Use effective verb forms and tenses - Verbs - Multilingual Writers and ESL Topics

Rules for writers, Tenth edition - Diana Hacker, Nancy Sommers 2021

Use effective verb forms and tenses
Verbs
Multilingual Writers and ESL Topics

✵ 28 Verbs

✵ 29 Articles (a, an, the)

✵ 30 Sentence structure

✵ 31 Prepositions and idiomatic expressions

✵ 32 Paraphrasing sources effectively

This section of Rules for Writers is primarily for multilingual writers. You may find this section helpful if you learned English as a second language (ESL) or if you speak a language other than English with your friends and family.

28Verbs

All speakers of English encounter challenges with verbs. This chapter focuses on specific challenges that multilingual writers sometimes face when they write in English. You can find more help with verbs in other sections in the book:

✵ making subjects and verbs agree (21)

✵ using irregular verb forms (27a, 27b)

✵ using correct verb endings (27c, 27d)

✵ choosing the correct verb tense (27f)

✵ avoiding inappropriate uses of the passive voice (8a)

28a Use effective verb forms and tenses.

This section offers a brief review of English verb forms and tenses. For additional help, see 27 and 47c.

Basic verb forms

Every main verb in English has five forms, which are used to create all of the verb tenses. The chart below shows these forms for the regular verb help and the irregular verbs give and be. See 27a for the forms of other common irregular verbs.

BASIC VERB FORMS

REGULAR VERB HELP

IRREGULAR VERB GIVE

IRREGULAR VERB BE*

BASE FORM

help

give

be

PAST TENSE

helped

gave

was, were

PAST PARTICIPLE

helped

given

been

PRESENT PARTICIPLE

helping

giving

being

-S FORM

helps

gives

is

*Be also has the forms am and are, which are used in the present tense.

Verb tenses

Section 27f describes all the verb tenses in English, showing the forms of a regular verb, an irregular verb, and the verb be in each tense. The following chart provides more details about the tenses commonly used in the active voice in writing; the chart on page 230 gives details about tenses commonly used in the passive voice.

VERB TENSES COMMONLY USED IN THE ACTIVE VOICE

For descriptions and examples of all verb tenses, see 27f.

Simple tenses

For general facts, states of being, habitual actions

Simple present

Base form or -s form

✵ general facts

✵ states of being

✵ habitual, repetitive actions

✵ scheduled future events

✵ College students often study late at night.

✵ Water becomes steam at 100 degrees centigrade.

✵ We donate to a different charity each year.

✵ The train arrives tomorrow at 6:30 p.m.

NOTE: For uses of the present tense in writing about literature, see page 220.

Simple past

Base form + -ed or -d or irregular form

✵ completed actions at a specific time in the past

✵ facts or states of being in the past

✵ The storm destroyed their property. She drove to Montana three years ago.

✵ When I was young, I walked to school with my sister.

Simple future

will + base form

✵ future actions, promises, or predictions

✵ I will exercise tomorrow. The snowfall will begin around midnight.

Simple progressive forms

For continuing actions

Present progressive

am, is, are + present participle

✵ actions in progress at the present time, not continuing indefinitely

✵ future actions (with leave, go, come, move, etc.)

✵ The students are taking an exam in Room 105.

✵ The valet is parking the car.

✵ I am leaving tomorrow morning.

Past progressive

was, were + present participle

✵ actions in progress at a specific time in the past

✵ was going to, were going to for past plans that did not happen

✵ They were swimming when the storm struck.

✵ We were going to submit a proposal, but the funding was canceled.

NOTE: Some verbs are not normally used in the progressive: appear, believe, belong, contain, have, hear, know, like, need, see, seem, taste, understand, and want.

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Perfect tenses

For actions that happened or will happen before another time

Present perfect

has, have + past participle

✵ repetitive or constant actions that began in the past and continue to the present

✵ I have loved cats since I was a child. Alicia has worked in Kenya for ten years.

✵ actions that happened at an unknown or unspecific past time

✵ Stephen has visited Wales three times.

Past perfect

had + past participle

✵ actions that began or occurred before another time in the past

✵ She had just crossed the street when the runaway car crashed into the building.

NOTE: For more discussion of uses of the past perfect, see 27f. For uses of the past perfect in conditional sentences, see 28e.

Perfect progressive forms

For continuous past actions before another time

Present perfect progressive

has, have + been + present participle

✵ continuous actions that began in the past and continue to the present

✵ Yolanda has been trying to get a job in Boston for five years.

Past perfect progressive

had + been + present participle

✵ actions that began and continued in the past until another past action

✵ By the time I moved to Georgia, I had been supporting myself for five years.