English verbs 1

English verbsVerbs in the English language are a part of speech and typically describe an action, an event, or a state.While English has many irregular verbs (see a list), for the regular ones the conjugation rules are quitestraightforward. Being partially analytic, English regular verbs are not strongly inflected; all tenses, aspects, moods,and voices except the simple present and the simple past are periphrastic, formed with auxiliary verbs and modals.

FormsA regular English verb has only one principal part, from which all the forms of the verb can be derived. This is thebare form, and is shown in dictionaries. All other forms of a regular verb can be derived straightforwardly from this,for a total of four forms. For example, the bare form "exist" produces the forms exist, exists (third person singularpresent), existed (past tense (preterite) and past participle), existing (present participle). Each of these can be used ina variety of grammatical contexts.Another class of verbs, strong verbs, have three principal parts. For example:

Part Example

1 infinitive write

2 preterite wrote

3 past participle written

This gives a total of five forms (write, writes, wrote, written, writing).Some irregular weak verbs have two principal parts (e.g., send (infinitive), sent (preterite and past participle)).Additionally, the verbs do, say, and have have irregular forms in the present tense third-person singular (although thefirst two are only irregular in speech): do /du:/ becomes does /dʌz/; say /seɪ/ becomes says /sɛz/ (in most accents);have /hæv/ becomes has /hæz/).The highly irregular copular verb to be has eight forms: be (infinitive), am (first person singular present), is (thirdperson singular present), are (in second person singular and all persons plural, present), being (present participle),was (first and third persons singular preterite), were (preterite in second person singular and all persons plural), andbeen (past participle) (in addition to the archaic forms art, wast, wert, and beest), of which only one (being) isderivable as a regular inflection of the bare form.

Bare formThe following are uses of the bare form:• The bare form serves as the present tense for all persons and numbers other than the third person singular.• The bare form combines with to to form the to-infinitive, which is one of two verbal nouns: To write is to learn,

which can also be expressed as writing is learning.• The bare form, either marked with to or unmarked, is used as the complement of many auxiliary verbs: I shall/will

write a novel about talking beavers; I really ought to write it.• The bare form is used for the English imperative mood: Write these words.

• The bare form is used for the English subjunctive mood: I suggested that he write a novel about talking beavers; Idemand that he be there.

English verbs 2

Third person singular

Formation

The third person singular in regular verbs in English is distinguished by the suffix -s. In English spelling, this -s isadded to the stem of the infinitive form: run → runs.If the base ends in one of the sibilant sounds: /sˌzˌʃˌʒˌtʃˌdʒ/ and its spelling does not end in a silent E, the suffix iswritten -es: buzz → buzzes; catch → catches. If the base ends in a consonant plus y, the y changes to an i and -es isaffixed to the end: cry → cries. Verbs ending in o typically add -es: veto → vetoes.Regardless of spelling, the pronunciation of the third person singular ending in most dialects follows regular rules:• /ɪz/ after sibilants• /s/ after voiceless consonants other than sibilants.• /z/ otherwiseThe third person singular present indicative in English is notable cross-linguistically for being a morphologicallymarked form for a semantically unmarked one. That is to say, the third person singular is usually taken to be themost basic form in a given verbal category and as such, according to markedness theory, should have the simplest offorms in its paradigm. This is clearly not the case with English where the other persons exhibit the bare root andnothing more.In Early Modern English, some dialects distinguished the third person singular with the suffix -th; after consonantsthis was written -eth, and some consonants were doubled when this was added: run → runneth.

Usage

• The third person singular is used exclusively in the third person form of the English simple "present tense", whichoften has other uses besides the simple present: He writes airport novels about anthropomorphic rodents.

Exception

English preserves a number of preterite-present verbs, such as can and may. These verbs lack a separate form for thethird person singular: she can, she may. All surviving preterite-present verbs in modern English are auxiliary verbs.The verb will, although historically not a preterite-present verb, is uninflected like one when used as an auxiliary; bya process of levelling it has become regular when it is a full verb: Whatever she wills to happen will make lifeannoying for everyone else.

Preterite formThe preterite form is used in all persons and numbers as the finite verb in a clause, typically to talk about the past.• We lit the fire.• You ate the bread.• He liked to dance.It can also be used in a dependent clause to indicate that a present-time situation is hypothetical:• If I knew that, I wouldn't have to ask.

English verbs 3

Formation of regular preterite

In spelling, the regular preterite is formed by adding ed to the bare form (play → played), except that if the bare formends in the letter e then only d is added (like → liked).In speech, three situations are distinguished:• If the bare form ends in /t/ or /d/, a new syllable /əd/ is added: drift /drɪft/ → /'drɪftəd/; exceed /ɛk'si:d/ →

exceeded → /ɛk'si:dəd/.• If the bare form ends in an unvoiced consonant sound other than /t/, the phoneme /t/ is added: cap /kæp/ →

capped /kæpt/; pass /pæs/ → passed /pæst/.

• If the bare form ends in a vowel sound or a voiced consonant sound other than /d/, the phoneme /d/ is added: buzz/bʌz/ → buzzed /bʌzd/; tango /'tæŋgoʊ/ → tangoed /'tæŋgoʊd/.

Irregular preterite

Main article: List of English irregular verbs

Past participle

Formation

In regular weak verbs, the past participle is always the same as the preterite.Irregular verbs may have separate preterites and past participles; see List of English irregular verbs.

Uses

• The past participle is used with the auxiliary have for the English perfect constructions: They have written aboutthe slap of tails on water, about the scent of the lodge... (With verbs of motion, an archaic form with be may befound in older texts: he is come.)

• With be or get, it forms the passive voice (and hence is more accurately known as the "passive participle"): It iswritten so well, you can feel what it is like to gnaw down trees!; Trees sometimes get gnawed down by beavers.

• It is used as an adjective. For transitive verbs, it is used as a passive: the written word (=the word that has beenwritten). For intransitive verbs, it is used as a perfect: a fallen tree (=a tree that has fallen).

Present participle

Formation

The present participle is formed by adding the suffix -ing to the base form: go → going.The ending in most dialects is pronounced /ɪŋ/, and the pronunciation of the root does not change.If the base ends in silent e, the e is dropped: believe → believing.If the e is not silent, the e is retained: agree → agreeing.If the base ends in -ie, the ie is changed to y: lie → lying.If:• the base form ends in a single consonant; and• a single vowel precedes that consonant; and• the last syllable of the base form is stressedthen the final consonant is doubled before adding the suffix: set → setting; occur → occurring.In British English, as an exception, the final <l> is subject to doubling even when the last syllable is not stressed:yodel → yodelling, travel → travelling; in American English, these follow the rule: yodeling, traveling.

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Irregular forms include:• forms such as singeing, ageing, rueing, cacheing and whingeing, where the e may be retained to avoid confusion

with otherwise identical words (e.g. singing), to clarify pronunciation (for example to show that a word has a softg or ch), or for aesthetic reasons;

• words ending in -c, which add k before the -ing, for example, trafficking, panicking, frolicking, and bivouacking.• a number of words that are subject to the doubling rule even though they do not fall squarely within its terms,

such as diagramming, kidnapping, and worshipping.

Uses

Basic Use

• The present participle is used to form a past, present or future tense with progressive or imperfective aspect: He iswriting another long book about beavers.

• It is used with quasi-auxiliaries to form verb phrases: He tried writing about opossums instead, but his musedeserted him.

• It is modified by an adverb: He is writing quickly.

• It can be used as an adjective: It is a thrilling book.

• In this use, it can govern a personal pronoun: Her thrilling novel.

NB: Other words also end in -ing, notably certain nouns formed from verbs (verbal nouns) and the gerund. These areusually considered different entities. However, since there is a lack of consensus for this view, these are consideredhere.

Gerund

The English gerund is that form of a verb that acts as a noun but retains its identity as a verb. Since it has differentproperties from the Verbal noun in -ing (below) these two forms are usually, but not always, considered to beseparate entities. The gerund has indeed been dubbed a Nounal verb to help distinguish these two uses of the -ingform, but this term is not normal.• The gerund is formed by adding -ing to the base form in the same manner as the present participle; pronunciation

is also identical to that of the present participle.• The gerund can often be distinguished from the present participle by inserting the words the act of before it,

(though this is true of the verbal noun, too): I enjoy [the act of] drinking wine.• The gerund acts as a noun by standing at the head of a noun phrase: ...drinking wine (in the above context).• It can stand alone in this role: I enjoy drinking.• The gerund remains a verb because it is modified by an adverb not by an adjective: I enjoy drinking wine slowly.

[Not: ...drinking wine slow].• The gerund is typically modified by a possessive determiner or a noun in possessive case I do not like your/Jim's

drinking wine, though it is also frequently found with a personal pronoun or a simple noun: I do not like you/Jimdrinking wine. See below for an explanation of this usage. Note that this is a contentious issue.

• The gerund can be used as:a subject: Drinking wine is enjoyable or Drinking is enjoyable.an object: I enjoy drinking wine or I enjoy drinking.a prepositional object: I do not believe in drinking wine for pleasure or ...drinking for pleasure.a predicate nominal: Jim's idea of fun is drinking large quantities of wine.

• A gerund can often be replaced by an infinitive with to: I like drinking wine or I like to drink wine.

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Note on possessives and personal pronouns used with the -ing form

NB: Contentious

There are several possessive forms in English: possessive pronoun, possessive determiner, and the possessive case ofnouns. The first governs or is governed by a verb, not a noun: This book is mine [not Mine book]. The secondgoverns or is governed by a noun (or a word acting as a noun), not a verb: my book [not This book is my]. The lastcan govern or be governed by either: This is Helen's book (noun) or This book is Helen's (verb). Furthermore, thereis the personal pronoun which also governs or is governed by verbs, not nouns: he saw her [not he book].Since the gerund is technically a verb not a noun it might seem reasonable to assume that it should govern or begoverned by a personal pronoun or a possessive pronoun. However, this is not usually accepted as correct becausethe gerund is in fact acting as a noun while retaining verbal properties. Hence, we have as standard English:

Jim does not like my reading magazines.not: Jim does not like me reading magazines.

In the first construction, reading is used as a true gerund. The second construction is often disallowed by grammarsand the use of the word reading is given names like fused participle and geriple[1] since it is seen to confuse aparticiple with a gerund. The alternate view is to see it as a genuine particle governing a personal pronoun in theobjective case (as well as a nouns as an indirect object), but this is not typical.It is more often argued, however, that both of the following are correct but with different meanings:

Jim does not like me flying.Jim does not like my flying.

The first example seems to imply that Jim does not like my presence in a vehicle that flies whether I am in control ofthat vehicle or am merely a passenger. Again, this is seen as a participle but this time only governing a direct objectwithout an indirect object. The second example seems to comment on my abilities to control the vehicle rather thanmy presence in the plane. The second is again a true gerund. It could be rewritten:

Jim does not like my act of flying or Jim does not like my attempts at flying.The controversy extends to the use of the possessive case in nouns:

Jim does not like Helen flying.Jim does not like Helen's flying.Jim does not like Helen flying airplanes.Jim does not like Helen's flying airplanes.

The use of the possessive pronoun is probably best avoided:Jim does not like mine [e.g. my children] flying.Jim does not like mine [e.g. my children] flying airplanes.

As is the use of any combination of each of these:Jim does not like my children's flying airplanes.

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Verbal Nouns

• The verbal noun is a noun formed from a verb: arrival, drinking, flight, decision.• Note that many verbal nouns end in -ing, but they are actually nouns and not verbs.

• It acts as a normal noun.• It can, like other nouns, act as an adjective: a writing desk, building beavers, a flight simulator, departure

lounge.

HistoryOn the history of the verb "be", see Indo-European copula.Verbs had more forms when the pronoun thou was still in regular use and there was a number distinction in thesecond person. To be, for instance, had art, wast and wert.Irregular verbs in English come from several historical sources; some are technically strong verbs (i.e., their formsdisplay specific vowel changes of the type known as ablaut in linguistics); others have had various phonetic changesor contractions added to them over the history of English.English verbs possess a number of properties that make them somewhat unusual among other Germanic languages.All English verbs can be derived from a maximum of three principal parts. This represents an extensive paring downof the inflectional categories of the more conservative Germanic languages.

SyntaxEnglish verbs, like those in many other western European languages, have more periphrastic constructions thaninflectional forms; verbal constructions beyond the ones possible with the five inflectional forms listed above areformed with auxiliary verbs, as are the passive voice variants. Important auxiliary verbs in English include will, usedto form the future tense, volitional modality, or predictive modality; shall, formerly used mainly for the future tense,but now used mainly for commands and directives; be, which is used in forming the progressive aspect and passivevoice; have, which is used to form the perfect tense-aspect combination; and do, which is used for negation, questionformation, and intensification.English verbs display complex forms of negation. While simple negation was used well into the period of earlyModern English (Touch not the royal person!) in contemporary English negation requires that the negative particlebe attached to an auxiliary verb such as do or be. Thus I go not is archaic; I do not go is the modern standard fornegating the simple verb in I go, requiring the insertion of the dummy auxiliary do. When the affirmative isperiphrasal (I am going), it is negated by the insertion of not (I am not going).Like many other Western European languages, English historically allowed questions to be asked by inverting thepositions of verb and subject: Whither goest thou? Modern English requires the use of the auxiliary verb do, alongwith inversion of the word order, to form a question from a simple (one-word) affirmative (I go → Do I go?, Wheredo I go?), apart from when the main verb is "be" (I am here → Am I here?, Why am I here?). When the affirmativeverb is compound, a question is formed by inverting the auxiliary verb with the subject (John is going → Is Johngoing?).Combining the formation of a question with negation involves both insertion of do, if the verb is not alreadycompound, and inversion of the auxiliary verb with the subject: John is going → Is John not going?; John goes →Does John not go?. However, the word not can optionally (especially in informal English) be contracted with theauxiliary verb, in which case the word order is further changed: Isn't John going?, Doesn't John go?.English does not allow pronoun dropping, and all verbs must have an explicit subject, even where there is no specificagent. Dummy pronouns are inserted even where no agent is identifiable:• It is raining.

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Sentences that declare the existence of something require a deictic particle to be well formed in English, such as"there":• There is a river.

This sentence could have two meanings, and "there" would be pronounced differently in each case. If the speaker isreferring to a specific location, "there" will be pronounced /ðeər/. If they are declaring the existence of the riverwithout saying where it is, it will be pronounced /ðɜr/.

Basic verbal constructionsThe various constructions available in English can be presented by noting that each of the temporal spheres (past,present, future, as well as conditional) distinguishes simple constructions from those with progressive aspect, perfectaspect, or both:

Basic Progressive Perfect Perfect progressive

Future I will write I will be writing I will have written I will have been writing

Present I write I am writing I have written I have been writing

Past I wrote I was writing I had written I had been writing

Conditional I would write I would be writing I would have written I would have been writing

Because of the neatness of this system, modern textbooks on English generally use the terminology in this table.What was traditionally called the "perfect tense" is here called "present perfect", and the "pluperfect" becomes "pastperfect". The construction with wrote which older schoolbooks sometimes called the "imperfect" is here called the"simple past". However, historical linguists sometimes prefer terminology which applies to all Germanic languagesand is more helpful for comparative purposes; in this context, the terms "preterite" and "pluperfect" remain common.Other constructions exist beyond those in the basic table above:• the intensive present I do write• the intensive past I did write• the habitual past I used to write• the "going-to future" I am going to write• the "future in the past" I was going to write• the present and past subjunctive, if I be writing, if I were writing.Other modal verbs, such as "shall" or "may", can be used in the place of "will".

Absolute and relative time reference

Past reference time Present reference time Future reference time

Event before reference time (anterior) I had written I have written I will have written

Event at reference time (simultaneous) I wrote I write/am writing I write/will write

Event after reference time (posterior) I would write I will write I will write

The key to understanding the usage of English tenses is to realize that tenses can refer both to a reference time (past,present, or future) in which a situation takes place, and the time of a particular event relative to the reference time(before, at, or after). Not all possibilities of reference time and relative event time correspond to unique Englishtenses, but many do, especially in the past.Consider, for example, the following sentences:• When I got home yesterday, John arrived and met me (past reference, simultaneous event).• When I got home yesterday, John had already arrived (past reference, anterior event).

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• When I got home yesterday, John called and said he would arrive soon (past reference, posterior event).In a present frame of reference, the same sentences appear as follows:• Whenever I get home, John arrives and meets me (present reference, simultaneous event).• Whenever I get home, usually John has already arrived (present reference, anterior event).• Whenever I get home, John usually calls and says he will arrive soon (present reference, posterior event).The equivalent in a future frame of reference is as follows:• When I get home tomorrow, John will arrive and meet me (future reference, simultaneous event).• When I get home tomorrow, John will have already arrived (future reference, anterior event).• When I get home tomorrow, John will probably call and say he will arrive soon (future reference, posterior

event).

"Will" as an indicator of absolute time

Note that the future construction will arrive does not directly fit into the above system. What is important about it isthat the event described occurs at an absolute time in the future, not whether it occurs simultaneous with or afteranother event. For this reason, the construction with will can be used even in a past frame of reference to indicate anevent that is unambiguously in the absolute future. For example, "When I got home yesterday, John called and saidhe will arrive next week" is possible, and emphasizes that the arrival is in the future (relative to the present time)even if the frame of reference is in the past. ("... said he would arrive next week" is also possible.)Note also that in certain circumstances, the present tense form can be used to express a future event. This generallyoccurs only when a future frame of reference is being established, not when the reference time is already establishedand the relative time of the event is being expressed. For example, all of the following are possible:• "I will leave tomorrow"• "I leave tomorrow"• "I am leaving tomorrow"In a subordinate clause introduced by when, if or whether, only the simple present tense form is possible even whenreferring to a future event (as in "When I get home tomorrow" but not "*When I will get home tomorrow" or"*When I am getting home tomorrow"). On the other hand, in the main clause following a subordinate when clause,after the frame of reference is already established, will usually must be used. ("When I get home tomorrow, John willarrive and meet me" but not "*When I get home tomorrow, John arrives and meets me".)

Time reference in conditional sentences

The referencing of time is very different in conditional sentences, e.g.:• If I win the lottery tomorrow, I will buy all my friends Lamborghinis. (normal conditional, future reference)• If I won the lottery tomorrow, I would buy all my friends Lamborghinis. (future contrary-to-fact conditional)The second sentence has the apparently contradictory combination of the past tense form and explicitly futurereference ("tomorrow"). In this case, the switch from present to past tense form does not affect the actual timereference of the sentence, but changes it to have a contrary-to-fact meaning, i.e. it adds the additional sense of "Iprobably won't win the lottery tomorrow".With present reference, the tense form use is similar:• If he buys a Lamborghini, he also gets a Porsche free. (normal conditional, present reference)• If he bought a Lamborghini, he would also get a Porsche free. (present contrary-to-fact conditional)In this case, the contrary-to-fact implication is stronger, specifically, he isn't (rather than probably isn't) buying aLamborghini.Finally, with past reference, all tense forms need to be moved farther into the past:

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• If he bought a Lamborghini, he also got a Porsche free. (normal conditional, past reference)• If he had bought a Lamborghini, he would also have gotten a Porsche free. (past contrary-to-fact conditional)The sense of the first sentence is "I don't know if this thing happened, but if it did, then this other thing alsohappened." The second has the sense "This thing definitely didn't happen. But if it had happened, then this otherthing would also have happened."

Simple constructionsThe simple constructions can be used to express habitual action. In many contexts they can also be used to expresssingle completed actions.

Simple present

• Affirmative: He writes• Negative: He does not write• Interrogative: Does he write?• Negative interrogative: Does he not write?, Doesn't he write?

The simple present has three main uses in English: First, it often identifies habitual or customary action referring tono specific time frame:

He writes about beavers (in the past, present, and future)Second, it is used with stative verbs to refer to a present situation:

She knows a lot about beavers

Third, it can have a future meaning in two contexts (though its use as an indicator of futurity is much less commonthan in many other languages):

Scheduled future: She goes to Milwaukee on Tuesday

Future in a dependent clause: I will see you when I get there, I will go tomorrow if I feel like it

The simple present has an intensive or emphatic construction with "do": He does write. In the negative andinterrogative constructions, of course, this is identical to the non-emphatic constructions. It is typically used as aresponse to the question Does he write, whether that question is expressed or implied, and says that indeed, he doeswrite.The different syntactic behavior of the negative particle not and the negative inflectional suffix -n't in theinterrogative constructions is also worth noting. In formal literary English of the sort in which contractions areavoided, not attaches itself to the main verb: Does he not write? When the colloquial contraction -n't is used, thisattaches itself to the auxiliary do: Doesn't he write? This in fact is a contraction of a more archaic word order, stilloccasionally found in poetry: *Does not he write?

The passive voice of the simple present is formed using the simple present of to be followed by the past participle(more accurately called the passive participle in this context) of the main verb, as in

It is written.

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Simple past

The simple past is also called the preterite.The preterite is used for the English simple (non-iterative or iterative, but not progressive) past tense. He wrote twomore chapters about the dam at Kashagawigamog Lake.

• Affirmative: He wrote• Negative: He did not write• Interrogative: Did he write?• Negative interrogative: Did he not write?, Didn't he write?

This tense is used for a single event in the past (I went there yesterday), for past habitual action (I went there everyday for a year), and in chronological narration. Like the present simple, it has an emphatic variant with "do": he didwrite.The simple past is distinct from the present perfect:

I ate fish (Simple statement of event[s] occurring in the past, with no reference to the present state.)I have eaten fish (My present state is that eating fish is in my past.)

The preterite, when used to indicate habitual aspect, can often be replaced by a compound construction:• When I was young, I played football or When I was young, I played football every Saturday. (past tense unmarked

for aspect, but by lexical context implying habituality, with either a specific or a non-specific time frame)• When I was young, I used to play football. (periphrastic construction explicitly indicating habituality, with a

relatively non-specific time frame in the past)• When I was young, I would play football every Saturday. (periphrastic construction explicitly indicating

habituality, with a specific time frame in the past)The passive voice of the simple past is formed by the simple past of to be followed by the past participle of the mainverb, as in

It was written.

Simple future

English does not have a dedicated future tense in the sense of a morphological form that always indicates what thespeaker views as facts about the future. The so-called simple future, often used for that purpose among others, isformed as follows:• Affirmative: He will write• Negative: He will not write• Interrogative: Will he write?• Negative interrogative: Will he not write?, Won't he write?

Shall can be used in place of will in any of the above to intensify the verb. See the article Shall and Will for adiscussion of the two auxiliary verbs used to form the simple future in English.The will construction can be used to indicate what the speaker views as facts about the future:

The sun will rise tomorrow at 6:14 AM.

It can also indicate a combination of futurity and intentional or volitional modality:He will go there if he can.

I will pass this exam.

It can also indicate predictive modality — what the speaker intends as predictions about the future:It will rain later this week.

The will construction is occasionally used for statements about the present to indicate that they are speculative:

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Jack: "I have not eaten a thing all day."

Jill: "Well, I suppose you will be hungry now."

Jack: "There is a woman coming up the drive."

Jill: "That will be my mother."

The will construction can be used to indicate strong volition in the present in the first person:At this moment I will tolerate no dissent.

It can also be used to indicate habituality in the past, present and future:He will make trouble, won't he?

There is also a future with "go" which is used with the infinitive of the action verb especially for intended actionsand for the weather, and which is generally more common in colloquial speech:

I am going to write a book some day.

I think that it is going to rain.

The will/shall construction, however, is preferred for spontaneous decisions:Jack: "I think that we should have a barbecue!"

Jill: "Good idea! I shall go get the coal."

The passive voice of the basic future is formed by the simple future of to be followed by the past participle of themain verb:

It will be written.

Progressive constructionsAn important part of the English tense system is the progressive tenses. Progressive constructions describe ongoingactivity at a specific point of time or continuous activity over an extent of time. All verbal constructions can be madeprogressive (e.g. "I have written" → "I have been writing"), and these constructions are used extremely commonly.

Present progressive

The present progressive is also known as the present continuous.• Affirmative: He is writing• Negative: He is not writing• Interrogative: Is he writing?• Negative interrogative: Is he not writing?, Isn't he writing?

An important difference between the present progressive tense in English and many other languages with similartenses (e.g. Spanish) is that the English present progressive must be used in many circumstances. In particular, astatement about an ongoing action at the present time normally must use the progressive ("I am writing a letter now"but not "*I write a letter now"). The simple present is used in the following circumstances:• A habitual statement: "I write letters every day."• A general statement: "People write letters when they cannot telephone."• A narrative action told in the present tense: "I get home, then I write a letter, then I eat dinner, then the phone

rings and it's my girlfriend."• With verbs that refer to states rather than actions: "I feel lonely", "I see a bear", "I have a large car", "I am a

doctor".In the latter cases, the progressive is often possible, sometimes with different implications. Generally, it implies anaction rather than a state, and an ongoing, often temporary situation. For example, "I am feeling lonely" and "I amseeing a bear" specifically emphasize the perception of the feeling at the current time, which is implied to be

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temporary.With "have" and "be" the present progressive is even clearer in imparting a meaning of "currently ongoing action".Hence "??I am having a large car" would sound quite strange, and be almost uninterpretable, while "?I am being adoctor" still sounds strange but potentially might mean "I'm not a doctor but I'm temporarily trying to act like one".But there are a number of quite acceptable usages of progressive "have" and "be":• "I have a baby" (a small child currently exists in the world and I am its parent) vs. "I am having a baby" (I am

giving birth right now to a child)• "John is a pest" (John generally acts in an annoying way) vs. "John is being a pest" (right now, John is acting in a

way that is annoying)• "I have a problem" (something in my world is wrong) vs. "I am having a problem" (right now, something in my

world is going wrong); e.g. "I am having a problem finding my glasses" (right now, I'm looking for my glassesbut I can't find them) vs. "I have a problem finding my glasses" (I often lose my glasses and can't find them).

This construction describes the simple engagement in a present activity, with the focus on action in progress "at thisvery moment". It too can indicate a future, particularly when discussing plans already in place: I am flying to Paristomorrow. Used with "always" it suggests irritation; compare He always does that (neutral) with He is always doingthat (and it annoys me). Word order differs here in the negative interrogative between the more formal is he notwriting and the colloquial contraction isn't he writing?The passive voice of the present progressive is formed by the present progressive of to be followed by the pastparticiple of the main verb, as in

It is being written.

Past progressive

The past progressive construction indicates ongoing action in the past, and is sometimes called the past continuous. Itis formed by combining the preterite of to be with the present participle (the -ing form) of the main verb.• Affirmative: He was writing• Negative: He was not writing• Interrogative: Was he writing?• Negative interrogative: Was he not writing?, Wasn't he writing?

This construction is typically used for two events in parallel:While I was washing the dishes, my wife was walking the dog.

It can also be used for an interrupted action (the past simple being used for the interruption):While I was washing the dishes, I heard a loud noise.

Further, it can be used to indicate continuing action at a specific time in the past:At three o'clock yesterday, I was working in the garden.

Finally, this construction can be used to refer to past action that occurred over a range of time and is viewed as anongoing situation:

I was working in the garden all day yesterday (it was an ongoing process), as opposed to I worked in thegarden all day yesterday (and I am viewing all of that action as a unitary event)

The passive voice of the past progressive is formed by the past progressive of to be followed by the past participle ofthe main verb, as in

It was being written.

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Future progressive

• Affirmative: He will be writing• Negative: He will not be writing• Interrogative: Will he be writing?• Negative interrogative: Will he not be writing?, Won't he be writing?

This construction is used especially to indicate that an event will be in progress at a particular point in the future:This time tomorrow I will / shall be taking my driving test.

The construction It will be being written is rarely used. If it is desired to express future progressivity in the passivevoice, the construction It will be in the process of being written can be used.

Perfect constructionsPerfect constructions are used to express actions or events that happened before a point in time, with an emphasis onthe continuing effects of these at this point of time.

Present perfect

The present perfect was traditionally just called the perfect.• Affirmative: He has written• Negative: He has not written• Interrogative: Has he written?• Negative interrogative: Has he not written?, Hasn't he written?

The distinction between the past (I did) and the present perfect (I have done) can be subtle. In general, the presentperfect occurs in cases where there is an explicitly or implicitly established present frame of reference. When theframe of reference is explicit, such as in the sentence "Whenever I get home, usually John has already arrived", theusage of the present perfect is clear, but in other cases it is less obvious.• When an action indicates a change of state, the present perfect indicates that the resulting state still applies. "I

have eaten" means "... and I'm no longer hungry", whereas "I ate" has no such implication. "The sign haschanged" means "... and it is now different, so pay attention", whereas "The sign changed" does not specificallyhave that meaning; e.g. perhaps the sign changed back again.

• When a repeated or prolonged action is specified, the present perfect indicates that the time period in questiongoes up to the present. "I have visited Paris three times" specifically means "... in my life, up to the present time"while "I visited Paris three times" would normally only be used when a smaller time period is specificallyindicated. "I have lived in Paris for five years" specifically means "I moved to Paris five years ago and I still livethere now" while "I lived in Paris for five years" implies "... and then I moved away (whether or not I sincemoved back)".

• When an explicitly past frame of reference is established by mentioning a particular time in the past, the presentperfect cannot normally be used. That is, "I ate two minutes ago" not "*I have eaten two minutes ago" regardlessof whether I'm hungry or not currently.

• With "already" or "yet", traditional usage calls for the present perfect: "Have you eaten yet? Yes, I've alreadyeaten." However, current informal American speech tends to use the simple past: "Did you eat yet? Yes, I atealready."

This construction indicates that a past event has one of a range of possible relationships to the present. This relationship may involve a focus on present result: He has written a very fine book (and look, here it is, we have it now). Alternatively, it may indicate a period which includes the present: I have lived here since my youth (and I still do). Compare: Have you written a letter this morning? (it is still morning) with Did you write a letter this morning? (it is now afternoon). The perfect construction is frequently used with the adverbs already or recently or with since clauses. The present perfect can identify habitual and continuing actions (I have written letters since I was ten years

English verbs 14

old.), continuous and ongoing actions (I have lived here for fifteen years.), or completed actions that still affect thepresent situation (I have visited Paris twice (and the memory of the experience is still with me)).In addition to these normal uses where the event is viewed from the present, the “have done” construct is used with afuture perspective in temporal clauses where other languages would use the future perfect: When you have written it,show it to me.The term "perfect" was first applied in discussions of Latin grammar, to refer to a tense which expresses a completedaction ("perfect" in the sense of "finished"). It was then applied to a French tense which has a similar use to the Latinperfect, and then was transferred to the English tense which looks morphologically something like the Frenchperfect. In fact, the English perfect is often used precisely in situations where Latin would use the imperfect — forpast actions which are not finished but continue into the present.The passive voice of the present perfect is formed by the present perfect of to be followed by the past participle ofthe main verb, as in

It has been written.

Past perfect

The past perfect is also known as the pluperfect; it is formed by combining the preterite of to have with the pastparticiple of the main verb:• Affirmative: He had written• Negative: He had not written• Interrogative: Had he written?• Negative interrogative: Had he not written?, Hadn't he written?

The pluperfect is used when the action occurred in the past before another action in the past. It is used whenspeaking of the past to indicate the relative time of two past actions, one occurring before the other; i.e. a "pastbefore the past".The past time of perspective could be stated explicitly:

He had already left when we arrived.

or it can be understood from previous information:I was eating....I had invited Jim to the meal but he was unable to attend. (i.e., I invited him before I startedeating)

The past time of perspective can simply be implied by the context:I had lost my way. (understood as prior to a later but still past event I am now describing, for example, "when Imet the bear".)

It is sometimes possible to use the simple past instead of the past perfect, but only where there is no ambiguity in themeaning. For instance, the second example above could be written:

I was eating....I invited Jim to the meal but he was unable to attend

Understood within the above context, this still means that I first invited Jim then later ate the meal (without him).However, concurrent past events are also possible, indicated by dual simple past tenses in both verbs. Consider thefollowing:

He left when we arrived.

This means both past events happened at the same time: he left at the same time as we arrived.The past perfect can also be used to express a counterfactual statement about the past:

If you had done the cleaning by now, you would not need to do it now

English verbs 15

Here, the first clause refers to an unreal state in the past (without any comparison of the timing of multiple pastevents), and the entire construction is a conditional sentence.The passive voice of the past perfect is formed by the past perfect of to be followed by the past participle of the mainverb:

It had been written.

Future perfect

The future perfect is formed by combining, in this order, will or shall, the auxiliary verb have, and the past participleof the main verb:• Affirmative: He will have written• Negative: He will not have written• Interrogative: Will he have written?• Negative interrogative: Will he not have written?, Won't he have written?

It indicates an action that either is completed sometime prior to a future time of perspective or an ongoing action thatcontinues to a future time of perspective:

I shall have finished my essay by Thursday.

By then she will have been there for three weeks.

The passive voice of the future perfect is formed by the future perfect of to be followed by the past participle of themain verb:

It will have been written.

Perfect progressive constructionsPerfect progressive constructions are used to express ongoing activity that extends to a certain point in time.

Present perfect progressive

In English, the present perfect progressive can also be called the present perfect continuous.• Affirmative: He has been writing• Negative: He has not been writing• Interrogative: Has he been writing?• Negative interrogative: Has he not been writing?, Hasn't he been writing?

It is used for unbroken action in the past which continues right up to the present. I have been writing this paper allmorning (and still am).The present perfect continuous is used for denoting the action which was in progress and has just finished or is stillgoing on. For example,

Why are your eyes red? – I have been crying since morning. (The action has already finished but was inprogress for some time)She has been working here for two years already and she is happy. (The action is still in progress).

Sentences referring to an expanse of time use the present perfect continuous if ongoing action (not a static situation)is referred to. For example,

How long have you been working here? — I have been working here for three years

However, with stative verbs (such as see, want, like, etc.), or if the situation is considered permanent, the presentperfect non-progressive construction is used. For example,

How long have you known her? — I have known her since childhood

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Thus, if the whole period is referred to, for is used, but when the reference is to the starting point of the action, sinceis used.The construction It has been being written, while following the usual pattern for the formation of the passive voice,is very rarely used. Occasionally, when it is desired to express the receiving of an action in the past and continuing tothe present, the phrasal construction It has been in the process of being written is used. Here the present perfectconstruction is applied to to be, and the continuity and the passive voice are applied to the main verb in non-finiteform in a noun phrase.

Past perfect progressive

The past perfect progressive is also known as the pluperfect progressive , the past perfect continuous, and thepluperfect continuous. It is formed by combining, in this order, the preterite of to have, the past participle of to be,and the present participle of the main verb.• Affirmative: He had been writing• Negative: He had not been writing• Interrogative: Had he been writing?• Negative interrogative: Had he not been writing?, Hadn't he been writing?

The past perfect progressive relates to the past perfect as the present perfect progressive relates to the present perfect.The construction It had been being written is very rarely used. To convey the past perfect progressive in the passivevoice, the construction It had been in the process of being written can be used.

Future perfect progressive

The future perfect progressive, also called the future perfect continuous, is formed by combining, in this order, willor shall, the auxiliary have, the past participle been, and the present participle of the main verb:• Affirmative: He will have been writing• Negative: He will not have been writing• Interrogative: Will he have been writing?• Negative interrogative: Will he not have been writing?, Won't he have been writing?

This construction is used for an event that will still be in progress at a certain point in the future: By 8:00 he willhave been writing for five hours (and will still be doing so).The construction It will have been being written is never used. The construction It will have been in the process ofbeing written can be used to indicate the continuous receiving of an action prior to some time in the future.

Conditional presentThe conditional present is formed by combining the modal auxiliary would (never *woulds, not even in the thirdperson singular) with the infinitive (without to) of the main verb:• Affirmative: He would write• Negative: He would not write• Interrogative: Would he write?• Negative interrogative: Would he not write?, Wouldn't he write?

The conditional present is used principally in a main clause accompanied by an implicit or explicit doubt or"if-clause"; it may refer to conditional statements in present or future time:

I would like to pay now if it is not too much trouble. (in present time; doubt of possibility is explicit)I would like to pay now. (in present time; doubt is implicit)I would go tomorrow if she asked me. (in future time; doubt is explicit)

English verbs 17

I would go tomorrow. (in future time; doubt is implicit)Some varieties of English regularly use would (often shortened to (I)'d) in if clauses, but this is often considerednon-standard: If you'd leave now, you'd be on time. Such use of would is widespread especially in spoken US Englishin all sectors of society, but these forms are not usually used in writing that is more formal. Nevertheless, somereliable sources simply label this usage as acceptable US English and no longer label it as colloquial.[2] [3]

There are exceptions, however, where would is used in British English too in seemingly counterfactual conditions,but these can usually be interpreted as a modal use of would: If you would listen to me once in a while, you mightlearn something.[4] [5] In cases in which the action in the if clause takes place after that in the main clause, use ofwould in counterfactual conditions is however considered standard and correct usage in even formal UK and USusage: If it would make Bill happy, I'd [I would] give him the money.[4]

The passive voice of the conditional present is formed by the conditional present of to be followed by the pastparticiple of the main verb, as in

It would be written.

The auxiliary verbs could and might can also be used to indicate the conditional mood, as in the following:If the opportunity were here, I could do the job (= "If the opportunity were here, I would be able to do thejob")If the opportunity were here, I might do the job (= "If the opportunity were here, maybe I would do the job")

Conditional present progressive• Affirmative: He would be writing• Negative: He would not be writing• Interrogative: Would he be writing?• Negative interrogative: Would he not be writing?, Wouldn't he be writing?

The conditional present progressive (or continuous) is used for the continuous aspect of the conditional construction;it describes a situation that would now be prevailing had it not been for some intervening event:

Today she would be exercising if it were not for her injury.

He would be working today had he not been allowed time off.

(For the use of would in both clauses, see note and sources at end of section on conditional above.)The passive voice of the conditional progressive progressive can be formed as It would be being written, but sincethis construction is awkward the form It would be in the process of being written would be more common.

Conditional perfect• Affirmative: He would have written• Negative: He would not have written• Interrogative: Would he have written?• Negative interrogative: Would he not have written?, Wouldn't he have written?

The conditional perfect construction is used for conditional situations occurring in the past; it expresses thoughtswhich are or may be contrary to present fact:

I would have set an extra place if I had known you were coming. (The fact that an extra place was not set isimplicit; the conditioning event (I had known) is explicit)I would have set an extra place, but I did not because Mother said you were not coming. (The fact that a placewas not set is explicit; the conditioning event is implicit)I would have set an extra place. (The fact that a place was not set is implicit, and the conditioning event isimplicit)

English verbs 18

Some varieties of English regularly use would have (often shortened to (I)'d have) in if clauses, but this is oftennon-standard: If you (would)'ve told me, we could've done something about it. Such use of would is widespreadespecially in spoken US English in all sectors of society, but is incorrect and is not usually used in more formalwriting. (See note and sources at end of section on conditional above.)There are exceptions, however, where would is used in British English too in seemingly counterfactual conditions,but these can usually be interpreted as a modal use of would: If you would have listened to me once in a while, youmight have learned something. In cases in which the action in the if clause takes place after that in the main clause,use of would in if clauses is however considered standard and correct usage in even formal UK and US usage: If itwould have made Bill happy, I'd [I would] have given him the money. (See note and sources at end of section onconditional above.)The passive voice of the conditional perfect is formed as the conditional perfect of to be followed by the pastparticiple of the main verb:

It would have been written.

Conditional perfect progressive• Affirmative: He would have been writing.• Negative: He would not have been writing.• Interrogative: Would he have been writing?• Negative interrogative: Would he not have been writing?, Wouldn't he have been writing?

(For the use of would in both clauses, see note and sources at end of the section on conditional above.)Rather than the very rarely used awkward construction It would have been being written, the conditional perfectprogressive can be expressed in the passive voice as in It would have been in the process of being written.

Present subjunctiveThis form is always identical to the infinitive. This means that apart from the verb to be, it is distinct from theindicative present only in the third person singular and the obsolete second person singular.It is used to express wishes about the present or future:

God save our queen. (Not: God saves our queen, which means that it actually happens)It can be used (in formal writing) to express present doubt, especially after if, whether, and lest and in set phrases:

If that have any validity....

If that be true,....

If he need go,....

If music be the food of life,....

Whether that be true or not,....

Lest he arrive too soon,....

Be that as it may,....

The subordinate conjunction whether can be replaced by inversion of be and the subject:Be that true or not,....

It is also used in a mandative sense:He insists that his son have a more conventional celebration. (He strongly wants that to be true in the future;contrast with the indicative usage He insists that his son has a more conventional celebration, in which heasserts that it is a fact.)It is important that the process be carried out accurately.

English verbs 19

I shall work for him on condition that he pay me weekly.

The present subjunctive can be written in the passive voice as inIf it be written,....

Imperfect subjunctiveThe imperfect subjunctive is used to express hypotheses about the present or future: it is used to describe unreal orhypothetical conditions. It consists of the verb were in all persons and numbers (including the first and third personssingular), either as the main verb or as a helping verb combined with the infinitive of the main verb.It usually appears in "if clauses" of conditional sentences. Examples include:• If I were rich, I would retire to the South of France.• If I were a boy,....

Especially in formal usage, if may be omitted and the order of the subject and were inverted:• Were I to speak, I would do so softly. (This is identical in meaning to If I were to speak,....)When if means when (a fact) then the indicative is used. Compare• If I were walking down the road, I would greet him. (The subjunctive is used for a hypothetical present situation;

the main clause is in the conditional.)• If I was walking down the road, I would greet him. (The indicative is used for a fact about habitual actions in the

past; the main clause is in the past time and habitual aspect.)The imperfect subjunctive is also used in "that clauses" after a wish:• I'd rather that it were more substantial.• I wish she were here.

This last example can be contrasted with I want her to be here, in which the indicative rather than the subjunctive isused because there is a substantial possibility that the hypothesis is (or will be) true.The imperfect subjunctive can be written in the passive voice as in

If it were written....

orWere it written....

Future subjunctiveA future subjunctive for use in "if clauses" can be constructed using the conjugated form of the verb "to be" plus theinfinitive (including the particle to) or by using the modal auxiliary verb "should" (though the should form is veryunusual in American English):

If I were to die tomorrow, then you would inherit everything.

If I should go, then will / would you feed the hens?

These constructions can alternatively be expressed with inversion of the order of were or should and the subject, withif omitted:

Were I to die tomorrow, then you would inherit everything.

Should I go, then will / would you feed the hens?

If the were to constructions is used in the "if clause", the word would is used in the main clause; if the should form isused in the "if clause", either will or would can be used in the main clause, depending on whether the event is veryhypothetical (leading to the use of would) or is quite possible (permitting the use of will).The passive voice can be applied to the future subjunctive as in any of the following:

English verbs 20

If it were to be written tomorrow,....

Were it to be written tomorrow,....

If it should be written tomorrow,....

orShould it be written tomorrow,....

Modal constructionsMain article: English modal verb"Will" used as above in future constructions and "would" in conditional constructions are syntactic uses of modalauxiliaries in the construction of clauses. The English modal auxiliaries are would, will, should, shall, may, might,can, could, must, ought, had better, dare, and need, and are used to express probability, insistence or refusal, habitualaction, suggestion, conditional action, etc.For example, will and would can be used with a different meaning to futurity or conditionality:• You will obey me! (insistence)• I will not do it! (refusal, i.e. negative insistence)• He will probably be home now. (probability)• Usually, whenever I get home, I will drink a cup of tea. (present habitual action)• At that time, I would always drink tea in the morning. (past habitual action, similar to "used to")• I would not do that (if I were you). (suggestion, or implied conditional action)All of these serve as auxiliary verbs that are uninflected, even in the third person singular. Most of these havemultiple modal uses, depending on context. With the exception of ought, all are followed by the short form of themain verb's infinitive (that is, without the particle to). The last two of these, dare and need, are infrequently used asmodals and are much more frequently used instead as main verbs that are inflected with -s in the present tense thirdperson singular; when they are used as main verbs, the infinitive following them includes the particle to.

FunctionsIn addition to conveying the content of an action or state, verbs in English can convey tense, aspect, mood and othermodality, and voice.

TenseTense refers to the grammatical expression of the time (past, present, or future) of an action or state. English usesabsolute tense, in which time is expressed relative to the speaker's present, rather than relative tense, in which time isexpressed relative to the time frame (speaker's present, past, or future) that has already been established.English has two tenses, in the sense of grammatical constructions which always convey a time frame: past andnon-past (present/future). The past is conveyed with the preterite form discussed above (e.g., (Yesterday) I saw him),while the base form of the verb (or its forms inflected for third-person singular or for the progressive) refers to thepresent ((Right now) I see him), generic time (I (frequently) see him), or the future (I see him tomorrow at fiveo'clock). The will or shall construction and the am going to construction are not future tenses because their use doesnot guarantee that futurity is being referred to (as for example in Right now I will tolerate no dissent (determinationwith present reference), Boys will be boys (habituality in generic time)), and I'm going to do my best (now) (intentionin the non-past)).To express the future, the modal form will + bare infinitive is often used, though this form has other uses as well. The periphrastic form is/am/are going to + infinitive is also frequently used. In dependent clauses or for scheduled future action, the present tense form is used, as in It will be Tuesday when I see you or I arrive tomorrow at 5:00.

English verbs 21

The near future can be expressed as in I am about to do that.The past and future perfect forms are used to form relative tenses. For example, At 10:00 I will have done it alreadyrefers to the past of the future, and Yesterday at 10:00 I had done that already expresses the past of the past.The auxiliary would is used to express a future in the past, as in In 1982 I knew that I would graduate in 1984.Furthermore, a past of the future of the past can be formed by combining this would form with the auxiliary have, asin In 1982 I knew that by 1986 I would have graduated already (in which graduation occurs in, say, 1984, which isthe past of 1986, which is the future of 1982, which is the past of the speaker).

AspectAspect refers to the fabric of time alluded to by the verb — whether the time of action or state is viewed as anunanalyzed unit, something that is continuously progressing as the action occurs, something that occurs in discretesequential units during the action, something that continues from the past to the present, etc.English verbs primarily distinguish between progressive aspect and non-progressive aspect, using the verb to be andthe present participle (the -ing form of the verb) to indicate the progressive and its absence to indicatenon-progressivity of the action or state. This usage occurs even when the tense is past, in which case the tense isindicated by the form of to be as in I was running).English can optionally mark the habitual aspect if the tense is past, in two ways as exemplified by I used to go thereand Back then I would go there.Finally, English frequently marks the perfect aspect in both the past and the non-past, to indicate the experience ofsomething having occurred prior to the time of the experience. For example, I have visited Paris conveys the currentstate of being a former visitor to Paris, and I had visited Paris before I went to Rome conveys the state of being offormer visitor to Paris as a state that was experienced at the time in the past when I visited Rome.

Mood and modalityModality refers to the attitude of the speaker toward the action or state, and mood is the inflectional expression ofmodality. These attitudes generally involve degrees of desirability and possibility.The indicative mood is the usual mood, which indicates a declaration without indicating that it is desired,counterfactual, or a command.The imperative mood is used for commands, as in the second person construction Go there now in which the impliedsubject you is omitted and in which the bare form of the verb is used. In the first person plural, commands orsuggestions can be indicated as in the construction Let's go, in which the 's is a contraction of the first person pluralpronoun us. (Occasionally in formal situations the contraction is avoided, as in Let us go.)English sometimes marks the subjunctive mood of desire in dependent clauses by using the base form of the verbrather than an inflected form, as in I demand that he be here or I insist that he come, or the subjunctive mood ofcounterfactuality by backshifting the base form to the preterite form and replacing was with were, as in I wish that hewere here (now) (present reference to something that is not true) or If he had been here, he would have... (pastreference (not past of the past) to something that was not true).To express a counterfactual action that is contingent on another counterfactual action (the latter being expressed inthe subjunctive), the construction as in would go is used, as in If he were here, I would go now. For past contingentactions that are contrary to fact, the would + have + past participle construction is used, as in If he had been here, Iwould have gone. However, the constructions with would are non-inflectional, so technically they are not a moodbut rather a periphrastic expression of modality.The auxiliaries could and might also can indicate contingent counterfactuality, as in If I were taking the test now, Icould pass it (=would be able to pass it) and in If I were offered the opportunity now, I might accept it (=maybewould accept it).

English verbs 22

English also expresses modality non-inflectionally, using modal verbs, as in I can do it, You may do it, I might do it,He must do it, etc.

VoiceVoice expresses the relation between the verb's subject and the action.English expresses two voices: active and passive. The active voice is unmarked and conveys that the subject is theone undertaking the action, as in I see her. The passive voice conveys that the action is being received by the subject,and uses a helping verb with the passive participle, which in English is always identical to the past participle;examples of the passive voice are I am seen (by her) and I always get beaten when I play racketball. The be passivecan be used in any circumstance, while the get passive usually conveys at least slightly adverse consequences for therecipient of the action.

Notes[1] Penguin guide to plain English, Harry Blamires (Penguin Books Ltd., 2000) ISBN 978-0-14-051430-8 pp.144-146[2] http:/ / www. perfectyourenglish. com/ writing/ american-and-british-usage-2. htm "Conditional would is sometimes used in both clauses of

an if-sentence. This is common in spoken American English."[3] Pearson Longman, Longman Exams Dictionary, grammar guide: It is possible to use would in both clauses in US English but not in British

English: US: The blockades wouldn't happen if the police would be firmer with the strikers. Br: The blockades wouldn't happen if thepolice were firmer with the strikers.

[4] http:/ / www. lingua. org. uk/ eq& a. html[5] http:/ / forum. wordreference. com/ showpost. php?p=5478593& postcount=6 To stress willingness of wish, you can use would or will in both

clauses of the same sentence: If the band would rehearse more, they would play better. If the band will rehearse more, they will play better.Both mean the same. (based on the examples and explanations from Practical English Usage, Michael Swan, Oxford)

References• Gilman, E. Ward (editor in chief) Merriam Webster's Dictionary of English Usage (Merriam-Webster, 1989)

ISBN 0-87779-132-5• Greenbaum, Sidney. The Oxford English Grammar. (Oxford, 1996) ISBN 0-19-861250-8• McArthur, Tom, The Oxford Companion to the English Language (Oxford, 1992) ISBN 0-19-863136-7

External links• Using English verb tenses - usefulcharts.com (http:/ / www. usefulcharts. com/ languages-and-learning/

english-grammar/ using-english-verb-tenses. html)• ENGLISH VERB TENSES (http:/ / www. iei. uiuc. edu/ structure/ Structure1/ tenses. html) Intensive English

Institute, University of Illinois• Sequence of Tenses (http:/ / owl. english. purdue. edu/ owl/ resource/ 601/ 01/ ) at the Online Writing Lab at

Purdue University• Modals and auxiliary verbs in English (http:/ / www. ling. upenn. edu/ ~beatrice/ syntax-textbook/ box-modals.

html)• English Verb Conjugation and Inflectional Morphology (http:/ / www. scientificpsychic. com/ verbs1. html)• English Grammar Worksheets (http:/ / www. englishworksheets. net)• The English Verb Tense System: A dynamic presentation using the Cuisenaire Rods (http:/ / assoc.

pagespro-orange. fr/ une. education. pour. demain/ articlesrrr/ sw/ vts. htm)

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Article Sources and ContributorsEnglish verbs  Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?oldid=442550924  Contributors: A3RO, Akhilleus, Alex earlier account, AngelOfSadness, Angr, ArthurDenture, Audacity, Auntof6,Babajobu, Beaumont, Benwing, Blaxthos, Blehfu, Bluerasberry, Bombshell, Bongwarrior, Caltas, CambridgeBayWeather, CapnPrep, Capricorn42, Cassowary, Chameleon, CharlesChandler,Chewweh, ChkChkChkagain, Ckatz, Count Truthstein, D6, Dan337, Dark Charles, Darklilac, Daven200520, Dcljr, Dcoetzee, Deflective, Discospinster, DopefishJustin, Doric Loon, Duoduoduo,Eequor, El estremeñu, Emmett5, EoGuy, Espoo, Estoy Aquí, Evertype, Ewen, Faradayplank, Fenwayguy, Filelakeshoe, FilipeS, Fortnum, Gavinhudson, Geoking66, Gilliam, Girlwithgreeneyes,Grover cleveland, Gsandi, Gwalla, HMishkoff, Haipa Doragon, HamburgerRadio, Holek, I dream of horses, Ihcoyc, Immunize, Indefatigable, Ish ishwar, J.delanoy, JNW, JaGa, JackLumber,Jenblower, Jimhsteele, Jimp, JonHarder, Joseph Solis in Australia, Jr mints, Jubileeclipman, Justinsomnia, Kjoonlee, Kwamikagami, LeeWilson, LilHelpa, Lofty, MPerel, Mandarax, MattYeager, Matt434, Matthew Moppett, Mindmatrix, N-edits, Neonumbers, Netrapt, Netspy, Pablo-flores, Pandamonia, Pedromelcop, Peter Grey, Petr Kulaty, Pharaoh of the Wizards, Pne, Poccil,Prokopenya Viktor, Quarl, Quintote, RPlunk2853, Rick Block, Rjanag, Rjwilmsi, Robbiemuffin, Ross Burgess, Ross UK, Sciurinæ, Se16teddy, Seonaidbeckwith, Seresin, Siroxo, Smokizzy,Spakin, Steel, TEB728, Temporal Fugitive, Testabright, The Wednesday Island, Themfromspace, Titoxd, Tokeen, Tommy2010, Trang Oul, WikHead, WolFox, Wood Thrush, Woohookitty,Wprlh, Wyatt915, Yair rand, Ztelona, 277 anonymous edits

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