Verbs: Using Consistent Tense and Avoiding “to

be”Model for Grammar Presentation

“…it is nouns and verbs, not their assistants, that give good writing its toughness and color” (Strunk 72).

Example:◦ “There is an abandoned store on the southeast

corner of Broadway and Thirty-fifth Street in Lorain, Ohio. It does not recede into its background of leaden sky, nor harmonize with the gray frame houses and black telephone poles around it. Rather, it foists itself on the eye of the passerby in a manner that is both irritating and melancholy.”—Toni Morrison, The Bluest Eye

Why are verbs important?

Your choice of verb tense depends on what you are writing, but here are a few general rules…

Verb Tense

For rhetorical or literary analysis, use PRESENT tense:

◦Morrison’s use of the word “foist” transforms the house into a living thing that demands the attention of the passerby with its “melancholy.”

As I was stepping out onto the railing, my foot slipped. I thought, “It’s over. I’m dead.” At that moment, my instructor’s arm swung around my neck; he had me in a half nelson. We were safe. Because he had helped me to regain balance and composure, I was able to jump from the helicopter with complete confidence.

When writing a narrative, consider your use of time and be consistent. Use different tenses to indicate relationships between events:

Learning requires active student engagement. Using the internet offers students the chance to join an academic conversation through discussion boards, to explore topics in the most current contexts, and to trace lines of genuine inquiry across a variety of sources. At Walton High School, students already use the internet regularly for assignments outside of school. As a part of a class project last year, I researched 1920s prohibition and studied its lasting impacts on American culture.

When writing an argument, we often offer generalizations based on specific evidence.

Got it?! Time for a game…

Baby freaks out

Watch this video

Initially, the baby ________(to cry) when the mom puts on Katy Perry’s “Dark Horse.” The baby obviously ________(to love) the song because she instantly ________(to freak) out upon hearing the beat.

Consult with your group--when you have the answers with the correct tense, arrange your hands as “hear no evil,” “see no evil,” and “speak no evil”

In the video…

Shark Week is the greatest week of the year for many reasons. For one, shark videos demonstrate the vast capabilities of these majestic predators. Last year, Discovery Channel featured an entire series on great white sharks. One particular shark was able to bite the lens off of an industrial camera. When the shark is approaching the camera, he simply opens his jaws and POOF! The camera was gone.

Find two verb tense errors—make an animal noise when you find them!

And now it’s time to “lay, lie” down the GAUNTLET!

You told me that you had lain the book on the desk before you left class, but I now know that you lied. YOU LIAR! When I lied down last night to sleep, I cursed your name. I needed my book for the test! Now I am certain that I failed English. No laying in the sun for me this summer! Instead I will be sitting with twenty strangers in summer school. I out to lay YOU out on the front steps of the school! I will beat you down!

When your group knows the NUMBER OF ERRORS, simultaneously yell “BOOM goes the dynamite!”

Ok, that was fun.

Part 2: Use of “to be”

The definition of success is not always the same for everyone. Students at Walton seem to think that success is dependent on acceptance to a good college. I think success is more complicated.

If you find revision especially challenging, your paragraph might lack in content; You might need to work on your IDEAS!

When possible, revise sentences to get rid of linking verbs

There are many definitions of success. People’s dreams are not all the same. That is why I think that Malcolm Gladwell’s definition of an outlier is a little reductive. A person who wants a happy family and a stable income might not need special opportunities to achieve those things. Many normal people are happy and content without having as much money as Bill Gates. Aren’t we all outliers, in our own ways?

Lots of words—not many ideas:

While Gladwell sufficiently traces a pattern of opportunity through a variety of exceptional circumstances, his book ultimately fails to address the requirements for success for the average person. The choice of anecdotes and examples point to a definition of success that equates to greatness, and frankly, many people do not have such lofty aspirations. Average students, for example, have many important opportunities to choose to study, to join clubs, to take notes. Fate doesn’t determine their success in classes—their everyday decisions do, and Gladwell deemphasizes this power of choice by continually highlighting the power of fate.

Revised for content—uses powerful verbs

Highlight all linking verbs (be—that includes is, are, was, etc.seem, become, feels, appears…)

Revise your paper, and eliminate at least TEN linking verbs in the process. Circle the linking verbs that you eliminate on your original copy.

Then, revise your verb tense for consistency.

Highlight changes on your original copy.

Your Mission:

Submit revised copy with marked up copy stapled to back.

Due MONDAY!