PROPERTIES OF VERBS – Verbs have five properties: number, person, tense, voice, and mood. In seventh grade, we will study all of these except mood.
1. Number – Verbs have “number,” which means that they are singular (one) or plural (more than one). The number of a verb depends on the number of its subject. A singular subject needs a singular verb, and a plural subject needs a plural verb. Unlike nouns, which usually end in “s” when they are plural, verbs can end in “s” when they are singular. (See chart below.)
2. Person – Verbs also have number, depending upon the number of the pronoun used with them. (See chart below.)
Singular Plural
First Person I walk We walk
Second Person You walk You walk
He
Third person She walks They walk
It
3. Tense – The word “tense” refers to time. The tense of the verb tells the time that the action is happening. There are six tenses. There are three simple tenses (present, past, and future), and there are three “perfect” tenses (present perfect, past perfect, and future perfect). The perfect tenses use various forms of the verb “to have” to more “perfectly” tell exactly when something occurs.
A. Present Tense – A verb is in the present tense when it expresses action which is happening in the present (now) or which happens routinely (all the time). The present tense is made by using the present principal part (the base or infinitive form) or the present principal part plus an “s” (third person singular only).
Singular Plural
First Person I walk We walk
Second Person You walk You walk
He
Third person She walks They walk
It
B. Past tense – A verb is in the past tense when it shows an action which was completed at a particular time in the past. The past tense is formed using the past principal part.
Singular Plural
First Person I walked We walked
Second Person You walked You walked
He
Third Person She walked They walked
It
C. Future tense – A verb is in the future tense when it expresses action that will take place in the future. To make the future tense, use the word “will” or “shall” (“shall” is used in very formal English for the first person only) plus the present principal part.
Singular Plural
First person I shall walk We shall walk
Second Person You will walk You will walk
He
Third Person She will walk They will walk
It
Exercise A: Provide the correct tense of each verb listed below.
1. Jason ______(future tense of “to sing”) at tonight’s concert.
2. Brian and Rosita ______(present tense of “to ride”) their bikes to school every day.
3. I ______(past tense of “to leave”) the party early.
4. Maria ______(present tense of “to like”) most sports.
5. We ______(past tense of “to listen) to the big game on the radio.