English Grammar Drills - Mark Lester 2009
Base form
8 Basic Verb Forms
Part 2 Verb Phrases
This chapter deals with the six basic verb forms that are used as the raw material to make up the tense system of English. The six basic verb forms are the base, the present tense, the past tense, the infinitive, the present participle, and the past participle. The next chapter covers the formation and meaning of the tenses created from these six verb forms and from the modal auxiliary verbs.
All verbs (with the important exceptions of be and the modal auxiliary verbs can, may, must, shall, and will) have all six of the forms mentioned above. The six forms are illustrated below by the regular verb walk and the irregular verb run:
We will now look at each of these six forms in detail, seeing how each is formed.
Base form
The base form is the form of the verb that is entered into the dictionary. For example, if you were to look up ran in the dictionary, it would refer you to the base form run. Since the base form is identical in nearly all cases to the present tense, it is difficult at first to see how one could tell the base form and present tense apart. Fortunately, there is one verb in which the base form and present-tense forms are different, the verb be:
We can use the fact that the base form of be is different from all its present-tense forms to determine when base forms are used. There are four places in which the base form is used: (1) to form infinitives, (2) after helping verbs when we talk about the future, (3) in imperative sentences (commands), and (4) as part of the complement of some verbs.
Infinitives
All infinitives are formed by putting to in front of the base form. For example:
to have
to go
to talk
to sing
We can show that these verbs are indeed in the base forms by using the verb be. If we substitute any of the present-tense forms of be, the results are ungrammatical:
to be
X to am
X to are
X to is
Future tenses
The future tense is formed by using a base form after the helping verb will (and other modal auxiliary verbs can, may, must, and shall):
will have
can go
must talk
should sing
We can show that these verbs are in the base forms by again using the verb be. If we substitute any of the present-tense forms, the results are again ungrammatical:
will be
X will am
X will are
X will is
Imperatives (commands)
Imperative sentences use the base form of the verb. Here are some examples:
Go away!
Oh, stop that!
Answer the question, please.
When we use the verb be, we again see that present-tense forms are ungrammatical when used in imperatives:
Be careful what you wish for!
X Am careful what you wish for!
X Are careful what you wish for!
X Is careful what you wish for!
Verb complements
Some verbs use base forms as part of their complements. Here are some examples:
We made them walk to school.
I let them fi nish early.
John will have the office send you a copy.
When we use the verb be, we again see that the present-tense forms are ungrammatical:
I made them be quiet.
X I made them am quiet.
X I made them are quiet.
X I made them is quiet.
Exercise 8.1
The verbs in the following sentences contain base forms as well as non-base forms. Underline the base forms and confirm your answer by substituting the verb be for the base form. You will need to change the ending of the sentence to be compatible with the meaning of be.
The weather forecast said that it would rain tonight.
The weather forecast said that it would be rainy tonight.
1. Drive carefully when you go home.
2. My grandmother let the kids help with the cooking.
3. We asked them if they wanted to act in the play.
4. The teacher explained what they would do next.
5. Alice wants to arrive on time for the party.
6. Please make as little noise as you can.
7. I thought that the train would arrive late as usual.
8. My dog hates it when I have to go away.
9. Come early if it is at all possible.
10. I love to get invited to these meetings.