2. Present Tense: Agreement
• When a verb is in the present tense and it is
properly inflected for number, we say it
“agrees” with the subject of the verb.
• Errors in this type of agreement are
sometimes referred to as “subject-verb
agreement” errors and are marked as s-v or
“agr” on editing charts.
3. Agreement: Examples
•
Our nation (=it) needs more linguists for global business and diplomacy.
•
Now schools in all parts of America (=they) offer instruction in Chinese.
•
Some schools (=they) pay for Chinese classes on their own.
•
However, hundreds (=they) get some help from the Chinese
government.
•
The Chinese government (=it) sends teachers from China to schools all
over the world.
•
The government (=it) pays part of their salaries.
•
At a time of tight budgets, many American schools (=they) welcome this
offer.
•
Parthena Draggett (=she) directs a world languages department in
Jackson High School in Massillon Ohio.
•
“We (=we) have a free Chinese teacher. I (=I) also want a Spanish
program for elementary children.”
4. S-V AGR Problems
• They has too many dogs.
• The dogs (= they) howls all night long.
• The female dog (= she) are always
having puppies.
• The puppies (= they) perpetually wants
milk.
• The male dogs (= they) is vicious.
5. The Past Tense
• All English verbs can mark the past
tense to show events, actions, and
states before the present.
6. Past Tense: Facts
• All verbs in English have a past tense form.
• Regular verbs add an “(e)d” (example:
walk>walked).
• Irregular verbs have many different forms,
and some verbs have multiple forms
(example: dive> dived, dove).
• The same past tense form is used with all
persons and numbers.
• EXCEPTION: The verb TO BE.
7. Regular Example: Past Tense
Verb: to walk
Singular
I walked
you walked
he/she/it walked
Plural
we walked
you(all) walked
they walked
8. Irregular Example: Past Tense
VERB: to buy
Singular
I bought
you bought
he/she/it bought
Plural
we bought
you(all) bought
they bought
9. To Be: Past Tense
• TO BE is VERY irregular.
• It has TWO past tense forms, depending on
person and number.
– I was
– You were
– He/she/it was
we were
you (all) were
they were
10. Tense and Modals
• Some modals also have a past tense
form.
Can>>>could
Will>>> would
Shall>>> should
May>>> might
11. Tense in Verb Phrases
• In a verb phrase, tense (if it is overtly
marked) is shown on only the FIRST
verb on the left.
12. Examples
English [evolved] from the mixture of German
and several other languages.
English [has been accepting] new words and
structures for a thousand years.
English [will continue] its evolution.
New English-based creoles [are arising] in
Africa and Asia.
English [is] the lingua franca of the US.
However, by 2000 Chinese [had become] the
third most spoken language in homes in the
US.
