houses, looks brand new. (My house, unlike those houses, looks.)
The exception to this rule occurs when the word all is followed by a singular or plural noun or pronoun. In this case, the prepositional phrase or material following all will determine whether to use a singular or plural verb.
- All of my apple pie was eaten. (Singular pie takes the singular verb was eaten.)
- All of my apple pies were eaten. (Plural pies take the plural verb were eaten.)