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The 5 Properties of Verbs
The 5 Properties of Verbs
In the English language, verbs have five properties. These are person, number, tense, mood, and
voice.
Understanding these five properties of verbs can give you a better understanding of how verbs
are used and how you can use them to communicate more clearly and effectively.
Notice that the pronouns “you” and “they” can be either singular or plural, but the verb forms are
the same regardless of number.
Tense: The 3rd Property of Verbs
The tense property of a verb tells us when the action took place and indicates whether or not it is
a continuous or completed action.
The English language has twelve tenses, which can be subdivided into three categories: past,
present, and future. The tenses in each of these categories can be further subdivided into simple,
perfect, progressive, and perfect progressive.
Now let’s break that down so it’s easy to understand. (I promise, it’s not as complicated as it
seems!)
Past, Present, and Future Tenses
Every action either happened in the past, is happening in the present, or will happen in the future.
Below are the simple past, present, and future tenses.
Past: “I ran”
Present: “I run”
Future: “I will run”
The Perfect Tenses
Half of the English tenses are perfect tenses. They indicate a completed action and use the
helping verb “to have” along with the past participle form of the verb.
If you don’t understand participles, don’t worry — you’ll catch on from the examples. Or you
could check out Merriam-Webster’s definition.
Past perfect: “I had run”
Present perfect: “I have run”
Future perfect: “I will have run”
The Progressive Tenses
Six of the twelve English tenses are progressive tenses. These tenses are for actions that are
ongoing or continuous.
The progressive tenses are formed by adding the appropriate form of the verb “to be” onto the
present participle of the main verb. (That means “was” for the past, “is” for the present, and “will
be” for the future. The present participle is the form ending in “-ing.”)
Past progressive: “I was running”
Present progressive: “I am running”
Future progressive: “I will be running”
The perfect progressive tenses are made up of the perfect forms of the verb “to be” along with
the present participle of the main verb.
Past perfect progressive: “I had been running”
Present perfect progressive: “I have been running”
Future perfect progressive: “I will have been running”
Singular: “I write”
Plural: “We write”
Tense
Past: “I wrote”
Present: “I write”
Future: “I will write”
Past perfect: “I had written”
Present perfect: “I have written”
Future perfect: “I will have written”
Past progressive: “I was writing”
Present progressive: “I am writing”
Future progressive: “I will be writing”
Past perfect progressive: “I had been writing”
Present perfect progressive: “I have been writing”
Future perfect progressive: “I will have been writing”
Mood
Active: “I wrote”
Passive: “The book was written”