THE VERB IT’S WHAT YOU DO!

WHAT’S A VERB

•VERB – WORDS THAT NAME ACTIONS•DANCE, LAUGH, SHOUT, SING

•EVERY COMPLETE SENTENCE NEEDS A VERB

“STATE OF BEING” VERBS

•NOT EVERY VERB DESCRIBES AN ACTION

•SOME EXPRESS A STATE OF BEING

•CHARLOTTE IS A FAST RUNNER

•EMILE WAS OUT TO LUNCH

SOB VERBS CONTINUED

•STATE-OF-BEING VERBS FUNCTION LIKE AN = SIGN •CHARLOTTE = FAST RUNNER

•EMILE = SOMEONE WHO IS OUT TO LUNCH

“TO BE” VERBS – THE BASIC SOB VERB• FORMS OF “TO BE”

• ARE

• AM

• WAS

• WERE

• WILL BE

• HAVE BEEN

• HAS BEEN

• HAD BEEN

• WILL HAVE BEEN

• IS

VERB TENSES

•TELL US WHEN AN ACTION TAKES PLACE

TENSES

•PRESENT : I COOK PIZZA EVERY DAY

•PAST: WE COOKED PIZZA YESTERDAY

•FUTURE: WE WILL COOK PIZZA THIS WEEKEND

MORE TENSES •PRESENT PERFECT: LUCY HAS COOKED A PIZZA EVERY DAY FOR THE LAST MONTH

•PAST PERFECT: LUCY HAD COOKED SO MANY PIZZAS SHE GREW TIRED OF THEM

•FUTURE PERFECT: THEY ALL WILL HAVE COOKED A TON OF PIZZAS.

THE SAME 6 TENSES FOR SOB VERBS• PRESENT : IS, ARE, AM

• PAST: WAS WERE

• FUTURE: WILL BE

• PRESENT PERFECT: HAS BEEN, HAVE BEEN

• PAST PERFECT: HAD BEEN

• FUTURE PERFECT: WILL HAVE BEEN

PRESENT / PRESENT PERFECT

•PRESENT TENSE

•REFER TO ACTIONS CURRENTLY IN PROGRESS;

•PRESENT PERFECT

•REFER TO ACTIONS OCCURRING AT NO PARTICULAR TIME IN THE PAST AND THAT MAY STILL BE IN PROGRESS

PRESENT / PRESENT PERFECT

•ADAM IS (PRESENT) CAPTAIN OF THE WRESTLING TEAM AND HAS HELD (PRESENT PERFECT) THE JOB SINCE SOPHOMORE YEAR.

PAST / PAST PERFECT

•PAST TENSE

•REFER TO ACTION COMPLETED IN THE PAST

•PAST PERFECT TENSE

• REFER TO ACTIONS COMPLETED BEFORE SOME SPECIFIC

POINT IN TIME OR MOMENT IN THE PAST.

•NEEDED TO INDICATE WHICH ACTION OCCURRED FIRST

PAST / PAST PERFECT

•BEFORE GEORGE ARRIVED (PAST), LENNY HAD KILLED (PAST PERFECT) THE RABBIT .

FUTURE / FUTURE PERFECT

•FUTURE TENSE

•REFERS TO ACTIONS THAT WILL OCCUR IN THE FUTURE

•FUTURE PERFECT

•REFER TO ACTIONS THAT WILL BE COMPLETED AT SOME TIME IN THE FUTURE, BUT BEFORE SOME OTHER ACTION OR EVENT

FUTURE / FUTURE PERFECT

•EILLIE WILL ARRIVE IN SAN DIEGO ON THE 15TH, BUT BY THAT TIME, DAVE WILL HAVE BEEN GONE (FUTURE PERFECT) FOR TWO WEEKS

NOT JUST NITPICKING! TENSE AFFECTS THE MEANING OF SENTENCES • BENJAMIN WAS IN THE ARMY FOR TWO YEARS (HE’S NO LONGER IN THE

ARMY)

• BENJAMIN HAS BEEN IN THE ARMY FOR TWO YEARS. (HE IS STILL IN THE ARMY)

• DINNER HAD BEEN ON THE TABLE FOR TWO HOURS. (DINNER IS NO LONGER ON THE TABLE)

• DINNER HAS BEEN ON THE TABLE FOR TWO HOURS. (IT’S STILL ON THE TABLE)

SHIFTING VERB TENSE – WHAT A CRIME

•SOMETIMES WHEN WE WRITE WE HAVE THE TENDENCY TO ACCIDENTALLY BE INCONSTANT WITH OUR VERB TENSES

•ALWAYS STAY WITH THE SAME TENSE

THIS SENTENCE BEGINS IN THE PAST AND THEN SHIFTS TO THE PRESENT

•THEY BIKED (PAST TENSE) TO THE TOP OF THE MOUNTAIN AND THEN COME (PRESENT TENSE) BACK DOWN IN TIME TO EAT LUNCH

CORRECTED! USING PAST TENSE

•THEY BIKED TO THE TOP OF THE MOUNTAIN AND THEN CAME BACK DOWN IN TIME FOR LUNCH.

ANOTHER SHIFT ERROR

•BY 4 ALL OF THE BUSHES HAD BEEN ( PAST PERFECT) PRUNED AND THE GRASS WAS (PAST) WATERED.

CORRECTED! USING PAST PERFECT

•BY 4 ALL OF THE BUSHED HAD BEEN PRUNED AND THE GRASS HAD BEEN WATERED.

VERB CONSISTENCY

•NOT ALL VERBS IN A SENTENCE HAVE TO BE THE SAME TENSE

•BUT THEY MUST CONVEY THE RELATIVE TIME THAT THE EVENTS OCCURRED IN

EXAMPLE – THIS IS FINE

•MIKE AND HALLIE HAD DATED (PAST PERFECT) FOR SIX MONTHS BEFORE THEY TOLD (PAST) THEIR PARENTS

MORE VERB TENSE GUIDELINES

•USE PRESENT TENSE FOR TRUE STATEMENTS

•THANKSGIVING FALLS ON NOVEMBER 23 THIS YEAR

MORE GUIDELINES•WHEN A SENTENCE OR CLAUSE STARTS WITH IF, USE

THE PAST PERFECT TENSE INSTEAD OF WOULD HAVE TO EXPRESS THE EARLIER OF TWO ACTIONS

• IF LENNY HAD DRIVEN (NOT WOULD HAVE DRIVEN) MORE SLOWLY, HE WOULD HAVE MADE THE CURSE EASILY.

•THE CEREMONY WOULD HAVE BEEN BETTER IF KIRK HAD BEEN (PAST PERFECT) THE SPEAKER.

MORE GUIDELINES •GET INTO THE HABIT OF ADJUSTING PARTICIPLES

ACCORDING TO THE TENSE OF THE MAIN VERB. WHEN A PARTICIPLE, WHICH USUALLY ENDS WITH –ING, INDICATES AN ACTION THAT OCCURRED BEFORE THE ACTION NAMED BY THE MAIN VERB, ADD HAVING.

•THEN REVISE THE PARTICIPLE TO THE PRESENT PERFECT OR PAST PERFECT TENSE.

EXAMPLE •ORIGINAL – WORKING (PARTICPLE) HARD ON THE ESSAY, JOAN HATED TO REDUCE THE NUMBER OF WORDS.

•REVISED – HAVING WORKED HARD ON THE ESSAY, JOAN HATED TO REDUCE THE NUMBER OF WORDS.

•WHY DID WE REVISE THIS?

BAAHHHH CUZZZZ

•JOAN WORKED HARD ON THE ESSAY BEFORE SHE GOT AROUND TO REVISING IT