Verbs, Tense, and AuxiliariesVerbs, Tense, and Auxiliaries

(Plus some final information on Nouns and Pronouns)

Hierarchy of Predictability

Indefinite Noun (e.g., a person)

Unmodified Definite Noun (e.g., the person)

Modified Definite Noun (e.g., the big person, the person in the corner, the person we were interviewing)

Pronoun

Unpredictable

Predictable

Types of Verbs

• Dynamic (or Active) Verbs – describe an action, involve change of state or place

• Stative Verbs – describe a state, involve little or no change– Linking verbs - be, seem, appear…– Position verbs - lie, sit, stand, live…– Perception verbs - hear, see, smell, feel, hurt…– Other - know, like, appreciate, rival, think…

Auxiliaries• Modals: will, would, can, could, shall, should,

may, might, must• Have: used with past participle form of the verb

to create the present perfect (have eaten), or the past perfect (had eaten)

• Be: used with the present participle form of the verb to create the present or past progressive (is/was eating) or with the past participle form of the verb to create the passive (was eaten).

• Do: - used for emphasis or when the grammar calls for an auxiliary and none exists (e.g., questions)

Verb Forms

Present PastSimple walk(s) walkedProgressive is walking was walkingPerfect has walked had walkedProgressive Perfect has been walking had been walking

Order of Auxiliaries

Modal - Have - Be

• Tense appears on the first auxiliary.Some Examples

• I ate. (no auxiliary)• I will eat. (Modal)• I had eaten. (Have: past perfect)• I will have eaten. (Modal+Have)• I had been eating. (Be: past perfect progressive)• I might have been eating. (Modal+Have+Be)

Tense and Time

• English has two grammatical tenses– Past– Present

• English has no grammatical future tense• Future time is indicated in a variety of ways:

– With an auxiliary, especially will– With be going to …– With the simple present (We leave tomorrow.)– With the present progressive. (We’re leaving tomorrow.)– With will plus the present progressive. (We’ll be leaving

tomorrow.)– Be + to + Verb (We are to be wed tomorrow.)

The Simple Present

• With stative verbs the simple present indicates present tense: She is tall; They like to dance; I believe you; This soup tastes delicious; I hear you; Do you see the hawk?)

• With instantaneous present: I enclose an envelope; Smith throws the ball to Jones; I apologize for my behavior; I pronounce you husband and wife.

• With active verbs to indicate habitual action: Every day we walk to school; Do you eat meat?; We go to the lake every weekend.

The Progressive

• With active verbs the present progressive indicates present time: They are dancing in the street; We’re eating.

• Generally not used with state verbs: *I am knowing the answer; *He is resembling me.

• When stative verbs are used in the progressive, they have a more dynamic or active meaning: You are being difficult; He is seeing her; They are loving each other. When verbs of emotion or attitude are used in the progressive, they indicate tentativeness: I was hoping to take the test late; I was wondering if you could help me.

The Perfect

• Present perfect is used– With active verbs to indicate something that happened in the past that

is relevant to the present (I’ve already eaten; There has been a serious accident; Have you seen the movie?)

– With stative verbs to refer to a state that began in the past and extends to the present (He’s been unhappy since the election; I’ve lived here for four years; She has owned this house since her father died.)

• Past Perfect is used to refer to a time in the past that is relevant to some other time in the past. (He offered me food, but I had already eaten; When I woke up, the sun had just risen.)

The Modals

• Can indicate possibility: We might have missed the train; They can be late sometimes; We may not make it.

• Can indicate hypothetical situations: If you had read the book, you might know the answer.

• Can indicate prediction: We’ll be gone by then.• Can indicate obligation: We should be leaving now. You

ought not do that.• Can indicate necessity: You must stop doing that. You will

leave now.• Can indicate permission: May I come in?

The Subjunctive

• Present– Uses uninflected base form of the verb– In some formulaic expressions – God save the Queen; Be that as it

may; Heaven help us; Come what may.– In some embedded clauses with that or Ø: I insist you be more

careful; I insist the committee reconsider its decision.

• Past– Uses were– Indicates hypothetical situation– Examples: If I were you…; Suppose we were to…; I wish I were a

rich man; Were you to open your eyes, you would…