LESSON TWO

LESSON TWO
PAST, PRESENT, FUTURE, WHAT?

The form of the verb you use determines when the passage you write takes place.

EXAMPLES

PRESENT TENSE
Sally rides the bus to school.

PAST TENSE
Sally rode the bus to school.

FUTURE TENSE
Sally will ride the bus to school.

If it was this simple, however, we would all be masters of verb usage before we graduated from elementary school.
Let’s go back and break everything you need to know down.

The TENSES of a verb are the forms that help to show time.
         There are SIX tenses for each verb: present, past, future, present perfect, past perfect, and future perfect.
         All verb tenses are formed from the PRINCIPAL PARTS of a VERB.
         Each verb has four PRINCIPAL PARTS: a base form, a present participle form, a simple past form, and a past participle form.

SOME RULES ABOUT FORMING THE PRINCIPAL PARTS of a VERB
         1. The BASE FORM is the same as the PRESENT TENSE.
         2. The PRESENT PARTICIPLE always adds –ing to the BASE FORM.
         3. The SIMPLE PAST FORM adds –ed if the verb is a regular verb.
         4. The PAST PARTICIPLE FORM, if the verb is a regular verb, is the same as the SIMPLE PAST FORM, but requires the addition of has, have, or had.

REGULAR VERBS A verb is considered to be regular when the past and past participle forms are created using –ed or –d to the base form.

VERB/INFINITIVE FORM
to play

BASE/PRESENT FORM
play

PRESENT PARTICIPLE FORM
playing

SIMPLE PAST FORM
played

PAST PARTICIPLE FORM
played

IRREGULAR VERBS A verb is considered to be irregular when the past and past participle forms are created in some way other than adding –ed or –d to the base form:
         1. changing the vowel
         2. changing consonants
         3. adding –en
         4. changing most of the word
         5. making no change at all.

CHANGING THE VOWEL

VERB/INFINITIVE: to begin
BASE/PRESENT FORM: begin
PRESENT PARTICIPLE FORM: beginning
SIMPLE PAST FORM: began
PAST PARTICIPLE FORM: (have) begun

CHANGING THE CONSONANTS

VERB/INFINITIVE: to spend
BASE/PRESENT FORM: spend
PRESENT PARTICIPLE FORM: spending
SIMPLE PAST FORM: spent
PAST PARTICIPLE FORM: (have) spent

ADDING -EN

VERB/INFINITIVE: to write
BASE/PRESENT FORM: write
PRESENT PARTICIPLE FORM: writing
SIMPLE PAST FORM: wrote
PAST PARTICIPLE FORM: (have) written

CHANGING MOST OF THE WORD

VERB/INFINITIVE: to teach
BASE/PRESENT FORM: teach
PRESENT PARTICIPLE FORM: teaching
SIMPLE PAST FORM: taught
PAST PARTICIPLE FORM: (have) taught

NO CHANGE

VERB/INFINITIVE: to cut
BASE/PRESENT FORM: cut
PRESENT PARTICIPLE FORM: cutting
SIMPLE PAST FORM: cut
PAST PARTICIPLE FORM: (have) cut

CONJUGATION
The range and form of tenses are shown when a verb is conjugated.
To conjugate a verb means to walk through each tense in singular and plural and in each person.

WHEN & WHY TO USE EACH TENSE

SIMPLE TENSES
PRESENT TENSE
Present tense expresses

*a constant, repeated action
(Sam likes hot chocolate with marshmallows.)

*or habitual action or condition.
(Suzie always bakes bread during the holidays.).

*It can also express a general truth.
(The Mississippi River flows into the Gulf of Mexico.)

*It also expresses an action or condition that exists not always, but just now,
(Kathleen feels good about her job interview.)

*or at this very moment.
(I see a rabbit in the garden.)

PRESENT TENSE OF THE VERB “STAY” (a regular verb)
SINGULAR (S) PLURAL(P)
FIRST PERSON
I stay.(S) We stay.(P)
SECOND PERSON
You stay.(S) You stay.(P)
THIRD PERSON
She, he, or it stays.(S) They stay.(P)
Jordan stays.(S) The dogs stay.(P)

PAST TENSE
*The simple past tense expresses an action or condition that was started and completed in the past.
(The track meet went well.)
(Natalie set a new school record for the 100 meter back stroke.)

PAST TENSE OF THE VERB “STAY” (a regular verb)
SINGULAR(S) PLURAL(P)
FIRST PERSON
I stayed.(S) We stayed.(P)
SECOND PERSON
You stayed.(S) You stayed.(P)
THIRD PERSON
She, he, or it stayed.(S) They stayed.(P)
Jordan stayed.(S) The dogs stayed.(P)

FUTURE TENSE
*Future tense expresses and action or condition that will occur in the future.
(Ralph will order the flowers tomorrow.)

FUTURE TENSE OF THE VERB “STAY” (a regular verb)
SINGULAR(S) PLURAL(P)
FIRST PERSON
I will stay.(S) We will stay.(P)
SECOND PERSON
You will stay.(S) You will stay.(P)
THIRD PERSON
She, he, or it will stay.(S) They will stay.(P)
Jordan will stay.(S) The dogs will stay.(P)

PERFECT TENSES
PRESENT PERFECT TENSE
*The present perfect tense of a verb expresses
1. an action that has been completed at an indefinite time in the past
(The internet has made the world a smaller place.)
2. an action that started in the past and continues at the present time.
(The internet has helped people all over the world to stay in touch.)

PRESENT PERFECT TENSE OF THE VERB “STAY” (a regular verb)
SINGULAR(S) PLURAL
FIRST PERSON
I have stayed.(S) We have stayed.(P)
SECOND PERSON
You have stayed.(S) You have stayed.(P)
THIRD PERSON
She, he, or it has stayed.(S) They have stayed.(P)
Jordan has stayed.(S) The dogs have stayed.(P)

PAST PERFECT TENSE
*The past perfect tense expresses an action that took place (began and ended) before another past action.
(The steaks had burned to a crisp by the time I returned to the grill.)
(Pamela dedicated her novel to the writing club advisor who had encouraged her in high school.)

PAST PERFECT TENSE OF THE VERB “STAY” (a regular verb)
SINGULAR(S) PLURAL
FIRST PERSON
I had stayed.(S) We had stayed.(P)
SECOND PERSON
You had stayed.(S) You had stayed.(P)
THIRD PERSON
She, he, or it had stayed.(S) They had stayed.(P)
Jordan had stayed.(S) The dogs had stayed.(P)

FUTURE PERFECT TENSE
*The future perfect tense of a verb expresses a future action that will begin and end before another future event starts.
(Before the baby is born, I will have decorated the nursery.)

FUTURE PERFECT TENSE OF THE VERB “STAY” (a regular verb)
SINGULAR(S) PLURAL
FIRST PERSON
I will have stayed.(S) We will have stayed.(P)
SECOND PERSON
You will have stayed.(S) You will have stayed.(P)
THIRD PERSON
She, he, or it will have stayed.(S) They will have stayed.(P)
Jordan will have stayed.(S) The dogs will have stayed.(P)

NOTE: When a main verb is accompanied by one or more helping verbs, the verb is called a verb phrase.

DISCUSSION TOPIC
Which do you find easier writing: present, past, or future tense?
Which do you enjoy reading more: present, past, or future tense?
When you think about your own writing, do you use more simple tenses or perfect tenses?

ASSIGNMENT
PART I - For each sentence below, record the correct form (past or past participle) to use in the blank in the sentence. Use sentence context clues (have, has, or had) to determine which form is correct. (NOTE: The verb in parenthesis is given in its infinitive/base form.)
(throw) 1. The short stop should have ___ the ball to second base.
(freeze) 2. Has the lake___ yet?
(throw) 3. I ___ your old scrapbooks away.
(write) 4. Sally has ___ her poem on a napkin.
(see) 5. Have you ___ the film Handcock?
(swim) 6. Herbert ___ the 100 meter backstroke in yesterday's meet.
(shrink) 7. Either you have grown or your jeans have ___ a couple of inches.
(choose) 8. They have ___ the nominees for best novel of the year.
(blow) 9. The wind ___ the snow around all night.
(take) 10. Sam has not ___ his medication yet.
(give) 11. George's mom ___ Sally a ride to school.
(ride) 12. Have you ever __ a horse?
(drive) 13. I have never __ on that road before.
(come) 14. He __ home in time for supper.
(ring) 15. Have you __ the bell?
(happen) 16. This has __ too often to be a coincidence.
(see) 17. I __ him at the concert.
(take) 18. I have already __ six rolls of film.
(fall) 19. The lady had __ down the flight of steps.
(run) 20. Everyone __ through the woods.

PART II: Use the paragraph you wrote for Lesson One.
FIRST - Place parenthesis around each verb or verb phrase. Determine if you wrote the paragraph in present, past, or future. (If you find perfect tense verbs or progressive tense verbs, for the purpose of this assignment consider them present, past, or future.)
SECOND - Revise this paragraph and use present tense verbs if you wrote in past tense, BUT use past tense if the original paragraph is in present tense.
THIRD - Revise the same paragraph another time and use future tense verbs. (I don't think, as I write this, that any of the original paragraphs were in future tense; however, if they were, then revise it once in past and once in future.)

Label each paragraph as to tense.

EXAMPLE:
PAST
I went to Chicago for the weekend.
PRESENT
I go to Chicago when I am bored.
FUTURE
I will go to Chicago for a weekend in the spring.