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Business Writing
Firefly Electric and Lighting Corp. Learning and Development
Human Resources Department
Module 1B
Foundations of Good Business Correspondence
Business Writing
Firefly Electric and Lighting Corp. Learning and Development
Human Resources Department
Module 1B
Lesson 3B
Tenses of Verbs
TENSES of VERBS
TENSES of VERBS There are two grammar issues most writers
have trouble with - tenses of verb and subject-verb agreement. This part of Module IB will deal with discussion of tenses of verb.
Modern English has two sets of tenses- the simple tenses and the perfect tenses. Each set has a corresponding continuous or progressive tenses
Grammar Simple tenses: Present tense, Past tense and Future tense
Progressive tenses: Present progressive, Past Progressive and
Future Progressive
Perfect Tenses: Present Perfect, Past Perfect and Future Perfect
The Past Tense
Definition: The past tense is the tense of the verb that indicates an action, state or situation that happened or existed in the past at a specific time.
The Simple Past Tense Time expressions used for past tense:
• last (night, Sunday, week, month, year, etc)
• a/an/one (minute, hour, day, week, while, etc) ago
• the day before yesterday
• the (day, night, week, etc) before last
• in 2001
• last Christmas
• in the 20th century
• on my last birthday
• when mother was a girl
Format of Past Tense
• For regular verbs:
a) verb + d or ed: taste-tasted; walk-walked
b) Verb with y ending- change y to i then add –ed: study-studied, carry-carried
• For irregular verbs: format of the past tense may vary.
a) Past form is the same as present form
Ex. cut-cut; set-set; broadcast-broadcast;
hit-hit; let-let
Format of Past Tense b) Past form ends with t
Ex. sleep-slept; keep-kept; sweep-swept; kneel-knelt
c) Past form undergoes an internal vowel change
Ex. rise- rose; ride –rode; fall-fell; sit-sat; swim-swam; ring-rang; come-came; sing-sang
d) Past form ends with ught
Ex. buy- bought; catch-caught; fight-fought; teach-taught; think –thought, seek-sought
The Simple Past Tense
When putting emphasis on an action in the past, the format used is:
did + base form of the verb
Examples:
o Alex did attend the Mass last Sunday even though he was not feeling well.
o Carmen did go to the party but she left early.
o Louie did clean his room after you told him to.
The Simple Past Tense Conditional past tense refers to habitual acts in the
past that were regularly done then, but is not being done now. The format used is:
used to +base form of the verb
Examples:
• When I was in high school, I used to play volleyball. ( I don’t play volleyball now).
• Cory used to bite her nails when she was nervous.( She does not bite her nails now.)
The Simple Present Tense
Definition: The present tense is the tense of the verb that suggests that the action , state or situation occurs at the moment of speaking or writing or it is a habitual action or an accepted fact or truth.
The Simple Present Tense Format 1: base form of the verb for
plural subjects: writers, They, We, I and you
o The children sing the National Anthem loudly.
o I dedicate this song to my mother.
o You write a paper about the fiction writers of the 19th century.
The Simple Present Tense Format 2: verb+s for singular subjects in the
third person. Chloe, brother, cat, he, she, it
o Chloe dances gracefully. She is a principal dancer of Ballet Manila.
o The chair needs repainting. It looks so dilapidated already.
o Ramon trains young students in taekwondo. He meets his students twice a week.
The Simple Future Tense
• Definition: The simple future tense is the tense of the verb that indicates an action, event or condition as not having happened yet but is expected to happen in the future
The Simple Future Tense
Time expressions used for simple future tense • tonight • this afternoon • tomorrow • soon • next (time/week/month/year, etc.) • the day after (tomorrow/ this day/ Sunday, etc) • in (a few minutes/ a little while/a few moments/ a week/a month/a year • in X (days’/ weeks’/ months’/ years’) time
The Simple Future Tense Format of the Future tense: a. To express futurity
• Will+base form of the verb – for second and third person
• Shall + base form of the verb – for first person
Examples: You will prepare a speech for our class
program. Lisa will bake a cake to celebrate your birthday
next week. I shall attend our class reunion this May.
The Simple Future Tense b. To express obligation or determination
• Shall +base form of the verb – for second and third person
• Will + base form of the verb – for first person
Examples:
You shall lead the people in this fight against corruption.
Pres. Duterte shall punish anyone caught dealing with drugs.
I will finish my work by six o’clock tonight.
The Simple Future Tense: c. To express a plan
to be (am/ is/ are) + going to + base form of the verb.
Examples:
I am going to take my master’s degree at De La Salle University.
Tomorrow, we are going to attend the 6 o’clock mass.
Felisa is going to manage their family business starting this October.
The Simple Future Tense The simple future tense cannot be used in time
expressions such as : when, while, before, after, by the time, as soon as, if, unless. Simple present tense form is used although the sentence expresses futurity.
Examples:
As soon as William arrives, he will call you.
When Freddie comes, he will repair the roof.
The Perfect Tenses The Perfect tenses are grammatical
tenses that express action already completed or completely done with respect to the present or to the past or to the future
• Past Perfect tense
•Present Perfect tense
• Future Perfect tense
The Past Perfect Tense Definition: The Past Perfect tense is the
tense of the verb used to describe an earlier action that took place in the past before another past action. It is used to make clear that the event or state happened before another in the past. It does not matter what event is mentioned first , the tense makes it clear which one happened first.
The Past Perfect Tense Format of Past Perfect tense: had + past participle form of the verb applies to all subjects- singular or plural 1. The stranger had jumped into the swimming pool before earlier action using past perfect tense
the pool attendant could stop him. later action using past tense
2. I could not charge my purchases because I had misplaced later action earlier action
my credit card two weeks ago. specific time in the past.
Note: It is possible to use specific time or phrases with Past Perfect tense. The simple past , however, should be used when “before” or “after” is used in the sentence. ( Example # 1)
The Past Perfect Tense
Adverb indicators used with Past Perfect tense:
• already, for since, yet
• after, as soon as, the moment, until
• until then, never, ever, in X (month, year)
• when, before, by the time – time expressions used with simple past when appended to a clause with past perfect tense verb.
Lesson 6A-1
The Present Perfect Tense
Definition: The Present Perfect tense is used to indicate an action that happened or a state that was completed or completely done at an unspecified time with respect to the present. This tense should not be used with specific time expressions such as yesterday, tomorrow, a year ago, when I was a child, when I lived in Bacolod.
The Present Perfect Tense Format of Present Perfect tense: • has + past participle form of the verb – used with third person singular pronouns, all singular nouns and collective nouns considered as a unit. oThe sun has turned reddish. It ( the sun) has
attracted a lot of attention from the scientific community.
oMelanie C. has won international fame as a member of an all girls’ band: the Spice Girls.
oAn all-Filipino dance group, the Junior New System has gained the judges’ nod with their shadow performance.
The Present Perfect Tense • Have + past participle form of the verb – used with
first and second person singular pronouns (I and you ), all plural personal pronouns , all plural nouns and collective nouns taken individually.
o I have been a rover for a long time
o You have stayed a faithful friend to me.
o They have won the judges’ admiration.
o The trees have grown green vibrant leaves.
o Three generations have lived in the ancestral home.
The Present Perfect Tense Adverb indicators used with Present Perfect
tense: • already in the last week/month/ year
• at last for (how long)
• yet this week/ this month/ this year
• ever so far, up to now
• never since last week /month/ year/ 1981 etc.
• still
• recently
• just
• many times
The Future Perfect Tense
The Future Perfect Tense Definition: The Future Perfect tense is the tense
of the verb that describes an action or an event that will occur in the future and completed before some other actions or event or time. The emphasis is on the action that is completed, not on how long it has taken. The action or event started before now, is starting now or will start now but will not be completed until sometime in the future.
The Future Perfect Tense
Format of Future Perfect Tense: will + have + past participle form of the verb. It is used with all subjects whether singular or plural.
o I will have done the laundry by 10:30 this morning.
oBefore May is over, the papaya will have ripened already.
o By 2030, technology will have produced already a genetically modified human embryo.
The Future Perfect Tense Adverb indicators used with Past Perfect
tense: • By X (hour, day, month, year)
• By the time
• Before
• Until/till
• At X time
• In X ( hours, months, years)
• already
Foundations of Good Business Correspondence
Let’s Review
Tenses of Verbs
Tenses of Verb I. Fill in the blanks with the correct answer. 1. The format used with the simple past tense of regular verb is (x). 2. The verb used with the helping or auxiliary verb do is the (x) form of the verb. 3. “Now” is an adverb indicator used with the (x) tense 4. (x) tense is used to indicate an action or event that took place at an indefinite time in the past and continues to the present.
Tenses of Verb 5. The tense used to indicate an action that happened at a specific time in the past is (x) 6. The tense used to indicate an action that starts now but will not be completed until sometime in the future is (x) 7. “The day after tomorrow” is an adverb used with (x) tense. 8. “Shall have done “ is a format used in (x) tense.
Tenses of Verb
9. “At last” is an adverb indicator used with the (x) tense.
10. The format of simple future tense to express determination in the third person is (x)
Tenses of Verbs
If you got a score of 5 or less in the lessons’ practice exercises, please review the lessons about Tenses of Verbs before you proceed to take the Quiz.
Foundations of Good Business Correspondence
Module 1B
LESSON 3B
Answers to
Tenses of Verbs Quiz
Tenses of Verb I. Fill in the blanks with the correct answer. 1. The format used with the simple past tense of regular verb is (x). verb + -d or -ed 2. The verb used with the helping or auxiliary verb do is the (x) form of the verb. base 3. “Now” is an adverb indicator used with the (x) tense simple present tense 4. (x) tense is used to indicate an action or event that took place at an indefinite time in the past and continues to the present. Present Perfect
Tenses of Verb 5. The tense used to indicate an action that happened at a specific time in the past is (x) Simple past tense 6. The tense used to indicate an action that starts now but will not be completed until sometime in the future is (x) Future Perfect tense 7. “The day after tomorrow” is an adverb used with (x) tense. Simple future 8. “Shall have done “ is a format used in (x) tense. Future Perfect tense
Tenses of Verb
9. “At last” is an adverb indicator used with the (x) tense. Simple present tense
10. The format of simple future tense to express determination in the third person is (x) shall +base form of the verb.
Module 1B Lesson 3B Tenses of Verbs Quiz
1. Please proceed to www. Quia.com/web.
2. On the space provided, enter your log in name and your password.
3. Under “Quiz”, please select Module 1B, Lesson 3B Quiz 1.
4. Follow the instructions in the quiz.
5. Follow these same steps when you go to succeeding quizzes after every lesson.
End of Module 1B, Lesson 3B
