Verb Forms Basic Structure of the Main Clause

Verb Forms

Basic Structure of the Main Clause Subject/ Verb n Maria sang. n n n Subject / Verb/ Object She sang a song. Subject/ Verb/ Complement Her voice was lovely. Her voice = a lovely thing.

Variations Dummy subject/linking verb/real subject. n There was a pretty bird sitting in the tree. n There were pretty birds sitting in the tree. n There was a flock of pretty birds in the tree. n It is raining. n The bird is a cardinal. It sits there every morning and sings. n This is a bird. These are trees. n

Part of Sentences Nouns n Verbs n Pronouns n Adjectives n Adverbs n Prepositions n Conjunctions n

Verb Forms: Present Tense Present tense—called “the plain form” or the “dictionary” form in your text n Used for present action, habitual or repeated action, a “fact”; used sometimes for dramatic effect in a story. n Maria sings in church every Sunday. n Maria’s voice is lovely. n The congregation is hushed and attentive as Maria sings. n

Present Tense (continued) For third person singular and plural (he, she, it, and they), remember that OFTEN-n if there is no “s” on the subject, there should be an “s” or “es” on the verb. n The girl sings beautifully. n The girls sing beautifully. n The gardener waters the flowers every week. n The workers water the flowers every week. n

Tenses: Present Progressive Present progressive, the --ing form n Used when something is happening right now or when other events are occurring at the same time. n I am sitting at my computer right now. The sun is shining, and the sky is blue. n Maria is singing right now, and the congregation is listening intently. n

Past Tense Often it has a “d” or “ed” on the end. It is also used as the past participle with helping verbs. n He watered the flowers yesterday. n They watered the flowers when he was out of town. n Maria used to sing in church every Sunday. n She was supposed to sing last Sunday, but she got sick. (N. B. , “to sing” is not a verb, but a verbal, and it does not have tense. ) n

Past Participles Used with a helping verb to form past perfect, present perfect, and so on. n He has been watering the flowers on Sundays all summer. (Present perfect— Started in the past and is still going on) n He had been watering the flowers on Sundays for many years, but he changed the schedule last week. (Past perfect— past, finished and done) n

Various Tenses Some tenses are primarily used when the sentence has a time marker or when there is a contrast with another point in time. n I was walking in my neighborhood when I saw a dog running loose. n I have been walking in this neighborhood for years, but until this morning, I had never seen a dog on the street unaccompanied by its owner. n I will be looking for that dog this afternoon. n