8|Verb Form, Tense, and Mood

A verb’s form is the way it appears in order to demonstrate the way it is being used. Verb forms can change in order to show tense, which indicates the time that the action took place (last year, next month), and mood, which indicates the attitude about the thought being expressed (a command, a wish, a statement).

8aUse the correct form of the verb.

Verbs can take one of five forms and stand alone or with helping verbs to indicate the full range of times when an action or a state of being does, did, might, or will occur.

8bUse the simple present tense for actions that take place once, repeatedly, or continuously in the present.

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).

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The irregular verbs 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.

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.

8cUse the simple past tense for actions already completed.

Use the past tense for an action at a specific past time, whether stated or implied.

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

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

At least two hundred irregular verbs form the past tense in some way other than by adding -d or -ed.

Because irregular verbs do not follow a standard pattern when they take the past tense, the forms must be memorized.

Most irregular verbs, familiar to native English speakers, pose no problem. For more details on verbs that cause trouble when changing tense, see 8h (be, have, and do) and 8i (lie/lay and sit/set).

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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 base form of the main verb for both regular and irregular verbs.

8dUse the simple future tense for actions that are expected to happen but have not happened yet.

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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.

To form the simple future tense, add will to the base 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?”).

8eUse the perfect tenses for actions completed at the time of another action.

The perfect tenses consist of the verb have plus the past participle.

For regular verbs, the past participle is the same as the past tense. For irregular verbs, the past participle follows no set pattern and must be memorized.

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In the perfect tenses, 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.

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.

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

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.

8fUse the simple progressive tenses for actions in progress.

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.

You can express future action with the present progressive of go plus an infinitive phrase.

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.

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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.

8gUse the perfect progressive tenses for continuing actions that began earlier.

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 is used with this tense.

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.

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.

8hUse the correct forms of the very irregular verbs be, have, and do.

The verbs be, have, and do take very irregular forms in the present and past tenses. Refer to the chart below to avoid confusion.

8iUse the correct forms of lie and lay and sit and set.

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

The same distinction exists between sit and set. The verb sit rarely takes a direct object: “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.

8jUse verbs in the appropriate mood.

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

The indicative mood is used to state a fact, to ask a question, or to express an opinion.

The imperative mood is used to make a request or to give a command or direction. 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 express a wish, requirement, suggestion, or condition contrary to fact. The subjunctive mood suggests 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.

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.

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

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.