1. A field guide to North American grammar
Verbs
A field guide to North American grammar

2. Terms to Know Conjugation Transitive Intransitive Mood Infinitive
Voice
Tense
Simple present
Simple past
Future
Perfect
Pluperfect
Future perfect

3. Verbs Denote: Action (he talked, she walks)
Mental or physical state of being (I am, you will be)
Progression of an event (They decompose)

4. Verb forms may contain:
full verb OR
full verb + auxiliary [helper] verbs

5. Intransitive v. Transitive Verbs
Require a subject
Do not contain a direct object
Examples:
They walk.
She snores.
Transitive
Require a subject
Require a direct object (who/what receives the action)
Examples:
I study Biology
He chases his tail
NB: Many verbs can function transitively or intransitively depending on their context in a sentence.

6. Mood Indicative Imperative Subjunctive Refers to or indicates
They study every night.
Imperative
Expresses a command or order
Example: Study for your test!
Subjunctive
Express something contrary to fact
Example: If I were smart, I would study.

7. Infinitives and Conjugations
Conjugate: to manipulate a verb
Creates different forms
Example: I am, I was, I shall be
Infinitive form: to + verb
Example: to be rather than to seem
The infinitive is the base form in most study aids (e.g., dictionaries)

8. Voice Active The subject of the sentence performs an act
Example: The cat eats the broccoli.
Subject: cat
DO: broccoli
Passive
Object acts on the subject
Example: The broccoli was eaten by the cat.
AVOID USING PASSIVE VOICE!

9. Tense Temporal marker (indicates time) Six common tenses in English:
Present
Simple past
Future
Perfect
Pluperfect
Future perfect
“Perfect” = types of past tense

10. Tense Timeline way, way back way back back then now later
Pluperfect Perfect Simple Past Present Future

11. Tense Conjugation: Regular Verbs
Present: I walk, he walks
Simple past: I walked
Future: I shall walk, she will walk
Perfect: I have walked, it has walked
Pluperfect: I had walked
Future perfect: I will have walked

12. Tense Conjugation: Irregular Verbs (“to be”)
Present: I am, he is
Simple past: I was, they were
Future: I shall be, she will be
Perfect: I have been, it has been
Pluperfect: I had been
Future perfect: I shall have been, they will have been

13. Tense Conjugation: Irregular Verbs (“to smite”)
Present: I smite, he smites
Simple past: I smote
Future: I shall smite, she will smite
Perfect: I have smitten
Pluperfect: I had smitten
Future perfect: I shall have smitten, they will have smitten

14. Notae Bene Whenever possible, use active voice and present tense.
Select a tense and use it consistently throughout an essay.
Avoid using the subjunctive mood, “-ing” forms, and conditionals.
Verbs must be parallel when in a series.
The imperative mood takes as its subject an implied second person pronoun (“you”).
I shall use the imperative mood: avoid passive voice in your writing!