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Sentence Construction


TalonRider

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Part 3 Verb tenses:

Since verbs are at the heart of sentences, let?s look closely at how they?re formed. The tense of the verb refers to when something is occurring.

Present tense.

  • An action taking place right now. We are distributing accounting reports today.

  • An action that goes on continually. I see Mary every day.

A general truth. Holidays are fun.

Past tense.

  • An action that occurred in the past. I finished that report yesterday.

Future tense.

  • An action that will occur in the future. Will is used to support the action taking place. Mary will attend the meeting on Thursday.

  • Shall is used only in the following ways, and then only in formal situations:

1. When expressing future tense in the first person. Yes, I shall be at the ball on Saturday night.

2. When expressing intent or promise in the second or third persons. The police shall make the perpetrators responsible for their actions. We shall overcome the considerable obstacles against our company?s financial future.

Should vs. would:

Would is used in all circumstance except in instances that express a possibility, or an obligation/requirement of some kind. In those cases, should is used.

Should he call this afternoon, tell him the meeting has been canceled. (Possibility.)

I should get that completed form to you by next Tuesday. (Probability.)

Bill should stay late this afternoon to make up for his long lunch hour. (Requirement/obligation.)

Caution: Do not use shall and should interchangeably.

Prefect tenses

The perfect tenses indicate that an action was or will be completed before another time or action. The perfect tenses consist of the verb?s past participle by a form of the helping verb have.

Present perfect

An action that was done in the past, but continues into the present.

Form the present perfect by using has or have (singular or plural as determined by the subject) and a past form of the main verb.

As of today, Mary has finished only four of the six documents.

The feud between Operations and Marketing has gone on for years.

Past perfect

An action that has finished before a second action, both in the past.

Form the past perfect by using had with a past form of the main verb.

I had sent the report before I received the request.

Linda had already left the office by the time he called.

Future perfect

An action that will be finished by some specific time in the future, or before some other future event occurs.

For the future perfect by combining will have with a past form of the main verb.

By the time I see you, I will have finished my master?s degree.

Peter will have spoken to Linda before the meeting on Thursday.

Verb tense and usage

....Verb tense..............................Is use for...........................Example

Simple present.........Actions taking place in the..............write

.........................................present

Present perfect.........A finished action that is part of.......has written

.........................................a continuing series of actions have written

Simple past..............A finished past action....................wrote

Past perfect.............A finished past action that..............had written

........................................preceded another finished

........................................past action

Simple future...........A future action..............................will write

Future perfect..........A future action that will be..............will have written

.......................................completed before another

.......................................future action, or by a specific

.......................................future time

Subjunctive voice

The subjunctive voice is used to express something that is not presently true: a wish, a suggestion, or a condition that is contrary to fact.

Use either the past tense or were in the part of the sentence that is not true (often, the part of the sentence with the word if).

I wish I were not so run-down with the flu.

If Nick insulted people less often, he would have a better relationship with his coworkers.

Caution: Do not use would have in place of an if clause.

Incorrect: If Nick would have insulted people less often at work, he might still have a job.

Correct: If Nick had insulted people less often at work, he might still have a job.

After verbs that express desire (demand, insist, require, recommend) use the infinitive form of the verb with the to.

I demand that you return the receipts, or you will not be reimbursed.

The school recommends that you submit three letters of recommendation.

Modifiers

The simplest way to expand sentences is to add modifiers to describe or limit the nouns and verbs. Modifying words add detail.

Exercise 4 ? Verb Tenses

What verb tenses are the bold portions of these sentences in? Write the correct tense for each of the following.

1. I had already spent the money for the copy machine when I remembered that we needed a new desk. _____________

2. You will find that the atmosphere here is incredibly welcoming to recent college graduates. _____________

3. Vita is looking for a new hobby, since her old hobby became a multimillion-dollar business. _____________

4. When the clock strikes 5:30, I will have been here for over twenty-four hours. _____________

5. Charles has waited for an hour to talk to Annika, but she is still occupied in a closed-door meeting. _____________

6. I spoke to Human Resources about the lack of soap in the bathrooms, but it did not do much good. _____________

7. Each year, without fail, Felipe reviews the performance of every employee in February. _____________

8. Upper management will have made a decision about next year?s budget before we meet again to discuss our departmental plans. _____________

9. We have found that the best method of recycling paper is to reuse the blank side as scratch paper. _____________

10. Alva had recruited 15 clients for the business before we realized that he doesn?t always present our services accurately. _____________

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(Peeks around the corner looking for Wibby)

This is looking a little lonely so I?ll be the guinea pig again.

1. past perfect

2. future tense

3. present tense

4. future perfect

5. present perfect

6. past tense

7. present tense

8. future perfect

9. present perfect

10. past perfect

Sharon

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Part 3 Verb tenses:

Since verbs are at the heart of sentences, let?s look closely at how they?re formed. The tense of the verb refers to when something is occurring.

Present tense.

  • An action taking place right now. We are distributing accounting reports today.

  • An action that goes on continually. I see Mary every day.

A general truth. Holidays are fun.

Past tense.

  • An action that occurred in the past. I finished that report yesterday.

Future tense.

  • An action that will occur in the future. Will is used to support the action taking place. Mary will attend the meeting on Thursday.

  • Shall is used only in the following ways, and then only in formal situations:

1. When expressing future tense in the first person. Yes, I shall be at the ball on Saturday night.

2. When expressing intent or promise in the second or third persons. The police shall make the perpetrators responsible for their actions. We shall overcome the considerable obstacles against our company?s financial future.

Should vs. would:

Would is used in all circumstance except in instances that express a possibility, or an obligation/requirement of some kind. In those cases, should is used.

Should he call this afternoon, tell him the meeting has been canceled. (Possibility.)

I should get that completed form to you by next Tuesday. (Probability.)

Bill should stay late this afternoon to make up for his long lunch hour. (Requirement/obligation.)

Caution: Do not use shall and should interchangeably.

Prefect tenses

The perfect tenses indicate that an action was or will be completed before another time or action. The perfect tenses consist of the verb?s past participle by a form of the helping verb have.

Present perfect

An action that was done in the past, but continues into the present.

Form the present perfect by using has or have (singular or plural as determined by the subject) and a past form of the main verb.

As of today, Mary has finished only four of the six documents.

The feud between Operations and Marketing has gone on for years.

Past perfect

An action that has finished before a second action, both in the past.

Form the past perfect by using had with a past form of the main verb.

I had sent the report before I received the request.

Linda had already left the office by the time he called.

Future perfect

An action that will be finished by some specific time in the future, or before some other future event occurs.

For the future perfect by combining will have with a past form of the main verb.

By the time I see you, I will have finished my master?s degree.

Peter will have spoken to Linda before the meeting on Thursday.

Verb tense and usage

....Verb tense..............................Is use for...........................Example

Simple present.........Actions taking place in the..............write

.........................................present

Present perfect.........A finished action that is part of.......has written

.........................................a continuing series of actions have written

Simple past..............A finished past action....................wrote

Past perfect.............A finished past action that..............had written

........................................preceded another finished

........................................past action

Simple future...........A future action..............................will write

Future perfect..........A future action that will be..............will have written

.......................................completed before another

.......................................future action, or by a specific

.......................................future time

Subjunctive voice

The subjunctive voice is used to express something that is not presently true: a wish, a suggestion, or a condition that is contrary to fact.

Use either the past tense or were in the part of the sentence that is not true (often, the part of the sentence with the word if).

I wish I were not so run-down with the flu.

If Nick insulted people less often, he would have a better relationship with his coworkers.

Caution: Do not use would have in place of an if clause.

Incorrect: If Nick would have insulted people less often at work, he might still have a job.

Correct: If Nick had insulted people less often at work, he might still have a job.

After verbs that express desire (demand, insist, require, recommend) use the infinitive form of the verb with the to.

I demand that you return the receipts, or you will not be reimbursed.

The school recommends that you submit three letters of recommendation.

Modifiers

The simplest way to expand sentences is to add modifiers to describe or limit the nouns and verbs. Modifying words add detail.

Exercise 4 ? Verb Tenses

What verb tenses are the bold portions of these sentences in? Write the correct tense for each of the following.

1. I had already spent the money for the copy machine when I remembered that we needed a new desk. _____________

2. You will find that the atmosphere here is incredibly welcoming to recent college graduates. _____________

3. Vita is looking for a new hobby, since her old hobby became a multimillion-dollar business. _____________

4. When the clock strikes 5:30, I will have been here for over twenty-four hours. _____________

5. Charles has waited for an hour to talk to Annika, but she is still occupied in a closed-door meeting. _____________

6. I spoke to Human Resources about the lack of soap in the bathrooms, but it did not do much good. _____________

7. Each year, without fail, Felipe reviews the performance of every employee in February. _____________

8. Upper management will have made a decision about next year?s budget before we meet again to discuss our departmental plans. _____________

9. We have found that the best method of recycling paper is to reuse the blank side as scratch paper. _____________

10. Alva had recruited 15 clients for the business before we realized that he doesn?t always present our services accurately. _____________

Exercise 4 ? Verb Tenses Answers

1. past perfect

2. simple future

3. simple present

4. future perfect

5. present perfect

6. simple past

7. simple present

8. future perfect

9. present perfect

10. past perfect

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  • 3 years later...

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