We can divide these verbs into three categories: ■ irregular verbs with the same past and past participle forms ■ irregular verbs with three distinct forms ■ irregular verbs with the sam
Trang 1I RREGULAR V ERBS
About 150 verbs in the English language are irregular They don’t follow the standard rules for changing tense.
We can divide these verbs into three categories:
■ irregular verbs with the same past and past participle forms
■ irregular verbs with three distinct forms
■ irregular verbs with the same present and past participle forms.
The table below lists the most common irregular verbs
Present Past Past Participle
Same past and past participle forms:
Present Past Past Participle
Three distinct forms:
Trang 2Present Past Past Participle
Present Past Past Participle
Same present and past participle forms:
S PECIAL C ASE : T O B E
The verb to be can pose special problems because the principal parts are formed in such unusual ways The table below shows how to conjugate to be:
H ELPING V ERBS
Helping verbs (also called auxiliary verbs) are very important They help signal exactly when an action took
place or will take place They also suggest very specific meanings, such as the subject’s ability or intention to
do something The following table lists the helping verbs, their forms, and their meanings
Trang 3PRESENT PAST MEANING EXAMPLES
& FUTURE
will, shall would intention I will go to the store right away.
She said she would give you the report.
Fatima could read by the time she was three.
may, might, could, might permission You may be excused.
should should + have + recommendation The nurse said I should lie down and rest.
past participle We should have given her better directions.
must, have (to) had (to) necessity Doctors must write very detailed notes
regarding each patient visit.
They had to get to the bank before it closed.
should should + have + expectation The doctor should have sent you a copy
They should have finished at the bank
by now.
may, might might + have + possibility The rebels may agree to a cease-fire.
past participle The revolution might not have succeeded
without their support.
Practice 3
Answer the questions below If the question has a blank, choose the correct answer to fill in the blank If the question has four underlined words or phrases, choose the underlined word or phrase that is incorrect You
will find the Answer Key in Appendix A
1 Kay and Sandy are _ the retirement dinner this year.
a to organize
b organize
c organizing
d organized
2 Lyle down as he approached the intersection.
a to slow
b slow
Trang 43 Last month, Lillian her bills with her credit card.
a to pay
b pay
c paying
d paid
4 Jack working overtime for the last three weeks.
a is
b was
c has been
d did
5 The band on my watch .
a break
b broke
c did breaking
d broken
6 He believes we go to a specialist right away.
a will
b must
c should
d would
7 Be very careful; that dog bite.
a may
b should
c would
d can
8 The thieves before the police could catch them.
a flew
b fled
c flied
d fleed
Trang 59 Neither the president nor the senators the outcome of the vote.
a to know
b know
c are knowing
d have known
10 Because the rain fell all night, the clogged drain pipe bursted and flooded the house.
a A
b B
c C
d D
S UBJUNCTIVE M OOD
The subjunctive mood of verbs is used to express something that is wished for or that is contrary to fact The
subjunctive form of was is were We often forget to use the subjunctive when we speak, but it is the
gram-matically correct form we should use in this situation And it’s quite possible that you will see a question about the subjunctive on the TOEFL exam
If you were a pet fish, you would be entirely dependent upon human beings (You are not a pet fish.)
If Andre were more responsible, he could be trusted with this job (Andre is not responsible.)
T ROUBLESOME V ERBS
Three sets of verbs are particularly troublesome, even for native speakers of English: lie/lay, sit/set, and
rise/raise The key to knowing which one to use is remembering which verb in each pair needs an object For
example, lie is an action that the subject of the sentence “performs” on itself: I will lie down The verb lay, on the other hand, is an action that the subject of the sentence performs on an object: He will lay the baby down
in the crib.
lie: to rest or recline (subject only)
lay: to put or place (needs an object)
Go lie down if you’re tired.
Lay the books down on the table.
sit: to rest (subject only)
set: to put or place (needs an object)
I’d like to sit at the corner table, please.
He set the books on the table in the corner.
Trang 6The basic forms of these verbs can also be a bit tricky The following table shows how each verb is con-jugated
Consistent Tense
To help make sure your readers are clear about when actions occur, it’s important to make sure your verbs
are consistent in tense A passage that begins in the present tense, for example, should stay in the present tense
Do not mix tenses as you write Otherwise, your readers will be confused about whether actions are taking place in the present or took place in the past
Incorrect: The officer unlocked the trunk and searches for contraband.
Correct: The officer unlocked the trunk and searched for contraband.
Incorrect: When we increase advertising expenses, we reduced profits.
Correct: When we increase advertising expenses, we reduce profits.
Agreement
An important element of English grammar is agreement In all sentences, verbs should agree with their
sub-jects Singular subjects need singular verbs; plural subjects need plural verbs
Incorrect: He always do a very good job (singular subject, plural verb)
Correct: He always does a very good job (singular subject, singular verb)
Incorrect: Sally and Vladimir is going to the movies (plural subject, singular verb)
Correct: Sally and Vladimir are going to the movies (plural subject, plural verb)
To make sure subjects and verbs agree, you need to make sure you are clear about the subject of the sentence
One of the chairs is broken.