Verb Tense

ConsistencyHistorical Present and Literary Present

Regular and Irregular VerbsPerfect Tenses

Consistency of Tense

• Past, present, future – you can’t switch without a very good reason!

• Example:• Because Jerry saw the man walking hurriedly

toward him, he turns and runs into his house.

• How would you fix this?

• Because Jerry saw the man walking hurriedly toward him, he turned and ran into his house.

• OR

• Because Jerry sees the man walking hurriedly toward him, he turns and runs into his house.

Practice

• After Sally ate her dinner, she runs to the

freezer for an ice cream dessert.

Practice

• Since the students found the lesson so

interesting, they listen carefully to every word.

Practice

• Before the two boys went to the ball game,

they clean their rooms.

Practice

• Although Michelle tries to answer the

question correctly, she gave the wrong answer.

Historical Present

• This is one time we might switch tenses in a sentence. This tense is used to indicate something that is always true.

• EX:

• After Mark had completed his research, he reported to his class that the Himalayas are the tallest mountains in the world.

Historical Present

• These are harder – take a look:

• Chess is a very interesting game.– You can’t say “was” because that means that the game of

chess no longer exists or that it is no longer interesting.

• Walking is one of the best forms of exercise.– It is an opinion, but it has been and still is a widely held

belief of the medical community. Until something changes, it requires historical present tense.

Literary Present

• When you’re are talking about fiction literature, you must use present tense.

• Think of it like this: every time you open a novel, the setting becomes a place and the characters come to life.

• The character in this novel tells an intriguing story about her life.

• The plot of the story deals with man’s hostility toward other men.

Practice

How would you change this sentence to

Historical Present?

• The information in his report did not support

the fact that light traveled faster than sound.

Practice

How would you change this sentence to

Historical Present?

• Sue was the only one in class who knew that

that Nile River was the longest river in the

world.

Practice

How would you change this sentence to Literary

Present?

• Yesterday I read a wonderful story that told of

three young women in Paris.

Practice

How would you change this sentence to Literary

Present?

• When Janice reported on Huckleberry Finn,

she indicated that Huck saw Jim as a friend.

Regular Verbs

• Regular verbs simply add –ed to the past and past participle forms.

• All verbs form the present participle by adding –ing to the present form.

• Ex:Present Past Past Participle Present Participle

carry carried carried carryinglaugh laughed laughed laughing

Irregular Verbs• Irregular verbs actually change form to show tense.

• There is no pattern to these verbs – you just have to memorize them! You have a handout to help!

• The difference between the Past and the Past Participle forms is that the Past Participle requires a helping verb has, have, or had.

• Ex:Present Past Past Participle Present Participle

begin began begun beginninggo went gone going

Practice

How would you correct the verb tense in this

sentence?

• Do you know if John has already wrote that

letter for me?

Practice

How would you correct the verb tense in this

sentence?

• Before the music ended the audience begun to

clap.

Practice

How would you correct the verb tense in this

sentence?

• Will you please sit that glass on the table for

me?

Practice

How would you correct the verb tense in this

sentence?

• Before my mom asked, I had already began to

clean my room.

Perfect Tenses

• The perfect tenses use a form of the helping verb have. We use these forms every day in our conversations.

Present PerfectPast Perfect

Future Perfect

Present Perfect Tense

• Used to express the idea that an action occurred at an unspecified time before now.

• Ex: I have visited France.

• Ex: He has taken his medicine.

Present Perfect Tense

• Notice the difference between the past form of a verb and the present perfect form.

• simple past tense: Bob ran for five hours.– This suggests that he ran in the past but is no longer

running.

• present perfect: Bob has run for five hours.– This suggests that he began running in the past and is

still running.

Past Perfect Tense

• Used to express the idea that one action occurred before another action in the past.

• If you have a sentence that has two separate actions, you must tell your reader which one occurred first by adding the word “had.”

• Ex: Kay went to her friend’s house after she had completed her homework.

• Ex: I wasn’t interested in the movie because I had seen it already.

Future Perfect Tense

• Indicates an action that will have been completed at some specific time in the future.

• simple future tense: Jason will study his math.

• future perfect: Jason will have studied his math by 8 o’clock.– The action to be completed at a specific time.

Practice

How would you change the verb tense to Past

Perfect in this sentence?

• Before Bob took the job, he researched the

company thoroughly.

Practice

How would you change the verb tense to Future

Perfect in this sentence?

• Mary sang three times tonight.

Practice

How would you change the verb tense to Present

Perfect in this sentence?

• The dog ate his food.

Practice

How would you change the verb tense to Future

Perfect in this sentence?

• By 12 o’clock we ________ here for five hours.

Practice

How would you change the verb tense to Past

Perfect in this sentence?

• After we _____ home, James started the movie.

Practice

How would you change the verb tense to Present

Perfect in this sentence?

• We ________ his questions already.

Review Verb TensesConsistency: Don’t switch tense without a very good reason.

Historical Present: Indicates something that is always true.

Literary Present: Every time you open a novel, the setting becomes a place and the characters come to life, so you must use present tense.

Regular Verbs: Regular verbs simply add –ed to the past and past participle forms.

Irregular Verbs: Irregular verbs actually change form to show tense. You just have to memorize them!

Present Perfect: Used to express the idea that an action occurred at an unspecified time before now.

Past Perfect: Used to express the idea that one action occurred before another action in the past.

Future Perfect: Indicates an action that will have been completed at some specific time in the future.