Language Network Using Phrases Verbs Using Verbs Using

Language Network Using. Phrases Verbs

Using Verbs Using Verb Tenses Here’s the Idea Using Simple Tenses Using Perfect Tenses Why It Matters Practice and Apply

Here’s the Idea Verb Tense A tense is a verb form that shows the time of an action or condition.

Here’s the Idea English verbs have six tenses. Simple Tenses Present, Past, Future Perfect Tenses Present Perfect, Past Perfect, Future Perfect

Here’s the Idea Use tenses to indicate whether an action or condition is in the past, the present, or the future, and to indicate how events are related in time.

Here’s the Idea The present tense shows that an action or condition • is occurring in the present • occurs regularly • is constantly or generally true I like to read about real-life adventures.

Here’s the Idea The past tense shows that an action or condition occurred in the past. Yossi Ghinsberg explored the rain forests near the Tuichi River.

Here’s the Idea The future tense shows that an action or condition will occur in the future. When you get to the part where Yossi has been left in the rain forest, you will be eager to find out what happens to him.

Here’s the Idea The present perfect shows that an action or condition • was completed at one or more indefinite times in the past • began in the past and continues in the present So far, I have learned that Yossi is a young Israeli man who is on an adventure through the rain forests of Bolivia.

Here’s the Idea The past perfect shows that an action or condition in the past preceded another past action or condition. After the men had experienced difficult travel for several weeks, two of them gave up and headed back to civilization on foot.

Here’s the Idea The future perfect shows that an action or condition in the future will precede another future action or condition. You may wonder if any wild animals will have attacked Yossi before he reaches the nearest village.

Why It Matters Choosing the correct verb tense allows you to be clear about when events occur in time.

Practice and Apply Replace the underlined verb with the correct tense. 1. Even now, William Shakespeare has ranked as the greatest writer in English.

Practice and Apply Replace the underlined verb with the correct tense. 2. Shakespeare has grown up in a middle-class family.

Practice and Apply Replace the underlined verb with the correct tense. 3. When theaters closed because of the plague, Shakespeare writes poetry.

Practice and Apply Replace the underlined verb with the correct tense. 4. Not much was known today about his private life.

Using Verbs Shifts in Tense Here’s the Idea Why It Matters Practice and Apply

Here’s the Idea Switch tenses only as needed for clarity or style. Improper or unnecessary shifts will make your writing awkward and confusing.

Here’s the Idea Stick with one tense when describing actions related to a single period or event or when writing about a series of events. PAST TENSE Michiko finished her history assignment and turned on a public television channel. PAST TENSE

Here’s the Idea When you are describing an event as a point of reference for another event, you can shift from a perfect tense to a simple tense. PAST PERFECT TENSE Michiko had been at the library for an hour when she found a book about Alaska. PAST TENSE

Why It Matters Keep verb tenses consistent unless you have a good reason not to. Mixing verb tenses unnecessarily can confuse your readers.

Practice and Apply Choose the correct form of the verb in parentheses. 5. Sandra Cisneros (grows, grew) up in Chicago.

Practice and Apply Choose the correct form of the verb in parentheses. 6. Because she felt lonely as a child, Cisneros (read, will read) books for comfort.

Practice and Apply Choose the correct form of the verb in parentheses. 7. By the time Cisneros published her first book, she already (spent, had spent) time teaching high-school dropouts.

Practice and Apply Choose the correct form of the verb in parentheses. 8. Cisneros’s readers enjoy her books, which (combine, combined) fiction and poetry.

Using Verbs Active and Passive Voice Here’s the Idea Why It Matters Practice and Apply

Here’s the Idea When a verb’s subject performs the action expressed by the verb, the verb is in the active voice. PERFORMER OF ACTION VERB A group of 16 countries constructed the International Space Station.

Here’s the Idea When a verb’s subject receives the action expressed by a verb, the verb is in the passive voice. RECEIVER OF ACTION VERB The International Space Station was constructed by a group of 16 countries.

Here’s the Idea Use the passive voice only when you want to emphasize the receiver of the action or when the performer of the action is not known.

Here’s the Idea Here’s how to change passive voice to active voice: 1. Determine the verb and the performer 1. of the action. The space station is being visited by astronauts.

Here’s the Idea 2. Move the performer of the action 2. before the verb and change the verb 2. to the active voice. Astronauts is visiting the space station.

Here’s the Idea 3. Make sure the verb agrees in number 2. with the new subject. Astronauts are visiting the space station.

Why It Matters If you use the passive voice too often, it can make your writing vague and lifeless.

Practice and Apply Rewrite the sentence to change the verb from the passive voice to the active voice. 9. Numerous plays and short stories were written by Kurt Vonnegut.

Practice and Apply Rewrite the sentence to change the verb from the passive voice to the active voice. 10. Vonnegut was captured by the Germans during World War II.

Practice and Apply Rewrite the sentence to change the verb from the passive voice to the active voice. 11. He was assigned by his captors to work in Dresden, Germany.

Practice and Apply Rewrite the sentence to change the verb from the passive voice to the active voice. 12. This experience was described by Vonnegut in Slaughterhouse Five.