English Grammar - Verbs
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Definitions
Verbs carry the idea of being or action in the sentence.
I am a student.
The studentspassedall their courses.
As we will see on this page, verbs are classified in many ways. First, some verbs require
anobject to complete their meaning: "She gave _____ ?" Gave what? She gave money to the
church. These verbs are calledtransitive. Verbs that are intransitive do not require objects: "The
building collapsed." In English, you cannot tell the difference between a transitive and
intransitive verb by its form; you have to see how the verb is functioning within the sentence. In
fact, a verb can be both transitive and intransitive: "The monster collapsed the building by sitting
on it."
Although you will seldom hear the term, a ditransitive verb such as cause or give isone that can take a direct object and an indirect object at the same time: "That horrid music
gave me a headache." Ditransitive verbs are slightly different, then, from factitive verbs (see
below), in that the latter take two objects.
Verbs are also classified as either finite or non-finite. A finite verb makes an assertion or
expresses a state of being and can stand by itself as the main verb of a sentence.
The truck demolished the restaurant.
The leaves were yellow and sickly.
Non-finite verbs (think "unfinished") cannot, by themselves, be main verbs:
The broken window . . .
The wheezing gentleman . . .
Another, more useful term for non-finite verb is verbal. In this section, we discuss various verbal
forms: infinitives, gerunds, and participles.
For WebCT UsersThe "-s" Problem Icon means that the verb requires an -sending
because it's a third-person (he/she/it) verb in the present tense.
See the Table of Verb Tensesfor help in identifying present tenses
requiring the -s.
http://grammar.ccc.commnet.edu/grammar/objects.htm#objectshttp://grammar.ccc.commnet.edu/grammar/objects.htm#objectshttp://grammar.ccc.commnet.edu/grammar/verbs.htm#factitivehttp://grammar.ccc.commnet.edu/grammar/tenses.htmhttp://grammar.ccc.commnet.edu/grammar/tenses.htmhttp://grammar.ccc.commnet.edu/grammar/objects.htm#objectshttp://grammar.ccc.commnet.edu/grammar/verbs.htm#factitivehttp://grammar.ccc.commnet.edu/grammar/tenses.htm -
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The "-ed" Problem Icon probably means that the verb requires
an -edending because it's in the past tense or that an -
edending has been used inappropriately. The -edending is
particularly problematic when it occurs just before a "d" or "t" sound
as in "We are used to doing things the way we're supposed to: like in
the old-fashioned days." See theTable of Verb Tenses for help in
identifying past tenses requiring the -ed.
The "Verb" Problem Icon probably means that the verb
tenses in this sentence are inconsistent or incorrect. See the
section onSequencing for help in using the correct sequence of verb
tenses. See the section on Consistencyfor help in maintaining a
proper consistency in verb tense.
Four Verb Forms
The inflections (endings) of English verb forms are not difficult to remember. There are
only four basic forms. Instead of forming complex tense forms with endings, English uses
auxiliary verb forms. English does not even have a proper ending for future forms; instead, we
use auxiliaries such as "I am going to read this afternoon." or "I will read." or even "I am reading
this book tomorrow." It would be useful, however, to learn these four basic forms of verb
construction.
Name of
verb
Base
form
Past
form
Present
participle
Past
participle
to work
I
can wor
k.
I work.
I worke
d.I am working.
I
have worked
.
to write
I
can write.
I write.
I wrote.
I am writing.
I
have written
.
Linking Verbs
http://grammar.ccc.commnet.edu/grammar/tenses.htmhttp://grammar.ccc.commnet.edu/grammar/sequence.htmhttp://grammar.ccc.commnet.edu/grammar/sequence.htmhttp://grammar.ccc.commnet.edu/grammar/consistency.htmhttp://grammar.ccc.commnet.edu/grammar/consistency.htmhttp://grammar.ccc.commnet.edu/grammar/tenses.htmhttp://grammar.ccc.commnet.edu/grammar/sequence.htmhttp://grammar.ccc.commnet.edu/grammar/consistency.htm -
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A linking verb connects a subject and its complement. Sometimes called copulas, linking
verbs are often forms of the verb to be, but are sometimes verbs related to the five senses (look,
sound, smell, feel, taste) and sometimes verbs that somehow reflect a state of being (appear,
seem, become, grow, turn, prove, remain). What follows the linking verb will be either a noun
complement or an adjective complement:
Those people are all professors.
Those professors are brilliant.
This room smells bad.
I feel great.
A victory today seems unlikely.
A handful of verbs that reflect a change in state of being are sometimes called resulting copulas.
They, too, link a subject to a predicate adjective:
His face turned purple.
She became older.
The dogs ran wild.
The milk has gone sour.
The crowd grew ugly.
"This is he."
A Frequently Asked Question about linking verbs concerns the correct
response when you pick up the phone and someone asks for you. One correct
response would be "This is he [she]." The predicate following the linking verb
should be in the nominative (subject) form definitely not"This is him." If "This is he"
sounds stuffy to you, try using "Speaking," instead, or "This is Fred," substituting your
own name for Fred's unless it's a bill collector or telemarketer calling, in which case
"This is Fred" is a good response for everyone except people named Fred.
Active and Passive Voice
There is now a separate section dealing with issues raised by a
verb's VOICE (active/passive).
http://grammar.ccc.commnet.edu/grammar/objects.htm#complementshttp://grammar.ccc.commnet.edu/grammar/passive.htmhttp://grammar.ccc.commnet.edu/grammar/objects.htm#complementshttp://grammar.ccc.commnet.edu/grammar/passive.htm -
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MoodMood in verbs refers to one of three attitudes that a writer or speaker has to what is being
written or spoken. The indicative mood, which describes most sentences on this page, is used to
make a statement or ask a question. The imperative mood is used when we're feeling sort of
bossish and want to give a directive, strong suggestion, or order:
Get your homework done before you watch television tonight.
Please include cash payment with your order form.
Get out of town!
Notice that there is no subject in these imperative sentences. The pronoun you (singular or
plural, depending on context) is the "understood subject" in imperative sentences. Virtually all
imperative sentences, then, have a second person (singular or plural) subject. The sole exception
is the first person construction, which includes an objective form as subject: "Let's (or Let us)
work on these things together."
The subjunctive mood is used in dependent clauses that do the following: 1) express a
wish; 2) begin with ifand express a condition that does not exist (is contrary to fact); 3) begin
with as ifand as though when such clauses describe a speculation or condition contrary to fact;
and 4) begin with thatand express a demand, requirement, request, or suggestion. A new section
on the uses of the Conditional should help you understand the subjunctive.
She wishes her boyfriend were here.
If Juan were more aggressive, he'd be a better hockey player.
We would have passed if we had studied harder.
He acted as if he were guilty.
Click on the "Verb Guy" to
read and hear Bob
Dorough's "Verb: That's
What's Happening!" (fromScholastic Rock, 1974).
Schoolhouse Rock and its
characters and other
elements are trademarks
and service marks of
American Broadcasting
Companies, Inc. Used with
permission.
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I requested that he be present at the hearing.
The subjunctive is not as important a mood in English as it is in other languages, like
French and Spanish, which happen to be more subtle and discriminating in hypothetical,
doubtful, or wishful expressions. Many situations which would require the subjunctive in other
languages are satisfied by using one of several auxiliary verbs in English.
The New York Public Library's Writer's Guide to Style and
Usage has this important note on the subjunctive: "The words if,
as if, oras though do not always signal the subjunctive mood. If
the information in such a clause points out a condition that is or
was probable or likely, the verb should be in the indicative mood.
The indicative tells the reader that the information in the
dependent clause could possibly be true" (155). Cited with
permission.
The present tense of the subjunctive uses only the base form of the verb.
He demanded that his students use two-inch margins.
She suggested that we be on time tomorrow.
The past tense of the subjunctive has the same forms as the indicative except (unfortunately)
for the verb to be, which uses were regardless of the number of the subject.
If I were seven feet tall, I'd be a great basketball player. He wishes he were a better student.
If you were rich, we wouldn't be in this mess.
If they were faster, we could have won that race.
An excellent resource for learning more about the subjunctive is available in the onlineAmerican Heritage Book of
English Usage.
Quiz on Uses of the Subjunctive
http://www.bartleby.com/64/C001/061.htmlhttp://www.bartleby.com/64/C001/061.htmlhttp://www.bartleby.com/64/C001/061.htmlhttp://www.bartleby.com/64/C001/061.htmlhttp://grammar.ccc.commnet.edu/grammar/cgi-shl/quiz.pl/subjunctive_quiz.htmhttp://www.bartleby.com/64/C001/061.htmlhttp://www.bartleby.com/64/C001/061.htmlhttp://grammar.ccc.commnet.edu/grammar/cgi-shl/quiz.pl/subjunctive_quiz.htm -
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Auxiliary or Helping Verbs
The issues raised by Helping or Auxiliary Verbs and Modal Auxiliaries are covered in a
separate section. Click here for help with Auxiliary Verbs and Modal Auxiliaries.
Phrasal Verbs
Phrasal verbs consist of a verb and another word or phrase,
usually a preposition. The resulting combination creates what
amounts to a new verb, whose meaning can sometimes be puzzling
to non-native speakers. Phrasal verbs often arise from casual uses of
the language and eventually work themselves into the mainstream of
language use. Phrasal verbs can be both intransitive (The children
were sitting around, doing nothing. The witness finally broke
down on the stand.) and transitive in meaning (Our boss calledoff the meeting. She looked up her old boyfriend.) The word that is
joined with a verb in this construction (often a preposition) is called
a particle.
The problem with phrasal verbs is that their meaning is often, at first, obscure, and they
often mean several different things. To make out, for instance, can mean to perceive or to see
something; it can also mean to engage in light sexual play. If someone chooses to turn up the
street that is a combination of a verb and a preposition, but it is not a phrasal verb. On the other
hand, if your neighbors unexpectedly turn up (appear) at a party or your brother turns up his
radio, those are phrasal verbs. To come out, we are told, has eighteen different meanings.
Verbs can be combined with different prepositions and other words, sometimes with
dizzying effect: stand out, stand up, stand in, stand off, stand by, stand fast, stand pat, stand
down, stand against, stand for. Further, the verb and the word or phrase it connects to are not
always contiguous: "Fill this out," we would say, but then we would say, "Fill out this form."
You can clickHERE for an extensive list ofphrasal verbs, broken down into categories of
transitive and intransitive, separable and inseparable. The list of verbs is accompanied with brief
definitions and examples. Printed out, the list will be five or six pages long, depending on the
size font you are using, the width of your browser window, etc. Understand, however, that the
list is a mere sampling of the hundreds of phrasal verb combinations. For beginning languagelearners, the challenge of mastering phrasal verbs is so great that only intensive instruction and
practice in an ESL program and a great deal of time spent listening and reading carefully can
address the problem. Having a good dictionary at hand is also helpful.
http://grammar.ccc.commnet.edu/grammar/auxiliary.htmhttp://grammar.ccc.commnet.edu/grammar/prepositions.htmhttp://grammar.ccc.commnet.edu/grammar/phrasals.htmhttp://grammar.ccc.commnet.edu/grammar/phrasals.htmhttp://grammar.ccc.commnet.edu/grammar/auxiliary.htmhttp://grammar.ccc.commnet.edu/grammar/prepositions.htmhttp://grammar.ccc.commnet.edu/grammar/phrasals.htmhttp://grammar.ccc.commnet.edu/grammar/phrasals.htm -
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Quiz on Phrasal Verbs
Second Quiz on Phrasal Verbs
Causative Verbs
Causative verbs designate the action necessary to cause another action to happen. In "The
devil made me do it." the verb "made" causes the "do" to happen. Here is a brief list of causative
verbs, in no particular order: let, help, allow, have, require, allow, motivate, get, make, convince,
hire, assist, encourage, permit, employ, force. Most of them are followed by an object (noun or
pronoun) followed by an infinitive: "She allows her pet cockatiel to perch on the windowsill.
She hired a carpenter to build a new birdcage."
Three causative verbs are exceptions to the pattern described above. Instead of being
followed by a noun/pronoun and an infinitive, the causative verbs have, make and letare
followed by a noun/pronoun and thebase form of the verb (which is actually an infinitive with
the "to" left off).
Professor Villa had her students read four short novels in one week.
She also made them read five plays in one week.
However, she let them skip the final exam.
Factitive Verbs
Verbs like make, choose, judge, elect, select, name. are called factitive verbs. These
transitive verbs can take two objects, or seem to:
They judged Philbert's dog Best of Show. (where "dog" is the direct object and "Best of
Show" is the second complement).
The faculty elected Dogsbreath the new Academic Dean. (where Dogsbreath is the direct
object and "Academic Dean" is the second complement).
http://grammar.ccc.commnet.edu/grammar/quizzes/phrasal/phrasal_frame.htmlhttp://grammar.ccc.commnet.edu/grammar/quizzes/phrasal/phrasal_frame2.htmlhttp://grammar.ccc.commnet.edu/grammar/quizzes/phrasal/phrasal_frame.htmlhttp://grammar.ccc.commnet.edu/grammar/quizzes/phrasal/phrasal_frame2.html -
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U.S. News and World Reportnamed our college the best in the northeast. (where "our
college" is the direct object and "the best" is the second complement).
Tenses
Tense shows the time of a verb's action or being. There are
three inflected forms reflected by changes in the endings of verbs.
The present tense indicates that something is happening or being
now: "She is a student. She drives a new car." The simple past
tense indicates that something happened in the past: "She was a
student. She drove a new car." And the past participle form is
combined with auxiliary verbs to indicate that something
happened in the past prior to another action: "She has been a
student. She had driven a new car."
Unlike most other languages, English does not haveinflected forms for the future tense. Instead, English future forms
are created with the use of auxiliaries: "She will be a student. She
is going to drive a new car." English can even create the future by
using the present tense, "The bus arrives later this afternoon," or
the present progressive, "He is relocating to Portland later next
month."
For an extensive discussion of the future tense in English, clickHERE.
Progressive Verbs
The progressive tenses, which indicate something being or
happening, are formed with the present participle form (ending
in -ing) along with various auxiliaries. "She is driving. She was
driving. She will be driving. She has been driving. She had been
driving. She will have been driving." ClickHERE for more on the
progressive forms. Some verbs, called stative verbs, (including,
sometimes, the verb to be) do not normally create the progressive.
Click here for a discussion of the difference betweenstative and
dynamic verbs.
For help with the
verb "to be," click
the enter button
below.
If you have a frames-capable browser, we recommend the
http://grammar.ccc.commnet.edu/grammar/future.htmhttp://grammar.ccc.commnet.edu/grammar/future.htmhttp://grammar.ccc.commnet.edu/grammar/progressive.htmhttp://grammar.ccc.commnet.edu/grammar/progressive.htm#stativehttp://grammar.ccc.commnet.edu/grammar/progressive.htm#stativehttp://grammar.ccc.commnet.edu/grammar/to_be.htmhttp://grammar.ccc.commnet.edu/grammar/future.htmhttp://grammar.ccc.commnet.edu/grammar/progressive.htmhttp://grammar.ccc.commnet.edu/grammar/progressive.htm#stativehttp://grammar.ccc.commnet.edu/grammar/progressive.htm#stative -
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DIRECTORY OF ENGLISH TENSES
The Directory contains descriptions, conjugations (for both regular andirregularverbs), and
sample sentences for the twelve tenses of active voice verbs. For a greatly simplified one-page
summary of these tenses, clickHERE.
Colin Mahoney, a teacher of English as a
foreign language, has a considerable pagedevoted to the Present Perfect Tense (and related
issues), which we recommend. For ESL learners
and students wanting a thorough review of
verbs, we also recommend the tutorial on
English tenses at Englishpage.com(expect ads).
Quiz on Identifying Tenses
Irregular Verbs
Most verbs in English form their various tenses consistently: add -edto the base of a verb to
create the simple past and past participle: he walked; he has walked. There are, however, a
number of so-calledirregular verbs, (including, unfortunately, some very common verbs suchas to be and to have) whose various forms must be memorized. An alphabetized list ofCommon
Irregular Verbs is available in the Guide that you can copy or print out and then try to
memorize or at least use in practice sentences. You should take the quizzes on irregular verbs,
below, after you've looked at this list.
http://grammar.ccc.commnet.edu/grammar/tenses/tense_frames.htmhttp://grammar.ccc.commnet.edu/grammar/tenses/tense_frames.htmhttp://grammar.ccc.commnet.edu/grammar/tenses/tense_frames.htmhttp://grammar.ccc.commnet.edu/grammar/verbs.htm#irregularhttp://grammar.ccc.commnet.edu/grammar/verbs.htm#irregularhttp://grammar.ccc.commnet.edu/grammar/verbs.htm#irregularhttp://grammar.ccc.commnet.edu/grammar/tenses.htmhttp://www.geocities.com/SiliconValley/2527/presentperfect.htmlhttp://www.geocities.com/SiliconValley/2527/presentperfect.htmlhttp://www.englishpage.com/verbpage/verbtenseintro.htmlhttp://grammar.ccc.commnet.edu/grammar/quizzes/tenses/tenses_frame.htmlhttp://grammar.ccc.commnet.edu/grammar/irregulars.htmhttp://grammar.ccc.commnet.edu/grammar/irregulars.htmhttp://grammar.ccc.commnet.edu/grammar/irregulars.htmhttp://grammar.ccc.commnet.edu/grammar/tenses/tense_frames.htmhttp://grammar.ccc.commnet.edu/grammar/verbs.htm#irregularhttp://grammar.ccc.commnet.edu/grammar/tenses.htmhttp://www.geocities.com/SiliconValley/2527/presentperfect.htmlhttp://www.geocities.com/SiliconValley/2527/presentperfect.htmlhttp://www.englishpage.com/verbpage/verbtenseintro.htmlhttp://grammar.ccc.commnet.edu/grammar/quizzes/tenses/tenses_frame.htmlhttp://grammar.ccc.commnet.edu/grammar/irregulars.htmhttp://grammar.ccc.commnet.edu/grammar/irregulars.htm -
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Recognizing Verbs: Verbmaster
Recognizing Verbs: Verbmaster 2
Irregular Verbs
Irregular Verbs II
Irregular Verbs III
Irregular Verbs Crossword Puzzle
Sequence of Tenses
http://grammar.ccc.commnet.edu/grammar/quizzes/verbmaster.htmhttp://grammar.ccc.commnet.edu/grammar/quizzes/verbmaster2.htmhttp://grammar.ccc.commnet.edu/grammar/cgi-shl/par2_quiz.pl/irregular_quiz.htmhttp://grammar.ccc.commnet.edu/grammar/quizzes/irregular_verbs.htmhttp://grammar.ccc.commnet.edu/grammar/quizzes/irregular_verbsII.htmhttp://grammar.ccc.commnet.edu/grammar/quizzes/cross/verbs.htmhttp://grammar.ccc.commnet.edu/grammar/quizzes/verbmaster.htmhttp://grammar.ccc.commnet.edu/grammar/quizzes/verbmaster2.htmhttp://grammar.ccc.commnet.edu/grammar/cgi-shl/par2_quiz.pl/irregular_quiz.htmhttp://grammar.ccc.commnet.edu/grammar/quizzes/irregular_verbs.htmhttp://grammar.ccc.commnet.edu/grammar/quizzes/irregular_verbsII.htmhttp://grammar.ccc.commnet.edu/grammar/quizzes/cross/verbs.htm -
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Sequence of Tenses: The relationship between verbs in a main clause and verbs in
dependent clauses is important. These verb tenses don't have to be identical as long as they
reflect, logically, shifts in time and meaning: "My brother had graduatedbefore
I startedcollege." "My brother will have graduatedbefore I start." ClickHERE for a chart
describing various time relationships and how those relationships determine the appropriate
sequence of verb tenses.
Verbals
Verbals are words that seem to carry the idea of action or being but do not function as a
true verb. The are sometimes called "nonfinite" (unfinished or incomplete) verbs. Because time
is involved with all verb forms, whether finite or nonfinite, however, following a logical Tense
Sequence is important. ClickHERE for a chart describing the time elements involved in
choosing the correct verbal form. Verbals are frequently accompanied by other, related words in
what is called a verbal phrase.
There is a whole section on how verbals connect with other
words to form phrases. Be sure to visit the always
pleasant GARDEN OF PHRASES.
Participle: a verb form acting as an adjective. The running dog chased thefluttering moth.
A present participle (like running orfluttering) describes a present condition; a past participle
describes something that has happened: "The completely rottedtooth finally fell out of his
mouth." The distinction can be important to the meaning of a sentence; there is a huge differencebetween a confusing student and a confusedstudent. See the section onAdjectives for further
help on this issue.
Infinitive: the root of a verb plus the word to. To sleep, perchance to dream. A present
infinitive describes a present condition: "I like to sleep." The perfect infinitive describes a time
earlier than that of the verb: "I would like to have won that game." See the section
on Sequence below for other forms as well.
The Split Infinitive
If there is one error in writing that your boss or history prof can and will pick up on, it's
the notorious split infinitive. An infinitive is said to be "split" when a word (often an
adverb) or phrase sneaks between the to of the infinitive and the root of the verb: "to
boldly go," being the most famous of its kind. The argument against split infinitives
(based on rather shaky historical grounds) is that the infinitive is a single unit and,
http://grammar.ccc.commnet.edu/grammar/sequence.htmhttp://grammar.ccc.commnet.edu/grammar/sequence.htm#modal_sequencehttp://grammar.ccc.commnet.edu/grammar/phrases.htmhttp://grammar.ccc.commnet.edu/grammar/phrases.htmhttp://grammar.ccc.commnet.edu/grammar/adjectives.htm#participleshttp://grammar.ccc.commnet.edu/grammar/adjectives.htm#participleshttp://grammar.ccc.commnet.edu/grammar/verbs.htm#sequencehttp://grammar.ccc.commnet.edu/grammar/sequence.htmhttp://grammar.ccc.commnet.edu/grammar/sequence.htm#modal_sequencehttp://grammar.ccc.commnet.edu/grammar/phrases.htmhttp://grammar.ccc.commnet.edu/grammar/adjectives.htm#participleshttp://grammar.ccc.commnet.edu/grammar/verbs.htm#sequence -
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therefore, should not be divided. Because it raises so many readers' hackles and is so
easy to spot, good writers, at least in academic prose, avoid the split infinitive. Instead
of writing "She expected her grandparents to not stay," then, we could write "She
expected her grandparents not to stay." Sometimes, though, avoiding the split infinitive
simply isn't worth the bother. There is nothing wrong, really, with a sentence such as
the following:
He thinks he'll be able to more than double his salary this year.
The Oxford American Desk Dictionary, which came out in October of 1998, says that
the rule against the split infinitive can generally be ignored, that the rule "is not firmly
grounded, and treating two English words as one can lead to awkward, stilted
sentences." ("To Boldly Go," The Hartford Courant. 15 Oct 1998.) Opinion among
English instructors and others who feel strongly about the language remains divided,
however. Today's dictionaries allow us to split the infinitive, but it should never be done
at the expense of grace. Students would be wise to know their instructor's feelings on
the matter, workers their boss's.
Both gerunds and infinitive phrases can function as nouns, in a variety of
ways. Noun uses are covered in a separate document, a
section that should be helpful to students who want to
understand why some verbs take gerunds, others takeinfinitives, some take either. (In addition, there is a section on
the use of the infinitive as adjective complement free at no extra
charge.) Click the button to enter.
Gerund: a verb form, ending in -ing, which acts as a noun. Running in the park after dark
can be dangerous. Gerunds are frequently accompanied by other associated words making up
agerund phrase ("running in the park after dark").
Because gerunds and gerund phrases are nouns, they can be used in any way that a noun can be
used:
as subject: Being king can be dangerous for your health.
as object of the verb: He didn't particularly like being king.
as object of a preposition: He wrote a book about being king.
http://grammar.ccc.commnet.edu/grammar/phrases.htm#gerundhttp://grammar.ccc.commnet.edu/grammar/phrases.htm#gerundhttp://grammar.ccc.commnet.edu/grammar/phrases.htm#gerund -
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Infinitives and Gerunds and Sequence
Although they are not, strictly speaking, verbs, infinitives and gerunds carry within them the
idea of action. Combined with auxiliary verb forms, like verbs, they also express various shades
of time.
SimpleForms
We had planned to watch all the
events of the Olympics
Seeing those athletes perform is
always a great thrill.
PerfectiveForms
The women's hockey team hopedto
have won a gold medal before they
were done.
We were thrilled about theirhaving
been in contention in the world
championships before.
PassiveForms
To be chosen as an olympian must be
the biggest thrill in any athlete's life.
Being chosen, however, is probably
not enough.
PerfectivePassiveForms
The women did not seem satisfied
simply to have been selected asplayers.
Having been honored this way, they
went out and earned it by winning the
gold.
PerfectiveProgressiveInfinitive
To have been competing at that level,
at their age already, was quite an
accomplishment.
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Actual and Potential Meanings
Although a gerund and an infinitive will often have practically the same meaning ("Running
in the park after dark can be dangerous" and "To run in the park after dark can be dangerous"),
there can be a difference in meaning. Gerunds are used to describe an "actual, vivid, or fulfilled
action" whereas infinitives are better used to describe "potential, hypothetical, or future events"
(Frodesen & Eyring 297). This is especially true with three kinds of verbs: verbs of emotion,
verbs of completion/incompletion, and verbs of remembering.
EMOTION
Actual Event Potential Event
I hated practicing my violin
while the other kids wereplaying outside.
I prefer to work during the
day.
COMPLETION/INCOMPLETION
Actual Event Potential Event
We began working on this
project two years ago.
We finished working on this
project a month ago.(Finish always takes a
gerund.)
We will continue to work on
this project for the next four
months. I wonder when we
will start to wrap up thisproject.
REMEMBERING
(such as remember, forget, regret)
Juanita forgot to do her
homework. (meaning that
Juanita failed to do her
homework because shedidn't remember to do it)
Juanita forgot doing her
homework. (meaning that
Juanita did her homework but
that she forgot she had doneso)
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For the various noun functions of both
gerunds and infinitives, click on the
button.
These distinctions for the various kinds of verbs (above) are based on those found in Grammar Dimensions: Form,Meaning, and Use. 2nd Ed. Jan Frodesen and Janet Eyring. Heinle & Heinle: Boston, 1997. Examples our own.
HELPINGANDMODAL AUXILIARYVERBS
Helping verbs or auxiliary verbs such as will, shall, may, might, can, could, must, ought
to, should, would, used to, needare used in conjunction with main verbs to express shades of
time and mood. The combination of helping verbs with main verbs creates what are called verb
phrases or verb strings. In the following sentence, "will have been" are helping or auxiliary
verbs and "studying" is the main verb; the whole verb string is underlined:
As of next August, I will have been studying chemistry for ten years.
Students should remember that adverbs and contracted forms are not, technically, part of the
verb. In the sentence, "He has already started." the adverb already modifies the verb, but it is not
really part of the verb. The same is true of the 'ntin "He hasn't started yet" (the adverb not,
represented by the contracted n't, is not part of the verb, has started).
Shall, will and forms ofhave, do and be combine with main verbs to indicate time and
voice. As auxiliaries, the verbs be, have and do can change form to indicate changes in subject
and time.
I shall go now.
He had won the election.
They did write that novel together.
I am going now.
He was winning the election.
They have been writing that novel for a long time.
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Uses ofShalland Willand Should
In England, shall is used to express the simple future for first
personIandwe, as in "Shall we meet by the river?" Will would be used in thesimple future for all other persons. Using will in the first person would express
determination on the part of the speaker, as in "We will finish this project by
tonight, by golly!" Usingshall in second and third persons would indicate some
kind of promise about the subject, as in "This shall be revealed to you in good
time." This usage is certainly acceptable in the U.S., although shall is used far
less frequently. The distinction between the two is often obscured by the
contraction 'll, which is the same for both verbs.
In the United States, we seldom use shall for anything other than polite
questions (suggesting an element of permission) in the first-person:
"Shall we go now?"
"Shall I call a doctor for you?"
(In the second sentence, many writers would use shouldinstead,
although shouldis somewhat more tentative than shall.) In the U.S., to express
the future tense, the verb will is used in all other cases.
Shall is often used in formal situations (legal or legalistic documents, minutes
to meetings, etc.) to express obligation, even with third-person and second-
person constructions:
The board of directors shall be responsible for payment to stockholders.
The college president shall report financial shortfalls to the executive
director each semester."
Shouldis usually replaced, nowadays, by would. It is still used, however, to
mean "ought to" as in
You really shouldn't do that.
If you think that was amazing, you should have seen it last night.
In British English and very formal American English, one is apt to hear or
readshouldwith the first-person pronouns in expressions of liking such as "I
should prefer iced tea" and in tentative expressions of opinion such as
I should imagine they'll vote Conservative.
I should have thought so.
(The New Fowler's Modern English Usage edited by R.W. Burchfield. Clarendon Press: Oxford,
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Uses ofDo, Does and Did
In the simple present tense, do will function as an auxiliary to express the
negative and to ask questions. (Does, however, is substituted for third-person,singular subjects in the present tense. The past tense didworks with all persons,
singular and plural.)
I don't study at night.
She doesn't work here anymore.
Do you attend this school?
Does he work here?
These verbs also work as "short answers," with the main verb omitted.
Does she work here? No, she doesn't work here.
With "yes-no" questions, the form ofdo goes in front of the subject and the
main verb comes after the subject:
Did your grandmother know Truman?
Do wildflowers grow in your back yard?
Forms ofdo are useful in expressing similarity and differences in conjunction
with so and neither.
My wife hates spinach and so does my son.
My wife doesn't like spinach; neither do I.
Do is also helpful because it means you don't have to repeat the verb:
Larry excelled in language studies; so did his brother.
Raoul studies as hard as his sister does.
The so-called emphatic do has many uses in English.
a. To add emphasis to an entire sentence: "He does like spinach. He really
does!"
b. To add emphasis to an imperative: "Do come in." (actually softens the
command)
c. To add emphasis to a frequency adverb: "He never did understand his
father." "She always does manage to hurt her mother's feelings."
d. To contradict a negative statement: "You didn't do your homework, did
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Uses ofHave, Has and Had
Forms of the verb to have are used to create tenses known as the present
perfect and past perfect. The perfect tenses indicate that something hashappened in the past; the present perfect indicating that something happened
and might be continuing to happen, the past perfect indicating that something
happened prior to something else happening. (That sounds worse than it really
is!) See the section onVerb Tenses in the Active Voicefor further
explanation; also review material in the Directory of English Tenses.
To have is also in combination with other modal verbs to express probability
and possibility in the past.
As an affirmative statement, to have can express how certain you are
that something happened (when combined with an appropriate modal
+ have + a past participle): "Georgia must have left already." "Clinton
might have known about the gifts." "They may have voted already."
As a negative statement, a modal is combined with not+ have + a past
participle to express how certain you are that something did not happen:
"Clinton might not have known about the gifts." "I may not have been
there at the time of the crime."
To ask about possibility or probability in the past, a modal is combined
with the subject + have + past participle: "Could Clinton have known
about the gifts?"
For short answers, a modal is combined with have: "Did Clinton know
about this?" "I don't know. He may have." "The evidence is pretty
positive. He must have."
To have (sometimes combined with to get) is used to express a logical
inference:
It's been raining all week; the basement has to be flooded by now.
He hit his head on the doorway. He has got to be over seven feet tall!
Have is often combined with an infinitive to form an auxiliary whose meaningis similar to "must."
I have to have a car like that!
She has to pay her own tuition at college.
He has to have been the first student to try that.
Based on the analysis in Grammar Dimensions: Form, Meaning, and Use 2nd Ed. by JanFrodesen and Janet Eyring. Heinle & Heinle: Boston. 1997. Examples our own.
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Modal Auxiliaries
Other helping verbs, called modal auxiliaries or modals, such as can, could, may, might,
must, ought to, shall, should, will, and would, do not change form for different subjects. For
instance, try substituting any of these modal auxiliaries for can with any of the subjects listed
below.
I
you
(singular)
he
we
you (plural)
they
can write
well.
There is also a separate section on theModal Auxiliaries, which divides these verbs into
their various meanings of necessity, advice, ability, expectation, permission, possibility, etc., and
provides sample sentences in various tenses. See the section on Conditional Verb Formsfor
help with the modal auxiliary would. The shades of meaning among modal auxiliaries are
multifarious and complex. Most English-as-a-Second-Language textbooks will contain at least
one chapter on their usage. For more advanced students, A University Grammar of English, by
Randolph Quirk and Sidney Greenbaum, contains an excellent, extensive analysis of modalauxiliaries.
The analysis ofModal Auxiliariesis based on a similar analysis in The Scott, Foresman Handbook for Writers by
Maxine Hairston and John J. Ruszkiewicz. 4th ed. HarperCollins: New York. 1996. The description of helping verbson this page is based on The Little, Brown Handbookby H. Ramsay Fowler and Jane E. Aaron, & Kay Limburg. 6thed. HarperCollins: New York. 1995. By permission of Addison-Wesley Educational Publishers Inc. Examples in allcases are our own.
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Uses ofCan and Could
The modal auxiliary can is used
to express ability (in the sense of being able to do something or knowing
how to do something):
He can speak Spanish but he can't write it very well.
to expression permission (in the sense of being allowed or permitted to
do something):
Can I talk to my friends in the library waiting room? (Note that can is
less formal than may. Also, some writers will object to the use ofcanin
this context.)
to express theoretical possibility:
American automobile makers can make better cars if they think there's a
profit in it.
The modal auxiliary couldis used
to express an ability in the past:
I could always beat you at tennis when we were kids.
to express past or future permission:
Could I bury my cat in your back yard?
to express present possibility:
We could always spend the afternoon just sitting around talking.
to express possibility or ability in contingent circumstances:
If he studied harder, he could pass this course.
In expressing ability, can and couldfrequently also imply willingness: Can you
help me with my homework?
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Can versus May
Whether the auxiliary verb can can be used to express permission or not
"Can I leave the room now?" ["I don't know if you can, but you may."] depends on the level of formality of your text or situation. As Theodore
Bernstein puts it in The Careful Writer, "a writer who is attentive to the
proprieties will preserve the traditional distinction: can for ability or power to
do something, mayfor permission to do it.
The question is at what level can you safely ignore the "proprieties."
Merriam-Webster's Dictionary, tenth edition, says the battle is over and can can
be used in virtually any situation to express or ask for permission. Most
authorities, however, recommend a stricter adherence to the distinction, at least
in formal situations.
Authority: The Careful Writer by Theodore Bernstein. The Free Press: New York. 1998. p. 87.
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Uses ofMayand Might
Two of the more troublesome modal auxiliaries are may and might. When
used in the context of granting or seeking permission, mightis the past tenseofmay.Mightis considerably more tentative than may.
May I leave class early?
If I've finished all my work and I'm really quiet, might I leave early?
In the context of expressing possibility, may and mightare interchangeable
present and future forms and might+ have + past participle is the past form:
She might be my advisor next semester.
She may be my advisor next semester.
She might have advised me not to take biology.
Avoid confusing the sense of possibility in may with the implication
ofmight,that a hypothetical situation has not in fact occurred. For instance, let's
say there's been a helicopter crash at the airport. In his initial report, before all
the facts are gathered, a newscaster could say that the pilot "may have been
injured." After we discover that the pilot is in fact all right, the newscaster can
now say that the pilot "might have been injured" because it is a hypothetical
situation that has not occurred. Another example: a body had been identified
after much work by a detective. It was reported that "without this painstaking
work, the body may have remained unidentified." Since the body was, in fact,identified, mightis clearly called for.
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Uses ofWilland Would
In certain contexts, will and wouldare virtually interchangeable, but there
are differences. Notice that the contracted form 'll is very frequently usedfor will.
Will can be used to express willingness:
I'll wash the dishes if you dry.
We're going to the movies. Will you join us?
It can also express intention (especially in the first person):
I'll do my exercises later on.
and prediction:
specific: The meeting will be over soon.
timeless: Humidity will ruin my hairdo.
habitual: The river will overflow its banks every spring.
Wouldcan also be used to express willingness:
Would you please take off your hat?
It can also express insistence (rather rare, and with a strong stress on the word
"would"):
Now you've ruined everything. You wouldact that way.
and characteristic activity:
customary: After work, he would walk to his home in West Hartford.
typical (casual): She would cause the whole family to be late, every
time.
In a main clause, wouldcan express a hypothetical meaning:
My cocker spaniel would weigh a ton if I let her eat what she wants.
Finally, wouldcan express a sense of probability:
I hear a whistle. That would be the five o'clock train.
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Uses ofUsed to
The auxiliary verb construction used to is used to express an action that
took place in the past, perhaps customarily, but now that action no longer
customarily takes place:
We used to take long vacation trips with the whole family.
The spelling of this verb is a problem for some people because the "-ed" ending
quite naturally disappears in speaking: "We yoostoo take long trips." But it
ought not to disappear in writing. There are exceptions, though. When the
auxiliary is combined with another auxiliary, did, the past tense is carried by
the new auxiliary and the "-ed" ending is dropped. This will often happen in theinterrogative:
Didn't you use to go jogging every morning before breakfast?
It didn't use to be that way.
Used to can also be used to convey the sense of being accustomed to or
familiar with something:
The tire factory down the road really stinks, but we're used to it by now.
I like these old sneakers; I'm used to them.
Used to is best reserved for colloquial usage; it has no place in formal or
academic text.
THE VERB TO BE
The Forms of To Be
The Greek sea god, Proteus, was (like the sea) capable of changing form in an instant. In
order to get any decent information out of him, you had to grab him and hold on tight while he
went through his various forms lion, wild boar, snake, tree, running stream it wasn't easy.
The verb To be is said to be the most protean of the English language, constantly changing
form, sometimes without much of a discernible pattern. Considering that we use it so often, it is
really too bad that the verb To be has to be the most irregular, slippery verb in the language.
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Present Tense
I am We are
You are You are
He/She/It is They are
Past Tense
I was We were
You were You were
He/She/It was They were
Perfect Form (past participle)
I have been, etc.
Progressive Form (present participle)
I am being, etc.
We must choose carefully among these various forms when selecting the proper verb to go
with our subject. Singular subjects require singular verbs; plural subjects require plural verbs.
That's usually an easy matter. We wouldn't write The troops was moving to the border. But
some sentences require closer attention. Do we write The majority of students is (or are) voting
against the referendum"? Review carefully the material in our section on Subject-Verb
Agreement, and notice how often the choices we make require a familiarity with these forms of
the To be verb.
Simple Questions
We create simple yes/no questions by inverting the order of subject and the To be verb.
Is your brother taller than you?
Am I bothering you?
Were they embarrassed by the comedian?
The same inversion takes place when To be is combined with verbs in the
progressive: Am I working with you today?
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Is it snowing in the mountains?
Were your children driving home this weekend?
The Linking and Existential 'To Be'
The verb To be most frequently works in conjunction with another verb: He is playing
the piano, She will be arriving this afternoon. Occasionally, though, the verb will stand by
itself, alone, in a sentence. This is especially true in simple, brief answers to questions.
Who's going to the movies with me?I am
Who's responsible for this mess in the bathroom?She is.
In sentences such as these, the subject usually receives the intonation stress and the voicefalls off on the verb.
An auxiliary can be combined with the base form of To be to provide simple answers to
questions that use forms of to be.
Is Heitor in class this morning?Well, he might be.
Is anyone helping Heitor with his homework?I'm not sure. Suzanne could be.
The verb To be also acts as a linking verb, joining the sentence subject with asubject
complement or adjective complement. A linking verb provides no action to a sentence: the
subject complement re-identifies the subject; the adjective complement modifies it. (For further
information and additional vocabulary in dealing with linking verbs, visit the hyperlinks in this
paragraph.)
Professor Moriber is the Director of Online Learning.
Our trip to Yellowstone was fantastic!
In Passive ConstructionsA form of the verb To be is combined with a past participle to form the passive.Passive
verb constructions are useful when the subject of an action is not as important as what the
subject did (the action of the sentence) or when the subject is unknown. For instance, the police
might report that The professor was assaulted in the hallways because they do not know the
perpetrator of this heinous crime. In technical writing, where the process is more important than
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who is doing the activity, we might report that Three liters of fluid is filtered through porous
glass beads. Regardless of the verb's purpose, only the auxiliary form of To be changes; the
participle stays the same. The To be will change form to indicate whether the subject is
singular or plural:
The foundation is supported by enormous floating caissons that keep it from sinkinginto the swamp.
They were constructed by workers half submerged in the murky waters.
Notice how the information about who did the action is frequently found in a prepositional
phrase beginning with by. Passive constructions do not always include this information:
Wooden caissons were used until fiberglass structures were developed in the 1950s.
Caissons were also designed to function under water in the construction of bridges.
The To be will also change to indicate the time of the action and the aspect of the verb
(simple, progressive, perfect).
Water is pumped out of the caisson to create an underwater work chamber. (simple
present)
Some caissons were moved to other construction sites. (simple past)
While the water was being pumped out, workers would enter the top of the
waterproof chamber. (past progressive)
Many other uses of caisson construction have been explored. (present perfect)
Caissons had been used by the ancient Romans. (past perfect)
Other uses will be found. (future)
The To be verb can be combined with other modal forms (along with the past participle of
the main verb) to convey other kinds of information. See the section on modals for the various
kinds of information conveyed by modals (advisability, predictability, guessing, necessity,
possibility, etc.).
The wall joints may be weakened if the caissons can't be rebuilt.
Perhaps the caissons should be replaced; I think they ought to be.
These ancient, sturdy structures might have been rotted by constant exposure to
water.
Visit our section on the passive for advice on when to use the passive and when to
substitute more active verb forms.
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When To be verbs are combined with modal forms in this manner, the construction is
called a phrasal modal. Here are some more examples:
Rosario was able to finish her degree by taking online courses.
She wasn't supposed to graduate until next year.
She will be allowed to participate in commencement, though.
She is about to apply to several graduate programs.
She is going to attend the state university next fall.
Sometimes it is difficult to say whether a To be verb is linking a subject to a participle or
if the verb and participle are part of a passive construction. In Certain behaviors are allowed, is
"are linking behaviors to "allowed" (a participle acting as a predicate adjective) or is are
allowed a passive verb? In the final analysis, it probably doesn't matter, but the distinction leads
to some interesting variations. Consider the difference between
The jurists were welcomed.
and
The jurists were welcome.
In the first sentence, the participle welcomed (in this passive construction) emphasizes the
action of welcoming: the smiles, the hearty greetings, the slaps on the back. In the second
sentence, the predicate adjective welcome describes the feeling that the jurists must have had
upon being so welcomed.
Progressive Forms
ClickHERE for a thorough discussion of the progressive verb forms. Progressive forms
include a form of To be plus a present participle (an -ing ending). Frodesen and Eyring**
categorize progressive verbs according to the following functions:
to describe actions already in progress at the moment "in focus" within the sentence,
as in I was doing my homework when my brother broke into my room, crying. or
I will be graduating from college about the same time that you enter high school.
to describe actions at the moment of focus in contrast to habitual actions, as in We
usually buy the most inexpensive car we can find, but this time we're buying aluxury sedan.
to express repeated actions, as in My grandfather is forever retelling the same story
about his adventures in Rangoon.
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to describe temporary situations in contrast to permanent states, as in Jeffrey goes
to the University of Connecticut, but this summer he is taking courses at the
community college.
to express uncompleted actions, as in Harvey and Mark are working on their
deck.
Tag Questions with To Be
ClickHERE for a description of tag questions, a device by which a statement is turned into
a question. When we use To be verbs in a tag question, the basic formula follows: the verb is
combined with a pronoun and sometimes with not(usually in a contracted form). Positive
statements are followed by negative tags; negative statements by positive tags.
Robert Frost was America's favorite poet, wasn't he?
He wasn't widely accepted in this country at first, was he?
You were going to skip this poem, weren't you?
There were several typographical errors in this anthology, weren't there? (Be careful
here. It's not weren't they.)
I am not a very good reader, am I?
I'm a better reader than you, aren't I?
(Don't try to make sense of this last construction. It is acceptable. In very formal text, you
might write am I not instead. Ain't is not regarded as acceptable except in text attempting toduplicate substandard speech.)
Order with Adverbs
Notice that adverbs of frequency normally appear after forms of the verb To be:
As a student, he was seldom happy.
Arturo is always first in line.
They were never on time.
Notice that the adverb still appears after To be verbs but before other main verbs:
My brother-in-law still works for the bank.
He is still a teller after twenty years.
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An adverb can be interposed between the infinitive To be and a participle, as in the following
sentences. The fear of splitting an infinitive is without grounds in this construction.
This medicine has to be carefully administered .
She turned out to be secretly married to her childhood sweetheart.
Unnecessary Uses of To Be
Even a casual review of your writing can reveal uses of the verb To be that are
unnecessary and that can be removed to good effect. In a way, the To be verb doesn't do much
for you it just sits there and text that is too heavily sprinkled with To be verbs can feel
sodden, static. This is especially true of To be verbs tucked into dependent clauses
(particularly dependent clauses using a passive construction) and expletive constructions (There
is, There were, it is, etc.). Note that the relative pronoun frequently disappears as well when
we revise these sentences.
He wanted a medication that was prescribed by a physician.
She recognized the officer who was chasing the crook.
Anyone who is willing to work hard will succeed in this program.
It was Alberto who told the principal about the students' prank. (Notice that the it
was brought special emphasis to Alberto, an emphasis that is somewhat lost by
this change.)
A customer who is pleased is sure to return. A pleased customer is sure to return.
(When we eliminate the To be and the relative pronoun, we will also have to
reposition the predicate adjective to a pre-noun position.)
An expletive construction, along with its attendant To be verb, can often be eliminated to
good effect. Simply omit the construction, find the real subject of the sentence, and allow it to do
some real work with a real verb.
There were some excellent results to this experiment in social work. (Change
to . . . .) This experiment in social work resulted in . . . .
There is one explanation for this story's ending in Faulkner's diary. (Change to . . . .)
Faulkner's diary gives us one explanation for this story's ending.
On the other hand, expletive constructions do give us an interesting means of setting out or
organizing the work of a subsequent paragraph:
There were four underlying causes of World War I. First, . . . .
Fuzzy Verb Phrases with "Be"
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The following information is taken, with permission, from Garner's ModernAmerican Usage by Bryan Garner. Copyright 2003. Published by OxfordUniversity Press.
Verb phrases containing "be" verbs are often merely roundabout ways of saying something
better said with a simple verb. Thus "be supportive of" for "support" is verbose.
The following circumlocutory uses of "be" verbs are common in stuffy writing. The simple
verb (in parentheses) is usually better:
be abusive of (abuse)be applicable to (apply to)
be benefited by (benefit from)
be derived from (derive from)
be desirous of (desire or want)
be determinative of (determine)be in agreement (agree)
be in attendance (attend)be indicative of (indicate)
be in error (err)
be in existence (exist)be influential on (influence)
be in possession of (possess)
be in receipt of (have received)
be in violation of (violate)
be operative (operate)be productive of (produce)
be promotive of (promote)be supportive of (support)
Many such wordy constructions are more naturally phrased in the present-tense singular: "is
able to" ("can"), "is authorized to" ("may"), "is binding upon" ("binds"), "is empowered to"
("may"), "is unable to" ("cannot").
Stative and Dynamic Forms
Martha Kolln* suggests that we think of the difference between stative and dynamic in
terms of willed and nonwilled qualities. Consider the difference between a so-called
dynamic adjective (or subject complement) and a stative adjective (or subject complement): I
am silly OR I am being silly versus I am tall. I have chosen to be silly; I have no choice
about being tall. Thus Tall is said to be a stative (or an inert) quality, and we cannot say I
am being tall; silly, on the other hand, is dynamic so we can use progressive verb forms in
conjunction with that quality.
Two plus two equals four.Equals is inert, stative, and cannot take the progressive; there isno choice, no volition in the matter. (We would not say, Two plus two is equaling four.) In the
same way, nouns and pronouns can be said to exhibit willed and unwilled characteristics. Thus,
She is being a good worker (because she chooses to be so), but we would say She is (not is
being) an Olympic athlete (because once she becomes an athlete she no longer wills it). For
further definition of this interesting distinction, clickHERE.
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Passive and Active Voices
Verbs are also said to be either active (The executive committee approved the new policy)
orpassive (The new policy was approved by the executive committee) in voice. In the active
voice, the subject and verb relationship is straightforward: the subject is a be-er or a do-er and
the verb moves the sentence along. In the passive voice, the subject of the sentence is neither a
do-er or a be-er, but is acted upon by some otheragent or by something unnamed (The new
policy was approved). Computerized grammar checkers can pick out a passive voice
construction from miles away and ask you to revise it to a more active construction. There is
nothing inherently wrong with the passive voice, but if you can say the same thing in the active
mode, do so (see exceptions below). Your text will have more pizzazz as a result, since passive
verb constructions tend to lie about in their pajamas and avoid actual work.
We find an overabundance of the passive voice in sentences created by self-protective
business interests, magniloquent educators, and bombastic military writers (who must get weary
of this accusation), who use the passive voice to avoid responsibility for actions taken.
Thus "Cigarette ads were designed to appeal especially to children" places the burden
on the ads as opposed to "We designed the cigarette ads to appeal especially to
children," in which "we" accepts responsibility. At a White House press briefing we might hear
that "The President was advised that certain members of Congress were being audited" rather
than "The Head of the Internal Revenue service advised the President that her agency was
auditing certain members of Congress" because the passive construction avoids responsibility for
advising and for auditing. One further caution about the passive voice: we should not mix active
and passive constructions in the same sentence: "The executive committee approved the new
policy, and the calendar for next year's meetings was revised" should be recast as "The executive
committee approved the new policy and revised the calendar for next year's meeting."
Take the quiz (below) as an exercise in recognizing and changing passive verbs.
The passive voice does exist for a reason, however, and its presence is not
always to be despised. The passive is particularly useful (even recommended) in
two situations:
When it is more important to draw our attention to the person or thing
acted upon: The unidentified victim was apparently struck during the early morning
hours. When the actor in the situation is not important: The aurora borealis can be
observed in the early morning hours.
The passive voice is especially helpful (and even regarded as mandatory) in scientific or
technical writing or lab reports, where the actor is not really important but the process or
principle being described is of ultimate importance. Instead of writing "I poured 20 cc of acid
into the beaker," we would write "Twenty cc of acid is/was poured into the beaker." The passive
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voice is also useful when describing, say, a mechanical process in which the details of process
are much more important than anyone's taking responsibility for the action: "The first coat of
primer paint is applied immediately after the acid rinse."
We use the passive voice to good effect in a paragraph in which we wish to shift emphasis
from what was the object in a first sentence to what becomes the subject in subsequent sentences.
The executive committee approved an entirely new policy for dealing with academic suspensionand withdrawal. The policy had been written by a subcommittee on student behavior. If studentswithdraw from course work before suspension can take effect, the policy states, a mark of "IW" .. . .
The paragraph is clearly about this new policy so it is appropriate that policy move from being
the object in the first sentence to being the subject of the second sentence. The passive voice
allows for this transition.
Passive Verb Formation
The passive forms of a verb are created by combining a form of the "to be verb" with the
past participle of the main verb. Other helping verbs are also sometimes present: "The
measure could have been killed in committee." The passive can be used, also, in various tenses.
Let's take a look at the passive forms of "design."
Tense SubjectAuxiliary Past
ParticipleSingular Plural
Present The car/cars is are designed.
Present perfect The car/cars has been have been designed.
Past The car/cars was were designed.
Past perfect The car/cars had been had been designed.
Future The car/cars will be will be designed.
Future perfect The car/cars will have been will have been designed.
Present progressive The car/cars is being are being designed.
Past progressive The car/cars was being were being designed.
A sentence cast in the passive voice will not always include an agent of the action. For
instance if a gorilla crushes a tin can, we could say "The tin can was crushed by the gorilla." But
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a perfectly good sentence would leave out the gorilla: "The tin can was crushed." Also, when an
active sentence with an indirect object is recast in the passive, the indirect object can take on the
role of subject in the passive sentence:
Active Professor Villa gave Jorge an A.
Passive An A was given to Jorge by Professor Villa.
Passive Jorge was given an A.
Only transitive verbs (those that take objects) can be transformed into passive constructions.
Furthermore, active sentences containing certain verbs cannot be transformed into passive
structures. To have is the most important of these verbs. We can say "He has a new car," but we
cannot say "A new car is had by him." We can say "Josefina lacked finesse," but we cannot say
"Finesse was lacked." Here is a brief list of such verbs*:
resemble look like equal agree with
mean contain hold comprise
lack suit fit become
Verbals in Passive Structures
Verbals or verb forms can also take on features of the passive voice. An infinitive phrase
in the passive voice, for instance, can perform various functions within a sentence (just like the
active forms of the infinitive).
Subject: To be elected by my peers is a great honor.
Object: That child really likes to be read to by her mother.
Modifier: Grasso was the first woman to be elected governor in her own right.
The same is true ofpassive gerunds.
Subject: Being elected by my peers was a great thrill.
Object: I really don't like being lectured to by my boss.
Object of preposition: I am so tired ofbeing lectured to by my boss.
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With passive participles, part of the passive construction is often omitted, the result being a
simple modifying participial phrase.
[Having been] designed for off-road performance, the Pathseeker does not always
behave well on paved highways.
PROGRESSIVE, STATIVEAND DYNAMIC VERBS
THEPROGRESSIVEFORMSOFAVERBINDICATETHATSOMETHINGISHAPPENING or was
happening or will be happening. When used with the past, the progressive form shows the
limited duration of an event: "While I was doing my homework, my brother came into my
room." The past progressive also suggests that an action in the past was not entirely finished.
(Compare "I did my homework." to "I was doing my homework.") This is even more evident in
the passive progressive construction: "He was being strangled in the alley" suggests an action
that was not finished, perhaps because the act was interrupted by a good citizen, whereas the
simple past "He was strangled in the alley" suggests an action that was finished, unfortunately.
A neat categorization of the uses of the progressive can be found on the page describing
the "To Be" Verb.
The progressive forms occur only with dynamic verbs, that is, with verbs that show
qualities capable of change as opposed to stative verbs, which show qualities not capable of
change.* For instance, we do not say, "He is being tall" or "He is resembling his mother" or "I
am wanting spaghetti for dinner" or "It is belonging to me." (We would say, instead: "He is tall,"
"He resembles his mother," "I want spaghetti," and "It belongs to me.") The best way to
understand the difference between stative and dynamic verbs is to look at a table that lists them
and breaks them into categories and then to build some sentences with them, trying out the
progressive forms to see if they work or not.
These categories and lists are derived from Randolph Quirk and Sidney Greenbaum's A
University Grammar of English (used with the publisher's permission). The examples are our
own. The lists are not meant to be complete.
DYNAMIC VERBS
Activity Verbs
I am begging you. I was learning French. They will be playing
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upstairs..Virtually identical in meaning to simple tense forms:
I beg you. I learned French. They will play upstairs.
abandon
askbeg
calldrink
eat
helplearn
listenlook at
play
rainread
sayslice
throw
whisperwork
write
Process Verbs
The corn is growing rapidly. Traffic is slowing down.
Virtually identical in meaning to simple present tense forms:
The corn grows rapidly. Traffic slows down.
change
deteriorate
grow
mature
slow down widen
Verbs of Bodily Sensation
"I feel bad" and "I am feeling bad" are virtually identical inmeaning.
ache feel hurt itch
Transitional Events Verbs
Progressive forms indicate the beginning of an event,
as opposed to the simple present tense."She was falling out of bed [when I caught her]" as opposed to
"She falls out of bed every night."
arrive
die
fall
land
leave lose
Momentary Verbs
Progressive forms indicate little duration and suggest repetition.
She is hitting her brother.He is jumping around the house.
hit
jump
kick
knock
nod tap
STATIVE VERBS
Verbs of Inert Perception and Cognition*
I detest rudabaga, but notI am detesting rudabaga.I prefer cinnamon toast, but notI am preferring cinnamon toast.
abhor guess mind satisfy
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adore
astonish
believe
desire
detest
dislike
doubt
feel
forgive
hate
hear
imagine
impress
intend
know
like
love
mean
perceive
please
prefer
presuppose
realize
recall
recognize
regard
remember
see
smell
suppose
taste
think
understand
want
wish
Relational Verbs
I am sick, but notI am being sick.
I own ten acres of land, but notI am owning ten acres.My brother owes me ten dollars" but not
My brother is owing me ten dollars.
be*belong to
concern
consist of
contain
cost
depend ondeserve
equal
fit
have
include
involvelack
matter
need
owe
own
possessrequire
require
resemble
seem
sound
*Kolln suggests that we think of the difference between stative and dynamic in terms of
"willed" and "nonwilled" qualities. Consider the difference between a so-called dynamic
adjective (or subject complement) and a stative adjective (or subject complement): "I am silly"
OR "I am being silly" versus "I am tall." I have chosen to be silly; I have no choice about being
tall. Thus "tall" is said to be a stative (or an "inert") quality, and we cannot say "I am being tall";
"silly," on the other hand, is dynamic so we can use progressive verb forms in conjunction with
that quality.
The same applies to verbs. Two plus two equals four.Equals is inert, stative, and cannot
take the progressive; there is no choice, no volition in the matter. (We would not say, "Two plus
two is equalling four.") In the same way, nouns and pronouns can be said to exhibit willed and
unwilled characteristics. Thus, "She is being a good worker" (because she chooses to be so), but
we would say "She is (not is being) an Olympic athlete" (because once she becomes an athlete
she no longer "wills it").
CONDITIONALVERB FORMS
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If I had a hammer, I'd hammer in the morning,
I'd hammer in the evening, all over this land.
I'd hammer out danger, I'd hammer out warning,
I'd hammer out love between my brothers and my sisters
Oh, oh, all over this land.
If I had a bell, I'd ring it in the morning,
I'd ring it in the evening, all over this land.
I'd ring out danger, I'd ring out warning,
I'd ring out love between my brothers and my sisters
Oh, oh, all over this land.
So go the first two stanzas of Lee Hays and Pete Seeger's folk tune, "If I had a hammer,"
one of the most famous tunes and lyrics in the history of American song. The grammar of the
lyrics uses what is called the conditional. The writer expresses an action or an idea (hammeringout danger and warning and love) that is dependent on a condition, on something that is only
imagined (having a hammer or a bell or, in the next stanza, a song). In this situation, the
lyricist imagines what he would do if he "had a hammer" now, in the present. He might also
have imagined what he would have done if he "had had a hammer," in the past, prior to
something else happening:
"If I had had a hammer, I would have hammered a warning."
The conditional is possible also in the future tense:
"If I have a hammer tomorrow, I might hammer out warning.OR
. . . I will hammer out warning."
OR
"If I were to have a hammer tomorrow, I would hammer out warning."
And, finally, he could imagine what is called the habitual present conditional:
"If/when I have a hammer, I hammer out warning." [I do it all the time, whenever I have a
hammer.]
The Factual versus the Unreal or Hypothetical
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In expressing a conditional situation, we must be able to distinguish
between what is a factual statement and what is a hypothetical statement.
(Other terms for hypothetical could be unreal, imagined, wished for, only
possible, etc.) For instance, if we say
"The dog is always happy when Dad stays home,"
that's a simple statement of present habitual fact. A general truth is expressed in the same way:
"If the sun shines all day, it gets hot."
Statements of habitual fact can also be made in the past:
"If we ate out at all, it was always in a cheap restaurant."
And conditional or hypothetical statements can be made about the future:
"I will give you a call, if I fly to Phoenix tomorrow.
(In the future, we could combine the base form of the verb ("give," in this case) with other modal
verbs: may, might, could.)
HYPOTHETICAL STATEMENTS
When we express the hypothetical in English in the present tense, we end up using the past
tense in an interesting way.
If you liked tennis, we could go play on the new courts.
(Instead ofcould, we could have used wouldor mightin that sentence.) The speaker of that
sentence is not talking about something in the past tense, even though he uses the past tense
"liked." The speaker implies, in fact, that you don't like to play tennis (in the present), so there's
no point, now, in going to the new tennis courts.
When we use the hypothetical in this conditional mode, we accommodate our need
to speculate on how things could have been different, how we wish things were
different, how we imagine that things could be different in the future, etc. In order to
express the unreal, the hypothetical, the speculative, or imagined (all those being the
same in this case), English has adopted an interesting habit of moving time one step backward.
Two verbs are involved: one in the clause stating the condition (the "if" clause) and one in the
result clause. Watch how the verbs change.
Click
for yet another
explanation of
the conditional in
English.
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If the hypothetical result is in the future, we put the verb in the condition clause one step
back into the present:
If the Bulls win the game tomorrow, they will be champs again.
For present unreal events, we put the verb in the condition clause one step back into the past:
If the Bulls won another championship, Roberto would drive into Chicago for the
celebration.
I wish I had tickets.
If they were available anywhere, I would pay any price for them.
If he were a good friend, he would buy them for me.
Note that wishing is always an unreal condition. Note, too, that the verb to be uses the
form were in an unreal condition. More about this in a moment.
For past unreal events things that didn't happen, but we can imagine we put the verb
in the condition clause a further step back into the past perfect:
If the Pacers had won, Aunt Glad would have been rich.
If she had bet that much money on the Bulls, she and Uncle Chester could have retired.
I wish I had lived in Los Angeles when the Lakers had Magic Johnson.
If I had known you were coming, I would have baked a cake.
In this last sentence, note the conditional clause in the past perfect (had known) and the resultclause that uses the conditional modal + have + the past participle of the main verb (would have
baked).
Some writers seem to think that the subjunctive mood is disappearing from English, but
that's probably not true. We use the subjunctive all the time to accommodate this human urge to
express possibility, the hypothetical, the imagined. (You can review the Verbs and Verbals
section for further help understanding the Subjunctive Mood.) Frequently, conditional
expressions require that we use were where we would otherwise have used another form ofto
be. The switch to were is not the only manifestation of the subjunctive in expressing the
conditional, but it is the most common.
If my brother were my boss, I wouldn't have a job today.
If I were to lose my job, I wouldn't be able to pay my bills. [Notice how this is more
uncertain, more "iffey," than "If I lose my job, I won't be able to pay my bills."]
If I were eight feet tall, I'd be one heck of a basketball player. [The subjunctive is
sometimes to express purely imaginary situation.]
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If I should grow to be eight feet tall, I'd be a great basketball player. [This statement seems
even more imaginary and unlikely.]
Using Wouldand Could
When expressing the unreal, the result clauses need would, couldor will. The conditionclauses do not use those verbs; the condition clauses, instead, use verbs moved one step back in
time from the result (as we will see in the tables below).
Future Conditionals versus Hypothetical Conditionals
When we want to predict something conditional about the future (what we think might
happen), we can use the present tense in the ifclause and will or be going + the base form of the
verb in the result clause.
If Jeffrey grows any taller, the basketball coach is going to recruit him for the team. If he doesn't grow more, the coach will ignore him.
On the other hand, the hypothetical conditional allows us to express quite unlikely situations
or situations that are downright impossible.
If I boxed against Evander Holyfield, he would kill me.
If my dad had been seven feet tall instead of less than six feet tall, he would have been a
great athlete.
Other Forms of Conditional StatementsThe conditional can also be signaled by means of a subject-verb inversion. This inversion
replaces the word "if"; it is inappropriate to use both the word "if" and the subject-verb inversion
in the same sentence.
Were Judita a better student, she would have a better relationship with her instructors.
Had Judita studied harder last fall, she would not have to take so many courses this spring.
Various Tenses in the Conditional
The following tables divide the uses of the conditional into three types, according to the
time expressed in the if clause: (1) true in the present or future or possibly true in the future; (2)
untrue or contrary to fact in the present; or (3) untrue or contrary to fact in the past. Notice the
one step backward in time in the condition clause.
True in the Present
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If clause Independent clause
True as habit or fact
If + subject + presenttense
subject + present tense
If Judita works hard, she gets good grades.
True as one-time future event
If + subject + present
tense
subject + future tense
If Judita hands in herpaper early tomorrow,
she'll probably get an A.
Possibly true in the future
If + subject + present
tense
subject + modal + base
form
If Judita hands in her
paper early tomorrow,she
may/might/could/shouldget an A.
Untrue in the Present
If clause Independent clause
If + subject + past tense subject +
would/could/might +
simple form of verb
If Judita worked this hard
in all her courses,
she would/could/might
get on the Dean's List.
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If + subject + to be verb subject +
would/could/might +
simple form of verb
If Judita were president of
her class,
she could work to reform
the grading policy.
Untrue in the Past
If clause Independent clause
If + subject + past
perfect tense
subject + modal + have
+ past participle
If Judita had worked this
hard in all her courses,
she would not have failed
this semester.