Tag Archives: verb phrases

English 362: Ch. 6 Verbs & Jackie Chan, I Guess

Forms of Verbs

  • Non-tensed
    1. Base form —————- take
    2. -ing form —————– taking
    3.  -en form —————– taken
  • Tensed
    1. General present ——– take
    2. -s present —————- takes
    3. Past tense —————- took

Aspects

  • Progressive
    • Action is ongoing or was ongoing
    • Form of be + -ing form of next verb to the right
      • Forms of be: be, is, are, am, was, were
      • Example: Jackie Chan is starring in a new movie.
  • Perfect
    • Suggests action is terminal
    • Form of have + -en form of next verb to the right
      • Forms of have: have, has, had
      • Example: Jackie Chan has stolen Olivia’s heart.
  • Both Perfect and Progressive Aspects
    • Sentences can have both aspects
    • Form of have + been + -ing form of next verb to the right
      • Example: Olivia has been picking some crazy blog post themes.

All Together Now

  • Sentences can have multiple auxiliaries before reaching the lexical verb. All auxiliaries must follow this pattern:
    • Modal – Perfect – Progressive – Lexical Verb
  • Tense must be carried on the leftmost verb.
    • Examples:
      • She has been acting strange.  –> Has carries the tense, so this sentence is present tense.
      • We were going there next. –> Were carries the tense, so this sentence is past tense.
    • Most modals cannot carry tense. Here are examples of ones that can.
      • She used to come here. –> Used to is what’s known as a generic past.
      • She is going to exercise later. –> Going to is known as prospective tense.
      • More examples and explanations can be found on Pg. 107 of your book.