Verbs

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Verbs

• Working With Words
• Chapter 5

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VERBS The Keys to Lively Writing

• Verbs tell what a noun or its substitute is doing
  or being
• Runs, writes, is, seems
• A verb expresses action or state of being. It
  can even stand alone as a complete sentence Go!

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Verb Classification

• All verbs can be classified as either helping
  verbs or main verbs and as transitive or
  intransitive.
• Verbs also have a tense, voice, and mood.

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Predicate

• A predicate is a verb as a part of a sentence.
• The simple predicate is the verb itself.
• The complete predicate is the verb along with its
  associated words modifiers, objects, or
  complements.
• Two of the candidates have dropped from the race.
  (Simple predicate have dropped complete
  predicate have dropped from the race)

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Helping Verbs vs. Main Verbs

• Verbs are either helping verbs or main verbs.
• A main verb may stand alone or it may have
  helping verbs accompanying it.
• The mayor loves her job. (loves is the main verb)
• She has loved working as mayor. (loved is the
  main verb, has is the helping verb)
• Helping verbs are am, are, be, been, being, can,
  could, did, do, does, had, has, have, is, may,
  might, must, ought, shall, should, was, were,
  will, and would.

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Helping Verbs

• Helping verbs are mainly used to make some forms
  of a verb, especially different tenses or
  progressives, as shown on pages 57-58.
• Helping verbs are sometimes used to show
  emphasis. For example, we may use a form of the
  verb to do as a helping verb to show emphasis.

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Helping Verbs

• Often, we underline or italicize the helping verb
  for emphasis.
• Less often, we change the verb to shall to will
  and will to shall to show emphasis.
• Sometimes, we combine a couple of these, although
  you should normally be consistent about using
  either underline or italics for emphasis in one
  work.

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Helping Verb for Emphasis Examples

• To do
• I do edit, he did edit.
• Reversal of will/shall
• I will edit, you shall edit I will be editing,
  You shall have been editing.
• Underline/italics
• I have edited, he has edited we are editing, she
  was editing, you have been editing, they had been
  editing.
• Reversal of will/shall plus underline/italics
• I will have edited, you shall have edited I will
  have been editing, you shall be editing.

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Helping Verb Misuse

• Dont confuse the preposition of with the verb
  have could have (not could of) might have (not
  might of).
• Dont use can, may, shall, or will in the past
  tense He couldnt have gone far. (not cant
  have gone) She said she might have done it
  differently (not may have done). Think of the
  conditional forms could, would, should, and might
  as the past tense forms as well.

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Helping Verb Misuse

• The helping verb have can also be used to imply
  volition I had my fortune told. To avoid
  confusion, dont use a form of have in situations
  where it might imply volition when none is
  intended.
• For example, rewrite He had his arm broken as
  He broke his arm, and rewrite He had three passes
  intercepted as Three of his passes were
  intercepted. The subject of these sentences did
  not hire someone to break his arm or to intercept
  his passes.

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Helping Verb Misuse

• Dont use would have with could have.
• WRONG If he would not have had an operation the
  week before, he could have finished the race.
• RIGHT If he had not had an operation the week
  before, he could have finished the race.

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Helping Verb Misuse

• Dont use helping verbs such as had or should
  with ought.
• Rewrite We had ought to leave or Wed ought to
  leave as We ought to leave.
• Dont use might as a helping verb to could.
• WRONG He said he might could help.
• RIGHT He said he might be able to help.

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Transitive vs Intransitive Verbs

• All verbs are either transitive or intransitive
  in any given sentence.
• Some are transitive in one sentence but
  intransitive in another.

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Transitive Verbs

• Transitive verbs have a direct object (a receiver
  of the action) behind them to tell to what or to
  whom the action was done
• The legislature passed the bill. (Passed what?
  Passed the bill.)
• Police arrested Fred Wilson. (Arrested who?
  Arrested Fred Wilson.)

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Intransitive Verbs

• Intransitive verbs do not take a direct object.
  There are two kinds of intransitive verbs
  linking (copulative) verbs and complete verbs.
• Linking verbs take a predicate complement--either
  a predicate nominative (noun or pronoun behind
  the linking verb) or a predicate adjective
  (adjective behind the linking verb)
• She is a cabdriver. (predicate nominative)
• This is she. (predicate nominative)
• He is tall. (predicate adjective)
• He is impressed. (predicate adjective)

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Linking Verbs

• Linking verbs can be thought of as an equals sign
  indicating an equation between the subject and
  the complement. Linking verbs link the subject
  and the subject complement.
• Linking verbs must be followed by either by a
  noun or pronoun or by an adjective. They may
  also be followed by an adverb but always in
  combination with an adjective
• He said he often was hungry. (Was is a linking
  verb, hungry is a predicate adjective, and often
  an adverb modifying was.)

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Linking Verbs

• The list of linking verbs includes the be
  verbs--am, is, are, was, were, has been, have
  been, had been, shall be, will be verbs having
  to do with the five senses--appear , feel, look,
  smell, sound, taste and these additional
  verbs--act, become, continue, grow, remain, seem,
  stay, turn, wax.
• Knowing when a verb is a linking verb helps you
  deal with troublesome choices between adjectives
  and adverbs, such as whether a person feels good
  or feels well.

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Complete Verbs

• Complete verbs take neither a direct object nor a
  predicate complement.
• The woman hesitated.
• Dont confuse passive-voice verbs, which are
  complete verbs, with linking verbs followed by a
  predicate adjective
• They were tired by the long walk. (Were, the
  helping verb, and tired, the main verb, together
  form a complete verb in the passive voice.)
• They were tired. (Were is a linking verb tired
  is a participle acting as the predicate
  adjective. There is no indication that they were
  tired by anything--a requirement of passive
  voice--just that thats how they felt.

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Transitive vs. Intransitive

• Sit, rise, and lie are all intransitive.
• You do nor sit something down, rise something up,
  or lie something down.
• Set, raise, and lay are all transitive.
• You do set something down, raise something up, or
  lay something down.

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Tenses

• Verb tenses refer to time--when the action or
  state of being the verb represents takes place.
  Chinese has only one tense and shows a time
  element by an adverb I go today, I go
  yesterday, I go tomorrow.
• English verbs have a built-in time element, even
  though an adverb may supply additional details.
• We will discuss the six major tenses
• past, present, future, past perfect, present
  perfect, and future perfect.

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Tenses (Conjugated)

• Past-Perfect Tense
• I had edited
• you had edited
• he, she, it, one had edited
• Past Tense
• I edited
• you edited
• he, she, it, one edited.

• Past-Perfect Tense
• we had edited
• you had edited
• they had edited
• Past Tense
• we edited
• you edited
• they edited

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Tenses (Conjugated)

• Present-Perfect Tense
• I have edited
• you have edited
• he, she, it, one have edited
• Present Tense
• I edit
• you edit
• he, she, it, one edits

• Present-Perfect Tense
• we have edited
• you have edited
• they have edited
• Present Tense
• we edit
• you edit
• they edit

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Tenses (Conjugated)

• Future-Perfect Tense
• I shall have edited
• you will have edited
• he, she, it, one will have edited
• Future Tense
• I shall edit
• you will edit
• he, she, it, one will edit

• Future-Perfect Tense
• we shall have edited
• you will have edited
• they will have edited
• Present Tense
• we shall edit
• you will edit
• they will edit

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Progressive Forms

• A variation of each of the six tenses can be
  formed using some form of to be as a helping verb
  and the progressive (-ing, or present-participle
  form) of the main verb
• Past-perfect progressive I had been editing,
  etc.
• Past progressive I was editing, you were
  editing, etc.
• Present-perfect progressive I have been editing,
  he has been editing, etc.
• Present Progressive I am editing, you are
  editing, he is editing, etc.
• Future-perfect progressive I shall have been
  editing, you will have been editing, etc.
• Future progressive I shall be editing, you will
  be editing, etc.
• Progressive forms stress the ongoing nature of an
  activity, i.e. I am sleeping.

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Shall vs. Will

• Use shall in first-person singular in the future
  and the future-perfect tenses and progressives.
• Although, in common usage, most of us accept and
  expect will in all cases.
• The book states that will and shall should be
  reversed for emphasis, though it acknowledges
  that this practice is dated and nearly obsolete.

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Regular vs. Irregular Verbs

• Most, but not all, verbs form their conjugations
  as the verb to edit does.
• Regular verbs distinguish the past from the
  present by adding ed, t, or en
• edit, edited leap, leaped (or leapt)
• Irregular verbs distinguish past from present by
  changing the middle of the verb
• bring, brought sing, sang
• A common mistake is to use an incorrect past
  participlethe form of the verb used in the
  perfect tenses. A list of verbs that cause the
  most trouble can be found on page 60. The
  principal parts of the verbs are listed present,
  past, past-participle, and present-participle
  forms.

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Sequence of Tenses

• Past perfect events that occurred before those
  described in the past tense and are now
  concluded.
• Past events that occurred in the past and are
  now concluded.
• Present Perfect events that started before the
  present but have continued into the present.
• Present now
• Future perfect events that will have been
  completed in the future usually more speculative
  than the simple future tense
• Future events that will definitely occur in the
  future.
• Note that the form is always past, present,
  future, with the perfect tenses older than simple
  ones. This is call the natural tense progression.

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Tense

• Once youve selected the proper tense, for the
  most part youll want to keep the tense
  consistent
• You can, however, switch tense for a reasonsuch
  as to go into a flashback
• Follow the correct sequence of tenses.

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Voice

• All verbs are either in the active voice or in
  the passive voice.
• Active voice stresses the doer of an action by
  making the doer the subject of the sentence.
• Jill hit the ball
• Passive voice stresses the receiver of the action
  by making the receiver the subject of the
  sentence
• The ball was hit by Jill

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Passive Voice

• The direct object of the active voice sentence
  (ball) becomes the subject of the passive-voice
  sentence.
• The passive voice has three characteristics
• It uses some form of the verb to be.
• It uses the past participle of the main verb.
• The word by or for is either present or implied.

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Passive Voice Conjugations

• Past perfect I had been edited
• Past I was edited, you were edited
• Present Perfect I have been edited, he has been
  edited
• Present I am edited, you are edited, he is
  edited
• Future Perfect I shall have been edited, you
  will have been edited
• Future I shall be edited, you will be edited

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Passive Voice

• Generally, dont use it it is weak and too
  wordy.
• Rewrite in the active voice unless the subject
  being operated on is more important than the
  actor
• Renfrew was taken to the St. Marys Hospital,
  where he is listed in critical condition.
• This is an example of correct use of the passive
  voice. Renfrew, the accident victim, is more
  important to the account than either the
  ambulance attendants or the doctor who reported
  his condition.

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Passive Voice Confusion

• Some sentences seem to be passive voice, but they
  are not.
• The usual culprit is a sentence with a linking
  verb and a participle used as an adjective
• The cost was hidden.
• This sentence seems to meet all the requirements
  of the passive voice. You can even imagine an
  implied by.
• But here the participle is used as an adjective,
  not as part of the verb.
• If you can put the word very in front of the
  participle, then it is being used as an
  adjective, not as a verb.

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Mood

• Mood has to do with how the speaker or writer
  regards the statement being made.
• There are four moods
• Indicative
• Imperative
• Conditional
• Subjunctive

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Indicative Mood

• 90 percent of English sentences are in the
  indicative mood, meaning that the sentence in
  which the verb appears either states a fact or
  asks a question.
• All verb conjugations listed earlier are in the
  indicative mood.

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Imperative Mood

• Some verbs are in the imperative mood, meaning
  that the sentence makes a command or entreaty, or
  issues instructions/
• Do it.
• Lets do it.
• Please do it.
• First, connect part A to part B
• Conjugating imperative-mood verbs is easy because
  there is only one verb tense (present) and only
  two conjugations
• Edit! (second-person singular or plural)
• Lets edit! (first-person plural)

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Conditional Mood

• Some sentences use the conditional mood, which,
  as the name implies, expresses a condition.
• The conditional mood in English is always
  represented by one of four helping verbs. In the
  conditional
• can becomes could
• may becomes might
• shall becomes should
• will becomes would
• In each instance the first verb expresses greater
  certainty than the second. I can go is more
  definite than I could go, which would probably be
  followed by a condition such as if I finished
  work early.

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Subjunctive Mood

• The subjunctive mood is used to talk about any
  condition contrary to fact, such as a wish,
  doubt, prayer, desire, request, or hope.
• While it may be a fact that I wish for something,
  what I wish for hasnt come true yet, or I
  wouldnt be wishing for it.
• Examples
• If I were you (but Im not), Id quit.
• I wish I were a cowboy (but Im not).
• The hijackers demanded that 17 terrorists be set
  free (they have not yet been freed).
• The first two examples may sound odd because most
  people use I was, the indicative form, even when
  the subjunctive is needed.

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Subjunctive Mood Present Tense

• The present tense of the subjunctive mood is the
  infinitive minus the to. For all other verbs
  than to be (which conjugates in the subjunctive
  as I be, we be, you be, he, she, it, one be, they
  be), this differs from the present tense of the
  indicative mood only in the third person
  singular He asked that the editor edit (not
  edits) his story carefully for potential libel.

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Subjunctive Mood Present Tense

• The present tense of the subjunctive mood is the
  infinitive minus the to.
• To edit becomes edit.
• For all other verbs than to be, this differs from
  the present tense of the indicative mood only in
  the third person singular
• He asked that the editor edit (not edits) his
  story carefully for potential libel.
• I edit you edit he, she, it, one edit
• We edit you edit they edit

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Subjunctive Mood Past Tense

• The past tense of the subjunctive mood for all
  verbs (other than to be) is the same as the past
  tense of the indicative mood.
• The past-tense subjunctive form of the verb to be
  is, in each instance, were.
• Notice that in the indicative mood, the first-
  and third-person singular forms use was but the
  subjunctive calls for were
• If I were you
• if she were taller.

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Subjunctive Mood

• Use the subjunctive mood in most dependent
  clauses beginning with if.
• If usually introduces a condition contrary to
  fact, so the subjunctive is needed.
• Occasionally, the condition is not contrary to
  fact
• If the condition is either true or noncommittal,
  as in this sentence, the indicative is required.

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Subjunctive Examples

• If she were rich (but shes not), she would quit
  her job.
• I could attend the class if it were offered
  sooner (but its not).
• If compassion be a crime, then judge me guilty.
  (The speaker does not really believe compassion
  should be considered a crime.)

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Subjunctive Examples

• These sentences use the indicative because they
  contain an if that introduces a condition that is
  true or about which the speaker is noncommittal
  as to truth or falsity
• If this experiment works, I will be famous. (It
  may or may not workit is not clearly false.)
• He must have found a ride home if he is not in
  the his office. (A person might say this after
  hearing that a colleague is no longer in his
  office.)

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Clause Considerations

• If the verb in the independent clause is in the
  indicative mood, the verb in the dependent clause
  should also be in the indicative.
• If the verb in the independent clause is in the
  conditional mood, the verb in the dependent
  clause is usually in the subjunctive
• I could do it were I given the proper tools.
• Could is conditional, were subjunctive.

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Subjunctive with that

• Use the subjunctive in dependent clauses after
  verbs requiring that when the suggestion
  following is contrary to fact at the present
  advise that, anxious that, ask that, demand that,
  doubt that, eager that, forbid that, hope that,
  insist that , move that, pray that, prefer that,
  propose that, recommend that, request that,
  require that, rule that, suggest that, and urge
  that.
• I demand that he stay.
• I insist that he go.
• It is necessary that I be left alone.

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That without Subjunctive

• Verbs requiring that but not implying a condition
  contrary to present reality do not need the
  subjunctive believe that, conclude that, guess
  that, imply that, infer that, know that, notice
  that, say that, suppose that, think that, and
  wonder that.

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As If

• Use the subjunctive after as if
• He sings as if he were a professional.
• Idioms
• Use the subjunctive in these idioms be it said,
  be that as it may, come Monday, come what may,
  far be it (from, for) me, God be with you (God
  bless, God forbid), lest we forget, long live
  (the king), so be it, suffice it to say, and
  would that I were.

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Consistency of tense

• Make your verbs consistent to avoid needlessly
  confusing your readers.
• The tense should be consistent except for
  flashbacks.
• In MLA style, all writings and thought are
  reported in the present tense Mark Twain
  writes, Huck never felt so lonesome.
• NOT
• Mark Twain wrote, Huck never felt so lonesome.
  Even though he did write the novel long ago.

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Consistency of voice

• The voice of the verb should be consistent.
  Dont needlessly shift form active to passive
  voice. For example Stan Smith loves tennis, and
  his spare time is devoted to it.
• The first clause is in the active voice, the
  second in the passive.
• Rewrite it Stan Smith loves tennis and devotes
  his time to it.

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Consistency of mood

• The mood of the verb should be consistent. Some
  people mistakenly violate this rule in commands
  Read the book, and then you should complete the
  exercises.
• Here, the first clause is in the imperative mood,
  the second in the conditional.
• Rewrite it Read the book, then complete the
  exercises or You should read the book, and then
  you should complete the exercises.

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Nouns used as verbs

• Many editors object to using these nouns as verbs

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Verbs used as nouns

• Avoid using these verbs as nouns
• Disconnect (change to disconnection)
• Win (change to victory)

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Verbals

• A form of a verb used as a part of speech other
  than a verb is called a verbal. There are three
  kinds
• Gerunds
• present- or past-participle form of a verb used
  as a noun.
• Participles
• present- or past-participle form of a verb used
  as an adjective.
• Infinitives
• the form of the verb that normally has to in
  front of it, although sometimes to can be
  omitted May I help cook?

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Infinitives

• Although to is usually a preposition, this is not
  true when the word is part of an infinitive.
  When to is followed by a verb, the construction
  is an infinitive, not a prepositional phrase.
• Infinitives may be used as nouns (To eat is to
  live), adjectives (The issue to be argued is a
  complex one), or adverbs (He went to visit his
  mother).

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Try to avoid splitting infinitives

• Instead of
• She would like to quickly make her mark,
• write
• She would like to make her mark.
• Instead of
• She wants to not be disturbed.
• Write
• She wants not to be disturbed.

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Avoid Dangling Modifiers

• Sometimes, writers use an infinitive phrase as an
  adjective at the beginning of a sentence but
  forget that it must modify the next noun or
  pronoun following it. The result is a dangling
  infinitive
• To get ahead in this business, the audience must
  be kept in mind.
• In this example, the phrase to get ahead in this
  business modifies the audience, but no doubt the
  writer meant it to modify you, a word that never
  appears in the sentence. A reader may be able to
  figure it out, but a dangling infinitive makes
  the going tougher.

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Infinitives

• Dont confuse the conjunction and with the word
  to in an infinitive.
• Many people substitute and for to in an
  infinitive preceded by try or come. For example,
  they might write , Ill try and do it or hell
  come and work.
• Instead write Ill try to do it and hell come
  to work.