UNIT 3

Verbs in English
A verb in syntax is a part of speech which conveys
1. action (bring, read, walk, run, learn)
2. or state of being (exist, stand)

Sentences in English have a main verb which is stated in a tense (simple present,
simple past, simple future...)
Inflections

Verbs are inflected, modified in form, when conjugated. For example, verbs take s, ed or
ing in some of its forms depending on the tense and the subject-verb agreement.
 Agreement
In English a verb may agree with the person and number of its subject. For example,
verbs take s in the third person singular of the simple present:

When the verb to have conjugates in the third person singular of the simple present, the
right inflection is has NOT haves
 Transitive or intransitive verbs
Verbs can be classified according to whether they are transitive or intransitive verbs:

Intransitive: the verb only has a subject.

For example: he runs - it falls.

Transitive: the verb has a subject and a direct object.

For example: she speaks English - we visit him.
The verb to be is the most important verb in the English language. It is difficult to use
because it is an irregular verb in almost all of its forms.
Examples:
● Is Brad Pitt French?
● No, he isn't. He's American.
● What about Angelina Joli? Is she American, too?
● Yes, she is. She is American.
Use of the simple present of to be
The principal use of the simple present is to refer to an action or event that takes place habitually,
but with the verb "to be" the simple present tense also refers to a present or general state, whether
temporary, permanent or habitual.
● I am happy.
● She is helpful.
The verb to be in the simple present can be also used to refer to something that is true at the
present moment.
● She is 20 years old.
● He is a student.

Remember:
● I, you, he, she, it, you, they are subject pronouns (also called personal pronouns, a term
used to include both subject and object pronouns.)
● am, are, is are forms of the verb to be in the simple present.
● 'm, 're, 's are short (contracted) forms of am, are, is
● 'm not, aren't, isn't are short (contracted forms) of am not, are not, is not.
The use of the simple present:
The simple present is used:
● to give your opinion - I like ice cream. I don't like spicy food.
● to talk about schedules - The library opens at eight. It doesn't open at 7.
● to talk about daily habits (routine actions)- Sara eats a cheese for
breakfast every day. She doesn't eat cereal.
● to give facts - The earth circles the sun. The moon doesn't circle the sun.
 Things to remember about the simple present:
1.In the interrogative forms, we use "do" or "does".
● "Do you like the house?"
● "Does she go to school?"
2; Verbs never take an "s" in the the negative and interrogative forms.
● "Does he speak German?"
● "Do they play soccer?"
● She doesn't like ice cream.
3. don't is the short form of "do not". You can say either:
● I do not speak Italian, or
● I don't speak Italian.
4.doesn't is the short form of "does not". you can say either:
● He does not listen to jazz music, or
● He doesn't listen to jazz music.
Stative verbs
Stative verbs have undefined duration. they denote states rather than actions.
Examples of statives are:
want, know, have (when it means possession), think (when it means opinion), like,
love, hate, need, prefer, agree, sound, hear disagree, wish, look (when it mean seem),
smell, seem, include...
You cannot say:
● I am knowing the truth.
● I am liking pizza.
● It is sounding like a great idea.
But you must say:
● I know the truth.
● I like pizza.
● It sounds like a great idea.
Dynamic verbs
As opposed to a stative verb, a dynamic (or action) verb shows continued or
progressive action on the part of the subject.
Examples of dynamic verbs (dynamic verbs) are:
act, build, complete, design, develop, draw, fix, gather, handle, head, help, improve,
interview, introduce, justify, listen, lead, measure, narrate, negotiate, orchestrate,
originate, outline, perform, persuade, predict, regulate, record, save, show, study,
target, transform, travel, treat, uncover, unveil, use, validate, value, visualize, widen,
write, zap, zoom...
These verbs can be used both in the simple and continuous forms:
● Look at her! She is acting foolishly. OR
She acts as a teacher in this movie.
● The company is targeting young customers with this new product.OR
We targeted a new market with that product.
Dynamic and stative
Some verbs can be both stative verbs and dynamic verbs depending on their meaning:
1. Be
● be = it is usually used as a stative verb - stative
He's an excellent guitarist.
● be = when it means behave or act, it can be used as a an action verb in the
continuous form. - dynamic
You are being silly.
2. Think
● think = to express an opinion, to believe - stative
I think it's a fantastic idea.
● think = consider, to reason about or reflect on, ponder, to have or formulate in the
mind - dynamic
I am thinking about my friend
Dynamic and stative
Some verbs can be both stative verbs and dynamic verbs depending on their meaning:
3. Have
● have = to possess, to own - stative
He has a beautiful car
● have = when it doesn't mean own or possess - dynamic
He's having lunch.
4. See
● see = to perceive with the eye, to understand - stative
I see what you mean.
● see = to meet, to be in the company of, to escort, to attend - dynamic
He's been seeing the same woman for eight years.
 Simple Present vs. Present Continuous
This lesson may be a review for many people, but do you know the difference
between I eat and I am eating? Is it okay to say I watch TV right now, or should you
say I am watching TV right now?

The Simple Present Tense is used for things that happen regularly, like this:
Sheila takes a shower every evening.
or for general facts, like this:
Birds fly in the sky.

The Present Continuous Tense is made by a be verb (am, is, are) + verb+ing.
It is used for things that are happening right now, like this:
I am taking a shower right now.
or for things that are happening nowadays, like this:
Many people are losing their jobs nowadays.
 The use of the simple past
The simple past is used principally to describe events in the past, but it also has some
other uses. Here are the main uses of the simple past.
Finished events in the past
● William Shakespeare wrote Hamlet.
● Christoph Columbus discovered America in 1492.
● He kissed her and left.
Past habitual action
● I visited them every day for a year.
● I drove to work every day when I worked with that company.
Events that were true for some time in the past
● He lived in Paris for 20 years.
● They talked on the phone for ten minutes.
→ → → → → →

→ → → →

→ → → → → →
→ → → →

→ → → →
→ → → →
 The use of the past continuous:
● We use the past continuous to say that somebody was in the middle of doing
something at a certain time in the past.
Example:
"This time yesterday, I was doing my homework."
● We use the past continuous to say that something happened in the middle of
something else:
Example:
"Bob burnt his hand when he was cooking dinner yesterday"
"While I was working in the garden, I hurt my back."
Remember:
● "Wasn't playing" and "weren't playing" are the short forms of "was not playing" and
"were not playing"
 Simple Past vs. Past Progressive Tense
Remember- the simple past talks about something that happened before. It happened and it finished.
Some words are regular and just have -ed added at the end like walked, helped, and played. Others are
irregular and have many variations like ate, began, and slept.

The past progressive talks about something that was happening before, but for a period of time. It uses
was or were + verb-ing like was eating or were playing. It gives a background for something that was
happening while a different event happened.

Example: While I was eating, the telephone rang.

So, during the time I was eating (let's say from 6:30-7:00 p.m.) somebody called my house (let's say they
called at 6:49p.m.) One thing happened (simple past) during the period of time another thing was
happening (past progressive.)

Here is another example: They saw an old man as they were walking down the street.
You can think of walking as a video. You see the movement. You see the time passing. Think of saw as a
photo. It is one point of time. You don't think of the time passing.
I dreamed in English when I was sleeping.
She was listening to the radio when the mail came.
They visited Sydney when they were traveling in Australia.
● We use the simple future for instant decisions.
Example: "I've left the door open; I'll close it."

● We use the simple future , when we predict a future situation:

Example: "She'll pass the exam. She's hardworking"

● We use the simple future with: "I (don't) think...", "I expect...", "I'm sure...", "I
wonder...", "probably".
Example: "It will probably rain tonight" , "I wonder what will happen?

● We use the simple future in conditional sentences type one. Example: "If I have enough
time, I'll watch the film."
Things to remember:
1. We don't use the simple future to say what somebody has already decided or arranged to
do in the future. We use instead either the present continuous or "going to + verb" (Future
plan) :
● Ann is traveling to New York next week. (NOT, "Ann will travel ")
● Are you going to watch television? (NOT "will you watch").
2. You can use shall instead of will for I and we:
● I shall play football.(Or, I will play ...)
● We shall play football. (Or, we will play ...)
3. 'll is the short form of will. You can say either:
● I will go, or
● I 'll go.
4. Won't is the short form of will not. You can say either:
● I will not go, or
 To be + going to + verb:
A. We use 'going to' to express the future when we intend to do something or have
decided to do something but did not arrange it. It is just an intention.
Example:
● A: The windows are dirty.
B: Yes I know. I'm going to clean them later.
= I've decided to clean them ,but I haven't arranged to clean them.

B. We also use 'going to' to make predictions.

● Watch out! you are going to break the glass.
● It's so cloudy! I think it's going to rain.
The present continuous for future plans:
The present continuous is used when we say what we have planned and arranged to do
at a specific time in the future. These are fixed plans with definite time and/or place.
Examples:
● I'm doing my homework this evening.
● I'm starting university in September.
● Sally is meeting John at seven o'clock this evening in a restaurant downtown.
We use the present continuous tense to talk about the future when an action or
situation is part of a plan, an arrangement, intention.
● Mary’s studying in the library. (now)
● She’s studying at Bethan’s house this evening. (future)
For future actions or situations using the present continuous, all the common future
time words and phrases can be used:
this afternoon/tonight/tomorrow/[next (week/month/year)]/the day after tomorrow/(future date)
[tomorrow (morning/afternoon/evening/night)]/[the (week/month/year/after next)]/on Christmas
in 2020 (or other year)/[in ___ (hours/days/weeks/months)/[___ (hours/weeks/months from now)]

Certain verbs, actions or situations in sentences cannot be used with the present
continuous with future meaning because they are not part of a plan, an arrangement
or an intention. The present continuous tense for the future can only be used when an
action or situation can logically be planned in advance:
My leg’s hurting next Thursday. Is NOT possible
He’s having an accident in December. Is NOT possible
It’s snowing next week. Is NOT possible
 How to use the Present Simple for the future
The Present Simple talks about general present situations showing generally accepted
facts or truth and also for showing habits and things that happen regularly, often,
sometimes, always, never etc.
The Simple Present tense is sometimes used in other ways:
● With a future time expression, to show an action that was previously planned or has
a regular timetable (work, classes, trains etc)
● Informal reporting of what people say.
● Stories, and talking about stories in informal narrative.
● Formal correspondence.
● Here comes ….. etc
Talking about planned actions or events.
To learn the English language well we have to see that there is not just one Future
tense. There are a number of different ways to talk about future actions or events.
The Simple present tense can be used to talk about future arrangements if a future
time expression is also used, or it is understood from the context.
(If there is no future time expression, people will usually understand the “habit”
meaning.)
Compare:
Sandra starts work at 8:00. We understand that this is normal for Sandra.
John starts work at 10:00 on Friday. We understand that this is a special
situation for this Friday, it is programmed and is seen to be a timetabled event.
Examples:
Quickly please children! Class starts in five minutes. (the class is programmed to start)
The train leaves at 8:43 on Friday (it has a fixed timetable)
I get up at six o’clock next Tuesday, I have to be in London at 8:00.
My mother leaves at 4:30 tomorrow afternoon. (her journey is already planned)
Use the simple present to express future scheduled events and timetables.
My flight leaves at 3:00 p.m. on Sunday.
Practice ends at 8:00 a.m. tomorrow.
The competition starts this weekend.
It also doesn’t hurt for students to get familiar with several verbs that are often used
to refer to scheduled events: begin, start, finish, arrive, leave, and end.
The future progressive tense is formed by adding will be to the ing form (gerund
form) of the main verb.
S + will + be + V-ing + C.
Affirmative:
I will/'ll be watching TV.
Negative
I will not/won't be watching a football match.
Interrogative
Will you be watching TV?

NOTE:
will be watching = 'll be watching will not be watching = won't be
Use of the future progressive

Future progressive tense is used to indicate action which will be taking place at some
time in the future.

Examples:

● I will be watching a football match next Sunday afternoon.

● We'll be working on our project this morning..
● When you arrive, I'll be sleeping .
● I will be leaving in a few minutes.
● We will be working tomorrow morning.
 The Future Continuous Tense Is for Action Verbs Only
It is important to note that the future continuous tense is only used with action verbs,
because it is possible to do them for a duration.

I will be being stressed tomorrow during my science test.

I will be stressed tomorrow during my science test.

When the sun comes out tomorrow, winter will be seeming like a distant memory.
When the sun comes out tomorrow, winter will seem like a distant memory.

After I study, I will be knowing all the answers for the test.
After I study, I will know all the answers for the test.

As you can see, only the simple future tense is suited to stative verbs (be and seem)
 [used to + VERB]
[didn’t + use to + VERB]

Example:
● I used to go to the beach every day.
● I didn’t use to go to the beach on Sundays.

It is better not to use used to in questions or negative forms; however, this is sometimes
done in informal spoken English. It is better to ask questions and create negative
sentences using simple past.

It can only be used in the simple past.

USE 1 Habit in the Past

Used to expresses the idea that something was an old habit that stopped in the past. It
indicates that something was often repeated in the past, but it is not usually done now.
Examples:
● Jerry used to study English.
● Sam and Mary used to go to Mexico in the summer.
● I used to start work at 9 o'clock.
● Christine used to eat meat, but now she is a vegetarian.
USE 2 Past Facts and Generalizations

Used to can also be used to talk about past facts or generalizations which are no longer
true.
Examples:
● I used to live in Paris.
● Sarah used to be fat, but now she is thin.
● George used to be the best student in class, but now Lena is the best.
● Oranges used to cost very little in Florida, but now they are quite expensive.
 Used to vs. Simple Past
Both simple past and used to can be used to describe past habits, past facts and past
generalizations; however, used to is preferred when emphasizing these forms of past
repetition in positive sentences. On the other hand, when asking questions or making
negative sentences, simple past is preferred.
Examples:
● You used to play the piano.
● Did you play the piano when you were young?
● You did not play the piano when you were young.
ACTIVE / PASSIVE
Examples:
● Jerry used to pay the bills. Active
● The bills used to be paid by Jerry. Passive
USE 1 Habit in the Past

Like used to and simple past, would always expresses the idea that something was an
old habit which stopped in the past. It says that an action was often repeated in the past,
but it is not usually done now. Unlike used to and simple past, would always suggests
that someone willingly acted that way and sometimes expresses annoyance or
amusement at the habit. It also often suggests the habit was extreme. To express the
opposite idea, we can say would never to indicate that someone never did something in
the past, but now they do.
Examples:
● She would always send me strange birthday gifts.
● Sam and Mary would always choose the most exotic vacation destinations.
● Sally would not always arrive early to class. She came late once or twice.
● Ned would always show up at our house without calling first.
● Mindy would not always walk to school. Sometimes, she took the bus.
● Christine would always come late to the meetings.
● Jeff would never pay for drinks when we went out together with our friends.
Refusing to do something or normally not doing something is also a form of habit.
ACTIVE / PASSIVE
● My mother would always make the pies. Active
● The pies would always be made by my mother. Passive
REMEMBER would always is Different
Would always is not exactly the same as used to or the simple past. Would always
cannot be used to talk about past facts or generalizations. It can only be used for
repeated actions.

Examples:
● Sarah was shy, but now she is very outgoing. Correct
● Sarah used to be shy, but now she is very outgoing. Correct
● Sarah would always be shy, but now she is very outgoing. Not Correct
Forms Related to Would Always
In addition to would always, English speakers often use would constantly, would often,
would forever or simply would. Although the last form would is correct, it is not suggested
because it can easily be confused with other verb forms such as the conditional or future
in the past. Similarly, speakers can use would rarely, would occasionally and would
seldom to express the idea that an action was not often repeated.
● Jerry would come to the parties every weekend.
● Jerry would constantly bring his girlfriend to the parties.
● Jerry would often bring his best friend to the parties.
● Jerry would occasionally bring his older brother to the parties.
● Jerry would seldom bring his sister to the parties.
● Jerry would never bring his younger brother to the parties.
Like simple future, future in the past has two different forms in English: would and was
going to. Although the two forms can sometimes be used interchangeably, they often
express two different meanings.
FORM Would
[would + VERB]
● I knew you would help him.
● I knew you would not help him.
FORM Was/Were Going To
[was/were + going to + VERB]
● I knew you were going to go to the party.
● I knew you were not going to go to the party.
USE 1 Future in Past
Future in the past is used to express the idea that in the past you thought something
would happen in the future. It does not matter if you are correct or not. Future in the past
follows the same basic rules as the simple future. "Would" is used to volunteer or
promise, and "was going to" is used to plan. Moreover, both forms can be used to make
predictions about the future.
Examples:
● I told you he was going to come to the party. plan
● I knew Julie would make dinner. voluntary action
● Jane said Sam was going to bring his sister with him, but he came alone. plan
● I had a feeling that the vacation was going to be a disaster. prediction
● He promised he would send a postcard from Egypt. promise
REMEMBER No Future in Time Clauses
Like all future forms, future in the past cannot be used in clauses beginning with time
expressions such as: when, while, before, after, by the time, as soon as, if, unless, etc.
Instead of using future in the past, you must use simple past.
● I already told Mark that when he would arrive, we would go out for dinner. Not Correct
● I already told Mark that when he arrived, we would go out for dinner. Correct

ACTIVE / PASSIVE
● I knew John would finish the work by 5:00 PM. Active
● I knew the work would be finished by 5:00 PM. Passive
● I thought Sally was going to make a beautiful dinner. Active
● I thought a beautiful dinner was going to be made by Sally. Passive