Verb Tense
Basic Rule: Use the same verb tense whenever possible within a sentence or paragraph.Do not shift from one tense or another unless there is a valid reason.
Incorrect: Joan came home last week and goes to her home in the country where she spends the last weekend of her vacation.
Correct: Joan came home last week and went to her home in the country where she spent the last weekend of her vacation.
Principal Parts of Verbs.
We indicate tense by changing the verb itself or by combining certain forms of the verb with auxiliary verbs.The verb tenses from which we derive every form of a verb are called the principal parts.The principal parts of a verb are:
1 The Present Tense: talk,write
2 The Past Tense: talked,wrote
3 The Present Perfect: have talked,has written
Verbs are classified as regular ( or weak) and irregular(or strong) , according to the way in which their participle parts are formed.Regular verbs form their past tense and present perfect tense by the addition of -ed to the infinitive:
Present Tense Past Tense Present Perfect Tense
Talk Talked Has(have) talked
Help Helped Has(have) helped
Walk Walked Has(have) walked
The principal parts of irregular verbs are formed by changes in the verb itself:
Present Tense Past Tense Present Perfect Tense
See Saw Has(have) seen
Say Said Has(have) said
Go Went Has(have) gone
Principal parts of common irregular verbs
Present Past Past participle
Arise Arose Arisen
Be Was/were Been
Bear Bore Borne
Become Became Become
Begin Began Begun
Bid Bade Bid/bidden
Blow Blew Blown
Break Broke Broken
Bring Brought Brought
Build Built Built
Buy Bought Bought
Catch Caught Caught
Choose Chose Chosen
Cling Clung Clung
Come Came Come
Cut Cut Cut
Do Did Done
Draw Drew Drawn
Drink Drank Drunk
Drive Drove Driven
Eat Ate Eaten
Fall Fell Fallen
Feed Fed Fed
Feel Felt Felt
Fight Fought Fought
Find Found Found
Fly Flew Flown
Flee Fled Fled
Fling Flung Flung
Forget Forgot Forgotten
Forgive Forgave Forgiven
Freeze Froze Frozen
Get Got Got
Give Gave Given
Go Went Gone
Grow Grew Grown
Hang (a person) Hanged Hanged
Hang(an object) Hung Hung
Hear Heard Heard
Hide Hid Hidden
Hold Held Held
Hurt Hurt Hurt
Keep Kept Kept
Know Knew Known
Lay Laid Laid
Lead Led Led
Leave Left Left
Lend Lent Lent
Lie Lay Lain
Light Lit,lighted Lit,lighted
Lose Lost Lost
Make Made Made
Meet Met Met
Ride Rode Ridden
Ring Rang Rung
Rise Rose Risen
Run Ran Run
See Saw Seen
Send Sent Sent
Shake Shook Shaken
Shook Shot Shot
Shrink Shrank,shrunk Shrunk,shunken
Sit Sat Sat
Slay Slew Slain
Sleep Slept Slept
Slide Slid Slid
Speak Spoke Spoken
Spend Spent Spent
Spin Spun Spun
Spring Spreang,sprung Sprung
Stand Stood Stood
Steal Stole Stolen
Sting Stung Stung
Strive Strove Striven
Swear Swore Sworn
Swim Swam Swum
Swing Swung Swung
Take Took Taken
Teach Taught Taught
Tear Tore Torn
Tell Told Told
Think Thought Thought
Throw Threw Thrown
Wake Waked,woke Waked,woken
Wear Wore Worn
Weave Wove Woven
Win Won Won
Wring Wrung Wrung
Write Wrote written
Drill VII:
Choose the correct form of the verb.
1 (hanged,hung) The picture was ___on the wall nearest the bay window.
2 (sown,sewed) She has ___the hem on the skirt perfectly.
3 (frozen,friezed,froze) The water has not ___ on the pound sufficiently.
4 (lent,loaned) The bank ___him the required money.
5 (drank,drunk) He___all the poison from the vial.
6 (flang,flinged,flung) He___the papers on the desk and ran out of the room.
7 (lieing,lying,laying)You have been ___on the beach for over two hours.
8 (losed,lost) He had to pay a fine because he ___ the book.
9 (hanged,hung) The outlaw was ___ in the town square.
10 (rang,rung) They ___ the bell so softly that we didn’t hear it.
Drill IX:
Write the correct form of the verb.You may wish to refer to the verb chart.
1 (come) A gentleman has ___ to see you.
2 (suppose) Bill was ___ to telephone you last night.
3 (begin) My friend has ___to get impatient.
4 (catch) He has ___a serious cold.
5 (sing) He could ___ before large groups , if he were asked to.
6 (sing)She has ___before large groups several times.
7 (go)They have already ___ to theater
8 (give) He has ___ me excellent advice.
9 (devote) He is ___ to his parents.
10 (build) The engineer has designed and ___his own home.
When we use the Perfect Tenses.
Basic Rule: Use the Present Perfect for an action begun in the past and extended to the present.
Example: I am glad you are here at last;I have waited an hour for you to arrive.
Explanation: In this case I waited would be incorrect.The action have waited (present perfect) began in the past and extended to the present.
Basic Rule: Use the Past Perfect for an action begun and completed in the past before some other past action.
Example: The foreman asked what had happened to my eye.
Explanation: In this case , what happened would be incorrect.The action asked and the action had happened (past perfect) are used because one action(regarding the speaker’s eye) is “more past” than other (the foreman’s asking).
Basic Rule: Use the Future Perfect for an action begun at any time and completed in the future.
Example: When I reach Chicago tonight, my uncle will have left for Los Angeles.
Explanation: In this case,the action will have left is going to take place before the action reaches, although both actions , the action completed first is expressed in the future perfect tense.
Drill X:
In the following sentences ,select the correct verb tense.
1 (cheer,have cheered,cheered) When he spoke,all the people ___ him.
2 (it/was/be) Since he ___ late,he didn’t receive a gift.
3 (had completed/have completed) I am told that you ___the job.
4 (had completed/have completed) I was told you that you ____ the job.
5 (are/were) We were taught that vitamins ___ important for our well-being.
Ex. Ask questions in the simple past tense or present perfect (simple or continuous), using the prompts below each of them:
1. It’s snowing. How long/snow? How long ago/start/snow? When/start/snow?
2. I’m learning Japanese. How long/learn? How long ago/start/learn? When /start/learn?
3. We know Mary and John quite well. How long/know? How long ago/first/meet? When/first/meet?
4. I’ve got a camera. How long/have? How long ago/buy? When/buy?
5. This jacket is so old! Got to get a new one. How long ago/get? When/buy?
6. It took me a long time to become a good doctor, and there are still many things I don’t know. How long/take? How long/learn? When/start/learn?
7. We used to live in Brasov. That was before I went to University, but I’ll never get used to Bucharest. How long/live in Brasov? How long ago/move from Brasov? How long?live in Bucharest? When/come to Bucharest?
8. I’ve been working here doing the same thing long enough. Time for a change in my life.
Since when/work here? How long/do the same thing? How long ago/start work? How long/feel/time for a change? When/get bored with this job?
Ex. Are the underlined parts of sentence right R or wrong W? Correct the wrong ones:
1. I’ve lost my glasses, I can’t find them anywhere….R….
2. When have you lost them?….W…. When DID you LOSE
3. Where have you been last Sunday?….
4. I’m looking for Jane. Have you seen her?…..
5. I’m starving! I’ve learnt all day and haven’t had time to eat anything….
6. Did you see “Gone with the Wind”?…..
7. When did you see it?….
8. Mr. Dombey has worked in a bank for 10 years; then he was made redundant and decided to start his own business……
9. Ms. Wilkins is a teacher. She has been a teacher for 20 years, more precisely, since she has left her job at the bank…..
10. When I got home last night, I was so tired, I went straight to bed….
11. I just got home and didn’t have time to check my answering machine…..
Curs Practic 