Understanding verb tense and mood

1. Understanding verb tense and mood What are verb tense and mood? Verb tense Special problems in the uses of tenses Mood Modals Review A Review B

2. What are verb tense and mood? Verbs take different forms to do different jobs. One job is to show when an action or state of being takes place. The form a verb takes to show time is called tense. Cell phones will get even smaller. Early phones had round dials. Our phone is red.

3. What are verb tense and mood? Verbs also take different forms to show the attitude of the person using the verb. These forms are called mood. I suggest that you polish your nails. Polish those shoes, soldier! I polished this apple for you.

4. Verb tense The tense of a verb indicates the time of the action or state of being expressed by the verb. Perfect tenses indicate that something happened or existed before a specific point in time. Present Future Past Past Future Now Past perfect Present perfect Future perfect He will have studied enough by the end of the night. He also had studied a little right after school. Mark studied fortwo hours last night. Tomorrow Mark will study math. He has studied hard for every test. Mark studies for his classes.

5. Verb tense The tenses of verbs are formed from the four principal parts of verbs. see Base form print [is] see ing Present participle [is] print ing s aw Past print ed n [have] see Past participle [have] print ed

6. Verb tense Each tense has a progressive form, which is used to express continuing action or state of being. am, are, is walking Present progressive was, were walking Past progressive will (shall) be walking Future progressive has, have been walking Present perfect progressive had been walking Past perfect progressive will (shall) have been walking Future perfect progressive

7. Verb tense The present and past tenses have another form, the emphatic form, which shows emphasis. In the present tense, the emphatic form of a verb consists of do or does plus the base form. do walk, does walk Present emphatic In the past tense the emphatic form consists of did plus the base form. Past emphatic did walk

8. Verb tensePresent and present perfect The present tense expresses an action or a state of being that is occurring now, at the present time. Martina and Jen race down the field. The fans are cheering wildly. (Progressive form) The players do look confident. (Emphatic form)

9. to make historical events seem current (historical present) In a surprise move the Greeks construct a huge wooden horse and leave it outside Troy. Verb tensePresent and present perfect The present tense is also used in these ways: to show a customary or habitual action or state of being We go to the mall every Saturday. to express a general truth The sun sets in the west. to discuss a literary work (literary present) The Dark Childrelates the experiences of a boy growing up in an African village. to express future time We drive to Maine tomorrow.

10. Verb tensePresent and present perfect The present perfect tense • expresses an action or a state of being that occurred at an indefinite time in the past • is formed with the helping verbhave or has Tim and Mia have entered the data into the computer. Who has been using this computer? (Progressive form)

11. Verb tensePresent and present perfect The present perfect tense is also used to express an action or state of being that began in the past and continues into the present. Mr. Reyes has taught science for ten years. (Progressive form) Mr. Reed has been coaching soccer since 2003.

12. Verb tensePast and past perfect The past tense expresses an action or a state of being that occurred in the past and did not continue into the present. In the last lap the runner fell. The fall did cause a bad injury. (Emphatic form)

13. Verb tensePast and past perfect The past perfect tense • expresses an action or a state of being that ended before another past action or state of being occurred • is formed with the helping verb had Paul had traveled several miles before he realized his mistake. He discovered that he had misread the road map.

14. Verb tenseFuture and future perfect The future tense • expresses an action or a state of being that will occur • is formed with the helping verb shall or will Leah will attend a writers’ workshop this summer. She will bewriting poetry and fiction. (Progressive form)

15. Verb tenseFuture and future perfect The future perfect tense • expresses an action or a state of being that will end before some other future occurrence • is formed with the helping verbs will have or shall have You will have saved enough money for the car by the time you start back to school. By then, you will have been working here a year. (Progressive form)

16. Verb tense On Your Own Change the tense of the verb in each sentence, as indicated in parentheses. 1. Max has studied piano for one year. (Change to future.) 2. Ivy roots made their way into the bricks. (Change to present progressive.) 3. The smell of gas filled the air. (Change to past perfect.) 4. Ray runs every day. (Change to past perfect progressive.) 5. The picture has been needing a new frame. (Change to present emphatic.) [End of Section]

17. Special problems in the use of tensesSequence of tenses Use tense forms correctly to show relationships between verbs in a sentence. To describe events that occur at the same time, use verbs in the same tense. Present tense Present tense The bell rings, and the classroom empties. Past tense Past tense The bell rang, and the classroom emptied.

18. Special problems in the use of tensesSequence of tenses For events that occur at different times, use verbs of different tenses to show the order of events. Past tense Present tense She plays soccer now, but last year she swam on the swim team. Her soccer playing is occurring now. Her swimming on the swim team occurred in the past and preceded her soccer playing.

19. Special problems in the use of tensesSequence of tenses For events that occur at different times, use verbs of different tenses to show the order of events. Past tense Past perfect tense Serena told us that she had invited Josh to the party. The action of inviting was completed before the action of telling.

20. Special problems in the use of tensesIf clauses In an if clause that expresses the earlier of two events, do not use would have. Instead, use the past perfect tense. If he would have taken more time, he would have won. If he had taken more time, he would have won. Nonstandard Standard

21. Special problems in the use of tenses On Your Own Correct each error in the use of verb tenses. If a sentence is already correct, label it C. 1. After she graduated, Corrine joins the navy. 2. We would have walked there if the weather would have been nice. 3. She delivers the mail when the regular mail carrier is sick. 4. After Sam had answered, Mr. Cain says, “That is correct.” 5. If you had asked politely, I might have helped you. [End of Section]

22. Mood Mood is the form a verb takes to indicate the attitude of the person using the verb. The indicative mood expresses a fact, an opinion, or a question. Fact Jimmy Carter won the Nobel Peace Prize in 2002. Isabel Allende is a gifted writer. Opinion Can you explain the difference between a meteor and a meteorite? Question

23. Mood The imperative mood expresses a direct command or a request. Explain the difference between a meteor and a meteorite. Direct command Please pass me that astronomy book. Request

24. Mood The present and past tenses have distinctive forms in the subjunctive mood. • The presentsubjunctiveexpresses a suggestion or a necessity. We recommend that Mary Collins be invited to speak at the assembly. Suggestion It is required that you attend the special training session. Necessity

25. Mood • The past subjunctiveexpresses a condition contrary to fact or expresses a wish. If I were you, I’d check the oil level in the car. Condition contrary to fact Margaret wishes she were an auto mechanic. Wish

26. Mood On Your Own For each sentence, identify the mood of the boldfaced verb as indicative, imperative, or subjunctive. ________ 1. Was your brother excited about the game? _________2. Be a good dog and stay right there, Molly. _________ 3. Ms. Harper suggested that we volunteer. _________4. Mr. Darwin said that he will lead a field trip to the animal sanctuary. _________5. If Iwereas talented a singer as you, I would try out for the chorus. [End of Section]

27. Modals A modal is a helping verb that is joined with a main verb or an infinitive to express an attitude toward the action or state of being of the main verb.

28. Modals The modals canand could are used to express ability. Canyou swim the freestyle? I could have taken swimming lessons this spring.

29. Modals The modal mayis used to express permission or possibility. MayI use your pencil? Permission You may want to add more garlic to the pasta sauce. Possibility The modal mightis also used to express possibility. Janelle mightget a new bicycle.

30. Modals The modal mustis used most often to express a requirement. Sometimes mustis used to express an explanation. You musttake care of houseplants if you want them to live. Requirement Explanation I musthave watered this plant too much; some of its leaves have turned yellow.

31. Modals The modal oughtis used to express an obligation or a likelihood. Gary ought to send a thank-you note. Obligation Likelihood The post office ought to be open by now.

32. Modals The modals shalland willare used to express future time. I shallgraduate from high school this June. Where willthe ceremony be held?

33. Modals The modal shouldis used to express a recommendation, an obligation, or a possibility. Doug should visit each campus before deciding on a college. Recommendation You should have asked before borrowing the book. Obligation Should you decide to accept the other job offer, please let me know. Possibility

34. Modals The modal wouldis used to express the conditional form of a verb. If it had rained, we wouldhave cancelled the hike. I wouldhave let you know about any changes.

35. Calista told us that she wouldmeet us at the park. Modals Would can also be used to express future time in a subordinate clause when the main verb in the independent clause is in the past tense. modal expresses future time past tense verb Calista told us that she would meet us at the park. Main clause Subordinate clause

36. Modals Would is sometimes used to express • an action that was repeated in the past Every summer my family would travel to Colorado. • a polite request Wouldyou please help him set the table? • an invitation Wouldyou go to the folk festival with me?

37. Modals On Your Own Supply an appropriate modal for each sentence. 1. “I definitely _____ call you tomorrow,” Ellen promised. 2. Take your umbrella because it _____ rain. 3. Explain this math problem to me; I _____ not figure it out. 4. The committee _____ not have chosen anyone better than Esteban. 5. Now that I have read that book, I _____ highly recommend it to all my friends. [End of Section]

38. Review A Identify the tense or mood of each boldfaced verb, as indicated in parentheses. If the verb is in the progressive or emphatic form, also identify the form. __________ 1. The band had finished the concert, but the audience called for another set. (tense) __________ 2. The class will be reading a play. (tense) __________ 3. If you were more patient, you would succeed. (mood) __________ 4. I have been stung by a bee. (tense) __________ 5. Remember to remove your shoes in a Japanese restaurant. (mood)

39. Review B Supply an appropriate modal, helping verb, or main verb to complete each sentence correctly. The hints in parentheses will help you. 1. If Maya _____ listened more carefully, she would have known what to do. (correct if clause) 2. You _____ register by 8:00. (shows a requirement) 3. I suggest that you _____ on time. (subjunctive mood) 4. I _____ help you paint if I had time. (shows a condition) 5. As a witness to the accident, Pam told the police what _____ happened. (correct sequence of tenses) [End of Section]

40. The End