Using the -s Form Verbs

Study Tip
Note that third-person singular verbs require an -s ending (he needs). Therefore,
whenever your subject is singular (other than I or you), you will add an s to the
present-tense form of the verb. Add es if the verb ends in s, sh, ch, x, or z.
Adding an s or es to a
She works for a large corporation. (Not work)
verb does not make the
This printer breaks down too often. (Not break) verb plural. Only nouns
and pronouns can be
Barry searches his house for his missing car keys. (Not search)
singular or plural.

Expressing “Timeless” Facts

Present-tense verbs are used to express “timeless” facts, even if these verbs occur
in sentences with other past-tense verbs.
What is the name of the customer who called yesterday? (Not was)
Joan Brault’s maiden name is Haitz. (Not was)
What did you say his duties are? (Not were, if he continues to
perform these duties)

Spelling Verbs That Change Form

Use a dictionary to verify spelling of verbs that change form. You must be par-
ticularly careful in spelling verbs ending in y (hurry, hurries, hurried ) and verbs
for which the final consonant is doubled (occurred, expelled ).
Now complete the reinforcement exercises for Level 1.

LEVEL 2
Present and Past Participles
To be able to use all the tenses of verbs correctly, you must understand the four
principal parts of verbs: present, past, present participle, and past participle.
You have already studied the present and past forms. Now, let’s consider the
participles.

Present Participle
The present participle of regular and irregular verbs is formed by adding ing
to the present tense of the verb. The present participle must be preceded by one
or more helping verbs, which are usually forms of be such as am, is, are, was,
were, be, and been.

Helping verb Present participle

Leanne is studying in South Africa.

Helping verb Present participle

You are doing a fine job.

Past Participle
The past participle of a regular verb is formed by adding a d or ed to the pres-
ent tense of the verb. (As you will learn in the next section, irregular verbs form
their past participle differently.) Like present participles, past participles must

VERB TENSES AND PARTS CHAPTER 9 • 175

 combine with one or more helping verbs, which are usually forms of to have,
such as has, had, or have:

Helping verb Past participle

Mark has applied for the scholarship.

Helping verbs Past participle

The figures have been checked by his supervisor.

Helping verb Past participle

The Iannuccis have built a cabin on the lake.

Teaching Irregular Verbs

Tip Up to this point, we have considered only regular verbs. Regular verbs form the past
tense by the addition of d or ed to the present tense form. Irregular verbs, how-
ever, form the past tense by varying the root vowel and, commonly, adding en to
the past participle. A list of the more frequently used irregular verbs follows. Learn
the forms of these verbs by practicing in patterns such as the following:
Present Tense: Today I drive.
Past Tense: Yesterday I drove.
Future Tense: Tomorrow I will drive.
Past Participle: In the past I have driven.
Present Participle: Next week I am driving.

Career T
Tip
Frequently Used Irregular Verbs
Present Past Past Participle Present Participle
arise arose arisen arising
In employment
interviews, recruiters be (am, is, are) was, were been being
listen carefully to a
candidate’s spoken become became become becoming
English. One quick way
to be eliminated is to begin began begun beginning
substitute a verb past
tense for a past participle. bite bit bitten biting
INCORRECT: He come
over last night or I seen blow blew blown blowing
them.
break broke broken breaking
bring brought brought bringing
build built built building
burst burst burst bursting
buy bought bought buying
catch caught caught catching
choose chose chosen choosing
come came come coming

176 • CHAPTER 9 VERB TENSES AND PARTS

 Present Past Past Participle Present Participle
dig dug dug digging
do did done doing
draw drew drawn drawing
drink drank drunk drinking
drive drove driven driving
eat ate eaten eating
fall fell fallen falling Study Tip
fight fought fought fighting
fly flew flown flying
When you look an
forget forgot forgotten or forgot forgetting irregular verb up in the
dictionary, the dictionary
forgive forgave forgiven forgiving will generally show its
freeze froze frozen freezing tenses in this order: past,
past participle, present
get got gotten or got getting participle.

give gave given giving

go went gone going
grow grew grown growing
hang (an object) hung hung hanging
hang (a person) hanged hanged hanging
hide hid hidden or hid hiding
know knew known knowing
lay (to place) laid laid laying
lead led led leading
leave left left leaving
lend lent lent lending
lie (to rest) lay lain lying
lie (to tell a falsehood) lied lied lying
lose lost lost losing
make made made making
pay paid paid paying
prove proved proved or proven proving
ride rode ridden riding
ring rang rung ringing
rise (to move up) rose risen rising
run ran run running
see saw seen seeing
set (to place) set set setting

VERB TENSES AND PARTS CHAPTER 9 • 177

 Present Past Past Participle Present Participle
shake shook shaken shaking
shrink shrank shrunk shrinking
sing sang sung singing
sink sank sunk sinking
sit (to rest) sat sat sitting
speak spoke spoken speaking
spring sprang sprung springing
steal stole stolen stealing
strike struck struck or stricken striking
swear swore sworn swearing
swim swam swum swimming
take took taken taking
teach taught taught teaching
tear tore torn tearing
throw threw thrown throwing
wake woke woken waking
wear wore worn wearing
write wrote written writing

Three Pairs of Frequently Misused

Irregular Verbs
Three pairs of verbs often cause confusion: lie–lay, sit–set, and raise–rise. The
secret to using them correctly lies in (a) recognizing their tense forms and
(b) knowing whether they are transitive or intransitive. Recall that transitive
verbs require objects; intransitive verbs do not.

Lie–Lay
These two verbs are confusing because the past tense of lie is spelled in the
same way that the present tense of lay is spelled. To be safe, memorize these
verb forms:
Study Tip
Present Past Past Participle Present Participle
Intransitive: lie (to rest) lay lain lying
Whenever you use lay in
the sense of “placing” Transitive: lay (to place) laid (not layed ) laid laying
something, you must
provide a receiver of the The verb lie is intransitive; therefore, it requires no direct object to complete
action: Try asking yourself its meaning.
“Lay what?” Please lay
the book down (lay what? I lie down for a nap every afternoon. (Present tense. Note that down
the book). If nothing is not a direct object.)
receives the action, you
probably want the verb lie, “Lie down,” Mark told his dog. (Commands are given in the
which means “resting.” present tense.)

178 • CHAPTER 9 VERB TENSES AND PARTS

 Tomorrow I will lie down for a nap after lunch. (Future tense)
Yesterday I lay down for a nap. (Past tense)
The originals have lain in the copy machine for some time.
(Past participle)
The contract is lying on the desk. (Present participle)
The verb lay is transitive and must have a direct object to complete its meaning.
The objects in the following sentences have been underlined.
Watch me lay three cards down in this round. (Present tense)
Lay the report over there. (Command in the present tense)
We will lay new tile in the reception area. (Future tense)
He laid the handouts on the conference table. (Past tense)
He has laid bricks all his life. (Past participle)
The contractor is laying new flooring in the kitchen.
(Present participle)

Sit–Set
Less troublesome than lie–lay, the combination of sit–set is nevertheless
perplexing because the sounds of the verbs are similar. The intransitive verb Study Tip
sit (past tense, sat; past participle, sat) means “to rest” and requires no direct
object.
I like to sit in the front row in class. (Present tense) To help you remember
They sat in the theater through the closing credits. (Past tense) that these verbs are
intransitive, look at the
Max will sit in Row 39 on Flight 880. (Future tense) second letter of each:
They had sat in the waiting room for two hours before they decided lie
si t
to leave. (Past participle)
rise
Are you usually sitting here in the morning? (Present participle) Associate i with
intransitive.
The transitive verb set (past tense, set; past participle, set) means “to place”
and must have a direct object. The objects in the following sentences have been
underlined.
Letty usually sets her coffee mug there. (Present tense)
Trivia Tidbit
We set a vase of flowers on the receptionist’s desk. (Past tense)
We will set the table shortly before our guests arrive. (Future tense)
The CEO had set the deadline before conferring with his employees.
(Past participle) The English word with the
most definitions is set.
The committee is setting the ground rules. (Present participle) This word can be used
as a noun, a verb, or an
adjective.
Rise–Raise
The intransitive verb rise (past tense, rose; past participle, risen) means “to go up”
or “to ascend” and requires no direct object.
The sun rises every morning in the east. (Present tense. Every morn-
ing is an adverbial phrase, not an object.)
The president rose from her chair to greet us. (Past tense)
The sun will rise tomorrow morning at 5:39 a.m. (Future tense)
The room temperature has risen steadily since the meeting began.
(Past participle)
Our elevator is rising to the seventh floor. (Present participle)

VERB TENSES AND PARTS CHAPTER 9 • 179

 The transitive verb raise (past tense, raised; past participle, raised) means “to
lift up” or “to elevate” and must have a direct object. The objects in the follow-
ing sentences have been underlined.
Please raise the window. (Present tense)
The nonprofit organization raised needed funds during its annual
event. (Past tense)
The restaurant will raise prices next month. (Future tense)
Airlines have raised fares over the past year. (Past participle)
AT&T is raising prices next month. (Present participle)
Now complete the reinforcement exercises for Level 2.

LEVEL 3
Progressive and Perfect Tenses
Thus far in this chapter, you have studied the primary tenses and irregular verbs.
The remainder of this chapter focuses on two additional sets of verb tenses: the
TTeaching
perfect and the progressive. Most native speakers and writers of English have
Tip little difficulty controlling these verb forms because they have frequently heard
them used correctly. This largely descriptive section is thus presented for those
who are not native speakers and for those who are eager to study the entire
range of verb tenses.

Progressive Tenses
The progressive tenses are used to show continuous or repeated actions. The
present-progressive tense describes ongoing actions that are happening
presently. The past-progressive tense describes ongoing actions that occurred
in the past, usually as another action was taking place. The future-progressive
tense describes ongoing actions that will take place in the future. Form the pro-
gressive tenses by adding a form of to be to the present participle (-ing) form of
a verb, as you can see in the following table.

Present-Progressive Tense

First Person Second Person Third Person

I am hearing you are hearing he, she, it is hearing
we are hearing they are hearing

Past-Progressive Tense

First Person Second Person Third Person

I was hearing you were hearing he, she, it was hearing
we were hearing they were hearing

Future-Progressive Tense

First Person Second Person Third Person

I will be hearing you will be hearing he, she, it will be hearing
we will be hearing they will be hearing

180 • CHAPTER 9 VERB TENSES AND PARTS

 We are importing many of our products from China. (Present-
progressive tense expresses action in progress.)
We were sitting down to dinner when we lost power. (Past-
progressive tense indicates action that was begun in the past.)
They will be receiving the announcement shortly. (Future-progressive
tense indicates action in the future.)

Perfect Tenses
The perfect tenses are used to show actions that are already completed, or per-
fected. The present-perfect tense describes actions that began in the past and
have continued to the present. The past-perfect tense describes past actions
that took place before other past actions. The future-perfect tense describes
actions that will take place before other future actions. Form progressive tenses
by adding a form of to have to the past participle form of a verb, as you can see
in the following table.

Present-Perfect Tense

First Person Second Person Third Person

I have heard you have heard he, she, it has heard
we have heard they have heard

Past-Perfect Tense

First Person Second Person Third Person

I had heard you had heard he, she, it had heard
we had heard they had heard

Future-Perfect Tense

First Person Second Person Third Person

I will have heard you will have heard he, she, it will have heard
we will have heard
The national debt has increased substantially. (Present-perfect tense
expresses action just completed, or perfected.)
The check had cleared the bank before I canceled payment. (Past-perfect
tense shows an action finished before another action in the past.)
The polls will have been closed two hours when the results are tele-
cast. (Future-perfect tense indicates action that will be completed
before another future action.)
Now complete the reinforcement exercises for Level 3.

VERB TENSES AND PARTS CHAPTER 9 • 181

 Spot the BLOOPER
Using the skills you are learning in this class, try to identify why the following items
are bloopers. Consult your textbook, dictionary, or reference manual as needed.

Blooper 1: On the Fox Sports Web site, describing the competition for the Most
Valuable Player trophy in the Pro Bowl: “The honor could have went to Terrell Owens,
who caught two TD passes.”
Blooper 2: An article in The New York Times reporting that the firing of Merrill Lynch’s
chair and CEO was partly because of the company’s depressed stock price: “Last week,
the stock sunk to as low as $59 a share.”
Blooper 3: Headline in the Cincinnati Enquirer : “Europe lays low, hopes U.S. can medi-
ate with Russia.”
Blooper 4: Question asked in the Hartwell Sun [Georgia]: “How will possible layoffs
effect the Hart County School System?”
Blooper 5: In the program for the Florida Center for the Books theatrical production of
Papa, a play about Ernest Hemingway: “[the director] received her principle theatrical
education at Yale University.”
Blooper 6: In a job applicant’s cover letter: “I had strong interpersonal and
communication skills.”
Blooper 7: From an article in the auto industry newspaper AutoMotive : “[The Ford
F-150 pickup truck] is showing no signs of loosing its number one sales crown.”
Blooper 8: From a Parade magazine cover: “She [Keira Knightley] shined in the hit
films Bend It Like Beckham and Pirates of the Caribbean.”
Blooper 9: From The Arizona Republic: “The great tree uprooted the back fence, caus-
ing it to raise 5 feet in the air.”
Blooper 10: From an article in London’s Sunday Mail about soccer great David
Beckham, in which he discusses being baffled by his seven-year-old son’s math home-
work: “It’s done totally differently to what I was teached at school.”

182 • CHAPTER 9 VERB TENSES AND PARTS

 FAQs
Answered by Dr. Guffey and Professer Seefer Dr. Guffey Professor Seefer

Question Answer
Q: As a command, A: Commands are given in the present tense. You would never tell someone to
which is correct: lay Closed the door because commands are not given in the past tense. To say Lay
down or lie down? down (which is the past-tense form of lie) is the same as saying Closed the door.
Therefore, use the present tense: Lie down.

Q: We have a new A: Messaging is certainly a popular term with the explosion of e-mail, instant
e-mail program, and messaging, and text messaging. As to its correctness, what we are seeing here is
one of its functions is language in the act of evolving. A noun (message) has been converted to a verb.
“messaging” people. Converting nouns into verbs is common in English. It is called verbing
When folks say, I will (he cornered the market, we tabled the motion, I penciled it in on my calendar,
message you, it really the farmer trucked the vegetables to market). Actually, message was sometimes
grates on my nerves. used as a verb over a century ago (in 1896 the bill was messaged over from
Is this correct? the house). However, its recent use has been almost exclusively as a noun.
Today, it is increasingly being used again as a verb. New uses of words usually
become legitimate when the words fill a need and are immediately accepted.
Some word uses, though, appear to be mere fads, such as The homeless child
could not language her fears. Forcing the noun language to function as a verb is
unnecessary since a good word already exists for the purpose: express. But other
“nouns-made-verbs” have been in use long enough to sound reasonable: I faxed
the document, he videotaped the program, she keyed the report.

Q: I’m embarrassed A: No. Use an apostrophe only for the contraction it’s, meaning “it is” or “it has”
to ask this because (it’s a good plan; it's been nice knowing you). The possessive pronoun its, as used
I should know the in your example, has no apostrophe (the car had its oil changed ).
answer—but I don’t.
Is there an apostrophe
in this: its relevance to
our program?

Q: I thought I knew A: You’re partly right and partly wrong. Principal may be used as a noun
the difference between meaning “chief” or “head person.” In addition, it may be used as an adjective
principal and principle, to mean “chief” or “main.” This is the meaning most people forget, and this is
but now I’m not so the meaning of the word in your sentence. The word principle means a “law” or
sure. In a report from “rule.” Perhaps it is easiest to remember principle ⫽ rule. All other uses require
management, I saw principal: the principal of the school, the principal of the loan, the principal
this: The principal reason.
findings of the market
research are negative.
I thought principal
always meant your
“pal,” the school
principal.

Q: Even when I use A: No words generate more confusion than do affect and effect. In your
a dictionary, I can’t tell sentence use affected. Let’s see if we can resolve the affect/effect dilemma. Affect
the difference between is a verb meaning “to influence” (smoking affects health; government policies
affect and effect. What affect citizens). Affect may also mean “to pretend or imitate” (he affected a British
should the word be accent). Effect can be a noun or a verb. As a noun, it means “result” (the effect
in this sentence? of the law is slight). As a verb (and here’s the troublesome part) effect means “to
Changes in personnel produce a result” (small cars effect gasoline savings; GM effected a new pricing
(affected/effected) our policy).
production this month.

VERB TENSES AND PARTS CHAPTER 9 • 183