Verb Part C

Modal Verbs

Modal verbs, also known as conditionals, are a kind of auxiliary verb. They assist the main verb in suggesting ability, possibility, potential, expectation, permission, and obligation. When used with the main verb, modal verbs do not end with -s for the third-person singular.

can
could
may
might
must
ought to
shall
should
will
would

I may not want to see you again later.

They must give their time to a worthy cause.

She should tell him exactly how she feels.

Would you open the door for me?

A characteristic of modals is that they are used in inverted forms when a statement becomes a question.

We can come to the party. Can we come to the party?

He will go to the party. Will he go to the party?

There are three verbs that behave like modals some of the time, but like main verbs the rest of the time: dare, need to, and used to.

As Modals

Don’t you dare give him more candy!

I need to drive to the store.

I used to go to that school.

As Main Verbs

We dare not give them candy for breakfast.

I need more money.

I am used to the rattling my car makes.

MULTIPLE MODALS

Multiple modals are a dialect feature that uses two or more modals in a single sentence to emphasize possibility. While they are especially common in the Appalachian and Southern dialects of American English, they should be avoided in formal and academic speech and writing.

I might could go with you if you’ll let me get my coat.

It shouldn’t ought to rain today.

 Irregular Verb Inflections

Irregular verbs are hangers-on from previous versions of English, from centuries ago. Generally, they show their Germanic roots, and they come from a time before spelling was as regularized as it is today. It would be impossible to make a full account of all the variations of irregularly inflected English verbs in a work of this brief scope, but you will find them fully detailed in most dictionaries.

The most common irregular verb in English is to be.

This verb would normally cause problems for only the newest of English learners, but novice writers often make problems for themselves when they try to avoid forms of to be because they are so common.This leads to such offences as,

There existed no more cereal in the cabinet,

Instead of ,

There was no more cereal in the cabinet.

The present participle of to be is being and the past participle is been. The other two most common irregular verbs are to have (present participle: having, past participle:had) and to do (present participle: doing, past participle: done).

Following is a chart of other irregular verbs, with the most common at the top. I’ve included just their key irregular forms.

Infinitive  Past tense    participle

say              said           said
go               went           gone
take            took            taken
get              got             got/gotten
come         came           come
see            saw             seen
make         made          made
know         knew           known
give           gave           given
find            found          found
tell              told            told

think         thought       thought
become    became      become
feel              felt             felt
put               put             put
show       showed          shown
leave           left                left
bring         brought         brought
begin          began          begun
keep            kept             kept
hold             held             held
stand         stood             stood
hear           heard            heard
write           wrote            written
let                let                   let
mean         meant            meant
set              set                  set
meet           met                met
pay             paid               paid
sit               sat                  sat
speak        spoke            spoken
win             won                 won
run              ran                   run
lie                lay                   lain
lead            led                    led
read           read                 read
grow           grew                grown
lose            lost                    lost
fall              fell                   fallen
send            sent                   sent
build            built                   built
understand  understood    understood
draw             drew                 drawn
break            broke               broken
spend            spent                spent
cut                  cut                     cut
rise                 rose                  risen
drive              drove                driven
buy                bought              bought
wear                wore                  worn

choose          chose                chosen

Lay versus Lie

One of the most confusing sets of conjugations in English are the present and past forms of the verbs to lie: to recline and to lay: to put down (something or someone) Part of the confusion comes from the close similarity of the verbs, where to lay myself down is very close in meaning to lay me down. Most of the confusion,however, comes from the past tense of to lie being lay, which is the root form of to lay. 

Additionally, there seems to be some confusion about the fact that to lay is usually transitive, meaning that something must be laid (a direct object), and to lie is intransitive, meaning that nothing can be lied.

Infinitive: to lay, to lie Definition: to put something or someone down; to recline 

Simple present: lay/lays, lie/lies 

Simple past: laid, lay Past participle: laid, lain 

Present participle: laying, lying Bad: She is laying on the bed.

Good: She is lying on the bed.

Good: She lay on the bed yesterday.

Good: She should lie on the bed if she’s ill.

Good: She had lain on the bed all weekend.

Bad: Lie the pillows on the bed.

Good: Lay the pillows on the bed.

Bad: Yesterday she lay the pillows on the bed.

Good: Yesterday she laid the pillows on the bed.

Bad: She had laid on the bed until her neck hurt.

Good: She had lain on the bed until her neck hurt.

Gotten

In North American English, gotten is the past participle of to get, meaning obtained or received, while got is a past participle meaning possessed. The British tend to use got in both cases.

Brung

Brung is an informal and dialect past participle of to bring. While it is very common, it is best avoided in formal writing and speaking. One exception is the idiomatic phrase dance with the one who brung you,which means don’t ignore the people who helped you get where you want to be personally or professionally.

Writing with Consistent 

A common mistake of beginning or unsure writers is to change verb tenses and verb persons throughout their writing in inappropriate situations. 

For example: 

Bad: We stood on the steps and chatted.Then you kiss me and I kiss you back. We both sighed.

Good: We stood on the steps and chatted. Then she kissed me and I kissed her back.We both sighed.

Good: We stand on the steps and chat. Then she kisses me and I kiss her back. We both sigh.

Good: We stand on the steps and chat. Then you kiss me and I kiss you back. We both sigh.

Usually this happens because the writer is attempting to recreate the messiness of spoken speech. Many times the writer will characterize this mixed-up speech as stream of consciousness.

However, written language is almost always far more structured and consistent than spoken language, even in written dialog, and even though people do not actually speak in a structured, consistent way.

Even the writing of those few authors who seem to be writing in the mishmash of spoken language,such as James Joyce, are still very hard to understand for most readers. Plus, Joyce had a very good editor, which most of us do not have.

Our brains process the written word and the spoken word in very different ways, and the spoken word is far easier to understand when it is a mess than the written word is. So, to be on the safe side, if the action all happens at the same time and place with the same people,
stick to consistent verb tenses and verb persons.

There are appropriate writing situations in which to change tense, such as when reporting on something that has happened, predicting something that will happen, discussing possibilities, or when dialog and narration are written together.

As I remember it, we fought past their defensive line and dropped the ball at the four-yard line, but I’m not sure if we scored a touchdown.I guess we would never have forgotten the luggage if it hadn’t been raining.

CHOOSING YOUR TENSE

Deciding what tense to write in can be difficult. You may read academic writing written in the present, past, and historical present tenses, or a mix of all three.It is said that books,paintings, films, and other creative works exist in an eternal present, and should
therefore be described in the present tense. But, of course, it’s more complex than that.

For most nonfiction or academic writing, use the present tense to relay facts and the past tense to relay actions.The dingo is a wild dog. It was first brought to Australia more than 3,000 years ago.

In fiction, you are free to use whatever tense you prefer, but be aware that the past tense is far more customary and less likely to distract readers from your writing.

Here are some tips for college essays and other formal writing: 

When commenting on what a source says, use the present tense.For example,

Adichie explores the complex class and economic issues of her era.
When describing a source’s dated, published work, use the past tense.Blue Highways was originally published in 1982.

When discussing current thinking of a domain or field, use the present tense.For example,

Experts now believe many illnesses are made worse by stress.
When narrating a chain of events, use the past tense.
The same year that France’s Academy of Science refused to grant her membership for
being a woman, she was awarded a Nobel Prize in chemistry.

When narrating an exciting chain of events that lead to a big conclusion, consider using the historical present tense. This uses verbs conjugated as if they are the present tense in past tense situations.For example,

After he beheads him, Shiva then puts the elephant head on Ganesha’s neck.

Phrasal Verbs

Sometimes a verb becomes joined with a preposition or adverb into a new phrase that has its own meaning above and beyond its parts. This type of idiom is known as a phrasal verb.

Phrasal verbs that are made of a verb plus a preposition are particularly difficult for English learners because it’s difficult to remember which preposition is needed. Also, because these phrases are idiomatic, it may be difficult to discern any meaning in the preposition, which in turn makes it difficult to know what a verbal phrase means by trying to separate it into its component parts.

To see how different similar phrasal verbs can be, take a look at common phrasal verbs using break plus a preposition: 

break down: fail or stop functioning; collapse physically or mentally 

break in: interrupt a discussion; illegally enter a building with intent to steal; become well used. 

break off: discontinue; separate a small piece from something break out: escape from prison; begin

suddenly break up: end a relationship; separate something into pieces. 

A phrasal verb can be separable—where, for example, objects can be inserted in the phrase—or inseparable—where the parts of  the phrasal verb cannot have other parts of speech inserted. Some phrasal verbs can put the object either right after the verb or right after the whole phrase.

I looked over the contract carefully before signing.
She looked me over before driving me to my photo shoot.