Did you know?

The word “Google” started as a noun, the company’s name. Today people use it as a verb:
“I’m going to google the Civil War to get more information about it.”

We use words to establish our credibility. Few things cast doubt on our believability as much as
misusing words—especially verbs. Incorrect verb forms call special attention to us and bring our
education and intelligence into question. Furthermore, exams often test your knowledge of how to
use verbs and avoid errors involving verbs.

Principal Parts of Verbs

Verbs have three principal parts:

■ Present—the form of the verb that would complete the sentence, “Today, I .”
■ Past—the form of the verb that would complete the sentence, “Yesterday, I .”
■ Past participle—the form of the verb that would complete the sentence, “Often, I have.”

For most verbs, it’s easy to form the three principal parts if you know the present form. Take the
verb look, for example. Today, I look. Yesterday, I looked. Often, I have looked. For regular verbs, the
past and past participle forms both add -ed to the present form. But English is full of irregular verbs
that form the past and past participle in some other way.

Irregular Verbs

Write the correct verb forms in the chart below.

1. listen
2. run
3. write
4. stand

Present Past Past Participle

Helping Verbs
Verbs like has, have, had are used to help the main verbs to show an action in the past. These verbs
are called helping verbs.

Rule Example
singular subject + has (he, she, it) The chef has cooked the dinner.
plural subject + have (I, you, we, they) The assistants have helped.
singular / plural subject + had The customers had complained to the manager.

The Dhamaka verbs (be, do, have)

Dhamaka Verbs are the most commonly used verbs in the English language, so make sure to

memorize them in all their crazy irregular forms!

Present Past Past Participle

is (be) was been

am (be) was been

are (be) were been

be was / were been
do did done
did done
does
go went gone
have had had
has had had
make made made

Introduction

Tenses play a crucial role in the English language. It denotes the time an action takes place,

whether sometime in the past, in the present or will take some time in the future.

Do you find English verbs confusing? Take a look at this chart of English verb tenses to help you
understand when to use each one:

Simple Continuous Perfect Perfect

Continuous

Present speak / am/is/are have/has have been

speaks speaking spoken speaking

Past spoke was/were had spoken had been

speaking speaking

Future will speak will be will have will have

going to speak speaking spoken been speaking

See how many of the seven errors in verb usage you can find in the Problem version of the passage
on the following page.
Objective of the session- Correction
Pooja circles five advertisements in last Sunday’s newspaper. She had been looking for a job for
three months, and she is starting to get nervous about finding one. The money her mother had gave
her was starting to run out and she knows she couldn’t asked for more. If she was more qualified,
she would received a job offer already. However, she had very little work experience, and the job
market was particularly competitive at this time of year. As she start to write cover letters for this
week’s jobs, she wondered if she should meet with a career counselor for advice.

Correction

1.

2.

3.

4.

5.

6.

7.

PRESENT TENSE

Present Tense is used to describe an action that is taking place at the moment of speaking, with no

connection to the past or future. In other words, Present Tense is used to describe events that are

happening at that very moment.

Present tense verbs

Rule
Present tense verbs have the following rules when you use verbs with third person singular
subjects:
1. Add ‘s’ to most verbs.
2. Ad ‘es’ to verbs that end in sh, ch, zz, ss, s and x.

3. Change ‘y’ to ‘i’ and add ‘es’ to verbs that end in ‘y’.

Do not ADD ‘s’ or ‘es’ when you use verbs with plural subjects.

Practice
Choose the correct verb forms:
I ___________________ cricket with my family i 1. n the evening. (watches/watch)
2. We sometimes ____________________ toys with our friends. (share/shares)
3. The planets in the solar system ______________________ around the sun. (travels/travel)
4. My friends ____________________________ the bus to the college. (takes/take)

5. Penguins _________________________ in the arctic region where it is very cold. (live/lives)

Present Tense Forms

1. Simple Present Tense

The Simple Present Tense is used to describe habits, unchanging situations, fixed events, universal

truths. The Simple Present Tense is used:

 To express habits, universal truths, repeated actions or fixed events. For example,

The school bus picks up the students at 6 am.

Honesty is the best policy.

 To express fixed arrangements, present or future. For example,

The exam begins at 10 am.

 To give instructions or directions. For example,

You must finish the work if you want to go to the market.

 With future constructions. For example,

ISRO targets 25 November launch for 13 US satellites

2. Present Continuous Tense

An action that has started now and is still in progress and has not been completed yet is denoted by
present continuous tense. The following timeline shows this.

--------- action in continuity while speaking or for the given period

The Present Continuous Tense is made from the present form of the verb ‘be’ and the -ing form of a

verb. It is used:

 To describe an action that is happening at the moment of speaking. For example,

The children are playing in the field.

 To describe future plans or arrangements. For example,

Where are you going next month?

 To describe an action that is going on during the time of speaking. For example,

Are you still playing for the same team?

Practice

Conjugate Verbs in the Present continuous Tense

The table provides an example of the conjugation of verbs in positive, negative and interrogative

sentences in the present progressive tense. Complete the table.

Positive (Yes) Negative (No) Interrogative

I I am speaking I’m not speaking Am I speaking?
he, she, it He is speaking
you, we, they You are speaking

3. Present Perfect Tense

An action that has been completed in the past but not long ago, is marked just before the midpoint
and is called the present perfect tense.

I---I⇨ACTION COMPLETED IN JUST PAST

The Present Perfect Tense is used to indicate a link between the present and the past. It is used to

describe:

 An action that started in the past and continues in the present. For example,

He has worked in this company since 2004.

 An action performed during a period that has not yet finished. For example,

She has visited the market twice this week.

 A repeated action done several times in the past and continues in the present too. For
example,

He has visited Spain several times.

 An action that has been completed in the recent past. For example,

The train has just left the station.

Language Note: The ’s in he’s, she’s, it’s, and there’s can mean has or is. The word following the
contraction will tell you what the contraction means.
He’s working. = He is working.
He’s worked. = He has worked.

For a short yes answer, we cannot make a contraction.

Has Hari lived in the U.S. all his life? Yes, he has. (Not: he’s)

4. Present Perfect Continuous Tense

The Present Perfect Continuous Tense is used for an action that started in the past and has

continued up to the present moment. It is used:

 To describe an action that started in the past and has continued up to the present. For
example,

She has been singing for over two hours.

 To describe an action that has just finished. For example,

It has been raining.

Review and Answer: All the above present tense forms can be used together without constituting
a shift in tense.

Look at the following paragraph and complete the paragraph with the correct verbs that are
highlighted, and the brackets which identify the tense.

I write [present progressive] to protest the condition of the Kaveri River, from which our
city draw [present] its drinking water. For years, industrial waste pollute [present perfect] its
waters, and officials pay [present] little attention to the problem. People who live near the river
lobby [present perfect progressive] for protective legislation, but their efforts fail [present perfect].
I want [present] safe water to drink.

Past Tense

Past Tense refers to actions that take place in the past. In addition, they are used to talk about

hypothesis and for politeness.

Examples

Examples of Past Tense are as follows:

 He went to the market.

 He was working as a teacher.
 He had been living in that house since August

Past tense verbs

Rules
1. Add ‘ed’ to most verbs: looked, talked
2. Drop the ‘e’ and add ‘ed’ to verbs that end in ‘e’: smiled, danced
3. Change ‘y’ to ‘í’ and add ‘ed’ to verbs that end in ‘y’: carried, buried
4. Double the last consonant and add ‘ed’ when the word ends in CVC: dragged, stopped.

Practice

Open the brackets using the Past tense-forms.

1. First I (meet) Jill in the foyer, then we (go) into the hall to find our seats.
2. In those days Paul (look) young and handsome.
3. I (meet) Peter at the university. We (be) both in the same year. He (study) law, but he (not/be)
very interested in it and (spend) most of his time practicing the flute.
4. Yesterday evening I (go) to Jack‘s house but (not/find) him in. His mother (say) that she
(not/know) where he (be) and she (think) he probably (be) in the library.
5. This bicycle has been in our family for fourteen years. My father (use) it for the first five years,
my brother (ride) it for the next five and I have had it for the last four.

Past Tense Forms

i. Simple Past Tense-

Indicates an action took place before the present moment and that has no real connection with the

present time.

For example, "He danced in the function." (The action took place in the past, is finished and is

completely unrelated to the present)

"He flew to London yesterday."

ii. Past Continuous Tense-

Indicates an action going on at some time in the past or an action in the past that is longer in

duration than another action in the past.

For example, "It was getting darker."

"The light went out while they were reading."

Note

The form of Past Continuous Tense is- was/were + verb + ing

Conjugate Verbs in the Past Continuous Tense

The table provides an example of the conjugation of verbs in positive, negative and interrogative

sentences in the past progressive tense. Complete the table

 Positive (Yes) Negative (No) Interrogative
I I wasn’t speaking
he, she, it He was speaking Was he speaking?
you, we, they You were speaking

iii. Past Perfect Tense-

Indicates an action in the past that had been completed before another time or event in the past.

For example, "He had exercised before it started to rain."

"He had slept before I came back from the market."

Note

The form of Past Perfect Tense is- had + verb (past participle form or the 3rd form of the verb)

iv. Past Perfect Continuous Tense-

Indicates an action in the past that took place before another time or event in the past and

continued during the second event/time point in the past.

For example, "At that time, he had been writing a novel for two months."

"He had been exercising when I called."

Note

The form of Past Perfect Continuous Tense is- had + been + verb + ing

Past Tense Challenge

Review and Answer - All of the following past tense forms can be used together in writing a
passage without constituting a shift in tense. Look at the following paragraph and complete the
paragraph with the correct verbs that are highlighted, and the brackets which identify the tense.

Last year, local officials cite [simple past] a manufacturing company in our county for improperly
disposing of hazardous waste. The company ignore [simple past] the action and continue [simple
past] to dump its waste as they do [past perfect progressive]. They dump [past perfect] waste the
same way for years and plan [simple past] to continue. Several months later, the residue seep
[simple past] into the drinking water supply. A local environmentalist, who track [past perfect
progressive] the company’s dumping procedures, alerted local officials. They fined the company Rs
2000000 for damages, but the company pay [past perfect, never] the fine.

FUTURE Tense
Future Tense depicts an action that happens in the future or is likely to happen in the future. It may

also express the speaker’s attitude to a future event.

Examples

Future Tense may be used in various situations such as:

 Prediction: There will be rain tomorrow.

 Arrangements: I am visiting his house tomorrow.
 Plans: I am going to do an internship in May.
 An action in progress: This time next month, I will be in London.
 Fixed Routine: He shall attend the lecture tomorrow, right?

FUTURE TENSE

i. Simple Future Tense-

Indicates an action that will take place after the present time and that has no real connection with

the present time.

For example, "She will visit her ailing grandmother soon."

"He will walk home."

Note

The form of Simple Future Tense is- will/shall + verb

Signal Words: English Future Tense

Signal words help us to recognise the tense being used in a sentence. Below is a list of signal words
for the simple future tense:

 I think
 probably
 perhaps

ii. Future Continuous Tense-

Indicates an action in the future that is longer in duration than another action in the future.

For example, "He will be walking when it starts to rain."

Note

a. The form of Future Continuous Tense is-will/shall be + verb + ing

Signal Words: English Future Progressive Tense

Signal words can help us to recognise the tense in a sentence. The signal words for
the future progressive are:

 at 4 o’clock tomorrow
 this time next week

iii. Future Perfect Tense-

Indicates an action in the future that will have been completed before another time or event in the

future.

For example, "By the time we arrive, he will have studied."

Note

a. The form of Future Perfect Tense is- will/shall have + verb(past participle form or 3rd form of the

verb)

Signal Words: English Future Perfect Tense

Certain expressions can help us to recognise the tense in a sentence. Some examples of signal words
or expressions for the future perfect are:

 by Monday, in a week

iv. Future Perfect Continuous Tense-

Indicates an action in the future that will have been continuing until another time or event in the

future.

For example, "He will have been exercising an hour at 2:00."

Note

a. The form of Future Perfect Continuous Tense is- will/shall have been + verb + ing

Note

When using the future perfect progressive in English, we usually include a reference to a specific
time such as next year, by this time, last week.

Example: By this time tomorrow, you will have been driving for 24 hours!
Practice
Conjugation of English Future Tense with Will

The conjugation of the future with will is that same for all forms. The table provides an example
of the conjugation of verbs in positive, negative and interrogative sentences in English future
tense.

Positive Negative Interrogative

Simple Future I /We/He/She/It/You/They I won’t speak
will speak
Future Progressive Will I be speaking?
Future Perfect I’ll have spoken
Future Perfect I won’t have been
Progressive speaking

Future Tense Challenge

Review and Answer- All the future tense forms on the following table can be used together in writing a
paragraph. They do not constitute a shift in tense. Look at the following paragraph and complete the
paragraph with the correct verbs that are highlighted, and the brackets which identify the tense.

Starting next week, we reduce [simple future] the money we spend on waste disposal. We do
[simple future] this because our public relations costs have skyrocketed during the year. Since no one in
the community sell [simple future] land to us to use for waste disposal, we relocate [future progressive]
in a new community with a better business environment. This move put [simple future] over
three hundred employees out of work. It reduce [simple future] the amount of consumer dollars
spent at local businesses. By this time next year, nearly one thousand people lose [future perfect] their
jobs. Your business leaders look [future perfect progressive] for ways to replace lost revenue.

Furthermore, legislators meddle [future progressive] in our local affairs, and the news media
portray [future perfect] us all as fools.

Conclusion
Listen, write, and speak carefully to people today. Do you hear common errors such as “I could gone
out if I had done my work”? Once you make it a habit to listen for verb choice errors, you’ll realize
how many people make them. Some mistakes are so accepted that they might not sound strange at
first. The more sensitive you are to grammatical errors, the less likely you’ll be to make them
yourself—in both writing and speaking.

Practice
Circle the correct verb form in each of the following sentences.
1. They (had won, won, win) five competitions before qualifying for Nationals.
2. By the time I get to Phoenix, he will (read, have read) my good-bye letter.
3. The scientist explained why Saturn (is, was) surrounded by rings.
4. I would ask for a transfer if I (was, were) you.
5. Just this past August, the interest rate (drops, dropped, had dropped) 2%.
6. The doctor took my pulse and (measures, measured) my blood pressure.
7. The president wishes he would (of, have) taken a stock option rather than a salary increase.
8. Alister wishes he had ordered a bigger sweatshirt because his (is, was) too small.
9. Ms Geetha announced that the floor manager (is,was) responsible for work schedules.
10. We could cut transportation costs if the plant (was, were) closer to the retail outlets.

Test Yourself

Q1. Choose the correct verb from those in brackets:

a. The earth _____ round the sun. (move, moves, moved)

b. My friends _____ the film yesterday. (see, saw, have seen)

c. It started to rain while we _____ tennis. (are playing, had played, were playing)

d. I _____ English for five years. (have been studying, study, am studying)

e. The train _____ before we reach the station. (arrives, will have arrived, had arrived)

f. Don't disturb me. I _____ my work. (do, did, am doing)

g. Fortune _____ the brave. (is favouring, will favour, favours)

h. I _____ the letter before you arrived. (had written, wrote, will write)

i. He _____ us next week. (will have met, will have been meeting, will be meeting)

j. Perhaps we _____ Delhi next month. (visit, will visit, visited)

Q2. Complete the dialogue.

Rashid: Rahul! Your friend Manas has sent you a postcard. It’s from Kerala. It ____ (look) nice.

Rahul: I bet it does!

Rashid: He ____ (write) that it’s very hot there. There ___ (be) a lot of tourists. The hotels ____ (be)

full. He ____ (say) the restaurants ____ (be) always full!

Rahul: Yes. I’m sure it is. The papers____ (say) that the temperature there is 30C.

Rashid: Then he ___ (write) that he has learnt a bit of Malayalam, and that he ____ (get on) well with

the people there, especially the women!

Rashid: Look, didn’t the newspaper ____ (say) that there’s another strike in Kerala.

Rahul: Yes, it did Manas won’t mind having to stay in Kerala longer!

ANSWER
1. had won
2. have read
3. is
4. were
5. dropped
6. measured
7. have
8. is
9. is
10. were

Test Yourself

Answer Key

Q1.

a. moves

b. saw

c. were playing

d. have been studying

e. will have arrived

f. am doing

g. favours

h. had written

i. will be meeting

j. will visit
Q2.

a. looks

b. has written

c. are

d. are

e. says

f. are

g. say

h. writes

i. gets on

j. say