**Verbs **The
verb is perhaps the most important part of the
sentence. A verb or
compound verb asserts something about the
subject of the sentence and expresses actions, events, or states of being.
In each of the following sentences, the verb or compound verb appears highlighted:
Dracula bites his victims on the neck.
The verb "bites" describes the action Dracula takes.
In early October, Giselle will plant twenty tulip bulbs.
Here the compound verb "will plant" describes an action that will take place in the future.
My first teacher was Miss Crawford, but I remember the janitor Mr. Weatherbee more vividly.
In this sentence, the verb "was" (the
simple past tense of "is") identifies a particular person and the verb "remembered" describes a mental action.
Compound VerbsYou construct a
compound verb out of an auxiliary verb and another
verb.
In particular, you may use an
auxiliary verb (also known as a
helping verb) with the verb in order to create the many of the
tenses available in English.
In each of the following
sentences, the compound verb appears highlighted:
Karl Creelman bicycled around in world in 1899, but his diaries and his bicycle were destroyed.
The compound verb in this sentence is made up of the auxiliary "were" and the
past participle "destroyed."
The book Seema was looking for is under the sofa.
Here the compound verb is made up of the auxiliary verb "was" and the
present participle "looking."
They will meet us at the newest caf้ in the market.
In this example the compound verb is made up of the auxiliary verb "will" and the verb "meet."
That dog has been barking for three hours; I wonder if someone will call the owner.
In this sentence the first compound verb is made up of the two auxiliary verbs ("has" and "been") and a present participle ("barking"). The second compound verb is made up of the auxiliary verb "will" and the verb "call."
**Auxiliary Verbs **
The most common
auxiliary verbs are "be," "do," and "have", and you may also use these
verbs on their own. You use "Will" and "shall" to express future time.
In each of the following examples, a verb commonly used as an auxiliary verb appears as a
simple predicate:
She is the chief engineer.
The tea cups are in the china cabinet.
Garth does this kind of thing frequently.
My roommates and I do the laundry every second week.
I can't complete my assignment because he still has my notes.
They have several kinds of gelato in the display case.
Other common auxiliaries are "can," "could," "may," "might," "must," "ought," "should," "will," and "would." A verb like these is called a
modal auxiliary and expresses necessity, obligation, or possibility.
The highlighted word in each of the following
sentences is a modal auxiliary:
Zora was pleased to learn that she could take several days off.
The small freckled girl told her neighbours that she would walk their dog for an appropriate fee.
Henry told Eliza that she ought to have the hole in the bucket fixed.
The principal told the assembled students that the school board might introduce a dress code next autumn.
According to the instructions, we must leave this goo in our hair for twenty minutes.
Several words may intervene between the auxiliary and the verb which goes with it, as in the following sentences:
They have not delivered the documents on time.
The treasure chest was never discovered.
The health department has recently decided that all high school students should be immunised against meningitis.
Will you walk the dog tonight?
The ballet corps was rapidly and gracefully pirouetting about the stage.
**Using Verb Tenses **
A
verb indicates the time of an action, event or condition by changing its form. Through the use of a
sequence of tenses in a
sentence or in a paragraph, it is possible to indicate the complex temporal relationship of actions, events, and conditions
There are many ways of categorising the twelve possible verb tenses. The verb tenses may be categorised according to the time frame: past tenses, present tenses, and future tenses.
Verb Tense: TimeThe four
past tenses are
the simple past ("I went")
the past progressive ("I was going")
the past perfect ("I had gone")
the past perfect progressive ("I had been going")
The four
present tenses are
the simple present ("I go")
the present progressive ("I am going")
the present perfect ("I have gone")
the present perfect progressive ("I have been going")
Note that the present perfect and present perfect progressive are a present not past tenses -- that idea is that the speaker is currently in the state of having gone or having been going.
The four
future tenses are
the simple future ("I will go")
the future progressive ("I will be going")
the future perfect ("I will have gone")
the future perfect progressive ("I will have been going")
Verb Tense: AspectVerb tenses may also be categorised according to aspect.
Aspect refers to the nature of the action described by the verb. There are three aspects: indefinite (or simple), complete (or perfect), continuing (or progressive).
The three
indefinite tenses, or
simple tenses, describe an action but do not state whether the action is finished:
the simple past ("I went")
the simple present ("I go")
the simple future ("I will go")
A verb in the
indefinite aspect is used when the beginning or ending of an action, an event, or condition is unknown or unimportant to the meaning of the sentence. The indefinite aspect is also used to used to indicate an habitual or repeated action, event, or condition.
The three
complete tenses, or
perfect tenses, describe a finished action:
the past perfect ("I had gone")
the present perfect ("I have gone")
the future perfect ("I will have gone")
A verb in the
complete aspect indicates that the end of the action, event, or condition is known and the is used to emphasise the fact that the action is complete. The action may, however, be completed in the present, in the past or in the future.
The three
incomplete tenses, or
progressive tenses, describe an unfinished action:
the past progressive ("I was going")
the present progressive ("I am going")
the future progressive ("I will be going")
A verb in the
continuing aspect indicates that the action, event, or condition is ongoing in the present, the past or the future.
It is also possible to combine the complete tenses and the incomplete tenses, to describe an action which was in progress and then finished:
the past perfect progressive ("I had been going")
the present perfect progressive ("I have been going")
the future perfect progressive ("I will have been going")
The Function of Verb TensesThe Simple Present TenseThe
simple present is used to describe an action, an event, or condition that is occurring in the present, at the moment of speaking or writing. The simple present is used when the precise beginning or ending of a present action, event, or condition is unknown or is unimportant to the meaning of the sentence.
Each of the highlighted verbs in the following sentences is in the simple present tense and each sentence describes an action taking place in the present:
Deborah waits patiently while Bridget books the tickets.
The shelf holds three books and a vase of flowers.
The crowd moves across the field in an attempt to see the rock star get into her helicopter.
The Stephens sisters are both very talented; Virginia writes and Vanessa paints.
Ross annoys Walter by turning pages too quickly.
The simple present is used to express general truths such as scientific fact, as in the following sentences:
Rectangles have four sides.
Canada Day takes place on July 1, the anniversary of the signing of the British North America Act.
The moon circles the earth once every 28 days.
Calcium is important to the formation of strong bones.
Menarche and menopause mark the beginning and the ending of a woman's reproductive history.
The simple present is used to indicate a habitual action, event, or condition, as in the following sentences:
Leonard goes to The Jumping Horse Tavern every Thursday evening.
My grandmother sends me new mittens each spring.
In fairy tales, things happen in threes.
We never finish jigsaw puzzles because the cat always eats some of the pieces.
Jesse polishes the menorah on Wednesdays.
The simple present is also used when writing about works of art, as in the following sentences.
Lolly Willowes is the protagonist of the novel Townsend published in 1926.
One of Artemisia Gentleschi's best known paintings represents Judith's beheading of Holofernes.
The Lady of Shallot weaves a tapestry while watching the passers-by in her mirror.
Lear rages against the silence of Cordelia and only belatedly realizes that she, not her more vocal sisters, loves him.
The play ends with an epilogue spoken by the fool.
The simple present can also be used to refer to a future event when used in conjunction with an
adverb or
adverbial phrase, as in the following sentences.
The doors open in 10 minutes.
The premier arrives on Tuesday.
Classes end next week.
The publisher distributes the galley proofs next Wednesday.
The lunar eclipses begins in exactly 43 minutes.