Verbs Tense, Mood, and Voice Flashcards
(24 cards)
Present Perfect
- When an action began in the past and continues in the present
- When “since” is used to convey that a subject has engaged in an action from the past to the present, the present perfect tense must be used.
- e.g., While Fiona lives in a city in which cars are rarely used, she has known how to drive since she was sixteen.
Present Perfect: Word Cues
Words that are clues indicating the use of present perfect may make sense
- For: Because he has lived in Vietnam for more than two years, she is fluent in Vietnamese.
- Over: Over the course of the last few days, it has become clear people in this office have become a team.
- During: During the semester, Juan has gone snorkeling in Mexico many times.
Past tense of “may”
Might
Past Perfect
Past perfect is used with the action that occurred deeper in the past, and the simple past tense is used with the action that occurred in the more recent past.
- e.g., Because of the unusual heat wave, by the time the guests arrived, the hotel, which had been composed mostly of ice, was gone.
- e.g., Upon returning to their house after the storm passed, the owners found it had withstood the storm’s high winds, sustaining little damage.
Past Perfect: Reverse Placement
- Incorrect: She had skipped the popcorn at the movies because she ate a big supper.
Past Perfect: Action completed by a certain time
The past perfect tense must be used to indicate that an action or event was completed before a specified date or time period in the past.
→ e.g., By 1910, everyone had learned the jitterbug.
BUT this is not always the case. If the sentence is not* about an action or event *completed by a time in the past, it can use another tense.
→ e.g., By the time the last of the 1988 Yellowstone fires were extinguished, burned forests extended for miles.
→ e.g., By 1910, many people from all walks of life were using electric cars.
→ e.g., By the time the game was over, many of the people in attendance were falling asleep in their seats.
Past Perfect: Don’t need if the sentence makes clear of the time sequence
- Before: Kim inspected the engine before she sat in the cockpit.
- After: Freddie purchased the sailboat after he learned to sail.
- Until: He was a prolific composer until his use of alcohol caught up with him.
Future Perfect
The future perfect tense indicates that an event hasn’t yet happened will be completed before another event that hasn’t yet happened or before a specific time in the future.
Indicates that a future event will have occurred by the time another event occurs.
- e.g., I will have traveled to 86 countries before this trip is over.
Future in the Past
Used when sentences about past events refers to events that were in the future when the past events occurred.
- Use would, the past tense version of will
- Was going to is also a future in the past structure
- e.g., Our guide said that he would be available to go whitewater rafting next week.
Continuous Tenses
- To discuss actions that are, were, or will be in progress
- Brings the reader’s attention to the temporarily ongoing nature of an action
- When to use continuous: when sentences involve reasons to highlight the ongoing nature of events
- e.g., In Yanis’s opinion, Nina is making a big mistake by moving to Los Angeles to pursue a career in acting, especially since she has no experience.
Subjunctive
- Usage: hypothetical or conditional situations, dreams, wishes, desires, or doubts. Also used in sentences involving commands, requests, or suggestions.
- e.g., Rust deteriorates a steel pipe to such an extent that it will snap easily, as though it were a twig.
Subjunctive: Key Words
- if, as if, were, as though, theoretically
- would, could
Subjunctive: Command
Request, suggestion, demand, or command words followed by the word “that” require the subjunctive mood.
- e.g., I request that the fabulous cat be available during my visit
- e.g., I insist that he respect me at dinner tonight.
Subjunctive: Command words
Advise, ask, command, decree, demand, desire, dictate, insist, mandate, order, pray, prefer, propose, recommend, request, require, stipulate, suggest, urge
Subjunctive: Command with no subjunctive
There are other ways of stating commands that don’t require the use of subjunctive. Use subjunctive only if the key command word is followed by that.
- Subjunctive: Often, a lender will require that a borrower purchase insurance.
- No subjunctive: Often, a lender will require a borrower to purchase insurance.
Subjunctive: “It is important that”
e.g., Believing it to be important that every senior employee understand the foundation of the company’s operations, the company’s management has many newly-hired executives work in entry level positions as part of their training and orientation.
Subjunctive: “were” + infinitive
- e.g., If Sheri were to arrive early, the surprise would be ruined.
Subjunctive: Past vs. Present Tense
- Incorrect: If scientists analyzing the atmosphere of the exoplanet were to find a gas that indicates the presence of life forms, they would have continued to search there for evidence of life.
- Correct: If scientists analyzing the atmosphere of the exoplanet had found a gas that indicates the presence of life forms, they would have continued to search there for evidence of life.
→ the “would have continued” indicates the sentence is discussing a hypothetical past situation.
Subjunctive: Don’t use when express uncertainty
Uncertainty ≠ hypothetical. Don’t use subjunctive mood for uncertainty.
- Trick: ask yourself, is the event possible? If possible → uncertainty
- e.g., If our representative was there that day, he can report what occurred.
Subjunctive: Conditional Mood
Used in sentences about conditions and results that are purely hypothetical.
- Combine “would” or “could” with a finite verb. “Will” or “can” describe actions or event that are actually possible.
- Incorrect: If it were possible to fly by flapping one’s arms, I will get home faster.
- Correct: If it were possible to fly by flapping one’s arms, I would get home faster.
Subjunctive: Conditional but not hypothetical
Don’t use subjunctive when a conditional statement doesn’t describe something purely hypothetical.
- e.g., If the engineers solve this problem, the robot will be the best in class.
- e.g., If the team has practiced diligently all week, they may win the debate tournament.
Verb Voice: Active vs. Passive
- Passive: form “to be” followed by the past participle of the main verb
- Most of the time, active voice is preferred
When Passive Voice is Preferred
Takeaway: Don’t rule out a sentence simply because it’s written in the passive voice. Seek out other more well-defined errors.
- When a sentence is about findings or research
- When the goal is to emphasize the receiver of an action
- When the doer of an action is unidentified in a sentence (doer is unimportant or unknown)
- When stating a general truth
- When a sentence is about the ingredients or contents of something (e.g., is made up of, composed of, filled with)
Would vs. Will
“Would” is used to describe a hypothetical situation.
- Incorrect: The fear of many climate scientists is that, by the time the reductions in carbon emissions that were codified in the 2015 Paris Agreement are fully realized, a catastrophic rise in atmospheric temperature would already have occurred.
- Correct: The fear of many climate scientists is that, by the time the reductions in carbon emissions that were codified in the 2015 Paris Agreement are fully realized, a catastrophic rise in atmospheric temperature will already have occurred.
