The verbs are the most variable element of the sentences. The right
form of verb encompasses most of the grammatical rules of
English language. Every element of a sentence eventually relates to the verb.
The verbs appear differently in a sentence on the basis of their subjects
(subject-verb agreement), tenses, moods, voices, different structures, modals, etc.
Right- Forms -of -Verbs: Rules -with -Examples
Forms of Verbs:
|
Base |
Do, work, love |
be (am, is, are) |
have |
|
Past |
Did, worked, loved |
- (was, were) |
had |
|
Past Participle |
Done, worked, loved |
been |
had |
|
Present Participle |
Doing, working, loving |
being |
having |
|
Gerund (noun) |
Doing, working, loving |
- - - - |
|
|
Infinitive |
To do, to work, to love |
to be |
to have |
Note: Participles (without auxiliaries), infinitives, and gerunds do
not work as the verb in a sentence. Gerunds work as nouns, but participles and
infinitives work as adjectives/adverbs.
Rules:
Rule 1:
Subject-verb agreement: the verbs are
customarily followed by the subjects, and they must agree with the subjects
according to their number and person. See
the rules of Subject-Verb Agreement.
Rule 2:
The variability of the verbs mostly depends on different tenses
of the sentences. A form of verbs depends on the time the actions have been
performed. See the structures and details of The Present Tense, The Past Tense,
and The Future Tense.
Rule 3:
The verbs are also
related to the structures of different sentences and clauses. A clause has only one verb. In fact, a clause cannot contain more than
one finite verb but can have participles (without auxiliaries), infinitives,
and gerunds.
Example:
o I wanted to go to the wedding.
o Swimming is a
good exercise to keep your body fit and healthy.
o Pray for
the departed
o Don’t
get down
from a running bus.
Rule 4:
Clauses can be
connected by conjunctions and connectors. Some connectors take some specific
forms of verbs. Conditionals use the conjunction if and it has some different
sentence structures. See conditionals.
Rule 5:
The connector since has
two usages.
1.
If since is used to indicate a cause, the verbs of the two
clauses will be of the same tense.
Example:
o I
didn’t go since you didn’t come.
o Since
you were busy, I didn’t disturb you.
2.
If since is used to indicate time, the verb of the second clause
will be different from the first.
Example:
o We haven’t seen each
other since he left.
o It has been 20 years since he played football.
o 20
years passed since
we had met.
o I could not sleep well for a single night since
you had left me.
Rule 6:
No sooner had, hardly had, scarcely
had,
etc. are the adverbials that require a past perfect tense and a past indefinite
tense for the sentence.
Example:
o No
sooner had I reached home than she left.
o Scarcely
had the police reached when the man died.
o Hardly
had I finished writing before the teacher ordered to stop writing.
Rule 7:
Coordinating conjunctions (and,
but, or, yet, so) and although/though, as, because, till/until, when,
whenever, as soon as, while, which, what, that, etc. connect two
clauses which have the verbs of the same tense.
Example:
o We
went to London when we were young.
o I
got up, and he left the room.
o As
soon as I came here, he greeted me.
o I
could not go there because I was sick.
Rule 8:
As conjunctions after and before are
used to connect two clauses which use past perfect tense and past simple. The
past perfect tense always comes with a clause of simple past tense. See the
past perfect tense for details and examples.
Rule 9:
The conjunction lest requires
a modal should in
the following clause regardless of the tense of the first clause.
Example:
o Run
faster lest you should miss the bus.
o He
will work hard lest he should get fired.
o He
worked hard lest he should get fired.
Rule 11:
Modals always take the base form of the verbs after them. See Modals for details.
Rule 12:
The clause ‘it is time’ or ‘it is high time’ requires a verb in the
simple past if there is a clause after it.
|
It
is high time + subject + simple past. . . . |
|
It
was high time + subject + past perfect . . . |
|
It
is high time + infinitive . . . . . . . |
Example:
o It
is high time you studied attentively.
o It
is time to study attentively. (You can replace the clause by an infinitive
removing the subject)
o It
was high time we had returned home. (It was high time requires past perfect
tense)
Rule 13:
The conjunction as if/as though takes simple
past/past perfect tense in the following clause.
|
Subject
+ simple present + as if/ as though + subject + past simple |
|
Subject
+ simple past + as if/ as though + subject + past perfect |
Example:
o Robert
talks as if he were the prince. (were is the only ‘be verb’ in this kind
of sentence)
o Latham
played as though he had seen the ball very clearly.
o I
slept as if I had been dead.
o He
behaves as if he were her husband.
Rule 14:
Prepositions, articles, and possessives are always followed by nouns or gerund form of
the verbs.
Example:
o He
is keen on moving to California.
o I
am thinking about doing the job.
o Alex
insisted on going out then.
Rule 15:
To is the only preposition that takes the base form of the
verb. However, there some phrases with to being at the end of them, which
require the gerund form of the verbs.
|
With a
view to, look forward to, being accustomed to, being used to, admit to,
confessed to |
Example:
o He
went there with a view to confessing his crimes.
o I
am looking forward to meeting the princess.
o I
was used to sleeping at this hour of the day.
o He
confessed to stealing that phone.
Rule 16:
To be, being, having, getting, etc. are generally
followed by the past participle form of the verbs and other adjectives.
Example:
o Being tired, he took some time off from work.
o He
became astonished being robbed in the
daylight.
o John
went to bazar having eaten a burger.
o He
wanted to be educated.
Rule 17:
The causative verbs always take the next verb in its base form.
See causative verbs and their usages.
|
HAVE –
GET – MAKE – HELP – LET |
*Note: Get takes the next verb as infinitives/past
participle.
Example:
o I
had him wash the dishes.
o He
makes me do all the work.
o He
got me to make his dinner.
o I
got the glass broken.
o Let
him help her finish the
assignment.
Rule 18:
The base form of the
verb is also used in the clauses that use the subjunctive mood. Some certain verbs +
the conjunction that requires the next clause to use the subjunctive mood
and the clause uses the base form of the verb in it.
The verbs are:
|
Advise – demand – prefer – require
– ask – insist Propose – stipulate – command – recommend Suggest –
decree – order – request – urge – move |
Structure:
|
Subject + the verbs of the above
box (any tense) +
THAT + subject + base verb + . . . . . |
Example:
o He
insisted that I stay at
home.
o The
office requires that we complete our
work timely.
o She
commanded that he stop making
excuses for being late.
o I
recommend that you wake up
early.
Note: There are some clauses also which require the verb of the next
clause to be in base form.
The clauses are:
|
It is/was + past participle form
of the verb of the above box + THAT |
Example:
o It
is important that you invite him.
o It
was necessary that I make a fence.
o It
was recommended that you meet the principal.
Rule 19:
Since a single clause cannot take two verbs, it usually converts
the additional verbs to complement by making them infinitives or participles or
gerunds.
- Some verbs always take the additional verbs as a complement by
making them infinitives.
Verbs
followed by the INFINITIVES
|
agree
– desire – hope – plan – attempt – claim – decide – demand – expect – intend
– prepare – tend – fail – learn – pretend – want – wish – refuse – need –
forget – hesitate – offer – seem |
Example:
o He
agreed to do the job.
o He
desires to go to Disneyland.
o I
want to work with you.
o He
failed to understand my words.
Verbs
followed by the GERUNDS
|
appreciate
– admit – delay – miss – report – suggest – deny – postpone – resent – avoid
– enjoy – practice – resist – can’t help – finish – quit – resume – consider
– mind – recall – risk |
Example:
o He
admitted doing the crime.
o We
enjoyed riding the boat.
o I
can’t help loving you despite your stupidity.
o
Would you mind opening the
door for me?