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VERBS

1.         History of Verb


A verb, from the Latin verbum meaning word, is a word (part of speech) that in syntax
conveys an action (bring, read, walk, run, learn), an occurrence (happen, become), or a state of
being (be, exist, stand). In the usual description of English, the basic form, with or without the
particle to, is the infinitive. In many languages, verbs are inflected (modified in form) to encode
tense, aspect, mood and voice. A verb may also agree with the person, gender, and/or number of
some of its arguments, such as its subject, or object. In many languages, verbs have a present
tense, to indicate that an action is being carried out; a past tense, to indicate that an action has
been done; and a future tense, to indicate that an action will be done.
Verbs have person, number, tense, voice and mood. Sometimes even the most obvious errors
(typos) can creep in, as in this headline:
 Donors goes public and criticise Gordon Brown -- Mail On-line 30th June 2008 
The verb should, of course, be go.
1.1 Identifying Verbs
A verb shows an action, or a state or condition. The verbs in the table below are in bold.
Verbs
Example Comment
The elephant trumpeted. trumpeted is what the elephant did.
The store is open. is tells us the state of the store.
The point strikes you at
strikes tells us what the point did.
once.
I feel good feel tells us I am in a good condition.
She is wrong. is tells us she is in a wrong state.
We can identify verbs in sentences by asking the question: What is (the subject) doing (or
being)?

Pronoun Test
Only a verb can follow a personal pronoun (I, you, he, she, it) and make sense.
verb non-verb
I think  I dog
I running
I ran 

I sneezed  I at
I
contemplated  I and

I ouch!
I am 

I what
I feel 

Therefore, we can test whether a word is a verb by seeing if it makes sense when it
following I, you, he, she, it. However, it might not be a verb in the given sentence. The test
shows the word can be a verb sometimes. However, if we replace the subject of the sentence (or
clause) with a personal pronoun, the word following must be a verb.
For instance:
The lost boys returned home.
In the sentence, we can replace "The lost boys" with the pronoun They to get "They returned
home". Because returned follows a pronoun in the given sentence, returned is a verb in that
sentence.
In addition, we can ask "What did they do?". Here we are applying the definition of a verb. The
answer, "They returned", shows returned is the verb.
Parts of Verbs
The main parts of a verb are:
 The infinitive, which is normally the to- form: to be, to have, to work, to feel, to think.
The infinitive often functions as a noun. 
 The present participle, which is the -ing form: being, having, working, feeling, thinking.
This is sometimes called a gerund, when it acts as a noun. It can also act as an adjective. 
 The past participle, which is regularly the -ed form: been, had, worked, felt, thought. It
can function as an adjective. 
Auxiliary Verbs
There are verbs that help other verbs to form verb phrases. The primary auxiliary verbs are: be,
do and have.
In these sentences:
I am going tomorrow.
I did answer the letter.
I have eaten enough.
The auxiliary verbs help other verbs to make a verb phrase.
The three main auxiliary verbs in English can also be main verbs, when they can stand alone:
I am happy.
I did it.
I have a coat.
There are 11 other auxiliary verbs, called modal auxiliary verbs:
can, could, will, would, shall, should, may, might, must, and ought to and used to

These help other verbs to indicate certainty and uncertainty, and in various ways show time.
Verb Phrases
A verb phrase is the verb part of a sentence. It can have one verb or several.
He ran.
He could have run.
The dog is being stroked by him.
The words in bold above are verb phrases.
Verb Tenses
We have two verb tenses in English: present and past; the future is formed by using
auxiliary verbs. There is no future verb tense in English.

Present Tense
5.1.1 Simple Present
The present simple is simply the present tense of the verb.
The simple present is used to indicate something that is always true, or a present state or
disposition. The following examples are statements that are always true, now, yesterday, and in
the future, so we use the present simple:
The sun rises every morning.
Animals can move.
Mathematics is the science of number.
Hydrogen is the lightest gas.
Scientific truths and principles are often stated in the simple present.
The next statements are ones that are true habitually, or under certain circumstances, but not
necessarily at the time they are said:
I seek the truth.
Do you play tennis.
The army moves on the enemy.
He loses his temper.
The statements may not be true at the time they are uttered. For instance, a person might
claim they play tennis, but this does not mean they are playing it at the time. Similarly, a scientist
might seek the truth, but might not be seeking it at the time the statement is made. We use the
present progressive to say what we are doing at the moment.
The present simple is used to indicate a present state:
I feel good.
I am full.
She is happy
These statements are true at the time they are uttered. In speaking of feelings we often
use the present simple to refer to the present state. (This is an exception because normally we use
the present progressive for reporting on the present.)
The simple present can be used to refer to the future:
The bus leaves in 5 minutes.
Or the past:
The car drives at me. I scream and try to avoid it. There is a screech of brakes...
This is sometimes called the historic past and is meant to dramatize the action, making the reader
think it is happening now.
Present Progressive (Present Continuous)
This is formed by using the present tense of the verb to be and the present participle.
The present progressive is used to refer to what is happening at the moment:
The sun is rising.
The birds are chirping.
Share prices are dropping.
Sometimes it is used to refer to something that is true temporarily:
I live in London, but I am living in New York (temporarily, at the moment).
I am coughing a lot. (As I have a cold at the moment.)
She is travelling to work by horse, while here car is in the garage.

Present Perfect 
The present perfect is formed from the present tense of have and the past participle. The
present perfect form of the verb is used to refer to something that has been happening up to the
present, but has now stopped.
I have eaten the food.
I have played sport this morning.
I have studied physics.
I have had a cold.
These refer to past events which have now finished.
has been and has gone
Consider these sentences:
He has been to America.
He has gone to America.
The first means has has travelled to America and returned. The second means he has travelled to
America, but has not yet returned. These are two forms of the past participle of the verb to go.

Present Perfect Progressive (Present Perfect Continuous)


The present perfect progressive is formed from the present tense of have, been (the past
participle of be) and the past participle of the verb. It is used to refer to something that has been
going on in the past and is still going on.
It has been snowing all day.
The road works have been going on for ages.
I have been waiting for ages.

Past Tense
Simple Past
The simple past tense is formed from the past tense of the verb. For instance:
He went home.
I wrote a story.
It was late.
The simple past often refers to an event which occurred at a definite time in the past. It is also
used to refer to unreal present or future time:
If I were king, then I would stay in bed till lunchtime.
If I studied harder, I would do better.
Past Progressive (Past Continuous)
The past progressive form is formed using was or were and the present participle. This is
used to refer to a past time when some state or activity was temporarily going on.
I was eating a hamburger and listening to the radio.
They were laughing and joking when he arrived.
It is also used to refer to unreal present and future time:
I would be happier if we were making more money.
The captain said "If the ship were sinking, I would not be standing here."
Past Perfect 
The past perfect is formed by using had and the past participle. It is used to refer to an
action or state that was completed before a past time.
He had finished the book by the time they came.
They had completed the work before the owners returned.
The past perfect is also used to refer to the unreal past.
If I had not studied hard, then I would not have passed the exam.
If you had paid, you could have gone in.
If it had not snowed, you wouldn't have been able to ski.
Past Perfect Progressive (Past Perfect Continuous)
This is formed by using had, been and the present participle. It had been raining for some
time, when the lightning started.
Most of the staff had been working hard up to lunchtime.
Only a few people had been eating in the restaurant when the manager arrived.
I had been feeling bored, when I noticed an interesting film was on the television.
The past perfect progressive refers to a state or activity that was going on before
something else in the past.
lie and lay
Choosing between the verbs lie and lay may cause confusion. The verb 'to lie' means 'to
recline', 'to be situated' or 'put in a certain state'. The verb 'to lay' means 'to place' (something).
Their main forms are as follows:
Verb: lie lay
Simple Present lie lay
Present Participle lying laying
Simple Past lay laid
Past Participle lain laid
The verb 'to lie' does not take an object; the verb 'to lay' does. 
Examples using lie and lay
lie (no object) lay (takes an object)
She lies on the floor
He lay the cat on the floor.
Simple Present The islands lie to the south.
Will you lay the table.
Our future lies in their hands.
She is lying on the floor. He is laying it on the floor.
Present
In autumn, the leaves lie everywhere. This was a difficult task to lay on
Progressive
We lay at their mercy. anyone.
She lay down on the floor. He laid it on the floor.
Simple Past
The rubbish lay everywhere. They laid the victim on the bed.
She has lain on the floor for ages.
Perfect The snow has lain over the land for some They have laid the foundations.
months.
Future
There isn't a future tense of English verbs. The future can be formed in various ways,
some of which have been mentioned under the past and present tenses. Here we will simply
mention the use of the future auxiliary will. The use of shall as a future auxiliary seems to have
disappeared in English since about the 1950s. Some people, however, think the future auxiliary
will should not be used with the first person and shall ought to be be used.
Simple Future

I will go shopping tomorrow. I'll go shopping tomorrow.


As will is contracted in speech, no one knows whether the speaker meant will or shall.
Future Progressive (Future Continuous)

Next week, I will be going shopping  Next week, I'll be going shopping.
Future Perfect 

By this time next week, I will have started my new job.    By this time next week, I'll
have started my new job.
Future Perfect Progressive (Future Perfect Continuous)
By this time next month, I'll have been working at my new job for a week.

Linking Verbs
Linking verbs join the subject of the sentence to an adverb, noun or phrase, which
describes the subject. The main linking verb is the verb to be. The linking verbs in the table
below are in bold.
Example
Richard was angry.
Sara is a scientist.
Brenda was in a pensive mood.
The scientist feels glum.
The music sounds fine.
The spy must keep out of sight.
In the examples, the verbs link the subject with a phrase that describes the subject, rather than
receives the action of the subject. The verbs are therefore linking verbs. The phrase is called a
complement, rather than an object.
Active and Passive Voice
Normally verbs (and clauses) are in active voice. The subject of the sentence is the agent
that performs the action of the verb. Sometimes clauses are in the passive voice, where the
subject receives the action of the verb, and is not the agent.
Active Passive
The dog bit the man. The man was bitten by the dog.
The scientists disputed the inferences. The inferences were disputed by the scientists.
He is stroking the dog. The dog is being stroked by him.
I will eat the crisps. The crisps will be eaten by me.
The boss fired Henry. Henry got fired.
He had had a good time. A good time had been had by him.
The form of the passive is a form of the verb to be plus a past participle.
Examples of Passive Voice
In the above examples, the past participle and the verb to be appear in all the examples, except
the one with got. The agent in a passive sentence may be mentioned in a by + noun phrase. If the
sentence has a to be form followed by a past participle, you determine whether a sentence is in
the passive, by asking the following questions:
Sentence Comment and Questions
This sentence does not have a past participle, so it isn't passive.
He is going to
We can ask "Who is doing the going?", and the answer is he, and he
town.
is the subject of the sentence. The sentence isn't in the passive.
The sentence has a to be form (was) and a past participle (crowned),
The king was so it could be passive.
crowned by the Ask "Who was doing the crowning?", and the answer is the bishop.
bishop. The bishop isn't the subject of the sentence, so the sentence is in
passive form.
The house was The sentence has a to be form (was) and a past participle (built), so
built. it could be passive.
Ask "Who was doing the building?", and the answer is not
mentioned in the sentence, but we can guess it was the builders. The
subject of the sentence isn't the builders, so the sentence is in the
passive. 
Supplying missing words, we have:
It is a house (that was) designed by Mary and (that was) built by
Tom.
It is a house
The sentence has a form of the verb to be, and a past participle.
designed by
Ask: Who did the designing? It was Mary. She designed it.
Mary and built
However, Mary is not the subject of that (the house) was designed.
by Tom.
Who did the building? It was Tom. Also, Tom is not the subject of
the clause that was built. The sentence is therefore in the passive
voice.
The sentence has a to be form (be) and a past participle (completed),
so it could be passive.
The book will be
Ask "Who will be doing the completing?", and the answer is not
completed
mentioned in the sentence, but we can guess an author is completing
tomorrow.
it. The subject of the sentence isn't the author, so the sentence is in
the passive. 
The sentence has a to be form (been)
Tom has been Ask "Who was doing the being (there)?", and the answer is Tom,
there often. the subject of the sentence. The sentence is in the active voice, and
is in the present perfect tense.
The story is an We see the sentence may be passive when we add some omitted
allegory of parts:
justice delivered The story is an allegory of justice (which is) delivered by Angelo
by Angelo and and (which is) embodied in the Duke.
embodied in the So, Angelo delivered it, and the Duke embodied it are the active
Duke. forms.

Passive and Time


The table below illustrates the passive voice in the past and present tenses and in the future.
Passive Voice and Time
Time Type Example
Present Simple The ball is thrown.
Progressive The ball is being thrown.
Perfect The ball has been thrown.
Simple The ball was thrown.
Past Progressive The ball was being thrown.
Perfect The ball had been thrown.
Simple The ball will be thrown.
Future Progressive The ball will be being thrown.
Perfect The ball will have been thrown.

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