8 Verb Tense
Suppose you must give an oral presentation about what you did last summer. How do you make it clear that you are talking about the past and not about the present or the future? Using the correct verb tense can help you do this.
It is important to use the proper verb tense. Otherwise, your listener might judge you harshly. Mistakes in tense often leave a listener or reader with a negative impression.
Regular Verbs
Verbs indicate actions or states of being in the past, present, or future using tenses. Regular verbsVerbs whose endings follow regular patterns when shifting from the present to past tense. follow regular patterns when shifting from the present to past tense. For example, to form a past-tense or past-participle verb form, add -ed or -d to the end of a verb. You can avoid mistakes by understanding this basic pattern.
Verb tense – A verb form that identifies the time of action described in a sentence. identifies the time of action described in a sentence. Verbs take different forms to indicate different tenses. Verb tenses indicate
- an action or state of being in the present,
- an action or state of being in the past,
- an action or state of being in the future.
Helping verbs, such as be and have, also work to create verb tenses, such as the future tense.
Irregular Verbs
The past tense of irregular verbsVerbs whose endings do not follow regular patterns when shifting from present to past tense. is not formed using the patterns that regular verbs follow. Study Table 2.1 “Irregular Verbs”, which lists the most common irregular verbs.
Tip
The best way to learn irregular verbs is to memorize them. With the help of a classmate, create flashcards of irregular verbs and test yourselves until you master them.
Table Irregular Verbs
| Simple Present | Past | Simple Present | Past |
|---|---|---|---|
| be | was, were | lose | lost |
| become | became | make | made |
| begin | began | mean | meant |
| blow | blew | meet | met |
| break | broke | pay | paid |
| bring | brought | put | put |
| build | built | quit | quit |
| burst | burst | read | read |
| buy | bought | ride | rode |
| catch | caught | ring | rang |
| choose | chose | rise | rose |
| come | came | run | ran |
| cut | cut | say | said |
| dive | dove (dived) | see | saw |
| do | did | seek | sought |
| draw | drew | sell | sold |
| drink | drank | send | sent |
| drive | drove | set | set |
| eat | ate | shake | shook |
| fall | fell | shine | shone (shined) |
| feed | fed | shrink | shrank (shrunk) |
| feel | felt | sing | sang |
| fight | fought | sit | sat |
| find | found | sleep | slept |
| fly | flew | speak | spoke |
| forget | forgot | spend | spent |
| forgive | forgave | spring | sprang |
| freeze | froze | stand | stood |
| get | got | steal | stole |
| give | gave | strike | struck |
| go | went | swim | swam |
| grow | grew | swing | swung |
| have | had | take | took |
| hear | heard | teach | taught |
| hide | hid | tear | tore |
| hold | held | tell | told |
| hurt | hurt | think | thought |
| keep | kept | throw | threw |
| know | knew | understand | understood |
| lay | laid | wake | woke |
| lead | led | wear | wore |
| leave | left | win | won |
| let | let | wind | wound |
Exercise 3.18
Maintaining Consistent Verb Tense
Using the same verb tense throughout a sentence or paragraph. means the same verb tense is used throughout a sentence or a paragraph. As you write and revise, it is important to use the same verb tense consistently and to avoid shifting from one tense to another unless there is a good reason for the tense shift. In the following box, see whether you notice the difference between a sentence with consistent tense and one with inconsistent tense.
Tip
In some cases, clear communication will call for different tenses.
If the time frame for each action or state is different, a tense shift is appropriate.
Writing at Work 3-5
Read the following excerpt from a work e-mail:
The inconsistent tense in the e-mail will very likely distract the reader from its overall point. Most likely, your coworkers will not correct your verb tenses or call attention to grammatical errors, but it is important to keep in mind that errors such as these do have a subtle negative impact in the workplace.
Key Takeaways
- Verb tense helps you express when an event takes place.
- Regular verbs follow regular patterns when shifting from present to past tense.
- Irregular verbs do not follow regular, predictable patterns when shifting from present to past tense.
- Using consistent verb tense is a key element to effective writing.
Writing Application 3-6
Tell a family story. You likely have several family stories to choose from, but pick the one that you find most interesting to write about. Use as many details as you can in the telling. As you write and proofread, make sure your all your verbs are correct and the tenses are consistent.
