STRUCTURE AND WRITTEN EXPRESSION

9. An understanding of engineering theories and problems are impossible until basic

A B
arithmetic is fully mastered.
C D

.10. The earliest the CVS (chorionic villus sampling) procedure in the pregnancy, the
A B ■c
greater the risk to the baby.
D

PROBLEMS W IT H T H E FO R K OF T H E VERB
It is c o m m o n in th e W ritten E x p r e ssio n p art o f th e T O E F L test fo r th e verb s to b e fo r m e d
in correctly. T h e r e fo r e , you s h o u ld c h e c k th e fo r m o f th e verb carefully. You sh o u ld b e fa­
m iliar w ith th e fo llo w in g verb form s: th e b ase fo r m , th e p r e se n t te n se , th e p r e se n t p a rtici­
p le , a n d th e p a st p a r ticip le . T h e fo llo w in g are e x a m p le s o f e a c h o f th e se verb fo r m s as
they are u sed in this text:

BASE PRESENT PAST

FORM* PRESENT PARTICIPLE PARTICIPLE

walk walk(s) walking walked walked

hear hear(s) hearing heard heard
cook cook(s) cooking cooked cooked
sing sing(s) singing sang sung
come come(s) coming came come
begin begin(s) beginning began begun

You sh o u ld b e particu larly aw are o f th e fo llo w in g th r e e p r o b le m a tic situ a tio n s w ith verb s
b e c a u se th ey a re th e m o st c o m m o n a n d th e e a sie st to co rrect: ( 1 ) c h e c k w h at c o m e s a fter
have; (2) c h e c k w hat c o m e s a fter be; a n d (3 ) c h e c k w h at c o m e s a fter will, w ould, a n d o th e r
m od als.

NOTE: A more complete list of verb forms and an exercise to practice their use are
included at the back of the text in Appendix F. You may want to complete this exercise
before you continue with skills 30 through 32.

S k i l l 30: AFTER HAVE, U S E T H E PAST PARTICIPLE

W h e n e v e r you s e e th e verb h a v e in any o f its fo r m s (have, has, having, h a d ), b e su re th a t

th e verb that fo llo w s it is in th e p ast p a r tic ip le form .

They had walk* to school. (should be had walked)

We have see* the show. (should be have seen)
H e has took* the test. (should be has taken)
H a v in g a t^ , he went to school. (should be H aving eaten)
She should have did* the work. (should be should have done)
 WRITTEN EXPRESSION

In a d d itio n , y o u sh o u ld b e su re th a t i f y o u h ave a su b ject a n d a p ast p a r tic ip le , y o u a lso

have th e verb have. T h is p r o b le m is p articu larly c o m m o n w ith th o s e v e rb s (su c h as sing,
sang, su n g ) th a t c h a n g e fr o m p r e se n t to p ast to p a st p a r ticip le by c h a n g in g o n ly th e vow el.

My friend sung* in the choir. (should be sang or has sung)

H e become* angry at his friend. (should be became o r has become)
T he boat sunk* in the ocean. (should be sank or has sunk)

T h e fo llo w in g c h a r t o u tlin e s th e u se o f verb fo r m s a fter have:

VERB FORMS AFTER HAVE________________________

_____________________ __
HAVE past participle
. ________

E X E R C ISE 30: E ach o f th e fo llo w in g s e n te n c e s c o n ta in s a v e rb in th e p a st o r a p ast p ar­

tic ip le . U n d e r lin e th e verb s o r p ast p a r ticip le s tw ice. T h e n in d ic a te i f th e s e n t e n c e s are
c o r r e c t (C ) o r in c o r r e c t (I).

' 1. T h e young girl drunk a glass o f milk.

C 2. Before she left, she had asked her m other for perm ission.

_____ 3. H aving finished the term paper, he began studying for the exam .
_____ 4. T h e secretary has broke her typewriter.
_____ 5. T he installer should have com pletes the task m ore quickly.
_____ 6. H e has often becom e angry during meetings.
_____ 7. She has rarely rode her horse in the park.
_____ 8. Having saw the film, he was quite disappointed.
_____ 9. Tom has thought about taking that job.
_____ 10. You m ight have respond m ore effectively.

S k i l l 31: AFTER BE, USE T H E PRESENT PARTICIPLE O R T H E

PAST PARTICIPLE

T h e verb be in an y o f its fo r m s (a m , is, are, was, were, be, been, being) can b e fo llo w e d by a n ­
o th e r verb . T h is verb s h o u ld b e in th e p r e se n t p a r ticip le or th e p ast p a r tic ip le fo r m .
We are dai* our hom ework. (should be are doing)
T he hom ework was do* early. (should be was done)
Tom is take* the book. (should be is taking)
T he book was take* by Tom. (should be was taken)

T h e fo llo w in g c h a r t o u tlin e s th e u se o f verb fo r m s a fter be:

VERB FORMS AFTER BE

BE + (1) present participle

■ ■. , ' .. : ■
(2) past parti cple
 STRUCTURE AND WRITTEN EXPRESSION

E X ER C ISE 31: E ach o f th e fo llo w in g s e n te n c e s c o n ta in s a verb fo r m e d w ith be. U n d e r lin e

th e verbs tw ice. T h e n in d ic a te if th e s e n te n c e s are c o r r e c t (C ) o r in c o r r e c t (I).

I 1. At 12:00 Sam is eat his lunch.

C 2. We are m eeting them later today.

3. The message was took by the receptionist.

4. Being heard was extrem ely im portant to him.

5. The Smiths are build their house on som e property that they own in the desert.

6. It had been noticed that som e staff m embers were late.

7. The report should have been subm it by noon-.

8. Are the two com panies m erge into one?

9. He could be taking four courses this semester.

10. The score inform ation has been duplicates on the back-up disk.

S k i l l 32: AFTER W ILL.W O ULD , O R O TH ER M ODALS, USE T H E BASE

FORM OF T H E VERB

W h e n e v e r y o u s e e a m o d a l, su c h as will, w ould, shall, should, can, could, may, m ight, o r must,

y o u sh o u ld b e su re th at th e verb th a t fo llo w s it is in its base form .

T he boat will leaving* at 3:00. (should be will leave)

T he doctor may arrivess* soon. (should be may arrive)
T he students must taken* the exam . (should be must take)

T h e fo llo w in g ch a rt o u d in e s th e u se o f verb fo r m s after m odals:

VERBS FORMS AFTER MODALS

MODAJ. + main form o f th e verb

EXER CISE 32: E a ch o f th e fo llo w in g s e n te n c e s c o n ta in s a verb fo r m e d w ith a m o d a l. U n ­

d e r lin e th e verbs tw ice. T h e n in d ic a te i f th e s e n te n c e s are c o r r e c t (C) o r in c o r r e c t (I).

—-— 1. The salesclerk m ight lower the price.

— !— 2. T he television movie will finishes in a few minutes.

3. Should everyone arrive by 8:00?

4. T he m ethod for organizing files can be improved.

 WRITTEN EXPRESSION

_____ 5. The m achine may clicks o ff if it is overused.

_____ 6. Every m orning the plants must be watered.

_____ 7. The houses with ocean views could sell for considerably m ore.

_____ 8. Would anyone liked to see that movie?

_____ 9. I do n ot know w hen it will depart.

_____ 10. She will work on the project only if she can has a full-time secretary.

EX ER C ISE (S k ills 3 0 - 3 2 ) : U n d e r lin e th e verb s tw ice in th e fo llo w in g se n te n c e s . T h e n in ­

d ica te i f th e s e n te n c e s are c o r r e c t (C ) o r in c o r r e c t (I).

_____ 1. I have gave you all the m oney that I have.

_____ 2. The articles were put in the newspaper before he was able to stop production.

_____ 3. All the tickets for the concert m ight already be sold.

_____ 4. H e was so thirsty that he drunk several large glasses o f water.

_____ 5. The deposit will has to be paid before the apartm ent can be rented.

_____ 6. H e objects to being held without bail.

____ _ 7. Having com pleted the first chapter o f the manuscript, she decid ed to take a break.

_____ 8. If Steve had really wanted to pass his exam , he would has studied m uch m ore.

_____ 9. H e thought that he sh ould have be invited to attend the conference.

_____ 10. Before the speaker finished, many guests had rose from their seats and started for
the door.

T O E F L E X E R C ISE (S k ills 3 0 -3 2 ): C h o o se th e le tte r o f t h e u n d e r lin e d w o r d o r g r o u p o f

w ords th a t is n o t c o rr ec t.

_____ 1. Alice in Wonderland, first published in 1865, has since being translated into thirty
A B C D
languages.

_____ 2. The Peace Corps was establish on March 1, 1961, by then President John F. Kennedy.
A B C D

_____ 3 . The advisor told himself, while listening to the speech, that a dozen other reporters
~A~ B
would has already asked that question.
C D
 STRUCTURE AND WRITTEN EXPRESSION

. 4. At the start of the American Revolution, lanterns were hung in the Old North Church
~A~ B C
as a signal that the British were came.
D
. 5. Before he died, Linus Pauling had wins two Nobel Prizes: the 1954 Nobel Prize
~A B C
in Chemistry and the 1962 Nobel Peace Prize.
D
. 6. On the huge Ferris wheel constructed for a world exhibition in Chicago in 1893,
~A~ B
each of the thirty-six cabs could held sixty people.
C HET
.7 . To overcome rejection of a skin graft, a system for matching donor and recipient
A B C
tissues has be developed.
TT
_ 8. Nails are commonly makeof steel butalso can contain substances such as aluminum
~A~ B “C D
or brass.

.9 . A patient suffering from amnesia may had partial or total loss of memory.
~B C~ "D-
_10. Theidea o f using pure nicotine to help smokers stop was first tries in the mid-1980s
~A~ B — ~D ~
with the nicotine-laced chewing gum Nicotette.

TO EFL REVIEW EXERCISE (Skills 1-32): C h o o se th e le tte r o f th e w o rd o r g r o u p o f

w ord s th a t b e st c o m p le te s th e s e n te n c e .

. separates Manhattan’s Upper East 4. W hen. _on July 4, 1789, the federal
Side from the Upper West Side. tariff, intended by the Founding Fathers to
be the government’s primary source of
(A) Central Park
revenue, was remarkably evenhanded.
(B) Where Central Park
(C) Where is Central Park (A) was first enacted
(D) Central Park which (B) first enacted
(C) was enacted first
2. Bioluminescent anim als_____ the water or (D) it first
on land.
. inclined to push for such a
(A) live
reduction, it would probably not be
(B) are living either
successful.
(C) they are found in
(D) can be found in (A) The Office of Management
(B) The Office of Management was
3. The purpose of a labor union is to improve (C) In the Office of Management
the working conditions,_____ , and pay of (D) Were the Office of Management
its members.
(A) jobs are secure
(B) to be secure
(C) job security
(D) the job's security
 WRITTEN EXPRESSION

C h o o se th e le tte r o f th e u n d e r lin e d w o rd o r g r o u p o f w ords th a t is n o t c o r r e c t.

-------- 6. Helium has the most low boiling point of all substances.
~A~ B " C D

--------7. There is twenty-six bones in the human foot, fourteen of them in the toes.
A B ~C~ D

-------- 8. Extension of the countdown hold to fourteen hours was order to give crews
~A~ B
more time to repair wiring and clear away equipment.
C D

--------9. The study demonstrates that neither experience or awareness will improve chances
A B ~C D
of success.

--------10. Som e of the eye movements used in reading is actually unnecessary.

~A~ B C D

PROBLEMS W IT H T H E USE O F T H E VERB___________________

M any d iffe r e n t p r o b le m s in u s in g th e c o r r e c t verb te n se are p o ssib le in E n g lish . H ow ever,

fo u r sp e c ific p r o b le m s o c c u r fr eq u e n tly o n th e T O E F L test, so y o u n e e d to pay c a r e fu l at­
te n tio n to th e s e four: ( 1 ) k n o w in g w h e n to u se th e past w ith th e p r e se n t, ( 2 ) u s in g h a d
a n d have correctly, (3 ) u s in g th e c o r r e c t te n se w ith tim e e x p r e s sio n s, a n d (4 ) u s in g th e
c o r r e c t te n s e w ith w ill a n d would.

S kill 33: K N O W W H E N T O USE T H E PAST W IT H T H E PRESENT

O n e verb te n s e p r o b le m th a t is c o m m o n b o th in stu d e n t w ritin g a n d o n th e T O E F L te st is

th e sw itch fro m th e p ast te n s e to th e p r e se n t te n se fo r n o p articu lar r e a s o n . O fte n w h e n a
s e n te n c e h as b o th a p ast te n s e a n d a p r e se n t te n se , th e s e n te n c e is in c o r r e c t.

H e took the m oney w hen he wants* it.

T h is s e n te n c e says th at he took the money (in th e past) when he w a n ts it (in th e p r e s e n t). T h is

m e a n in g d o e s n o t m a k e an y se n se; it is im p o ssib le to d o s o m e th in g in th e p a st as a r esu lt
o f s o m e th in g y o u w a n t in th e p r e se n t. T h is s e n te n c e can b e c o r r e c te d in sev era l ways, d e ­
p e n d in g o n th e d e s ir e d m e a n in g .

H e took the m oney when he wanted it.

H e takes the m oney when he wants it.

T h e first e x a m p le m e a n s th a t he took the money (in th e past) when he w an ted it (in th e p a st).
T h is m e a n in g is lo g ic a l, a n d th e s e n t e n c e is co rr ec t. T h e s e c o n d e x a m p le m e a n s th a t he
takes the money (h a b itu a lly ) w hen he w ants it (h ab itu ally). T h is m e a n in g is a lso lo g ic a l, a n d
th e s e c o n d e x a m p le is also c o rr ec t.