Lecture Notes: Subject-Verb Agreement

Every clause in English has a subject and a verb, and these must agree in person and number.

Rules:


A. In simple present tense :When the subject is third person singular, the verb must have the [-s] form, i.e. end with - s or -es.

• My friend lives in Boston. ('friend' is third person singular)
• The sun rises from the east. ('sun' is third person singular)
• The dress looks like a brand new. ('dress' is third person singular)

It is easier to remember to make the subject and the verb to agree when the verb comes immediately after the subject. However, many English learners fail to make the subject and the verb agree when they are separated by a prepositional phrase, a relative clause or an adverbial phrase:

wrong

• The mother of these boys work as a computer programmer.

(The verb 'work' is agreeing with 'boys', but 'boys' is the object of the prepositional phrase 'of these boys'. It should agree with the subject, 'mother', which is singular.)

right

• The mother of these boys works as a computer programmer.

wrong

• The clothes that I gave to my sister was too small for me.

(The verb 'was' is agreeing with 'sister', but 'sister' is part of the relative clause 'that I gave to my sister'. The subject of this sentence is 'clothes', which is plural.)

right

• The clothes that I have to my sister were too small for me.

wrong

• President George Bush, like most previous presidents, come from a wealthy family.

(The verb 'come' is agreeing with 'presidents', which is part of the adverbial phrase 'like most previous presidents'. In this sentence 'President George Bush' is the subject, with which the verb must agree.)

right

• President George Bush, like most previous presidents, comes from a wealthy family.

B. A gerund subject is always considered singular.

• Jogging is good for your health.
• Smiling causes people to be nicer.

C. With most phrases of quantity, the verb agrees with the noun in the phrase.

Note:

When the quantity is singular such as 'one of', 'each of', 'every one of', or 'a group of'', the verb is singular but the noun of that phrase must be plural.

wrong

• Each of the book costs $1.

right

• Each of the books costs $1.

wrong

• One of the room is very messy.

right

• One of the rooms is very messy.

wrong

• A group of student is touring the campus.

right

• A group of students is touring the campus.

D. With some nouns, it is not obvious that they are singular or plural.

1. Names of places or things are singular.

e.g. countries (the United States, the Netherlands), organizations (the United Nations).

2. 'News' is singular.

3. Fields of studies are singular.

e.g. economics, physics, mathematics, statistics.

4. Diseases or medical conditions are singular.

e.g. diabetes, measles, mumps, rabies, rickets, shingles.

5. Expressions of measurements (time, money, distance, weight) are singular.

e.g. three days, one hundred dollars, two miles, fifty pounds.

6. Arithmetic expressions use singular verbs.

7. Some nouns are plural even though they do not end with -s or -es.

e.g police, cattle, people, sheep, fish, staff, faculty.

8. Languages are singular, but a noun that means the people of a country takes a plural verb.

9. When an adjective is preceded by 'the', it means the people with that quality or characteristic (the poor = the poor peole, the rich = the rich people, the disabled = the disabled people) and it requires a plural noun.

Lecture Notes: Future Tenses

Simple Future Tense

A. Meaning

The simple future tense is used to describe an event that will occur in the future, e.g. in two hours, tomorrow, in five months, next year, in 10 years, etc. There are several instances when the future tense is required:

1. To express a prediction - As human beings, we can only speculate about the future; in other words, we never know for certain what will happen in the future. We can only predict, or make guesses about future events, based on what we know now. Weather reporters try to predict the weather for the next few days, economists try to predict the state of the nation's economy in the following year, business people try to predict how much money they will make, and students try to predict what grade they will get at the end of the semester. When an event is probable or possible, it is a prediction.
2. To express a prior plan - We can also use the future tense to express a prior plan. We know that an event will happen because we have already planned it. We are going to make the event happen. For example, I am going to stop by at the bank in the afternoon because I already thought about it and decided to go this morning. I intend to go to the bank.
3. To express willingness - Sometimes, an event will occur in the future because we volunteer to do it at the moment of speaking. It is not making a prediction or a plan; it is someone being willing or choosing to do it. If a parent asks his or her child to wash the dishes, the child can choose to do it. The child did not plan to wash the dishes, but he or she can volunteer when asked by the parent. To express a future event that is on a regular schedule - We know that something will happen in the future also because it is part of a regular schedule. Some of the things on a regular schedule are the bus, train, plane, movies, work, businesses and school. For example, tomorrow is Friday, and we know that Macy's Department Store closes at 9 p.m. every Friday. Therefore, we know that the store will close tomorrow at 9 p.m. We can make this prediction because the store has always closed at 9 p.m. in the past, and it will continue to follow the regular schedule and close at 9 on Fridays in the future. Only a few words apply in this category, e.g open, close, begin, start, arrive, leave, etc.

B. Usage

There are four ways to express the future time - will,be going to, present progressive and simple present - but their usage is not identical. Study the chart below:

Predictions Prior Plans Willingness Regular Schedules
(a) will (c) be going to (e) will (f) simple present
(b) be going to (d) present progressive (g) present progressive

(a) You are studying so hard. You will get an A on the test. (b) You are studying so hard. You are probably going to get an A on the test.

(c) Emily has invited her friends over for tomorrow. They are going to watch a video together. (d) But Tom can't come. He is playing baseball tomorrow.

(e) A: It's getting late. Can somebody take me home?

B: I will take you home.

(f) The bus leaves in 10 minutes. You'd better hurry up, or you will miss the bus. (g) The movie is starting at 7:30 p.m. We will have enough time to have dinner first.

C. Form

* The main verb is always in the base form.

Affirmative Statements:

a. will + verb
b. be going to + verb ('be' is in the simple present tense form)

• It will rain tomorrow.
• It is going to rain tomorrow.
  

Negative Statements:

a. will + not + verb (contracted = won't)
b. be + not + going to + verb

• Ron will not come to school next week.
• Ron won't come to school next week.
• Ron is not going to come to school next week.

Questions:

a. will + subject + verb
b. be + subject + going to + verb

• Will the energy crisis continue for a long time?
• Is the energy crisis going to continue for a long time?

Future Time Clauses

A time clause is a dependent clause that begins with a time adverb such as when, after, before, as soon as, until, while, and it must be connected to an independent clause. Even though the actions in both the time clause and the independent clause will happen in the future, the verb in the time clause is in the simple present tense while the verb in the independent clause is in the future tense. For example:

• When William gets home, he will take a shower.

('When William gets home' is a time clause and it expresses a future event. )

• I will pay the rent after I receive my paycheck.

('after I receive my paycheck' is a time clause and it also expresses a future event.)

When the sentence begins with a time clause, there is a comma before the independent clause. When the time clause follows the independent clause, there is no comma.

Future Progressive

A. Meaning

The future progressive tense describes an action that will be in progress at a specific time in the future, and it will continue even further into the future. Remember that stative verbs cannot be in the progressive.
1.
A: I will call you tomorrow at 7 a.m.

B: But tomorrow is Saturday! I will be sleeping at that time.
2.
When Christy graduates from college, her sister is going to be starting high school.

B. Form

Affirmative Statements:

a. will be + verb-ing
b. be going to + be + verb-ing

• At 7:30 a.m tomorrow, I will be driving in heavy traffic.
• At 7:3p a.m. tomorrow, I am going to be driving in heavy traffic.
  

Negative Statements:

a. will + not + be + verb-ing
b. be + not + be + verb-ing

• When Derek moves to New York, he will not be taking all his furniture.
• When Derek moves to New York, he is not going to be taking all his furniture.

Questions:

a. will + subject + be + verb-ing
b. be + subject + be + verb-ing

• Will you be using the computer when I get home from school?
• Are you going to be using the computer when I get home from school?

Future Perfect

A. Meaning

The future perfect tense is used to describe an event that will be completed before another future event. It is to emphasize that it will be finished by a certain time in the future. The future perfect is often used with the time adverb by the time and adverbs already and yet, and only 'will', not 'be going to' is used for the perfect tense.

For example:

a. By the time we get married, we will have dated for 3 years.
(We started dating in 1999. We will get married in 2002. By 2002, we will have dated for 3 years.)
b. Monica and John are living in an apartment now. But they will have already bought a house by the time they have their first child.
(They don't have a child now, but they will in the future. By that time, they will have already bought a house. So the baby's first home will be their new house, not the apartment.)

B. Form

Affirmative Statements:

• will + have + past participle
  By the time you come home, I will have finished cooking dinner.
  

Negative Statements:

• will + not + have + past participle
  We will not have finished our project by December 2002.
  

Questions:

• will + subject + have + past participle

Will Sally have read 20 pages by 6 o'clock tonight?

Future Perfect Progressive

A. Meaning

The future perfect progressive tense is used to describe an action that will be in progress before another future event. It is to emphasize the duration of the action, i.e. how long by another time in the future. Like all other progressives, the future perfect progressive indicates that the action will not be finished at that time. This tense is not commonly used.

1. By the time my daughter graduates from college, I will have been working at this company for 25 years.
(My daughter will graduate in the future. At that time, I will have worked for 25 years and I will continue to work.)
2. A: When did Theresa start acting in movies?
B: Let's see. She will have been acting for exactly one year next month, so she started in March of last year.

B. Form

Affirmative Statements:

• will have been + verb-ing
  By 2003, Dr. Garcia will have been doing research on cancer for 50 years.
  

Negative Statements (very rarely used):

• will not have been + verb-ing
  Brian has quit smoking. By the time he sees his doctor, he will not have been smoking for a whole month!
  

Questions:

• will + subject + have been +verb-ing
  Will Jerry have been running for 4 hours by the time he crosses Golden Gate Bridge?

Lecture Notes: Perfect and Perfect Progressive Tenses

Lecture Notes: Perfect and Perfect Progressive Tenses


Present Perfect

A. Meaning

1. The present perfect tense is used to describe an event that happened some time before the present time. The exact time of the event is unknown or unimportant. But the important thing to remember is that the original time of orientation of the discourse is the present; in other words, you use the present perfect tense when you begin talking about present events but need to go backwards in time to talk about a past event. The past event is somehow related to the present time.

For example:

I want to go shopping because I have not bought any clothes in a long time.

"want" is in the present tense, which means I want to go shopping now. The time of orientation of the first verb is the present. But the speaker has to go back from the present time to the past to express what has or has not happened. "I have not bought any clothes" means that the speaker has not bought clothes since some time in the past until now.

If the time of orientation of the discourse is in the past, you can not use the present perfect tense.

For example:

wrong a. Margie graduated from high school. Then she has entered a very good college.
right b.Margie graduated from high school. Then she entered a very good college.
right c. Margie is smart. She has entered a very good college.

Sentence (a) is wrong because the first sentence begins in the past. She graduated from high school first. Then she entered college, still a past event. So the next sentence should be in the past as well, as in sentence (b). Sentence (c) is correct because the first sentence begins in the present, "is", which is a present condition. Then we have to go back into the past to explain why she is smart now. She is smart because she has entered, some time in the past, a very good college. Her entering a college in the past is related to her present condition.

Some common adverbs used with the present perfect tense are ever, never, already, yet, still, just.

2. The present perfect is also used to describe an event that has occurred repeatedly before now. Again, the original time of orientation must be in the present. In other words, use the present perfect tense to describe how many times something has occurred so far.

For example:

a. Sally loves the movie Gladiator. She has seen it five times.

b. Mr. Johnson has graded 50 tests so far, and he is still not finished.

Notice that the verb "loves" in sentence (a) is in the present tense. It is a present condition. But when and how many times did she see the movie? Some time in the past, many times before now. So the verb in the second sentence must be in the present perfect, "has seen". Sentence (b) is also expressing a present situation; Mr. Johnson started grading tests some time in the past, but right now he is not finished, which is a present condition.

B. Form:

• Affirmative Statements: has/have + past participle

1. Julie has been a dancer for three years
2. The politicians have voted on the campaign finance reform.

• Negative Statements: has/have + not + past participle

1. Julie has not danced in three years.


2. The politicians have not voted on the campaign finance reform.

• Questions: has/have + subject + past participle

1. How long has Julie been a dancer?


2. Have the politicians voted on the campaign finance reform?

Present Perfect Progressive

A. Meaning

The main difference between the present perfect and the present perfect progressive is that the progressive tense emphasizes the duration of an activity that began in the past and is continuing in the present. The event is still happening in the present time. The present perfect progressive tense occurs often with for, since, all morning, all day, all week, etc.

1. Tim has been studying for a test since last week. He will do very well on it. (He started studying last week and is still studying because the test is some time in the future.)
2. I have been running errands all day long. (I started running errands in the morning and I'm not done yet.)
3. My sister has been making her own clothes for many years now. (She started making her own clothes a long time ago and is still making them.)

Note:

You cannot put stative verbs in the present perfect progressive tense. They can only be in the present perfect tense.

wrong: I have been knowing John for seven years.

right: I have known John for seven years.

wrong:George has been having his car since 1998.

right: George has had his car since 1998.

Some common words and expressions used with the present perfect progressive tense are recently, lately, these days, which indicate that the action started a short time ago and has continued to the present time. It implies that the action or event is fairly new or recent.

1. 
   My teacher has been giving us a lot of homework lately. (He didn't use to give us a lot of homework. But a few days ago, he started to give us a lot more.)
2. Kelly has been dating. We're very happy for her. (She started dating not too long ago. This is her new boyfriend.)
   

B. Form

• 
  Affirmative statements: has/have + been + verb-ing

1. Mr. Davis has been teaching for twelve years.
2. We have been waiting for the bus since 5 o'clock.

• Negative Statements: has/have + not + been + verb-ing

1. Mr. Davis has not been teaching since 1995.
2. I have not been working since I got laid off last month.

• Questions: has/have + subject + been + verb-ing

1. Has Mr. Davis been teaching for a long time?
2. What have you been doing with your free time lately?
   

Past Perfect

A. Meaning

Just as the time of orientation for the present perfect tense is the present, the time of orientation for the past perfect tense is the past. The discourse begins at a certain time in the past, but when it needs to go back into the past even further, that is when the past perfect tense is used.

For example:
a. I failed the test because I hadn't studied enough for it.

b. When we saw Akiko last week, she had lost a lot of weight.

c. We arrived at the airport after the plane had already left.

In sentence (a) "failed" is in the past tense, indicating that the event took place in the past. But when did the speaker study for the test? Before the test took place. So the discourse moved further into the past, which requires the past perfect tense. In sentence (b), Akiko had lost weight before we saw her. In sentence (c), the verb in the first part of the sentence, "arrived" establishes the time of orientation as the past. But the second verb "had left" indicates that the plane left before they arrived. It took place before a past event. So were they able to get on the plane? No, they weren't.

Some subordinators that may require the past perfect tense in the independent clause are when, after, before, by the time.

wrong: By the time he had been five years old, he learned to read.

right: By the time he was five years old, he had learned to read.

right: He had learned to read by the time he was five years old.

wrong: When I had come home, my family already ate dinner.

right: When I came home, my family had already eaten dinner.

right: My family had already eaten dinner when I came home.

But look at the sentences below:

d. When we arrived at the airport, the plane left.

e. When Bruce went to Africa, he lost a lot of weight.

In sentence (d), both the verb in the dependent clause, "arrived", and the verb in the independent clause, "left", are in the simple past tense. It means they arrived at the airport first. Then the plane took off. Did they get on the plane? They probably did. In sentence (e), Bruce first went to Africa, then he lost a lot of weight.

Note:

If the past events are listed in succession, or in sequence, then the past perfect tense is not used. This is often the case when adverbial conjunctions of sequence, first, second, then, next, finally, etc., are used.

wrong: The plane had already left. Then we arrived at the airport.

right: The plane left. Then we arrived at the airport.

wrong: First, we had graduated from high school. Next, we went to college.

right: First, we graduated from high school. Next, we went to college.

B. Form

• 
  Affirmative Statements: had + past participle

1. By the time I graduated from college, I had already found a job.

• Negative Statements: had + not + past participle

1. When Walter graduated from college, he had not found a job yet.

• Questions: had + subject + participle

1. Had Walter found a job by the time he graduated from college?
2. What had Mae done before she came to the U.S.?
   

Past Perfect Progressive

A. Meaning

The rules for the past perfect progressive are the same as those for the present perfect progressive, except that the time of orientation is the past. The past perfect progressive is used to describe an event that was in progress at another moment in the past or that had completed just before another event in the past.

For example:

1. We had been sleeping for two hours when you called us. (We went to bed two hours before you called us. We were still sleeping when you called.)
2. When I saw my cousin last month, he looked really good. He had been exercising regularly. (He started exercising several months ago. He was still exercising regularly when I saw him. )

B. Form

• Affirmative Statements: had + been + verb-ing

1. Benjamin had been waiting for 30 minutes by the time we got to the restaurant.
   

• Negative Statements: had + not + been + verb-ing

1. Benjamin had not been waiting long by the time we got to the restaurant.
   

• Questions: had + subject + been + verb-ing

1. How long had Benjamin been waiting by the time we got to the restaurant?

English Tenses – Graphic Comparison

Course / Duration

• action taking place before a certain moment in time
• puts emphasis on the course or duration of the action
  
  Result
  
• action taking place before a certain moment in time
• puts emphasis on the result
  
  
  
  period of time

• action that started before a certain moment and lasts beyond that moment
• actions taking place at the same time
  
  

moment in time

• action that takes place once, never or several times
• actions that happen one after another
• actions that suddenly take place
  
  
  

Lecture Notes: Past Tense and Progressive Verbs

Simple Past
A: Meaning
The simple past tense is used to describe a situation or an event that occurred in the past. Although the exact time of the event may not be stated, the simple past means that the situation or the event started and ended in the past and is not related to the present at all.

The time adverb when means 'at that moment' or 'right after'. See the examples below:

• When I came home, I started to make dinner. (Right after I came home, I started to make dinner. I came home first, then I started to make dinner.)
• The little girl began to cry when she saw the big dog. (First she saw the big dog. At that moment, she began to cry.

B: Form

• Affirmative statements: When the verb is regular, add -d if the word ends with an 'e' or -ed if the word ends with any other vowel or consonant. For example:

Larry moved to Argentina.
The concert ended at 9:30 p.m.

• Negative statements (Do not add -ed to the verb.):

Larry did not move to Argentina.
The concert did not end at 9:30 p.m.

• Questions:

Did Larry move to Argentina?
What time did the concert end?

Be careful!! Do not add the 'be' auxiliary to the verb if it is in the active voice (i.e. the subject is doing the verb). Compare:

right The teacher praised the students for their good work.
right The students were praised (by their teacher) for their good work.
wrong The teacher was praised the students for their good work.

Past Progressive
A: Meaning
The past progressive tense describes an event that was in progress at a specific time in the past. The action was not finished at that time. This tense is usually used when describing an event that was happening at a specific time, for a short period of time, or when another event occurred.

• At 7 p.m last night, I was having dinner. (I'm describing what was in progress exactly at 7 p.m. I started eating at 6:50, and at 7 I was still eating. I finished eating at 7:10.)
• Jennifer was taking classes at Canada College. (She took classes for a few weeks but did not finish.)
• Henry was watching TV when the phone rang. (Henry started watching TV first. Then the phone rang. He was not finished with watching TV.)

Note: You do not use the past progressive tense when you are describing a succession of events or a process. For example:

wrong At 7 p.m. last night, I was having dinner. Then I took a shower. (The second sentence implies that the first action ended. When he was taking a shower, he was no longer eating.)
right At 7 p.m last night, I had dinner. Then I took a shower. (First I ate dinner, then I took a shower.)

wrong Jessica was washing the dishes. Then she dried them and put them away.
right Jessica washed the dishes. Then she dried them and put them away.

These events happened one after another. First she washed the dishes. (She finished washing the dishes) Next, she dried them. Then she put them away.
In such cases, the verbs should be in the simple past.

Note: As in the case with the present tense, stative verbs cannot be in the past progressive tense. For example:

wrong I was knowing my neighbor very well.
right I knew my neighbor very well.
wrong The teacher was not understanding me.
right The teacher did not understand me.

B: Form

• Affirmative Statements: be + verb-ing

Debbie and John were studying at the library last night.

• Negative Statements: be + not + verb-ing

Debbie and John were not studying at the library last night.

• Questions:

Were Debbie and John studying at the library last night?
Where were Debbie and John studying last night?

Progressive Verbs to Complain
You can use the present or past progressive to complain or to describe a problem or to express annoyance. It is often times used with always.

The teacher is always giving us so much homework. I am so tired of doing homework all the time.
When I was in high school, I did not like Derek because he was always teasing the girls.
Can you fix my car? It is making a funny noise.

Expressions of Place with Progressive Verbs
A prepositional phrase of place (e.g. at school, in the house, at the restaurant, on the playground) can be placed after the be auxiliary but before the -ing verb. In this case, the focus is on the location, not the action, of the subject. The sentence can end with the prepositional phrase and still make sense. The -ing verb merely gives extra information. Compare:

What is Michael doing?
right He is watching TV.
right He is watching TV in the living room.
wrong He is in the living room.

Where is Michael?
right He is in the living room.
right He is in the living room watching TV.
wrong He is watching TV.

Future Perfect Tense

Future Simple Tense

Past Perfect Illustrative Diagram

Present Perfect Illustrative Diagram

Past Simple Illustrative Diagram

Present Simple Illustrative Diagram

Lecture Notes: Present Tense

Lecture Notes: Present Tense

Simple Present

A. Meaning:

1. The simple present tense is used to describe an action or an idea that is always true, such as scientific facts and physical laws.

(a) Water consists of hydrogen and oxygen.
(b) The average person breathes 21,600 a day.
(c) The world is round.

These are facts that were, are and always will be true, unless scientists discover otherwise.

2. You can also use the simple present tense to describe something that happens habitually. This means that you can use adverbs such as always, usually, often, sometimes, never, etc. If you feel uncertain whether you should use the simple present tense or not, ask yourself if you can add one of these adverbs and the sentence still makes sense.

Americans (often) work very hard.

Mary (sometimes) drinks 7up with dinner.

The teacher (always) gives a lot of homework.

Nurses (usually) wear white uniforms.

There are many verbs that usually cannot be in the simple present tense:

(a) * I decide to go to school.

(Do you usually decide to go to school? No, a decision is usually made in a moment. It starts and ends very quickly. So you should say "I have decided to go to school" or "I decided to go to school.")

(b) *Dan becomes a good student.

Can someone usually become a good student? Become means to change from one thing to another, and the change usually happens in a moment. So again, you should say "Dan has become a good student" or "Dan became a good student."

B. Form:

1. Affirmative Statements: Subject + Verb

*Add -s or -es to the verb when the subject is 3rd person singular (he, she, it, Mary, book, house, etc.). Use the base form of the verb (no change) with all other subjects.


I work. We work.
You work.
He works. They work.
She works.

It works.


2. Negative Statements: Subject + Do/Does + Not + Verb

I do not work. We do not work.
You do not work.
He does not work. They do not work.
She does not work.
It does not work.

*There is no -s or -es ending on the verb. It remains in its base form.

3. Questions: Do/Does + Subject + Verb

Do I work? Do we work?
Do you work?
Does he work? Do they work?
Does she work?
Does it work?

*There is no -s or -es ending on the verb. It remains in its base form.

Present Progressive

A. Meaning:

The present progressive tense is used to describe an action or an event that is happening at the moment of speaking, or right now. The action is in progress; it started some time in the past and is not finished.

(g) John is sleeping.

(John started sleeping some time ago and he has not woken up yet.)

(h) I need an umbrella because it is raining.

(It started raining in the past and it is still raining now. It will stop in the future.)

You can also use the present progressive tense to express something that is temporary, although it is not happening at the moment of speaking. Temporary means that it is true for a while but will not always be true. It will end soon. You should be able to add this week, this month, this year, this semester, etc. to the sentence and still make sense.

(j) I am taking five courses this semester.

(This is true for this semester. I took 6 courses last semester and will take 4 courses next semester. This is only temporary.)

(k) John is trying to improve his work habits (this month).

This is true only this month. Perhaps he realized last month that he needed to improve his work habits. Once he improves in the future, he will stop trying.

B: Form

Affirmative Statements: Subject + Be + Verb-ing
*The Be auxiliary must agree with the subject in person and in number.

I am talking. We are talking.
You are talking.
He is talking. They are talking.
She is talking.
It is talking.

**Don't forget to include the BE auxiliary. If you do, the sentence will not be complete:

wrong She talking to the teacher.
right She is talking to the teacher.
wrong We looking for an apartment.
right We are looking for an apartment.

Negative Statements: Subject + Be + Not + Verb-ing

I am not talking. We are not talking.
You are not talking.
He is not talking. They are not talking.
She is not talking.
It is not talking.

Questions: Be + Subject + Verb-ing

Am I talking? Are we talking?
Are you talking?
Is he talking? Are they talking?
Is she talking?
Is it talking?

Stative Verbs

Stative verbs are those that do not describe an action but rather conditions or situations. They express mental activities or observations. You cannot see the verb happening with your eyes because it describes a mental state (action of the mind), emotional state (feelings), possession, sense perception, or other existing states. These verbs must be in the simple tense but never in the progressive:

wrong I am liking this food very much.
right I like this food very much.
wrong My sister is knowing my teacher.

right My sister knows my teacher.

The only exceptions are the sense perception verbs when they describe an action rather than a quality of something.

a. My mother is smelling the soup.

(I am describing my mother's action of putting her nose close to the soup.)

b. My mother smells nice.

(I am describing my mother's condition. She has put some perfume on and has a fragrant smell.)

When in doubt, just ask yourself, "Is someone or something doing something, or am I describing a condition?"

Am/Is/Are Being + Adjective

Adjectives are words that describe nouns (people, places, things, ideas). (see examples on p. 17) It is common to use BE + adjective to describe a state of something:


BE adjective

The joke is funny.
Japanese are polite.
The party is noisy
The law is unfair

In most cases, the BE verb is in the simple present tense, as in the above sentences. However, the BE verb can be in the progressive tense when describing a temporary state:

a. The children are being so rude today.

(They are usually very polite. This is a temporary condition.)
b. You are being illogical.

(You are usually very logical, but right now, you are not.)

c. Patricia is not being responsible with her money.

(She is usually very responsible, but perhaps she is experiencing a temporary financial trouble these days.)

Lecture Notes: An Overview of Verb Tenses

FIRST LECTURE: 21 Oct.2008

Lecture Notes: An Overview of Verb Tenses

Oftentimes, students of the English language are taught the forms, meanings and usage of verb tenses but not the reasons why verb tenses are so important. Why does English have so many tenses and how do they affect the overall meaning of the discourse? Why do English instructors and other native speakers demand correct verb tenses? So before we focus on the specific forms or meanings, we should look at the reasons for such a heavy emphasis on the correctness of verbs.

A. First of all, verbs are action words. Verbs explain what happened (or is happening, or will happen, etc.). Read the following sentences:

1. The students opened their books.

2. The bus will stop at the corner.

3. Sandra has traveled to South America and Asia.

In the first sentence, "opened" is the verb. It tells what the students did. In the second sentence, the verb "will stop" tells us what the bus will do. In the third sentence, the verb "has traveled" tells us what Sally has done.

As in the verbs above, we can actually see the action of the verbs with our eyes (e.g. we can see the students opening their books.). We can see the motion. However, there are many verbs which are not active at all, but are considered "stative". These verbs describe conditions or situations that exist. These verbs explain the state of the subject. Consider the following verbs:

4. Jeffrey likes playing with Gameboy.

5. Laura believes in God.

6. My father has his own business.

In sentence 4, the verb "likes" describes the emotional state of Jeffrey: How does Jeffrey feel about playing with Gameboy? In the fifth sentence, the verb "believes" describes the mental state of the subject, Laura. We can't see Laura believing in God because it is the condition of her mind and heart. In sentence 6, the verb "has" describes the father's work situation.

So in summary, verbs describe what is happening or what the condition or situation is. For English native speakers, it is most important to know the precise action or the condition of the subject. For example, if the subject is "my mother", people would want to know, "What about your mother? What happened with her? What does she do? What is her situation or condition?" So you can say, "My mother works as a computer programmer" or "My mother purchased a new car" or "My mother thinks that I should go to college."

B. English native speakers not only need to know the precise action of the subject, but also the exact time and manner of the action. It is important to say not only what happened but also when it happened and whether the action was completed or not. This is due to the fact that the Western way of thinking is linear; in other words, all events must be on a time line:

past<-------------------------------X----------------------------->future present

All actions and states, i.e. verbs, must fall somewhere on this time line. In some languages, it is only necessary to add a time word at the end of a sentence to indicate the time of the occurrence, e.g. "I eat pizza yesterday." But in English, one must change the form of the verb in order to express time. For example:

7. I eat pizza. (present habit)

8. I am eating pizza. (right now and I am not finished)

9. I ate pizza. (past action; finished)

10. I will eat pizza. (future action)

11. I have eaten pizza. (sometime before the present time; finished)

C. So far, we have talked about verbs in individual sentences. But what is more important is using correct verb tenses in a full discourse, such as conversation or a paragraph. Remember that English native speakers must be able to place all actions or states on a time line. But if verbs jump from one time to another with wrong tenses, native speakers will become very confused and will not be able to follow the ideas. Read the following paragraph:

1 The members of my family have done some interesting things in the last few years. 2 I start playing the piano. 3 I got the piano from my parents when they move to Florida a few years ago. 4 I bought some piano instruction books, and 5 I teach myself how to play. 6 My wife loves to travel, and 7 her job requires her to do that from time to time. 8 In the past few years she has traveled to Tokyo, London and Bangkok. 9 My daughter has been working in a children's theater group. 10 My younger daughter has begun taking art lessons and 11 is becoming quite a good artist. It is exciting to see everyone involved in such interesting activities.

Notice the time orientation determined by the first sentence. The paragraph begins with what the members of the family have done in the last few years, which implies activities done some time between the past and the present time. So the reader will expect to place all family activities in the rest of the sentences to fall somewhere between past and present. But because the verb in the second sentence "start" is in the present tense, the reader will be confused and ask "Why are we in the present? I thought we were going to talk about past activities." The third sentence is also confusing because the time indicated by the verb "move"(present) does not match with the time indicated by the first verb "got"(past) and the time expression "a few years ago"(past). The reader will not be able to place the action "move" on the time line because of the confusion. Sentence 4 is fine because the verb indicates that it happened in the past (in accordance with the time set by the first sentence), but sentence 5 suddenly jumps to the present. He bought the books in the past, so he must have started teaching himself in the past. If he is still teaching himself to play the piano, then it should read "I have been teaching myself how to play."

Sentences 6 and 7 should be in the present tense because these statements are true today, not just in the past. If the sentences said "My wife loved to travel, and her job required her to do that from time to time," then the reader would assume that the wife no longer loves to travel and that she does not travel anymore.

The important thing to remember is that once you establish the time frame (past, present, future), you must move back and forth linearly and logically; you must not make sudden jumps from one time to another. Always ask yourself how the verb is related in time to the verb(s) in the previous sentences. Always ask yourself, "Does the reader know where I am?" and make the answer clear to the reader with the verb tenses.

Course Description of Grammar 1