CapilanoUniversityWritingCentreInformationSheet

GRAMMAR:ESL

750.4

The Verb:
Form, Tense, Aspect, Voice

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Form
MostverbsinEnglishhavefiveforms.Theseareusuallylistedinyourdictionary.
dream
be
have
Base(bareinfinitive)
dream/dreams
am/is
have/has
Present
dreamed
was
had
Past
being
having
PresentParticiple(ING) dreaming
dreamed
been
had
PastParticiple(EN)

Helpingverbsormodalauxiliariesareusedtocreateotherverbphrases,butareconsidered
incompletebecausetheyhaveonlyapresentandapastform.Commonmodalauxiliariesare
can/could;will/would,may/might;shall/should.

Tense
Onlythesimplepresentandsimplepastverbformsarefiniteorcompleteinthemselves
withoutadditionalwordstoformaverbphrase.

Aspect
Englishhas2aspects:
theContinuousorProgressive(BE+ING)

thePerfect,CompletedorPerfective(HAVE+EN)

FiniteVerbSequence
TheEnglishfiniteverbsequencemustcontainatensemarket(T)showingeitherPresentor
Past,andalexicalormeaningverb.Inaddition,itmaycontainamodalverbandoneortwo
aspectmarkers.Thenamesofthetensemayvaryslightlyindifferentgrammartexts,butare
mostoftenderivedfromthetensemarkerandaspectmarkerusedineachcase.
PresentSimple
Shewalks.
Ihavelunch.
Present
Sheiswalking.
Iamhavinglunch.
Continuous/Progressive
PresentPerfect
Shehaswalked.
Ihavehadlunch.
PresentPerfectContinuous
Shehasbeenwalking.
Ihavebeenhavinglunch.
PastSimple
Shewalked.
Ihadlunch.
PastContinuous/Progressive Shewaswalking.
Iwashavinglunch.
PastPerfect
Shehadwalked.
Ihadhadlunch.
PastPerfectContinuous
Shehadbeenwalking.
Ihadbeenhavinglunch.

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FutureSimple
FutureContinuous
FuturePerfect
FuturePerfectContinuous

Shewillwalk.
Shewillbewalking.
Shewillhavewalked.
Shewillhavebeenwalking.

Iwillhavelunch.
Iwillbehavinglunch.
Iwillhavehadlunch.
Iwillhavebeenhavinglunch.

VerbTenseandAspect:PossibleMeanings
PresentSimple

astatethatexistsnow
Simonthinksthatheissilly.Hewantstoplaythepiano.

ahabitualorrepeatedaction
Iwakeupat6:30.EduardostudiesatCapilanoUniversity.

asingleevent(suchasSportscommentaries,formaldeclarations)
Heshoots!Hescores!Ithankyouforthisscholarship,andhonouryouforyour
commitmenttoeducation.

atruth,orfact
Theworldisround.Thesunisthecentreofthesolarsystem.Gravityis
constant.

PresentProgressiveorContinuous
atemporaryactivity
Michelleisfeedingthecat.Jakeisplayingsoccer.Smileyisstudying.

atemporarystate
CarsonislearningtoprogrammeinC++.Winnieisridingherbiketouniversity
whiletheweatherisfine.

forfutureanddefiniteappointments(usuallywithsometimemarker).
IammeetingwithKojitomorrow.
HoonisseeingthedoctorMonday.
MelanieisflyingtoVictoriawithAlexonMarch6.

PresentPerfectorCompleted,Simple
astateorhabitthatlastsuptothepresent
Takeyoshihastaughtjudoformorethan20years.
Hehasbeenunemployedfor6months.
HaveyoubeeninMontrealforthelastyear?

apastactionwithapresentresultorfocus
Roshyhaslostherpen.
CarolhasplayedthatCDfivetimestoday.

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apastexperience,stateoractionwithanindefinitetimepoint
AlirezahaslivedinGermany.
JoannaandWinniehavetakenthetimetoreadyyouressay.

PresentPerfectorCompleted,Progressive
atemporaryactivity,uptothepresent
Rexhasbeenwaitinghalfanhourforthatbus.
Jacquieandherhusbandhavebeensavingtobuyahousefor6years.

atemporaryhabitorstateuptothepresenttime
Shehasbeensmokingalotsinceherbiologyexam.
Theyhavebeencomplainingabouthomeworksincethecoursestarted.

atemporaryorpastactivitywithapresentresult(oftenwithanexplanationofthe
present)
Meihasbeenwritingfortwohours,soherfingersareaching.
Ivebeenwearingthesehighheelsfor6hours,somyfeetarekillingme...

PastSimple

astateofhabitinpastdefinedtime
IlikedsweetswhenIwasachild.HelivedinDenmarkin1987.

asingleeventindefinedtime
Peterphonedmeyesterday.
TommysawHaroldlastFriday.

PastProgressive

aneventthatwasinprogressatadefinitepointintime(mayormaynotcontinue)
IvanaandAndrewwerelaughingwhenRuysukeenteredtheroom.
MikiwasplayingtheviolinwhileValwasplayingrugby.

PastPerfect,Simple

apasteventthatoccurredbeforeanotherpastevent
IhadbeentoParkRoyallongbeforeNewYorkFriesopenedakioskintheFood
Court.
Theyhadknownaboutthepartybeforetheinvitationarrived.

apaststateoractionuptoapasttime
Wehadownedasportscarbeforewehadquadruplets.
IhadthoughtthattimewasconstantbeforeItookPhysics.

PastPerfect,Progressiveorcontinuous

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apasttemporarystateoractivityuptoapasttime
TheyhadbeenstudyingEnglishforfourhoursbeforetheytookabreak.
FutureSimplewill/shall+base
aprediction
ShellgraduatethisJune.

adecisionmadeattimeofspeakingoroffers
Iwillhelpyou.

FutureSimple(variant)
goingto+base
apredictionarisingfrompresentevidence
YounesisgoingtofinishUniversity.

anintentiondecidedbeforespeakingwithanexpectationoffulfilment
Afterthisafternoonslecture,JohnandAlexaregoingtohavecoffeeatMoja.
Kaiisgoingtobeateacherwhenhegrowsup.

PresentProgressive+futuretimeadverbial
anappointmentorplanthathasalreadybeenestablishedormade
ImseeingthedentistinOctober.
Theyarerunningascandidatesinthe2002Provincialelection.

Will/shall+be+ING
progressiveparticiple

asingleeventthatwillbecompletedatafuturepointintime
MycousinwillbearrivingonAirCanadafromTorontotomorrowat5:15.

atemporarystateofactivityinprogressatafuturepointintime
ThisJuly,wellberentingacabinonKeatsIsland.
IllbeshoppingatEatonsjustbeforetomorrowsmeeting.

Will/Shall+Have+EN
afutureclaimthatwillbecompletedorfinishedbeforeanotherfutureevent
HellhavemadesupperbeforeIarrivebackfromRichmond.
WellhavespentallourmoneyonslotmachinesbythetimeweleaveLasVegas.

Will/Shall+havebeen+ING
afutureactivityinprogresswhenanotherfutureevent
Wellhavebeenstudyingfortheexambeforeyouvisit.
Illhavebeenworryingforhoursbeforemydaughtergetshome.

Note:
TherearemanywaysofconstructingafuturetenseinEnglish.Forexample,you
canwriteJenisabouttogoiceskatingandthephraseabout+infinitive
indicatesthefutureinthesamewayasgoingto,prediction.Or,youcanwrite

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WehopetofindanicepuppyatnextweeksDogshowandthephrasehope+
infinitiveisequivalenttothephrasegoingtointentiondecided.

Exercise1
Identifythetenseandthemeaningorrealworldtimeofeachofthefollowingsentences.The
firstoneisdoneforyou.

1.
Ivespent4monthsinBangkok.TenseisPresentPerfect,Simple.Thisisastateorhabit
inanindefinitepasttime.ImayhavespentfourmonthstheretwentyyearsagoorI
mayhavejustleftBangkok.
2.

Chrishasbeeneatingchocolate.

3.

Oursalmonriverswillhavediedbeforethenewconservationpoliciescomeintoeffect.

4.

Thecatfellasleepwhilehewaswatchingthemouseruninitscage.

5.

ThenextflighttoTorontoleavesat23:05.

6.

ShehasplayedagameofSolitairebeforebreakfast.

7.

IoftenskiatWhistlerduringJanuary.

8.

IllbeworkingatthatnewjobwhenSpringcomes.

9.

Theyhopetobedonebythetimethehockeygamestarts.

Voice
Englishhastwovoices,activeandpassive.Inasentenceintheactivevoice,thesubjectisdoing
theactionoftheverb.I/We/You/He/She/It/They/istheagentordoer.Whenaverbthatcarries
actionorinfluencefromtheagent,usuallythegrammaticalsubjectofthesentence,toa
recipient,thatverbiscalledtransitive.Therecipient,usuallycalledtheobjectofthesentence,
receivesorisinfluencedbytheactionoftheverb.

Onlytransitiveverbscanbeusedtomakethepassivevoice
Order:Instatementintheactivevoice,theagentcomesbeforetheverbandtherecipient
follows.However,inastatementinthepassivevoice,theorderisreversed.Therecipientgoes
beforetheverb.Theagentmayormaynotbementionedinaprepositionalphrasethatfollows
theverb,nowchangedinformtocreatethepassivevoice.

Forexample,notethedifferencebetweenthesetwosentences.

1.
Kimreadthebook.Kim(theagentandgrammaticalsubject)read(averbthatcarriesaction
toarecipient)thebook(therecipientoftheactionandthegrammaticalobject).

2.
ThebookwasreadbyKim.Thebook(therecipientoftheactionandnowthegrammatical
subject)wasread(averbinthepassivevoicewhichdescribesanactionorinfluencethat
hasaffectedthesubject)byKim(aprepositionalphrasethatinthiscaseidentifiesthe
agentastheobjectofthepreposition).Notethatidentifyingtheagentinthe
prepositionalphrase(aswellastheprepositionalphraseitself)isoptional.Thesentence

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stillmakessenseifitisreducedtoThebookwasreadorifanewkindofprepositional
phraseisaddedtoformThebookwasreadyesterdayduringthelunchbreak.

Form:PassiveVoice
ThepassivevoiceisformedbyBE+EN(pastparticipleofthemainortransitive).
Allpassivevoiceverbshavesomeformoftheverbtobeinthem.

Tense:PassiveVoice
ThetenseofthepassivevoiceisthetenseoftheBEverbform,thefirstverbinthesequenceof
theverbphrase.Whenyoutransformasentenceintheactivevoicetothepassivevoice,the
formofBEretainsthetenseofthetransitiveverb.

Exercise2
Foreachsentencethatfollows,dofourtasks:
a. identifythefiniteverbinthesentence
b. indicatewhetheritisinactiveorpassivevoice
c. namethetense
d. transformtheactivevoicetopassivevoiceORpassivevoicetoactivevoice.

Remember,youmayhavetosupplyanagent.

Thefirstoneisdoneforyouasanexample:
1.
Alexhaseatenspaghetti.

a.
haseaten

b.
active

c.
PresentPerfectSimple
d.
ThespaghettihasbeeneatenbyAlex(NotehasbeenisalsoPresentPerfect
Simple).
2.
Laterthisafternoon,theywilldrivethecaretoLighthousePark.

3.
TheballwashittocentrefieldbyJake.

4.
MayiskissingFluffysnose.

5.
Ihavebeensewingadress.

6.
Chrishadswumthelakelastyear.

7.
Thepresentwillbewrappedby6tonight.

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