Most verbs are called action verbs because they show action (swim, eat, sleep). Some are called linking verbs (is, become, seem, feel) because they show a state of being by linking the subject of a sentence with a word that renames or describes it. A few verbs accompany a main verb to add information about its action; they are called helping or auxiliary verbs (have, must, can).

Verb Forms

A linking verb (LV) shows what the subject of a sentence is or is like. The verb creates a sort of equation, either positive or negative, between the subject and its complement (SC)—a noun, a pronoun, or an adjective.

A verb may be a linking verb in some sentences and not in others. If you focus on what the verb means, you can usually tell how it is functioning.

I often grow sleepy after lunch.
[Linking verb + subject complement sleepy]

I often grow tomatoes in my garden.
[Transitive verb + direct object tomatoes]

Adding a helping or auxiliary verb to a simple verb (go, shoot, be) allows you to express a wide variety of tenses and moods (am going, did shoot, would have been). (See 3g–3l and 3n–3p.) The parts of this combination, called a verb phrase, need not appear together but may be separated by other words.

I probably am going to France this summer.

You should not have shot that pigeon.

This change may well have been contemplated before the election.

The principal parts are the forms the verb can take — alone or with helping verbs — to indicate the full range of times when an action or a state of being does, did, or will occur. Verbs have three principal parts.

All verbs also have a present participle, the -ing form of the verb (going, singing, laughing). This form is used to make the progressive tenses. (See 3k and 3l.) It also can modify nouns and pronouns (“the leaking bottle”) or, as a gerund, function as a noun (“Sleeping all day pleases me”).

Most verbs in English are regular verbs: they form the past tense and past participle in a standard, predictable way. Regular verbs that end in -e add -d to the infinitive; those that do not end in -e add -ed.

At least two hundred irregular verbs form the past tense and past participle in some way other than adding -d or -ed: go, went, gone. Most irregular verbs, familiar to native English speakers, pose no problem.

Try taking two easy steps to eliminate confusion between lie and lay.

The same distinction exists between sit and set. Usually, sit is intransitive: “He sits on the stairs.” Set almost always takes an object: “He sets the bottle on the counter.” Note a few easily memorized exceptions: The sun sets. A hen sets. Gelatin sets. You sit the canter in a horse show.

Tenses

The simple tenses indicate whether the verb’s action took place in the past, takes place in the present, or will take place in the future. The perfect tenses narrow the timing further, specifying that the action was or will be completed by the time of some other action. The progressive tenses add precision, indicating that the action did, does, or will continue.

The simple present tense is the infinitive form of a regular verb plus -s or -es for the third-person singular (used with a singular noun or he, she, or it).

Some irregular verbs, such as go, form their simple present tense following the same rules as regular verbs (go/goes). Other irregular verbs, such as be and have, are special cases for which you should learn the correct forms.

You can use the simple present tense for an action happening right now (“I welcome this news”), happening repeatedly in the present (“Judy goes to church every Sunday”), or ongoing in the present (“Wesley likes ice cream”). In some cases, if you want to ask a question, intensify the action, or form a negative, use the helping verb do or does before the main verb.

I do think you should take the job. I don’t think it will be difficult.

Does Christos want it? Do you want it? Doesn’t anyone want it?

You can use the simple present for future action: “Football starts Wednesday.” With before, after, or when, use it to express a future meaning: “When the team bus arrives, the players will board.” Use it also for a general or timeless truth, even if the rest of the sentence is in a different tense:

Columbus proved in 1492 that the world is round.

Mr. Hammond will argue that people are basically good.

Regular verbs form the past tense by adding -d or -ed to the infinitive; the past tense of irregular verbs must be memorized. Use the past tense for an action at a specific past time, stated or implied.

Jack enjoyed the party. [Regular verb]

Akira went home early. [Irregular verb]

Though speakers may not pronounce the -d or -ed ending, standard written English requires that you add it to regular past tense verbs.

In the past tense, you can use the helping verb did (past tense of do) to ask a question or intensify the action. Use did (or didn’t) with the infinitive form of the main verb for both regular and irregular verbs.

Although the present tense can indicate future action (“We go on vacation next Monday”), most actions that have not yet taken place are expressed in the simple future tense, including promises and predictions.

George will arrive in time for dinner.

Will you please show him where to park?

To form the simple future tense, add will to the infinitive form of the verb.

You can also use shall to inject a tone of determination (“We shall overcome!”) or in polite questions (“Shall we dance?”).

The perfect tenses consist of a form of have plus the past participle (-ed or -en form). The tense of have indicates the tense of the whole verb phrase.

The action of a present perfect verb was completed before the sentence is uttered. Its helping verb is in the present tense: have or has.

I have never been to Spain, but I have been to Mexico.

Have you seen Mr. Grimaldi? Mr. Grimaldi has gone home.

You can use the present perfect tense for an action completed before some other action: “I have washed my hands of the whole affair, but I am watching from a distance.” With for or since, it shows an action begun in the past and still going on: “Max has worked in this office for years.”

The action of a past perfect verb was completed before some other action in the past. Its helping verb is in the past tense: had.

The concert had ended by the time we found a parking space.

Until I met her, I had not pictured Jenna as a redhead.

Had you wanted to clean the house before your parents arrived?

In informal writing, the simple past may be used when the relationship between actions is made clear by when, before, after, or until.

Observers saw the plane catch fire before it landed.

The action of a future perfect verb will be completed by some point (specified or implied) in the future. Its helping verb is in the future tense: will have.

The builders will have finished the house by June.

When you get the new dime, will you have collected every coin you want?

The store will not have closed by the time we get there.

The progressive tenses consist of a form of be plus the present participle (the -ing form). The tense of be determines the tense of the whole verb phrase.

The present progressive expresses an action that began in the past and is taking place now. Its helping verb is in the present tense: am, is, or are.

I am thinking of a word that starts with R.

Is Stefan babysitting while Marie is visiting her sister?

You can express future action with the present progressive of go plus an infinitive phrase or with other words that make the time clear.

Are you going to sign up for the CPR class? Jeff is taking it Monday.

Use the present tense, not the present progressive, when verbs express being or emotion (seem, be, belong, need) rather than action.

I guess that the library is open. I like to study there.

The past progressive expresses an action that took place continuously at some time in the past, whether or not that action is still going on. Its helping verb is in the past tense: was or were.

The old men were sitting on the porch when we passed.

Lucy was planning to take the weekend off.

The future progressive expresses an action that will take place continuously at some time in the future. Its helping verb is in the future tense: will be. It also can use a form of be with going to be.

They will be answering the phones while she is gone.

She is going to be flying to Rome.

Will we be dining out every night on our vacation?

The present perfect progressive indicates an action that started in the past and is continuing in the present. Form it by adding the present perfect of be (has been, have been) to the present participle (-ing form) of the main verb. Often for or since are used with this tense.

Fred has been complaining about his neighbor since the wild parties began.

Have you been reading Uma’s postcards from England?

The past perfect progressive expresses a continuing action that was completed before another past action. Form it by adding the past perfect of be (had been) to the present participle of the main verb.

By the time Khalid finally arrived, I had been waiting for half an hour.

The future perfect progressive expresses an action that is expected to continue into the future for a specific time and then end before or continue beyond another future action. Form it by adding will have been to the present participle of the main verb.

They will have been driving for three days by the time they get to Oregon.

By fall Joanne will have been attending school longer than anyone else I know.

Voice

Intelligent students read challenging books.

Challenging books are read by intelligent students.

These two statements convey similar information, but their emphasis is different. In the first sentence, the subject (students) performs the verb’s action (read); in the second sentence, the subject (books) receives the verb’s action (are read). One sentence states its idea directly, the other indirectly. We say that the first sentence is in the active voice and the second is in the passive voice.

Verbs in the active voice consist of principal parts and helping verbs. Verbs in the passive voice consist of the past participle (-ed or -en form) preceded by a form of be (“you are given,” “I was given,” “she will be given”). Most writers prefer the active to the passive voice because it is clearer and simpler, requires fewer words, and identifies the actor and the action more explicitly.

Normally the subject of a sentence is the focus of readers’ attention. If that subject does not perform the verb’s action but instead receives the action, readers may wonder: What did the writer mean to emphasize?

Other writers misuse the passive voice to try to lend pomp to a humble truth (or would-be truth). For example, “Slight technical difficulties are being experienced” may replace “The airplane needs repairs.” Some even use the passive voice deliberately to obscure the truth.

You do not need to drop the passive voice entirely from your writing. Sometimes the performer of a verb’s action is irrelevant, as in a lab report, which emphasizes the research, not the researcher. Sometimes the performer is understood: “Automobiles are built in Detroit.” (Of course they are built by people.) Other times the performer is unknown and simply omitted: “Many fortunes were lost in the stock market crash of 1929.” It’s a good idea, though, to substitute the active voice for the passive unless you have a good reason for using the passive.

Mood

Another characteristic of every verb is its mood. The indicative mood is most common. The imperative and subjunctive moods add valuable versatility.

The understood but usually unstated subject of a verb in the imperative mood is you. The verb’s form is the base form or infinitive.

The subjunctive mood is used in a subordinate clause to suggest uncertainty: the action expressed by the verb may or may not actually take place as specified. In any clause opening with that and expressing a requirement, the verb is in the subjunctive mood and takes the base or infinitive form.

Professor Vogt requires that every student complete the essay promptly.

She asked that we be on time for all meetings.

When you use the subjunctive mood to describe a condition that is contrary to fact, use were if the verb is be; for other verbs, use the simple past tense. Wishes, whether present or past, follow the same rules.

If I were rich, I would be happy.

If I had a million dollars, I would be happy.

Elissa wishes that Ted were more goal oriented.

Elissa wished that Ted knew what he wanted to do.

For a condition contrary to fact in the past, use the past perfect tense.

If I had been awake, I would have seen the meteor showers.

If Jessie had known you were coming, she would have cleaned her room.

Although use of the subjunctive has grown scarcer over the years, it still sounds crude to write “If I was you. …” If you ever feel that the subjunctive makes a sentence sound stilted, rewrite it with an infinitive phrase.

Professor Vogt requires every student to complete the essay promptly.