CHAPTER FIVE
Verb Forms
Verbs can take a variety of forms, depending on the ways you use them. Learn how to make the various verb forms work for you.
a Learn the principal parts of verbs and their uses in showing verb tenses.
Tense means “time,” and verb tenses show the time of the action described by the verb. To form tenses correctly, you must know the principal parts of the verb. The principal parts are the present form, the past form, and the past participle.
The present form (the infinitive form without the infinitive marker “to”) is listed alphabetically in the dictionary; it is often called the dictionary form.
Dictionary Forms: sing, dance, delight, slice
Infinitive Forms: to sing, to dance, to delight, to slice
The past form for most verbs is made by adding the suffix -d or -ed to the dictionary form of the verb.
I asked, you played, he danced, she sliced, we calculated, they opened
The past participle also is usually formed by adding the suffix -d or -ed to the dictionary form of the verb. But unlike the past form, the past participle always requires a helping verb to make the complete verb in a verb phrase. (The past participle form is sometimes used as a verbal.) Helping, or auxiliary, verbs are made from the verbs “to be” and “to have.”
I should have predicted that result.
We were finished by noon.
He had planted his garden before he left for work.
The present participle is an essential verb form, but since it is always formed by adding the suffix -ing to the dictionary form, it is not usually listed among the principal parts. Remember that the gerund has the same form as the present participle, but gerunds are always used as nouns. Here are some present participles:
singing, dancing, delighting, slicing
A further note: The verb “do” in its various forms helps other verbs to make emphatic statements, to ask questions, or to make negations.
Present Emphatic: I do work!
Present Question: Do I work?
Present Negation: I do not work.
1 Learn the verb forms for the three simple tenses.
The simple tenses for any verb are the present, past, and future.
The simple present for most verbs is the dictionary form, which is also called the present stem. To form the third person singular from the simple present, you usually add -s or -es to the present stem.
Singular Plural
1. I run 1. we run
2. you run 2. you run
3. he runs 3. they run
she runs
it runs
The simple past is formed in regular verbs by adding -d or -ed to the present stem. The simple past does not change form.
Singular Plural
1. I escaped 1. we escaped
2. you escaped 2. you escaped
3. he escaped 3. they escaped
she escaped
it escaped
Sometimes the simple past is irregular. Irregular verbs may not form the simple past tense with -d or -ed.
Singular Plural
1. I ran 1. we ran
2. you ran 2. you ran
3. he ran 3. they ran
she ran
it ran
The simple future is made with the helping verbs “shall” and “will.”
Singular Plural
1. I shall go 1. we shall go
2. you will go 2. you will go
3. he will go 3. they will go
she will go
it will go
Traditional grammar holds that “shall” should be used for the first person, “will” for the second and third person. In practice, though, this distinction is usually ignored; most people write “I will be twenty-five years old on my next birthday.”
Helping verbs help form tenses. The common helping verbs are have, has, had, am, is, are, was, were, be, being, been, do, does, did, shall, will, should, would, can, may, might, must, and could. Helpers may also be groups of words like have to, ought to, used to, be going to, and be about to.
2 Learn the verb forms for the three perfect tenses.
In addition to the simple present, past, and future, verbs have three perfect tenses—the present perfect, the past perfect, and the future perfect. The perfect tenses indicate that an action was or will be completed before another time or action.
In the present perfect tense, the action of the verb started in the past. The present perfect is formed by using the helping verb “has” or “have” with the past participle.
I have worked hard for this diploma.
[The sentence means that the work you began in the past has just ended. The writer implies this compound sentence: “I have worked hard for this diploma, but now my work is ended.”]
I have worked all my life.
The sentence means that the act of working began in the past and continues into the present. The writer implies this compound sentence: “I have worked all my life, and I am still working now.”
She has loved architecture for many years, and now she takes architecture courses in night school.
The interest in architecture began in the past, and it continues into the present; as a result, she takes architecture courses in night school.
The past perfect tense reports an action completed before another action took place. The past perfect is also formed with the past participle, but it uses the helping verb “had.”
I had worked twenty years before I saved any money.
The act of working twenty years had been completed before the act of saving took place.
They thought they had considered all the dangers when they decided on the attack.
The act of considering all the dangers had been completed before the act of deciding took place.
Michelangelo had painted the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel and had become the most famous artist in Italy before he painted the great scene of the Last Judgment on the chapel’s wall.
The acts of painting the ceiling and becoming a famous artist had been completed before the act of painting the great scene took place.
Often, as in the present perfect, use of the past perfect implies another act which is not stated in the sentence.
He had told me that he would quit if I yelled at him. I yelled at him, and he quit.
The past perfect “had told” describes an action completed before the verbs “yelled” and “quit” in the next sentence.
Abraham Lincoln had dreamed that he found the White House draped in black and that someone had told him that the President was dead.
The past perfect implies the obvious fact that Lincoln “had dreamed” and that someone in his dream “had told” him of the President’s death before he was assassinated and the dream came true.
The future perfect tense reports an act that will be completed by some specific time in the future. It is formed by the helping verb “shall” or “will” added to “have” and the past participle.
I shall have worked fifty years when I retire.
The working for fifty years will be completed at retirement.
He will have lived with me ten years next March.
It is not yet March, but when March comes, his ten years of living with me will be past. He may go on living with me, but that particular period of ten years will be finished.
They will have accepted my invention by then.
They have not yet accepted my invention, but when that future time comes, they will have done so.
3 Learn the progressive form of the verb.
The progressive form of the verb is made with the present participle and a helping verb that is a form of “to be.” The progressive form is used with all tenses to show than an action continues during the time that the sentence describes, whether the time is past, present, or future.
Present Progressive: I am working.
Past Progressive: I was working.
Future Progressive: They will be working.
Present Perfect Progressive: She has been working.
Past Perfect Progressive: We had been working.
Future Perfect Progressive: They will have been working.
Study the following progressive forms:
I am working on a new book.
The action of working is in progress throughout the time of the sentence.
I was working in the kitchen when the house caught fire.
The action of working was going on during the beginning of the fire.
They will be working in the garage tomorrow afternoon.
The action of working will be going on throughout the afternoon.
4 Learn how the various tenses of verbs show different divisions of time and different levels of force.
Present Tense
Rule Use the present tense to show an action that takes place now, to show an action that is repeated regularly, or to show a condition that is true at any time.
My grandfather tells stories about World War II.
He tells a different one every time the family gets together.
Rule Use the present tense in statements about literary works or other works of art.
In The Grapes of Wrath, the Joad family loses its farm.
Rule Use the present tense occasionally to describe past events with special immediacy. When the present tense is used for this effect, it is called the historical present.
During the Great Depression, many farm families become migrant workers.
In informal communication, you can use the present tense to describe future action if you include a word or a phrase that clearly indicates that the action will occur in the future.
We study The Grapes of Wrath next week.
Past Tense
Rule Use the past tense to express action that occurred in the past and was completed entirely in the past.
I took The Grapes of Wrath out of the library.
Future Tense
Rule Use the future tense to describe an action that will occur in the future.
I will take it to school with me tomorrow.
Present Perfect Tense
Rule Use the present perfect tense to describe an action that was completed either in the recent past or at an indefinite time in the past.
I have just read The Grapes of Wrath.
Past Perfect Tense
Rule Use the past perfect tense to describe an action that was completed by a certain time in the past or before another action was completed.
I head read the whole book before I realized that I could have waited until the end of the week.
Future Perfect Tense
Rule Use the future perfect tense to describe a future action that will be completed before another future action will be completed.
I will have finished my book review before the rest of the class begins.
Nature and Time Reference of the Verbal Activity
The nature of the verbal activity can be indicated through the specific character of the verb, the verbal categories and through some lexical means. The time reference of an activity is indicated mainly through the category of tense.
The Specific Character of the Verb
By the specific character of the verb we mean the ability (or inability) of a verb to convey the character or nature of the activity for which it is a linguistic symbol. In this respect verbs fall into two classes: terminative—conveying the notion of an activity which has a final aim in view, a certain limit beyond which it cannot be continued, and durative—with no final aim in view, no limit beyond which it would be impossible for the activity to be continued. Typical representatives of the first class are verbs such as find, lose, stop, drop, marry, etc., and of the second class—love, want, work, sleep, etc. By far the largest group of verbs in English, however, are classed as mixed. The following examples
John loved Mary.
John married Mary.
show that the verb “love” is of durative nature and the verb “marry”—terminative. In
John knew his lesson.
John knew me the moment he saw me.
the verb “know” is durative in the first example and terminative in the second. In an example such as
John stood at the door.
the verb “stand” (stood) may be interpreted in two ways: either as durative or as terminative. The real nature of the activity will be recognized in a larger context:
John stood at the door, watching the children play.
John stood at the door and began to knock.
Similarly, the verb “find” in the sentence
John found a dollar on his table.
would be interpreted normally as a terminative momentary verb, but a larger context may reveal different nature:
John found a dollar on his table every morning.
Terminative repeated activity
The above examples (and a lot of others that anyone can think of) make it clear that in the case of the English verb we should speak of the inability rather than of the ability of English verbs to convey the nature of an activity through some inherent features. As a result, the English speaker is compelled to resort to other means of indicating the nature of an activity, i.e. lexical and grammatical.
Lexical Means of Indicating the Nature of an Activity
The following methods are employed in English for this purpose:
A. The use of adverbial elements
B. The use of nouns homonymous with the corresponding verbs
C. The use of link verbs
A. Verbs are often combined with adverbial elements and that results in the formation of new verbs, widely known as phrasal verbs: come in, go out, take up, etc. The function of some adverbial elements in such combinations is to modify the nature of the activity. Various connotations can be implied in this way: the beginning of an activity (light up, doze off), the momentary character of an activity (cry out, sit down, wake up), the bringing of an activity to an end or getting to a certain limit (drink up, drink down, pay off, hear out), the slow completion of an activity (melt down, fade away, die away), the completion of an activity from beginning to end (read through, search through), the performance of an immediate activity tout de suite, without any hesitation or delay (fire away! sing away!), the repetition of an activity (make over, read over), the continuation of an activity (sleep on, work on), the uninterrupted nature of an activity (work away, chatter away), end of motion (settle down), distribution (give out, share out, ladle out), decreased intensity (slow down), the mass character of an activity (die off).
B. Some common verbs such as “give,” “have,” and “take” combine with nouns which are homonyms of verbs such as “smile,” “look,” “smell,” etc. The resulting phrase
give a smile have a look take a smell
give a laugh have a swim take a look
give a sign have a shave take a walk
give a try have a smoke take a turn
give a pull have a walk take a pull
will convey the momentary character of the activity symbolized by the homonymous verbs “smile,” “look,” “smell,” etc.
C. Link verbs combine with (a) adjectives and with (b) prepositional phrases to indicate change from one stage to another; with (c) to-infinitives to indicate the beginning of an activity:
(a) Things are growing/getting/becoming worse.
He grew/became pale. [gradual process]
He turned/went pale. [sudden change]
His dream came true.
Rivers run dry for want of rain.
(b) The vase came to pieces in my hand.
(c) How did you first come to hear about it?
The auxiliary “get” combines with the -ing participle and with the preposition “to” + -ing participle to indicate the beginning of an activity:
(a) Let’s get moving.
But since I have to leave I’d like to get going. (R. Ellison)
(b) Well, one day we got to talking and she told me she wanted to be a nun. (B. Malamud)
The verbal categories which participate in determining the nature of the verbal activity are tense, aspect, correlation, and assertion. These are discussed in greater detail below.
Tense
All activity is placed in time. Time can be past, present, and future. Past time is all time extending up to the present moment, provided that it excludes the present moment. Present time is any period of time, short, long, or eternal, that includes the present moment. Future time either follows the present moment, or a past one.
The linguistic category tense is closely related to the notion of time in the physical world. Forms such as wrote, went, took, etc., clearly reflect events completed before the time of the utterance. In forms such as writes, goes, takes (sometimes also write, go, take) the temporal notion is vaguer, and what is more certain than that it refers to present time is that it does not refer to past time. Sometimes the present tense is used to indicate future activities (The train starts at five o’clock tomorrow.) and sometimes even past events (John the Baptist says ...).
Before proceeding with the other categories, let us consider the following sentences:
(1) He wrote a letter.
(2) He was writing a letter.
(3a) He had written a letter.
(3b) He had been writing a letter.
(4a) He would write a letter.
(4b) He would be writing a letter.
(4c) He would have written a letter.
(4d) He would have been writing a letter.
The verb phrase in (1) is, as you can see, a past tense form. (2) preserves the connotation “past” in the form of the auxiliary “was,” but at the same time it adds a new connotation through the -ing participle of “write” (writing), or rather through its association with “was.” (3a) likewise preserves the connotation “past” in the auxiliary “had,” adding at the same time a new connotation through the past participle of “write” (written), or rather through its association with “had.” (3b) combines the two new connotations through the past participle form “been” and the -ing participle form “writing” which in their turn are associated with the past tense form “had.” (4a), (4b), (4c), and (4d) acquire a new connotation through the modal auxiliary “would,” but the connotation “past” is still there.
As is seen in the above examples, the only connotation that is indispensably present in each verb phrase is past, i.e. the only category that a verb phrase cannot do without is the tense category.
In what follows, we will be discussing the other connotations appearing in sentences (2) through (4d), i.e. the categories determining the nature of the verbal activity.
Aspect
In comparing sentences such as
He wrote a letter to his girlfriend yesterday.
We often write letters to our friends abroad.
with sentences like
He was writing a letter when I came.
We are writing letters now.
we notice that the difference between “wrote” and “was writing,” or between “write” and “are writing” is not in the timing of the activity but in the fact that the attention of the listener is drawn to the different nature of the activity. The activity indicated by “wrote” is represented as a completed act, the activity of “write” is habitual, and in “was writing” and “is writing” the activities appear to have started before the moment referred to (indicated by “came” in the first, and by “now” in the second of the examples); the beginning is left unspecified and is not implied in any way; the activities are still continuing at the moments indicated and are expected to continue after them. The most characteristic feature of the nature of each of these activities is that at the moment indicated the activity is in progress. This “be” + -ing participle verb phrase may sometimes have additional connotations, but its predominant feature remains the connotation of progress, continuity through a period of time and cutting through a moment, incompletion, and duration, no matter how long.
The distinction pointed out in the above examples is fundamentally one determining the very nature of the activity. The specified representation of the aspect category is widely known as the progressive aspect. The absence of the progressive aspect is referred to as non-progressive. The progressive aspect is marked through the presence of the -ing participle combined with a form of the auxiliary “be.”
Non-Progressive Verbs
Verbs generally known as non-progressive do not normally appear in the progressive. The verbs included in this class fall into the following sub-classes:
(a) Verbs of mental abilities and activities: know, understand, remember, forget, think, believe, doubt, recall, recollect, trust;
(b) Verbs of perception or bodily sensation: see, hear, smell, taste, feel, ache, hurt, itch;
(c) Verbs expressing psychological states: like, dislike, love, hate, detest, admire, mind, hope, want, wish, desire;
(d) Verbs of state: contain, belong, matter, deserve, consist, depend, cost, include, involve, lack, need, owe, require, resemble, suffice, tend, own, possess, have (=possess);
(e) Link verbs: be, look, seem, sound, remain.
Yet, there are a good many examples which prove that most of the above verbs can make the progressive use possible, but that is always accompanied by a shift of meaning:
I imagine it’s late. [suppose, think]
Shift of meaning: You are imagining too many things. [forming a wrong mental picture]
Do you mind my opening the window? [object to]
Shift of meaning: He is minding the baby while his wife is at work. [taking care of]
Do you think he is right? [believe, consider; Is it your opinion?]
Shift of meaning: What are you thinking about? [pondering]
Shift of meaning: Where are you thinking of going on vacation? [intend]
The progressive appears also in cases where the verbs “smell,” “taste” and “feel” suggest direct activity. Compare
I smell something burning. The pigsty smells nasty.
I taste salt in the soup. The milk tastes sour.
I feel something hard. The surface feels rough.
with
She was smelling the cod suspiciously.
The cook is tasting the soup.
The phrenologist is feeling her bumps.
Progressive usage can also be an indication of habitual or sporadic repetition of an activity performed over longer or shorter periods (a); intensity of sensation or feeling (b); increasing or decreasing activity (c); gradual disintegration of a body of facts or of acquired knowledge (d).
(a) You are always doubting my words.
All my life I have been losing friends.
(b) What are you wanting to tell me? (C.P. Snow)
(c) She is looking more and more like her mother.
It is mattering less and less now.
(d) I am forgetting my French.
(But: I forget your name. [=I have forgotten your name.]
The full verb “be” very commonly appears in the progressive with a meaning “behave like,” “show oneself as”:
Mary is being a good girl today.
You are being silly.
Correlation
Let us consider the following sentences:
(1) I write letters every day.
(2) I have written five letters.
(3) I wrote a letter to my friend yesterday.
(4) I had written the letters by twelve o’clock.
(5) I have lived in this town for ten years now.
(6) I had lived in New York City for ten years when the war started.
In all these examples, the time reference (present in (1), (2), and (5) and past in (3), (4), and (6)) is apparent. But in (2), (4), (5), and (6) the time reference (to the present moment or to the past moment) is essentially different from that in (1) and (3). The present tense (1), though it does not concentrate attention on the present moment only, indicates an activity which, at any rate, is regularly repeated in a period of time which surrounds the present moment. The past tense (3) clearly points to an event in a past situation, dissociated from the present. This is not, however, the case with (2), (4), (5), and (6). In (2) and (4), the activity is shown as preceding a moment, no matter past or present, and somehow affecting the situation associated with that moment (now the letters are ready; at twelve o’clock I had no more letters to write). In (5) and (6), the events are again very specifically related to the present and past moments: they continue into them.
The distinctions shown are characteristic of a category which we call correlation. Wherever the distinction is present, we have cases of perfect correlation. Its absence may be referred to as non-perfect.
Assertion
We will again have to consider a few examples, or rather compare examples containing “can,” “may,” “will,” etc. + infinitive verb phrases with examples in the present and the past tense, i.e. examples in which only the tense category is present.
(1) They write letters every day.
(2) They wrote the letters last night.
(3) They will write the letters tomorrow.
(4) They would write the letters if they knew English.
(5) They can write the letters in English.
The connotations implied in (1) and (2) correspond to events involved in reality, indisputable, completed, or being under way. Those implied in (3), (4), and (5) correspond to events outside reality, no matter whether they are possible, probable, intended, quite certain to happen in the near future, and so on. Both types of phrases—the verb phrases “write” and “wrote” and the verb phrases “will write,” “would write,” and “can write”—assert the relation of the verbal activity to reality, as stated by the speaker, but this relation being of two radically different types, is asserted in two different ways: the first type of relation, in which the activity is represented as real by the speaker, is asserted without reference to possibility, probability, intention, etc.; the second type of relation is asserted with the help of modal auxiliaries which are indicative of just that sort of modality—possibility, probability, intention, etc. In this case, we are dealing with another grammatical category, that is assertion. Assertion can be factual (unmarked) and relative (marked). Factual assertion deals with truth-value. It represents an activity as true or untrue:
They wrote (or: they didn’t write) the letters last night.
Relative assertion has no truth-value with respect to the occurrence of the event; it asserts a specific relation between the event and the factual world.
Choice
One very important fact should by now have become clear, i.e. more often than not, a verb phrase is the bearer of the structural features and meanings of more than one verbal category, or, more precisely, of more than one marked verbal category. This fact is of crucial importance when the problem of choice arises. The difficulties involved here are felt in several directions: the timing of the activity, its nature, etc. Most often a situation will require the simultaneous expression of two, three, or even more categories. For instance, in the sentence
At the meeting he spoke in English.
the activity is only indicated as referring to past time. No special reference is made to anything else but the time of the activity. In other words, only the tense category is marked. The rest of the categories are left unmarked and can, therefore, be considered absent. But in
He has spoken English for ten years.
the verb phrase “has spoken” contains two connotations: the connotation of time reference indicated by “has” (for “had” would have referred the activity to a past moment) and the connotation of perfect indicated by the combination “have” + past participle. In the sentence
He has been speaking English for two hours.
a new element is added by marking the progressive nature of the activity, namely by indicating that the activity has been in progress during a period of time (and that is indicated by the -ing participle of the full verb as related to a form of the auxiliary “be”), while the connotations present and perfect are preserved, the former by means of “has,” and the latter by means of the combination “has” + past participle (this time, however, the past participle of “be”).
One more connotation, relative assertion, might be added through a modal auxiliary.
He would have been speaking English for two years now if his father had been appointed ambassador to the United States two years ago.
Another major difficulty lies in the variety of meanings which the verbal forms have developed. A present tense form, for example, may refer an activity to all three divisions of time: present, past, and future.
At this moment the curtain rises and the play starts. [present]
And then he starts shouting that ... [past]
The play starts in five minutes. [future]
Activities Associated With Present Time
Activities associated with present time can spread over periods of most varied length. They can be placed within the limits of the very moment of speaking, or in periods lasting for minutes, hours, weeks, months, years, centuries, eternity. The period itself may be left unspecified. One thing is certain, however: the activity, as an uninterrupted whole or as a string of repeated occurrences, includes the present moment.
I General Truths and Characteristic Features
These are indicated by the present tense (a) and a “will” + infinitive structure.
(a1) Light travels faster than sound.
Oil floats on water.
Water boils at 100 degrees Centigrade.
Cats eat mice.
(a2) Mary speaks French fluently.
John plays the banjo.
Bob likes going to theaters.
The Germans grow potatoes.
The bucket leaks.
(b1) Oil will float on water.
Water will boil at 100 degrees Centigrade.
Plants will die without water.
(b2) People will do anything when they are drunk.
II Habitual and Repeated (Recurrent) Activities
These are indicated by the present tense, the present progressive, the present perfect, and the present perfect progressive.
A. Obviously habitual or characteristic activities, with strongly implied repetition, are indicated by the present tense:
We go to work every day.
The milkman calls on Sundays.
I always take sugar in tea.
Peter always comes late.
Joe always asks my advice.
He always reads at meals.
Roger goes to the theater every Friday.
After lunch Mary sleeps for two hours.
I always break the eggs first.
Professor Jenkins types his own letters.
I write for the papers. [It is my profession.]
B. The present progressive occurs in this use to indicate: (a) characteristic activities—necessarily with adverbs such as always, continually, constantly, etc.; this use of the present progressive imparts a subjective, emotionally colored tone; it may imply surprise, irritation, reproach, etc.; (b) habitual or repeated activities in a limited period of time; (c) increasing or decreasing activity:
(a) Peter is always coming late.
You are always taking sugar in your tea.
Jack is always reading at meals.
Mary is always breaking things.
He is always asking my advice.
You are always giving me presents. [you shouldn’t]
I’m always saying what I shouldn’t say.
You are continually making poor excuses.
He is forever losing his money.
(b) The professor is typing his own letters. [these days]
I am writing for the papers. [It is a temporary job.]
(c) More and more people are buying BMWs.
The Browns are visiting us more and more often.
Less and less people are going to the theater.
It should be noted that the activities in the above examples are more or less sporadic. If, however, the activity takes place at set times (which is sometimes indicated by the context through some reference to repeated points of time), the present tense is normally used.
I always break the eggs first.
The car always breaks down when I start for home.
In combination with a present tense form, the progressive may give greater immediacy to the activity in a more or less general statement.
A man who does his work well and honestly is serving his country as well as anybody.
Two parallel habitual activities may be indicated by the progressive (a), but more often one of the activities is indicated by the present tense. In such cases, the activity indicated by the progressive is felt to be a sort of frame activity implying longer duration (b); if the different duration of one of the activities does not need particular emphasis, the two activities are indicated by the present tense (c).
(a) When children are doing nothing they are doing mischief.
(b) I am usually doing my homework when he comes.
He smokes while he is working.
What do you think of when you are thinking?
(c) He smokes while he works.
The first of the examples below contains two simultaneous activities, while the second implies successive activities.
Whenever I see him, he is running away.
Whenever I see him, he runs away.
C. The present perfect can also indicate repeated activities, especially if the activity is placed within the limits of a period of time (a). If the activity is placed in a more limited period of time, the present perfect progressive is more likely to occur (b).
(a) Bob has called on us for many years now.
I have seen people struggle to the top only to fall again. [implied period: during my life]
(b) We have been visiting him often lately.
I have been getting up very early this month.
Your wife has been ringing up every five minutes all afternoon.
Two parallel repeated activities are normally indicated by the present perfect or the present perfect progressive.
When I have been in Boston, I have seen her pretty often.
Whenever I have seen him he has been scratching his nose.
There have been times when I have had my doubts.
The past tense form for one of a series of similar activities, sometimes the one in the when-section, would refer that activity to time points dissociated from the present moment.
Many a time, when I felt lonely and abandoned, I have taken refuge in Umberto Eco’s books.
There have been times when I have disliked other Jews—simply because I suffered through being one. (C.P. Snow)
III Activities Extending Down to the Present Moment
Uninterrupted activities spreading over a usually specified period of time including the present moment are indicated by the present perfect (for longer periods) (a) and the present perfect progressive (for shorter periods or when the activity is felt by the speaker to be temporary) (b).
(a) I have spoken Italian for forty years.
James has lived in New York City since 1995.
(b) I have been speaking Italian for two hours (now).
James has been living in New York City since 1995.
The period extending down to the present moment may be indicated in several different ways: (a) by a modifier introduced by the preposition “for” if it indicates the whole period; (b) by a modifier introduced by the preposition “since” (often “ever since”) if it marks only the beginning of the period and leaves it to the hearer to figure out its length for himself; (c) by another activity introduced by the conjunction “since” (often “ever since”) followed by the past tense if that activity indicates only the starting point of the period; (d) by another activity introduced by “since” (often “ever since”) followed by the perfect (non-progressive as well as progressive) if that activity spreads over the whole period.
(a) I have known him for ten years (now).
I have been reading for two hours (now).
(b) I have known him since 1995 (since childhood; since the end of the war; since Paris, i.e. since we were in Paris together).
I have been reading since two o’clock.
This feeling has been growing on me ever since the morning.
(c) I have known him since the war ended.
I have lived here ever since I became a teacher.
I have been reading ever since you went out.
(d) I have lived here ever since I have been a teacher.
I have been reading ever since you have been out.
I have been reading ever since you have been cooking.
Occasionally, informal speech may admit of the present perfect instead of the past tense in (c).
I have lived here ever since I have become a teacher.
I have been reading ever since you have gone out.
IV Activities Cutting Through the Present Moment
Activities cutting through the present moment are normally indicated by the present progressive. They can spread over a period of time of different length which, though not indicated, can more or less be implied by the context.
(a) I am writing a letter.
(b) I am writing a book.
A very important fact about the above examples is that (a) contains the implication that the statement is made at a moment when the activity is in actual progress, whereas the activity in (b) may not be in progress at the very moment when the statement is made, but nevertheless is spread, though sporadically, over a period including the present moment. Similarly, the question What are you doing? may convey two different connotations, i.e. either “What are you occupied with at the moment?” or “What is your occupation at present?”, i.e. yesterday, today, tomorrow, these days, nowadays. Accordingly, the answer may be: (Don’t you see?) I am cleaning the car. Or: I am giving private lessons. The question What do you do? normally means “What is your profession?”
The present tense may occasionally occur in similar use with some questions which are actually concealed commands (a) or in exclamations (b).
(a) Why do you ask such a silly question?
Why do you talk so fast?
(b) How strangely you talk!
Look at the way he walks!
Yet, the progressive would not be impossible:
Why are you talking so fast?
In the examples
(a) I say he should go.
(b) I call it an outrage.
the implications are: (a) “That is my opinion.” and (b) “That is my name for it.”
In the examples
You answer much better than you answered at the last lesson.
Yesterday he talked nonsense. Today he talks like an expert.
the present tense indicates the contrast between the present and the past activity. The progressive, however, would not be impossible.
You are answering much better than you answered at the last lesson.
Yesterday he talked nonsense. Today he is talking like an expert.
V Activities Concurring With the Present Moment
Activities concurring (coinciding) with the present moment and completed within its limited boundaries are indicated by the present tense. Such activities occur in commentaries (a), demonstrations (b), stage directions (c), cases in which words themselves form part of the activity they report (d).
(a) ... and now Johnson passes the ball to Williams, and Williams scores!
He hits him again, right on the jaw.
(b) I now place the turkey in the oven.
(c) ... (goes to cupboard and opens it) ...
(d) I name this ship Alberta.
I declare the meeting closed.
Past Activities
I Habitually Repeated Past Activities
Habitually repeated past activities are most commonly indicated by the past tense (a), but also by the past progressive (b), “used to” + infinitive (c), and “would” + infinitive (d).
(a) I saw him every day.
(b) I was seeing him every day.
(c) I used to see him every day when I lived in Des Moines.
(d) I would see him every day.
The difference between the used to-phrase and the would-phrase is that the former matches the events to the whole period, while the latter matches them singly to their separate occasions.
I used to see him every day when I lived in Des Moines. [the whole period]
Whenever he came to see me we would discuss his family affairs. [only the separate occasions]
Sometimes the used to-phrase is used to stress the contrast between a present and a past situation.
II Non-Habitual Past Activities
Normally such activities are indicated by the past tense or the past progressive.
The past tense is used to indicate (a) instantaneous or completed past activities, (b) a succession of activities (in narration, history, etc.), (c) repeated instantaneous activities, (d) non-instantaneous activities placed in temporal limitations.
(a) I saw him yesterday.
He hit me.
(b) He opened the door and asked the time.
Napoleon was born in 1769. He got his education and then passed into artillery in 1785.
I rolled over the edge of the bed and sat up. I turned on the lamp and looked at my watch. I picked up the phone and gave the operator the number. (H. Robbins)
(c) He hit me for a long time.
He opened the door every five minutes asking the time.
(d) He lived in Dallas for a year (or: all his life).
I read in the library all morning (or: from nine until twelve).
The Romans were masters of the world for centuries.
The progressive will indicate (a) progress, (b) incompletion, (c) temporariness, (d) greater vividness and immediacy, (e) contrast with the present.
(a) I was reading all morning.
I was reading in the library between nine and twelve.
(b) I was reading a book that evening. (But: I read a book that evening.)
(c) At that time we were living in Chicago.
(d) We were sitting by the fire and were talking all last night.
(e) To think that yesterday we were listening to wedding bells!
Native speakers often use the past tense to indicate incomplete activities. Thus a statement such as
I painted the house this morning.
may be ambiguous and may invite the reaction: What? The whole of it?
Sometimes the present tense is used to indicate past events. This happens: (a) when a speaker or a writer wants to represent a past activity as vividly as if it were present, (b) when introducing quotations or making references to opinions expressed in books, (c) when telling about events in a play, novel, etc.
(a) I don’t know what has come over him: last night he comes home and as soon as he sets eyes on her he starts shouting and calling her all sorts of names.
(b) It says in the Bible ...
Shakespeare says: “The fool doth think he is wise: but the wise man knows himself to be a fool.”
(c) No less than six people are killed at the end of the play.
Bulgarian students of English are tempted to use the present perfect in historical texts:
The Turks took Constantinople in 1453.
Not: The Turks have taken Constantinople in 1453.
Writers of history sometimes use the present tense instead of the past tense:
The Greeks appear in the dim light before the dawn of history.
As a rule, the past tense is compulsory when the activity is referred to past time expressed by a modifier, or in questions with “when” asking about the time of a past activity:
I saw him yesterday, last week, a minute ago, etc.
When did you see him?
When did he arrive?
I didn’t see him last week.
When did his mother-in-law arrive?
III Parallel Past Activities
Two parallel (simultaneous) activities extending over a certain period of time are indicated either by the progressive, which would imply incompletion as regards the nature of the activity, (a) or the past tense for completed activity (b).
(a) While I was reading he was listening to his new records.
(b) While he heard his new records I read a short story.
The verbs “sit,” “stand,” and “lie,” being of a durative nature, usually take the past tense and not the progressive even when the nature of the activity is apparently progressive:
While we were talking he stood by the door.
He lay while I was working.
Similarly:
He gazed at his wife while she sang.
As he spoke, he walked up and down the room.
In order to avoid repetition of the same grammatical structure, a speaker may combine non-progressive and progressive:
While we dined a brass band was rather tackily playing.
or
While we were dining a brass band played tackily.
IV Past Activities Related to a Past Moment
A past activity either cuts through the past moment (a), or stretches up to it (b), or is performed by that moment but affects the situation at that moment (c).
(a) I was reading at five o’clock.
I was reading when he came.
(b) I had been reading for two hours by five o’clock.
I had been reading for two hours when he came.
I had lived in the United States for three years by 1963.
I had lived in the United States for three years when President Kennedy was assassinated.
(c) I had written the letter by five o’clock.
I had written the letter when he came (or: by the time he came).
When in ordinary succession, two activities are normally both indicated by the past tense because it is generally considered that in such cases you relate a story that took place in the past. By using the past perfect for the earlier of the activities, however, we can put specific emphasis on the fact that this activity precedes the other.
I saw him an hour before you arrived.
I had seen him an hour before you arrived.
Special attention should be paid to the use or prepositions:
I was reading at five o’clock.
I read till five o’clock.
By five o’clock I had read the book.
Also, take heed of the conjunctions associated with “hardly,” “scarcely,” and “no sooner”:
I had hardly (scarcely) gone out when it started raining.
I had no sooner gone out than it started raining.
An initial position of “hardly,” “scarcely,” and “no sooner” causes inversion:
Hardly (Scarcely) had I gone out when it started raining.
No sooner had I gone out than it started raining.
V Past Activities Associated With the Present Moment
Past activities can be associated with the present moment in two ways: either because the period referred to is not over by the time the statement is made, or because the activity affects the present situation. These two cases will be discussed separately.
A. Past activities performed within the limits of a period including the moment when the statement is made (provided that this period is indicated in the statement by modifiers such as this morning, today, this week, this year, etc.) are indicated either by non-progressive present perfect (a) or by the past tense (b).
(a) I have seen him twice today.
(b) I saw him twice today.
In the second example, the speaker is emphasizing the occasion itself, thus intentionally dissociating it from the present moment. It may also imply “when I was out,” etc. In the sentence
I saw him this morning.
the speaker may have two different reasons for using the past tense: either his desire to emphasize the occasion (see above), or the fact that he is making the statement after the period is over, i.e. in the afternoon or in the evening.
B. A past activity may interest the speaker only as far as it affects the present situation. Such activities are indicated either by the present perfect or the present perfect progressive. In the sentence
I have opened the window.
it is not the activity itself that the speaker wants to draw attention to, but the fact that now the window is open, that it is no longer shut. When someone says that he has finished his work one implication may be that now he can do whatever he likes; when someone says that he has cut his finger the implication may be that now he cannot write, or work, or shoot, or play the piano; when someone says that he has lost his watch the implication may be that now he cannot tell the time, or has to buy a new one, etc., etc. The statement
He has come.
has a positive effect on the situation, i.e. “he is here now.” The statement
He hasn’t come.
also affects the present situation, the implication being “he isn’t here now.” And so with
I have read all of Shakespeare’s plays.
“now I am quite an expert on Shakespeare.” And
I haven’t read a single play by Shakespeare.
may mean “I have no idea of his work.” The negative connotation may be contained in a negative adverb, never, for example, which would require an affirmative verb phrase:
I have never heard of such a thing.
together with the more emotional
I never heard of such a thing.
The present perfect normally implies completion, and the present perfect progressive—incompletion, continuity, progress, repetition, sometimes even disapproval.
Who has eaten my dinner? [Possible result: There is nothing left of it]
Who has been eating my dinner? [Possible result: There is some left of it; also disapproval]
Who has been using my computer?
What have you been doing with yourself? Look at your face. It’s all soot.
I have been chopping wood all day.
It has been raining all night.
What’s wrong with Steve tonight? He looks as if he’s been seeing ghosts. (Thomas Wolfe)
The occurrence of modifiers which dissociate the activity from the present prevents the use of the perfect:
I saw him yesterday. Never: I have seen him yesterday.
But even without mentioning such a modifier, we can, if necessary, dissociate an activity from the present by simply indicating it by the past tense:
Did you see him? Did you talk to him about it?
The use of a past tense form in the above examples refers the activity to a past period, to a time-point in the past (as distinct from the indefinite reference in “Have you seen him?” or “Have you talked to him?”) and the implications here are: “Did you see him yesterday, last night, when you were at the office?”, “Did you talk to him last night, when you saw him?”, etc. So also the implication of “Did you sleep well?” will be “last night,” while that of “Have you slept well?” will be “Are you rested now?” And, similarly, “Did you read that novel of Maugham’s?”—”when it was first published or being talked about,” or “when I lent it to you,” etc., but “Have you read that novel of Maugham’s?”—”Do you know about it?,” “Can we talk about it?,” “May I have it back now?,” etc.
On the other hand, the activity is sometimes so strongly felt as being relevant to the present situation that irrespective of such modifiers as twenty years ago, a week ago, (a) long (time) ago, centuries ago, in the past, and so on, the activity is indicated by the present perfect as is exemplified if the following quotations from some writers:
One thing I’ve discovered a long time ago. (J. Osborne)
There’s no time tonight to resurrect matters that I’ve settled with you long ago. (Charles Percy Snow)
They ask me about something I’ve said years ago. (Charles Percy Snow)
It is this which has prevented him from leaving her twenty years ago. (J. Osborne)
A man who has celebrated his sixtieth birthday a week ago should be able to leave servants alone. (C. Mackenzie)
Their Empire has vanished centuries ago, but their influence is everywhere. (C. Mackenzie)
What I’ve done in the past and what I may do in the future are utterly beside the point. (Charles Percy Snow)
This usage, however, should not be imitated by foreign students of English.
The present perfect is quite commonly used with “before”:
Have you met before? I have never seen him before.
One use of the present perfect that regularly embarrasses the Bulgarian student of English is with an activity which is being performed or has just been performed for the first, second, third, etc. time, and that fact is specified in the context:
It is the first time I have drunk Jack Daniels.
[Not: It is the first time I am drinking Jack Daniels.]
It’s the first time we’ve quarreled.
You’re the eleventh American I’ve met. (Jerome D. Salinger)
And respectively with a past time reference:
This was the first time she had ever worn an evening dress. [Keep an eye on the sequence of tense.]
With the adverb “just” accompanying an activity which has been performed very recently again the perfect is used:
I have just spoken to him.
They have just told me I am going to Detroit.
American English, however, uses the past tense in such cases. The sentence “I just spoke to him” will be interpreted in two different ways in American and British English. In American English the meaning is the same as the meaning of “I have just spoken to him” in British English. In British English it will mean “I only (or simply) spoke to him,” i.e. there is a shift of meaning of “just.”
A very common mistake with Bulgarian students of English is the use of the present tense instead of the present perfect for resultant activities in passive structures which they confuse with cases of regular activities:
These clothes are brought over from France. [regular activity]
These clothes have been brought over from France. [resultant activity]
The present tense may be used instead of the present perfect with communication verbs such as hear, tell, learn, write, etc.:
I hear you have won the prize.
John tells me you have been abroad.
VI Agreement of the Tense-Elements in Verb Phrases
This issue concerns the rules of what is known in traditional grammar as the “sequence of tenses,” the most general one being that a past element is compulsory in an object clause if the principal clause is in the past tense.
He knew (that) she loved him.
He didn’t know why he loved her.
He thought (that) she was reading.
He found out (that) they had already arrived.
I didn’t know (that) she had been waiting for me for more than an hour.
Future Activities
I Ways of Indicating Future Activities
will/shall + infinitive
will/shall + be + -ing participle
will/shall + be + past participle
will/shall + have + past participle
will/shall + have + been + -ing participle
will/shall + have + been + past participle
the present tense
the present progressive
Most of the modal auxiliaries may also have future time reference:
He can/may/must/ought to/daren’t/needn’t/has to/is to/is going to/had better, etc. do it tomorrow.
The connotations conveyed by “can” and “must” may also be indicated by “be able to” and “have to” added to will/shall:
I don’t think I’ll be able to do it tomorrow.
Perhaps you’ll have to contact the secretary first.
II Use of Will/Shall + Infinitive. Choice Between Will and Shall
The combination of will/shall + infinitive is not very common in modern English as a means of indicating future activities. It is more or less neutral and colorless.
I’ll be at home tonight.
I’ll first talk to her mother and then to her father.
I do hope he’ll pass his exams.
“Will” is associated with all personal pronouns and other words functioning a subjects. “Shall” occurs with “I” and “we” as a free variation, but American English almost exclusively prefers “will” even in this association. “You and I,” “he and I” occur only with “will.”
The use of “will” in the first person singular may indicate, predominantly in American English, helplessness, perplexity, etc.:
What will I do?
How will I get there?
Which one will I take?
In the first person plural “will” may help the speaker avoid misunderstanding:
What will we drink?
What shall we drink? [asking for instructions]
In strictly literary use “shall” may be associated with “you” in question structures:
I want to see you. Shall you be long? (Charles Percy Snow)
The passive version of a verb phrase in the will/shall + infinitive structures uses the will/shall + be + past participle structure:
I do hope you will be invited to the party.
III Use of the Present Tense and the Present Progressive
The present tense is used to indicate immutable events, i.e. a decision or a fixed plan.
I start tomorrow.
We leave tonight.
The train leaves tonight from Chicago.
What time is the football match?
The present progressive is used in a similar way, but it may also suggest the idea of intention.
I am starting work tomorrow.
We’re leaving tonight.
He’s coming to help us tomorrow.
Are we going to the theater tonight?
We are having turkey for dinner on Sunday.
The present tense occurs in temporal and conditional clauses introduced by when, before, as soon as, until, if, in case, on condition (that).
We’ll start when (before, as soon as, if) he comes.
We’ll wait until (in case) he comes.
We’ll go on condition that you go too.
IV Use of Will/Shall + Be + -ing Participle
The will/shall + be + -ing participle is used to indicate (a) an activity in progress cutting through a future moment, (b) an activity in progress spread over a whole period if special attention is to be drawn to the durational nature of the activity, (c) a recurrent future activity (with emotional coloring), (d) greater tact and consideration in a question, (e) lack of definiteness, (f) slight irritation.
(a) We’ll be flying over Austria at eleven tomorrow.
(b) We’ll be packing all day tomorrow.
It’s no use trying to get me on the phone tomorrow morning: I’ll be working in the library from eight through twelve.
(c) She’ll be asking questions all the time.
She’ll be phoning every five minutes to ask how the child is.
(d) When will you be leaving?
When shall I be seeing you again?
(e) I will be calling on you one of these days. [lack of definiteness]
Finish your breakfast and we’ll be starting. [lack of definiteness]
(f) He’ll be telling me he’s a cannibal next.
The will/shall + be + -ing participle structure is used also to avoid the interpretation of volition, insistence, etc. to which “will,” “shall,” and “be going to” are liable:
He’ll do his best. [future or volitional interpretation possible]
He’ll be doing his best. [future interpretation only]
V Parallel Future Activities
In the case of two parallel future activities, the activity in the principal clause is usually indicated by the will/shall + be + -ing participle structure and the activity in the temporal clause—by the present progressive. A more definitely limited activity, however, is indicated by the will/shall + infinitive structure in the principal clause and by the present tense in the temporal subordinate clause.
I’ll be doing the vegetables while you’re fishing.
I’ll do the vegetables while you’re fishing.
I’ll be doing the vegetables while you catch the fish.
I’ll do the vegetables while you catch the fish.
VI Use of Will/Shall + Have + Past Participle and Will/Shall + Have + Been + -ing Participle
The will/shall + have + past participle structure indicates (a) an activity which will have been performed by a fixed point of time in the future or (b) an activity which will cover a period of time extending down to a fixed point of time in the future.
(a) He will have returned by then.
He will have written the book by the end of the summer.
(b) By the end of the year I’ll have worked here for 15 years.
The use of will/shall + have + been + -ing participle is similar to that of the will/shall + have + past participle structure in (b), only the durational and uninterrupted nature of the activity is given greater emphasis.
By the end of the year I’ll have been working here for 15 years.
The passive version of the will/shall + have + been + -ing participle structure has no corresponding passive structure in the standard language. The structure will/shall + have + been + -ing participle + past participle, e.g. will have been being examined, is sub-standard.
The present perfect turns up in temporal clauses:
The meeting will continue when (or: as soon as) the noise has stopped.
When you have seen the magazines, please, leave them on that shelf.
And similarly the present perfect progressive:
Wait until you have been doing it for some time and then we’ll talk again.
Under Bulgarian influence, Bulgarian students of English find it difficult to choose the correct preposition in cases like:
I’ll be working (or: I’ll work) till (or: until) tonight.
I’ll be through with my work by tonight.
VII Use of Be Going + to-Infinitive, Be About + to-Infinitive, Be on the Point of + -ing Participle
Be going + to-infinitive is used to indicate intention and planning (a), but occasionally it may occur with primary future reference (b).
(a) We’re going to punish him.
He’s going to be an engineer when he grows up.
(b) He felt as people must feel who are going to faint. (Herbert G. Wells)
Some connotations implied by the progressive may be felt here too:
Are you going to be staying long? [continuity]
Immediate future activity may be indicated by the phrases be about + to-infinitive and be on the point of + -ing participle:
We’re (just) about to leave.
He is on the point of fainting.
VIII Use of Be + to-Infinitive
Arrangement (a), command (b), and predestined future (c) are indicated by be + to-infinitive:
(a) We’re to be married soon.
There’s to be an investigation.
(b) You’re to be back by ten.
(c) If he’s to succeed in his new profession he ought to work very hard.
IX Past Time Future Reference
Past time future reference uses past forms:
We didn’t know we would be flying over Austria at eleven the next morning.
By the end of the year he would have worked there for fifteen years.
He believed he would have returned by then.
I thought I would be doing the vegetables while you were fishing.
They were going to punish him.
He was going to be a doctor when he grew up.
5 Learn the principal parts of the most common irregular verbs.
Although most verbs form their principal parts quite regularly, many of the most frequently used verbs are irregular. That is, their past tense and their past participle are not formed simply by adding -ed. The only way to master these irregular verbs is to memorize them.
The most important irregular verb is “to be,” often used as a helping verb. It is the only English verb that does not use the infinitive as the basic form for the present.
If you are unsure of the principal parts of a verb, always look in a dictionary. If the verb is regular, a dictionary will list only the present form, and you will know that both the past and the past participle are formed by adding -d or -ed. If the verb is irregular, a dictionary will give the forms of the principal parts.
The following is a list of the principal parts of the most common irregular verbs.
Present stem Past stem Past participle
arise arose arisen
awake awoke awoke/awakened
be was/were been
become became become
begin began begun
bid bid bid
bite bit bitten/bit
blow blew blown
break broke broken
bring brought brought
burst burst burst
buy bought bought
catch caught caught
choose chose chosen
cling clung clung
come came come
cut cut cut
dive dove/dived dived
do did done
draw drew drawn
dream dreamed/dreamt dreamed/dreamt
drink drank drunk
drive drove driven
eat ate eaten
fall fell fallen
find found found
flee fled fled
fly flew flown
forget forgot forgotten/forgot
forgive forgave forgiven
freeze froze frozen
get got gotten/got
give gave given
go went gone
grow grew grown
hang (things) hung hung
hang (people) hanged hanged
hear heard heard
hide hid hidden
hold held held
keep kept kept
know knew known
lay (to put) laid laid
lead led led
leave left left
let let let
lie (to recline) lay lain
lose lost lost
pay paid paid
prove proved proved/proven
ride rode ridden
ring rang rung
rise rose risen
run run run
say said said
see saw seen
set set set
shake shook shaken
shine shone/shined shone/shined
show showed shown
sing sang sung
sink sank sunk
sit sat sat
slide slid slid
speak spoke spoken
spin spun spun
spit spat/spit spat/spit
spring sprang/sprung sprung
stand stood stood
steal stole stolen
strive strove/strived striven/strived
swear swore sworn
swim swam swum
swing swung swung
take took taken
tear tore torn
throw threw thrown
tread trod trod/trodden
wake woke waked/woke/wakened
wear wore worn
weave wove woven
wind wound wound
wring wrung wrung
write wrote written
Tenses of Infinitives and Participles
Infinitives and participles have two tenses: the present and the perfect.
INFINITIVE PARTICIPLE
PRESENT to walk walking
PERFECT to have walked having walked
Rule Use infinitives and participles in the present tense to express action that occurs at the same time as that of the main verb.
PRESENT I wanted to walk in the Freedom March.
Walking with my brother, I saw hundreds of other people joining the March.
Rule Use infinitives and participles in the perfect tense to express action that takes place before the action of the main verb.
PERFECT To have walked in the Freedom March made me feel proud.
Having walked so far, I was glad when we finally reached the Lincoln Memorial.
Modality
I Ways of Indicating Modality
Modality is in the main indicated by modal verb phrases. The following combinations are possible:
aux + infinitive can go, must go, etc.
aux + to-infinitive ought to go
aux + be + -ing participle may be going
aux + have + past participle may have gone
aux + to be + -ing participle ought to be going
aux + to have + past participle ought to have gone
aux + have + been + -ing participle should have been going
aux + to have + been + -ing participle ought to have been going
Occasionally, modality is indicated by other types of verb phrases:
I wish I knew it. [the past tense; present time reference]
I wish I had known it. [the past perfect; past time reference]
I suggest that he go now. [the verb word]
II Obligation and Necessity
Obligation and necessity are indicated by “must” and “need” (also have to, have got to, be to). “Need” is most commonly used as the negative analog of “must.” The form “mustn’t” indicates a positive obligation not to act. Past time reference is indicated by the past tense of “have to”:
We had to wait long.
Why did it have to happen to Jack?
He would be tried because the accusation had been made. There didn’t have to be another reason. (Bernard Malamud)
An affirmative “need” is also possible:
I don’t know whether I need trouble you about it.
“Needn’t” can be combined with have + past participle. These combinations may have a past time reference (a) or a future time reference (b):
(a) You needn’t have knocked. [but you did]
(b) You needn’t have written it all when I come back.
The modal phrase be + to-infinitive (sometimes be due + to-infinitive) is very commonly used, especially when prearrangement is implied:
He’s to read a paper at tomorrow’s conference.
Who’s to tell him about the accident?
The cease-fire was due to come into effect a few hours ago.
In newspaper headlines the auxiliary is frequently omitted:
Busmen to Lead May Day March. [are to lead]
The use of “shall” is becoming obsolete:
Thou shalt not kill.
III Duty
Duty (also, strong reason) is indicated by “should” and “ought to”:
You should ask permission first.
You ought to be more polite to your parents.
We ought to be getting ready.
They oughtn’t to keep us waiting like this.
In combination with have + past participle both “should” and “ought to” indicate an activity which was not performed, but in the opinion of the speaker it would have been better or natural or correct if it had been performed (or vice versa, in negative structures):
You should have asked permission first.
You ought to have accepted the offer.
You shouldn’t have done it without permission.
You ought not to have accepted their proposal.
Though, rarely, such a phrase may have future time reference:
You ought to have read the novel by the time we start discussing it.
IV Advice, Admonition, and Recommendation
Advice, admonition, and recommendation are indicated by “should,” “might,” and “had better”:
You really should talk to him in private.
You might be a little more attentive.
You had better go now.
In combination with have + past participle, “might” may add the connotation of slight reproach (the time reference here is past):
You might have come a little earlier.
V Conclusion or Near Certainty
Conclusion or near certainty are expressed by “must,” “should,” and “ought to” (sometimes also “have to”):
She must be on the wrong side of thirty.
It should be about five o’clock now.
He ought to be there by now.
There must (or: has to) be a mistake.
“Must” in combination with have + past participle or have + been + -ing participle indicates an activity performed before the present moment or continuing into it:
He must have arrived last night.
He must have known her for more than a year.
You must have been waiting for more than an hour.
“Can,” occasionally “must,” is used in the interrogative:
Can there be a mistake?
Mustn’t there be another reason for his behavior?
“Can’t” is used in the negative:
He can’t be at home now.
He can’t have arrived last night.
There can’t be a mistake.
It can’t be five o’clock.
VI Ability
Ability is expressed by “can” or “be able to”:
He can speak Japanese very fluently.
As a boy he lived in Japan and at that time he could speak Japanese very fluently.
When he graduates he’ll be able to speak Japanese very fluently.
I’ve never been able to cope with this sort of situation.
A single successful achievement in the past is never indicated by “can”:
I ran fast and so was able to catch the bus. [but not could]
Yet “can” occurs normally to indicate failure:
I ran fast but still couldn’t catch the bus.
The combination could + have + past participle indicates an activity which was not performed though the possibility was there:
I had so much free time last year that I could have written a novel.
The modal phrase be + to-infinitive may also indicate ability:
Where is he to be found?
He is nowhere to be found.
VII Capacity or Power
Capacity or power is indicated by “will”:
This knife will not cut.
I had a knife that would not cut.
The door wouldn’t open.
I placed the chair as far from the door as it would go.
VIII Possibility
Possibility is indicated by “may” or “can”:
He may be there now. He can be there now.
Less certain activities are indicated by the past tense forms:
He might/could be there now. He might arrive tomorrow.
The interrogatives take “can” (sometimes “be likely to”):
That may be true. Can that be true? Is it likely to be true?
He may be lying. Can he be lying? Is he likely to be lying?
The negatives with “may” are different from the negatives with “can”:
He may not be serious. [it is possible that he isn’t serious]
He can’t be serious. [it is not possible that he is serious]
Past time reference is indicated by the past tense forms:
We might have meetings on occasional afternoons, but on the whole we were free after lunch.
He couldn’t be at home at that time so I didn’t call.
A possibility with past time reference is also indicated by the combination of “can” and “may” with have + past participle:
He may have arrived yesterday.
He can have been in bed at that time of night.
He might have arrived yesterday. [less certain]
He could have been in bed at that time of night. [less certain]
Unrealized events with past time reference are indicated by the same structure:
She might/could have spoken further, but she was interrupted by her hostess.
He might/could have been killed. [but he wasn’t]
An activity that is expected to be performed by a future moment is indicated by a combination of “can” and “may” with have + -ing participle:
I may have finished by tonight.
He can have gone by then.
IX Probability
Probability is indicated by “will” (or, less certain, by “would”):
This will be the book you’re looking for.
Ask him: he’ll know.
That’ll be the headmaster.
He’ll be in the library now.
That would be the general manager.
“Do you remember me?” — “No.” — “You wouldn’t.”
An emphasis on the progressive nature of the activity will require a combination with be + -ing participle:
She’ll still be waiting.
He will be wondering why we’re late.
Past time reference is indicated by a combination with have + past participle or have + been + -ing participle:
That will have been the headmaster.
Who would have taken it?
It would have been John who called.
He’ll have been wondering why we were so late last night.
X Permission
Permission is indicated by “may” or the less formal “can”:
You may put the meeting off. You can do as you like.
Tentative questions prefer “could” and “might”:
Could I borrow this book? Might I borrow this book?
XI Promise
Promise is indicated by “shall” and a 2nd or 3rd person subject, but this use is restricted in modern English:
Don’t worry about your doll; you shall have mine.
If he wants to be flattered, he shall be.
XII Insistence
Insistence may also be indicated by “shall” in the 2nd and 3rd person, but this use is restricted in modern English predominantly in legal and quasi-legal language:
You shall do as I say.
He shall be punished.
The vendor shall maintain the equipment in good repair.
Stressed “will” can also occur with this meaning:
He will do it whatever you say. [He insists on doing it.]
but
He shall do it whatever you say. [I insist on his doing it.]
XIII Volition and Willingness
Volition and willingness may be expressed by “can,” “could,” “will,” and “would”:
Can you pass the sugar?
Could you pass the sugar? [more polite]
Will you pass the sugar?
Would you pass the sugar?
I won’t be protected.
Strive as I would, I could not forget.
XIV Contrary-to-Fact Activities
Contrary-to-fact activities are introduced by “as if” or “as though” and are normally expressed (a) by the past tense if they are simultaneous with the activity of the main-clause verb, and (b) by the past perfect if they precede it:
(a) He treats me as though I were a stranger.
He shouted at me as if I were his servant.
(b) He shouted at me as if I had done something wrong.
More often than not, the form “were” is substituted for “was.” “As if” may indicate supposition where the present tense is used for normal present reference and the past tense—for normal past reference:
He looks as if he’s sick. Fetch a doctor.
He looked as if he was sick, so we sent for a doctor.
“As if” and “as though” are only used as conjunctions and the English rendering of the above Bulgarian sentences requires an introductory clause beginning with “He looks/seems,” “It was,” etc.:
He looks as if he’s ill. [Not: He as though/if is ill.]
It seemed (or: It was) as if everyone was against him.
or
Everyone seemed to be against him.
“Like” can also be used, but it is felt to be somewhat substandard:
He talks to me like I was his dog.
A would-phrase may also occur in similar usage:
“I’m Jennifer Cavilleri,” she said, “an American of Italian descent.” As if I wouldn’t have known. (E. Segal)
XV Commands
Commands are indicated by the base form (verb word):
Open the window. Shut the door. Stop talking.
To soften the abruptness, one might use markers of politeness (please, for instance) or other forms:
Please, open the window. Open the window, please.
Open the window, will you? Will you open the window, please?
Would you mind opening the window?
I wonder if you would mind opening the window?
Open the window, why don’t you.
The negatives use “do not” or “don’t”:
Don’t open the window, please.
Don’t open the window, will you?
A more emphatic use will either require a subject (a) or a do-emphasizer (b); the former frequently expresses irritation while the latter implies insistence or persuasion:
(a) You be quiet. [But not: Please, you be quiet.]
You mind your own business and leave this to me.
Somebody open the door.
Everybody shut their (your) eyes.
Jack and Catherine stand over there.
You come here, Jack, and you go there, Catherine.
Everybody behave yourselves (themselves).
The negative here is possible only with “don’t”:
Don’t you open the window. [But not: Do not you open the window.]
Don’t anyone open the window.
(b) Do tell me. Do stop talking. Do wait a minute.
1st and 3rd person uses “let” + me, him, her, it, us, them:
Let me open the door.
Let’s (Let us) open the door.
Let’s (Let us) not open the door.
Don’t let’s open the door. [informal]
Don’t let anyone fool himself that he can get away with it.
Do let’s go to the movies.
Passive structures, though rare, are quite possible:
Be seated. Do be seated.
Get washed. Do get washed.
Ellipsis occurs in short answers:
“Shall I open the window?” — Yes, do. (Please do.)
XVI Wishes
Wishes are indicated by the base (verb word) (a), the infinitive (very uncustomary and literary) (b), the past tense (with the form “were” substituting “was”—also very uncustomary and literary) (c), may + infinitive (d). Inversion is quite possible to occur sometimes.
(a) Success attend you.
The devil take that man.
Be that as it may, I’m sure he’s innocent.
God strike me dead if I’m lying to you.
Long live the King.
Be this a happy reunion.
So be it then.
Suffice it to say that she’s sixty.
Far be it from me to criticize such authorities.
(b) Oh, to be there now!
To see the mountains once more!
(c) Oh, that the storm were over!
Oh, were he only here!
(d) May our children never see another war.
XVII Use of “I Wish”
A more common pattern for expressing wishes, unreal and problematic, is the one with “I wish” as an introductory phrase. This may have present, past, or future time reference. The most common verb phrases that occur are: the past tense (with present and future time reference) (a), the past perfect (with past time reference) (b), the past progressive (future time reference) (c), and would + infinitive (present and future reference) (d):
(a1) I wish I knew.
I wish I could help you.
I wish I didn’t have to turn out in this foggy weather.
(a2) I wish I wasn’t/weren’t busy tomorrow night.
(b) I wish I had been with you last night.
(c) I wish I wasn’t going to the theater tonight.
(d1) I wish you wouldn’t be so silly.
(d2) I wish you would write to me more often.
I wish it would rain tomorrow.
I wish you would pack yourself off.
I don’t know what to do. I wish I would die. (Carson McCullers)
XVIII Other Cases
A few more cases of modality are worth mentioning:
(1) An interrogative shall + infinitive phrase:
Shall I wait here?
Shall we kiss goodbye?
(2) The modal auxiliary “dare” combined with the infinitive or have + past participle:
I daren’t do it.
I daren’t have asked him when I saw him.
(3) It’s (high) time + the past tense or the past progressive with no past time reference:
It’s time we ordered dinner.
Isn’t it high time you found a job?
It’s time we were getting up.
You’ve been in bed long enough—time you got up.
(4) Would rather:
(a) is used with the infinitive when the subject is the same, i.e. the so-called “preference for myself”:
I’d rather stay. I’d rather not go.
I’d rather be loved than respected.
(b) is followed by a clause in the past tense when the subject is different, i.e. the so-called “preference for another”:
I’d rather that we had dinner now.
I’d rather that you came tomorrow.
I would rather that people didn’t know about it.
(5) Verbs such as ask, insist, urge, require, recommend, and suggest often precede subordinate clauses beginning with “that” and containing the substance of the request or suggestion. The verb in such clauses should be in the subjunctive mood.
The psychologist urged that the patient be released.
The law required that he report weekly.
Julie’s mother insisted that she stay home.
Instructors commonly ask that papers be finished on time.
b Always observe the correct sequence of tenses.
If you have more than one verb in a sentence, you must be sure that the time of the verbs flows logically from one to the next. This means that past, present, and future actions must appear in sequences in a logical order.
While I am writing, I like to listen to the radio.
[Two actions take place at the same time—the present. Both are reported in verbs using the present tense.]
He says that Hamlet felt only self-pity.
[The action of saying appear in the present; it is a comment on something that happened in the past.]
Dickens was already famous when he made his first trip to America.
[The two verbs both report past action; both are in the simple past.]
The child was crossing the street when I saw the car bearing down on her.
[The past progressive is used with the simple past, the action “crossing” continuing to the definite point when I saw.]
He had been in Vietnam for a year when he began to write his book.
[The past perfect “had been” indicates an action in the past that continued before the action expressed in the simple past tense “began.”]
When I get up, he will have been gone for hours.
[A future time is indicated by the adverb “when” and the present “get up.” The future perfect “will have been gone” indicates an action that will be completed before the action of getting up takes place.]
Ordinarily, a past tense in the first clause of a sentence cannot be followed by the simple present, the present perfect, or a future tense.
Illogical: Sir Walter Scott wrote many novels because he is always in debt and needs to make money.
Illogical: Sir Walter Scott wrote many novels because he has been in debt and has needed to make money.
Illogical: Sir Walter Scott wrote many novels because he will be in debt, and he will need to make money.
Logical: Sir Walter Scott wrote many novels because he was always in debt and needed to make money.
However, you may use the present tense or the future tense in the second clause if it expresses a general truth always in force and follows a first clause containing a verb such as say, tell, report, agree, promise, and so on.
They agreed that relations between the sexes are difficult now.
[The subjects in these sentences commented in the past that some statement is always valid.]
He says that he will pay the bill next month.
[The present tense in the first clause is followed by a future tense.]
He says that he has paid the bill already.
[The present is followed by the present perfect, indicating an action with effects that continue to the present.]
He says that he paid the bill last month.
He says that he had paid the bill long before anyone complained.
[The past perfect indicates action completed before the action of the verb “complained” began.]
In other words, when two or more actions take place at the same time, you should use verbs that are in the same tense, particularly when you write compound sentences and sentences with compound predicates. Also, remember to use the same verb tense throughout a paragraph unless the meaning of the paragraph requires that you shift tense.
Rule Use verbs in the same tense to describe actions occurring at the same time.
Incorrect: Hugh bought the Our Town tickets, while the rest of us park the car.
Correct: Hugh bought the Our Town tickets, while the rest of us parked the car.
Shift in Tense If you need to show a shift from one time period to another, be sure to indicate accurately the relationship between the tenses. By changing forms and tenses, you can express precisely the time sequence that is required.
Rule If two actions occurred at different times in the past, use the past perfect tense for the earlier action and the past simple for the later one. To emphasize the closeness in time of two events, however, use the past simple for both.
Jackie Robinson had played college football before he entered professional baseball. [actions that occurred at different times in the past]
Robinson broke the color line in baseball and made it easier for other black athletes to enter professional sports. [past actions that were close in time]
Rule If two actions occur in the present but one began in the past, use the present perfect tense for the earlier action and the present simple tense for the later one.
Because she has been rehearsing all afternoon, Meg feels a sense of accomplishment.
Rule If two actions will occur in the future, use the future perfect tense for the action that will take place earlier and the future simple for the action that will occur later.
Because he will have been rehearsing Our Town for several weeks, we will be ready for opening night.
Exercise 1. On your paper, write each sentence, using the correct verb in parentheses.
SAMPLE We have been studying the presidency of Theodore Roosevelt and (know, knew) many facts about him.
ANSWER We have been studying the presidency of Theodore Roosevelt and know many facts about him.
1. Roosevelt had been vice president for only six months when President McKinley (had been, was) assassinated in September 1901.
2. Roosevelt had become so popular that millions of North Americans affectionately (called, had called) him “Teddy.”
3. After a cartoonist drew him with a bear cub, toymakers (had begun, began) making stuffed animals called “teddy bears.”
4. Roosevelt had always respected the environment, so during his presidency he (had proposed, proposed) legislation to protect the nation’s forests and other natural resources.
5. The policy of Roosevelt’s predecessors had resulted in colossal waste because it (was, had been) based on the idea that natural resources were inexhaustible.
6. As a result, forests had been cut without thought of future timber needs or erosion, and cattle ranchers and sheepherders (were allowed, had been allowed) to overgraze grassland.
7. Roosevelt supported legislation providing federal aid to irrigation projects and more than tripled the area of national forests; as a result he (will make, made) the cause of conservation popular.
8. By the time Roosevelt (was, had been) elected President, business monopolies or trusts had already become large and powerful; increasingly, people (had blamed, blamed) the trusts for rising prices.
9. After he (had signed, signed) a treaty for the construction of the Panama Canal, Roosevelt (says, said) that the act was his “proudest accomplishment.”
10. After scholars have praised Roosevelt’s conservation and trust-busting activities, they also (mention, mentioned) his promotion of the Pure Food and Drug Act.
c Use the mood of the verb that accurately expresses your meaning.
The mood of a verb expresses the attitude of the writer by showing the way in which an association is made. Verbs have three moods—the indicative, the subjunctive, and the imperative.
1 The indicative is used for simple statements of fact or for asking questions about the fact.
It is by far the most common mood of verbs in English.
The tide came in at six o’clock and swept almost to the foundation of our house.
[The indicative mood is used because this sentence makes a statement of fact not doubted by the writer.]
Can he be serious?
[The indicative is used because the question is asked with the expectation of a simple statement of fact as an answer. Questions are always in the indicative mood.]
2 The subjunctive conveys a wish, a desire, or a demand in the third person, or else it makes a statement the writer thinks is contrary to fact.
He requested that his son use the money to go to college.
[The verb “use” is in the subjunctive because it reports an action that is desired but not certain to take place. We don’t know if the son will honor the request or not. Notice that here, in the third person singular, the subjunctive form leaves off the customary final -s of the indicative. If the subject of the verb “use” were in the plural, the verb would be the same as if it were in the indicative.]
He requested that his sons and daughters use the money to go to college.
He asked that they never forget him.
Of the three moods, the subjunctive mood is the most infrequently used in conversation and in informal writing. It is primarily used in formal communications, especially in diplomatic statements and in parliamentary procedure. You also use the subjunctive mood, however, to make doubtful, wishful, or conditional statements; to express something that is contrary to fact; or to ask, insist, order, request, or propose in a respectful manner.
You can use verbs in the subjunctive mood in the present tense and in the past tense.
PRESENT SUBJUNCTIVE
If the truth be known, I am to be congratulated on my pop-art sculpture.
PAST SUBJUNCTIVE
If the truth were known, I should have been congratulated on my pop-art sculpture.
The most commonly used verb in the subjunctive mood is the verb “be,” used as a linking verb or as an auxiliary verb. For most verbs, the subjunctive form differs from the indicative only in the third person singular.
She will finish her job, come hell or high water.
[The form “come” in the third person singular is subjunctive.]
All people should enjoy equal opportunity, be they rich or poor.
[The form “be” is subjunctive.]
Use the subjunctive in a clause beginning with “if” when the clause makes a contrary-to-fact statement:
If only I were in Paris tonight!
I am not in Paris, alas! So the “were” in the if-clause is in the subjunctive mood.
If the moon were full on that night, he could have seen the murder as it happened.
[The subjunctive “were” tells us that the moon was not full on that fateful night; the indicative mood with “was” would tell us that the statement may be true.]
Were she my daughter, I would not permit her to date that member of the motorcycle gang.
[She is not my daughter; therefore, the subjunctive “were” is used as the verb.]
Use the subjunctive mood in clauses beginning with “that” after verbs that give orders or advice or express wishes or make requests.
He wishes that she were here.
She asked that he draw up a marriage contract before the wedding.
Sam suggested that Bill get a good night’s sleep before the exam.
[In all three of these examples, a request is embodied in a that-clause. Since no one can tell whether a request will be honored or not, the verb in each that-clause is in the subjunctive, indicating uncertainty.]
“Should” and “had” may also express the subjunctive:
Should he step on a rattlesnake, his boots will protect him.
[He has not stepped on a rattlesnake; it is uncertain that he will ever step on a rattlesnake. But if he accidentally happens to do so, his boots will protect him. “Should” indicates the subjunctive.]
Had he taken my advice, he would not have bought stock in a dance hall.
[“Had,” the subjunctive, indicates a contrary-to-fact condition; he did not take my advice, and he did buy stock in a dance hall.]
I wish he had won the tournament.
[The “had” after the verb “wish” expresses a contrary-to-fact condition; he did not win the tournament.]
Be sure that when you use the word “had” as a past subjunctive, you do not confuse it with the conditional. Do not say “I wish we would have won the tournament.” Say “I wish we had won the tournament.”
Use the subjunctive in some commands or wishes expressed in the third person singular.
May the Good Lord bless and keep you.
Let there be light.
Grammar be hanged!
Compendium
Rule Use “be” for the present subjunctive of the verb “be” regardless of its subject.
Mrs. Jackson asks that her class be polite at the pop-art exhibit.
Rule Use “were” for the past subjunctive of the verb “be” regardless of its subject.
If Rosa were here, she wouldn’t have made fun of those soup-can paintings.
Rule To form the present subjunctive of verbs other than “be,” use the infinitive form of the verb regardless of its subject.
Professor Fernandez insists that the class study op art as well as pop art.
Rule To form the past subjunctive of verbs other than “be,” use “had” as an auxiliary verb with the past participle of the main verb.
If I had known more about pop art, I would have gone to the exhibit earlier.
Had I gone earlier, I would have had more time to enjoy it.
Rule To express something that is not true or that you doubt will ever be true, use a verb in the subjunctive mood in a clause that begins with such words as if, as if, as though, or that.
He regarded a soup can as though it were art!
Notice that something that is contrary to fact is often expressed as a wish or a condition.
I wish that I were going to the pop-art exhibit. [I am not going.]
If I were you, I would read the catalogue before viewing the exhibit. [I am not you; this statement is contrary to fact.]
Rule Use the subjunctive mood in clauses beginning with “that” and in clauses following verbs that (1) make requests, such as ask, prefer, and request; that (2) make demands, such as demand, determine, insist, order, and require; and that (3) make proposals, such as propose, recommend, and suggest.
3 The imperative conveys a command or request in the second person.
The imperative mood is a particular kind of subjunctive. The imperative is used only to express commands in the second person, singular or plural, and the form of the verb is the same as the indicative. In the imperative sentence, the subject of the verb is always “you,” but the “you” is usually understood, not written out:
Pass the bread.
Drive me to the airport, please.
Leave the room!
He begged her, “Become an engineer!”
Sometimes the “you” is written for extra emphasis:
You give me my letter this instant!
d Learn the difference between the active voice and the passive voice. Use verbs in the active voice in most sentences; use verbs in the passive voice sparingly and only for good reason.
The voice of a transitive verb tells us whether the subject is the actor in the sentence or is acted upon. A transitive verb carries action from an agent to an object; therefore, a transitive verb can take a direct or indirect object. An intransitive verb does not take a direct or indirect object.
When transitive verbs are in the active voice, the subject does the acting. When transitive verbs are in the passive voice, the subject is acted upon by an agent that is implied, or an agent that is expressed in a prepositional phrase, hence the third type of object—prepositional object. Intransitive verbs cannot be passive. You can say “My brother brooded too much,” but you cannot say “My brother was brooded.” In the passive voice, the transitive verb phrase includes some form of the verb “to be.”
Active: She mailed the letter.
Passive: The letter was mailed by her.
Active: John washed the dishes.
Passive: The dishes were washed by John.
Readers usually want to know the agent of an action; that is, they want to know who or what does the acting.
Active: He made the bed.
Passive: The bed was made by him.
Since the passive often fails to identify the agent of the action, it may be a means of evading responsibility.
Passive: The Mustangs lost because a tackle was missed on the punt return.
Active: The mustangs lost because Al Tennyson missed a tackle on the punt return.
Use the passive only when the recipient of the action in the sentence is much more important to your statement than the doer of the action.
My car was stolen last night.
[Who stole the car is not important to this statement; you don’t know who did it. The important thing in the sentence is the fact that your car was stolen. So the verb phrase “was stolen” can be in the passive voice.]
After her heart attack, she was taken to the hospital in an ambulance.
[Who took her to the hospital is immaterial to this statement; the important fact is that she was taken.]
In scientific and technical writing, researchers generally use the passive voice throughout a report on an experiment so that they can keep the focus on the experiment rather than on the experimenters.
Passive: When the bacteria were isolated, they were treated carefully with nicotine and were observed to stop reproducing.
Active: When we isolated the bacteria, we treated them carefully with nicotine. They stopped reproducing.
A clear and direct writing style draws upon verbs in the active voice. Unless you have a special reason for using the passive, choose the active voice.
Exercise 2. The following sentences were all written by professional writers. Analyze each verb to see whether it is in the active or the passive voice. Tell why the passive is used when you do find it.
1. Some birds can be identified by color alone.
Roger Tory Peterson
2. The radio was silenced, and all that could be heard was the echo of the Mayor’s voice.
Mark Helprin
3. If you are bitten and the dog gets away, make every effort to find the dog and its owner.
Richard Ballantine
4. At this point, a doctor was summoned; a formal pronouncement of death was made; and Big Jim’s carcass was dragged, feet first, and for the last time, through the front door of his saloon.
Joe McGinniss
5. Many statesmen feel that weapons are in themselves evil, and that they should be eliminated, as you would crush a snake.
E.B. White
6. There was much justification for these prophecies. By the time I was nine years old, I had been hit by a bus, thrown into the Harlem River (intentionally), hit by a car, severely beaten with a chain. And I had set the house on fire.
Claude Brown
7. The landscape too is dramatic, both in Israel and Jordan, which together make up the country of the Bible. Seeing it at first hand, one realizes that it was no accident that God was invented and two religions originated here.
Barbara Tuchman
e Use the infinitive form of the verb to complete the sense of other verbs, to serve as a noun, and to form the basis of some phrases.
The word “to,” oftentimes called the infinitive marker, is placed before the verb to identify the infinitive form.
The present infinitive describes action that takes place at the same time as the action in the verb the infinitive completes:
He wants to go. [present]
He wanted to go. [past]
He will want to go. [future]
The present infinitive uses the infinitive marker “to” along with the simple present tense of the verb:
to write, to dance, to play, to sing
The present perfect infinitive uses the infinitive marker “to,” the verb “have,” and a past participle:
to have written, to have danced, to have played, to have sung
The present perfect infinitive describes action prior to the action of the verb whose sense is completed by the infinitive. The present perfect infinitive often follows verb phrases that include “should” or “would.”
I would like to have seen her face when she found the duck in her bathtub.
[The “liking” takes place in the present and is expressed in the verb phrase “would like.” The phrase “would like” implies that the action expressed in the infinitive “to have seen” did not take place. This wished-for seeing would have happened before the time of the verb phrase “would like.”]
Sometimes we say things like this:
I wanted to have finished this paper before you arrived.
[This usage is not incorrect, but it is unnecessarily wordy. We can say “I wanted to finish this paper before you arrived,” and the present infinitive with the simple past tense would be enough to show that the finishing should have taken place before you arrived. If you wished to emphasize the “wanting” rather than the “finishing,” you would change the word order and say “Before you arrived, I wanted to finish this paper, but now that you are here, I don’t want to finish it.”]
An infinitive phrase includes the infinitive and the words that complete its meaning:
Her attempt to bicycle through a New York subway tunnel was frustrated by an express train.
[The infinitive “to bicycle” is modified by the prepositional phrase “through a New York subway tunnel.” In effect, the prepositional phrase acts as an adverb modifying the infinitive, but the infinitive and its modifying prepositional phrase together make an infinitive phrase.]
To take such an immense journey required courage and money.
[The infinitive phrase in this sentence is the subject of the verb “required.” The infinitive here has an object, journey, but the object is also part of the phrase and all the words in the phrase make up the subject of the sentence.]
Infinitives and infinitive phrases most often serve as nouns, but they can also be used as adjectives and adverbs.
To dance was his whole reason for living. [Noun, subject of the sentence]
Her only aim was to dodge his flying feet. [Noun, subject complement]
He also wanted to sing. [Noun, direct object]
She was not a woman to take chances. [Adjective; the infinitive phrase modifies the noun “woman”]
Infinitives and infinitive phrases may serve as adverbs when they answer the question Why? and modify the main verb.
He studied to improve his voice.
[The infinitive phrase tells why he studied, modifying the verb “studied” and thus acting as an adverb.]
Sometimes the infinitive marker is omitted before the verb, especially after verbs like hear, help, let, see, and watch.
She heard him come in.
[The verbal “come” is an infinitive here, and the pronoun “him” serves as the subject of the infinitive. But by the conventions of English, we don’t say “She heard him to come in.” We omit the infinitive marker “to.”]
They watched the ship sail out to sea.
[The verbal “sail” is an infinitive here with the infinitive marker “to” omitted. Compare: “They expected the ship to sail out to sea.”]
She made him treat her with respect.
[The verbal “treat” is an infinitive here with the infinitive marker “to” omitted. Compare: “She asked him to treat her with respect.”]
In general, avoid split infinitives. A split infinitive has one or more words awkwardly placed between the infinitive marker “to” and the verb form.
Split Infinitive: He loved to loudly sing.
[The adverb “loudly” splits the infinitive “to sing.”]
Better: He loved to sing loudly.
Some writers believe that split infinitives are acceptable:
The government was little altered as Mr. Bush touched down at Andrews Air Force Base at 6:30 p.m. to gracefully assume the duties but not the powers of the Presidency.
The rule against split infinitives is not absolute: some writers split infinitives, and others do not. But the words used to split infinitives can usually go outside the infinitive, or they can be omitted altogether.
Split Infinitive: He told me to really try to do better.
[The adverb “really” is a weak intensifier that seldom adds anything to a sentence. It can be left out without harm.]
Better: He told me to try to do better.
In general, related elements in a sentence should be kept as close together as possible to avoid confusion. When you split an infinitive with a long phrase, you violate this principle by moving the infinitive marker away from its related element, the verb form of the infinitive.
Split: He intended to carefully and completely revise his paper.
Better: He intended to revise his paper carefully and completely.
[Note that the revision places the adverbs after the noun that follows the infinitive. English idiom favors this positioning. We don’t write, “She ran ten miles a day thoroughly to condition herself for the marathon”; we say, “She ran ten miles a day to condition herself thoroughly for the marathon.”]
f Beware of common errors in the use of verbs.
1 Avoid confusing the simple past and the past participle in irregular verbs. When it is part of a predicate, the past participle always needs a helping verb.
Faulty: I seen her last night at the movie.
[The past participle of the irregular verb “see” is “seen”; the simple past tense is “saw.”]
Correct: I saw her last night at the movie.
Faulty: We taken our books with us to camp.
[The past participle “taken” cannot serve as the simple past tense of the irregular verb “take.”]
Correct: We took our books with us to camp.
[The principal parts of “take” are take—took—taken. The simple past “took” is used without a helping verb.]
Correct: We had taken our books with us to camp.
[Here the helping verb “had” combines with the past participle “taken” to make a correct verb phrase.]
Faulty: I done the job myself.
[The principal parts of the verb “do” are do—did—done. The past participle “done” must be used with a helping verb, or it must be changed to the simple past “did.”]
Correct: I did the job myself.
[The simple past “did” does not require a helping verb.]
Correct: I have done the job myself.
The helping verb “have” with the past participle “done” makes the present perfect tense.
2 Recognize irregular verbs, and avoid the error of trying to make them regular.
Faulty: The artist drawed the portrait in an hour.
[Ordinarily the suffix -ed makes the simple past. But the irregular verb “draw” forms the simple past by becoming “drew.”]
Correct: The artist drew the portrait in an hour.
Faulty: We payed for everything we got.
[The simple past of the verb “pay” is not “payed” but “paid.”]
Correct: We paid for everything we got.
3 Keep the distinction between “lay” and “lie.”
“To lay” means “to put down” or “to place.” “To lie” means “to recline.” “To lie” is an intransitive verb and cannot take a direct object.
I lie down to sleep every night at eleven o’clock.
“To lay” is a transitive verb and must always take a direct object.
I lay my books aside each evening to watch television.
The words “lay” and “lie” are often confused because they are both irregular verbs, and the past tense of “lie” is “lay.”
I lie down to sleep each night at eleven.
[The verb “lie” is in the present tense.]
Last night I lay down at eleven.
[The past tense of “lie” is “lay.”]
Yesterday I laid the keys on the table so he would find them when he came in.
[The past tense of “lay” is “laid.”]
We had lain there an hour when the clock struck midnight.
[The past participle of “lie” is “lain.”]
Although he could not find them, I had laid the keys on the table before I went to bed last night.
[The past participle of “lay” is “laid.”]
4 Keep the distinction between “sit” and “set.”
“Sit” is an intransitive verb and cannot take a direct object.
We all sat down. [No direct object]
“Set” is a transitive verb and must always take a direct object when it means “to place.”
We set the vase in the window when we want to signal our friends to come over. [The direct object is “vase.”]
The principal parts of “sit” are sit—sat—sat.
You sit to eat.
You sat all during yesterday’s parade.
You have sat there an hour without speaking.
The principal parts of “set” are set—set—set.
You set tables beautifully for your parties.
You set the clock last night before you went to bed.
You have set my teeth on edge with your horrifying tale.
5 Avoid illogical shifts in tense.
Illogical: The car roared down the street out of control, hit a tree, bounced over the sidewalk, and comes crashing into my living room.
[The first three verbs—roared, hit, and bounced—are in the simple past tense. The shift to “comes,” a present tense, is illogical and confusing.]
Revised: The car roared down the street out of control, hit a tree, bounced over the sidewalk, and came crashing into my living room.
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