This document reviews verb forms, tenses, aspects, and other grammatical concepts through definitions and example questions. It covers the simple and irregular verb forms, past and present tenses, simple, perfect, progressive, and perfect progressive aspects, operators, subjects, objects, transitivity, adverbials, non-finite forms, and the passive voice. The review is tested through multiple choice questions analyzing parts of speech in sentences.

1. TEST REVIEW
E. SILER

2. FORM
• REVIEW YOUR NOTES.
– THERE ARE FIVE BASIC VERB FORMS:
•
•
•
•
•
THE SIMPLE/BASE (COOK; BREAK)
THE –S FORM (COOKS; BREAKS)
THE PAST TENSE FORM (COOKED; BROKE)
THE PAST PARTICIPLE FORM (COOKED; BROKEN)
THE PROGRESSIVE (ING) PARTICIPLE FORM (COOKING;
BREAKING)
– VERBS THAT HAVE ONE OR MORE IRREGULAR
FORMS ARE CALLED IRREGULAR.

3. QUESTIONS ABOUT FORM
• On Tuesday he took the Best in Show award
home at the 133rd Annual Westminster
Kennel Club Show, becoming the oldest to
win the award.

4. TENSE
• REVIEW YOUR NOTES.
– THERE ARE TWO TENSES: PAST AND PRESENT.
THOSE ARE YOUR ONLY CHOICES.
– TENSE IS ALWAYS LOCATED ON THE LEFT-MOST
VERB IN THE VERB PHRASE.
– SOME MODALS SHOW PAST TENSE; OTHERS
SHOW PRESENT TENSE.
– NON-FINITE VERB PHRASES (STAND ALONE
PARTICIPLES, GERUNDS, INFINITIVES) NEVER
SHOW TENSE.

5. QUESTIONS ABOUT TENSE
• At 10 years old, the Sussex spaniel should be
well into his dotage.
• Plodding, elderly Stump might have surprised
aficionados.
• A Sussex spaniel had never won the top prize
before.
• The breed was among the first to be
recognized by the American Kennel Club.

6. ASPECT
• REVIEW YOUR NOTES:
– THERE ARE FOUR ASPECTS: SIMPLE, PERFECT, PROGRESSIVE, AND
PERFECT PROGRESSIVE.
– SIMPLE ASPECT HAPPENS WHEN THE VERB PHRASE HAS ONLY ONE
VERB OR A MODAL AND A VERB OR A FORM OF DO AND A VERB.
– PERFECT REQUIRES AN AUXILIARY FORM OF HAVE AND THE LEXICAL
VERB IN THE PAST PARTICIPLE FORM.
– PROGRESSIVE REQUIRES AN AUXILIARY FORM OF BE AND THE LEXICAL
VERB IS IN THE PROGRESSIVE PARTICIPLE (ING) FORM.
– PERFECT PROGRESSIVE INVOLVES A FORM OF AUXILIARY HAVE AND
THE WORD BEEN AND THE LEXICAL VERB IS IN THE PROGRESSIVE
PARTICIPLE (ING) FORM.
– NON-FINITE –ING PARTICIPLES AND GERUNDS AND INFINITIVES CAN
SHOW PERFECT ASPECT: HAVING READ/ TO HAVE READ

7. QUESTIONS ABOUT ASPECT
• Hedging their bets, most seasoned
Westminster veterans with expertise in the
field had their eye on a giant schnauzer.
• A Sussex spaniel had never won the top prize
before.
• The breed was among the first to be
recognized by the American Kennel Club.

8. OPERATORS
• REVIEW YOUR NOTES.
– IN DECLARATIVE CLAUSES, OPERATORS OCCUR ONLY
IN VERB PHRASES THAT HAVE MORE THAN ONE VERB
IN THE PHRASE. OR
– IN DECLARATIVE CLAUSES WHERE THERE IS ONLY ONE
VERB AND THAT VERB IS A FORM OF BE, THAT BEVERB FORM IS THE OPERATOR.
– THEREFORE, IF A SENTENCE HAS ONLY ONE VERB AND
IT IS NOT A FORM OF BE, THERE IS NO OPERATOR.
– OPERATORS ARE ALWAYS THE LEFT-MOST VERB IN THE
VERB PHRASE.

9. QUESTIONS ABOUT OPERATORS
• At 10 years old, the Sussex spaniel should be
well into his dotage.
• A Sussex spaniel had never won the top prize
before.

10. SUBJECTS
• REVIEW YOUR NOTES:
– SUBJECTS COME TO THE LEFT OF THE VERB PHRASE.
– SUBJECTS OFTEN ANSWER THE QUESTION WHO OR WHAT
PLUS THE VERB.
– SUBJECTS CAN BE REPLACED BY SUBJECT PRONOUNS: I,
YOU, HE/SHE/IT, WE, THEY.
– SUBJECTS OCCUR IN FIRST (I/WE), SECOND (YOU/YOU),
AND THIRD PERSON (HE/SHE/IT, THEY) AND SINGULAR (I,
YOU, HE/SHE/IT) AND PLURAL (WE, YOU, THEY).
– IF THE FIRST VERB IN THE VERB PHRASE IS IN THE PRESENT
TENSE (AND IS NOT A MODAL) OR IS A PAST TENSE FORM
OF THE VERB BE, THAT VERB AGREES IN PERSON AND
NUMBER WITH THE SUBJECT.

11. QUESTIONS ABOUT SUBJECTS
• Hedging their bets, most seasoned
Westminster veterans with expertise in the
field had their eye on a giant schnauzer.
• But the people in the crowd clearly preferred
the jaunty spaniel.
• A Sussex spaniel had never won the top prize
before.
• The breed was among the first to be
recognized by the American Kennel Club.

12. OBJECTS
• REVIEW YOUR NOTES.
– OBJECTS ONLY OCCUR AFTER TRANSITIVE VERBS.
– OBJECTS ARE NOUN PHRASES.
– OBJECTS CAN ANSWER THE QUESTION (SUBJECT +
VERB PHRASE + WHO? OR WHAT?)
– OBJECTS CAN BE REPLACED BY OBJECT
PRONOUNS (ME, US, YOU, YOU, HIM, HER, IT,
THEM)

13. QUESTIONS ABOUT OBJECTS
• On Tuesday he took the Best in Show award
home at the 133rd Annual Westminster
Kennel Club Show, becoming the oldest to
win the award.
• Judge Sari Brewster Tietjen made her
decision about the dog at the last minute.

14. TRANSITIVITY
• REVIEW YOUR NOTES.
– THE PHRASE “IN THIS SENTENCE” IS IMPORTANT BECAUSE
SOME VERBS CAN BE TRANSITIVE OR INTRANSITIVE,
DEPENDING ON THE SENTENCE.
– FIND THE PARTS OF THE CLAUSE TO DETERMINE TRANSITIVITY:
VERB PHRASE FIRST, THEN SUBJECT, THEN WHAT COMES AFTER
THE VERB PHRASE.
– TRANSITIVE VERBS ARE FOLLOWED BY OBJECTS. OBJECTS ARE
CREATED BY NOUN PHRASES. SEE PREVIOUS SLIDE.
– INTRANSITIVE VERBS WILL NEVER BE FOLLOWED BY AN OBJECT.
– LINKING VERBS ARE A SMALL SUBSET OF LEXICAL VERBS AND
ARE BEST MEMORIZED: BE, SEEM, APPEAR, ETC. LINKING
VERBS CAN BE CONFIRMED BY CHECKING THE DICTIONARY
WWW.LDOCE.COM.

15. QUESTIONS ABOUT TRANSITIVITY
• The dog had technically retired.
• A Sussex spaniel had never won the top prize
before.
• The breed was among the first to be
recognized by the American Kennel Club.

16. ADVERBIALS
• REVIEW YOUR NOTES.
– THERE ARE THREE TYPES OF ADVERBIALS STUDIED
SO FAR: SINGLE WORD ADVERBS (OFTEN) , NOUN
PHRASES (LAST NIGHT) , PREPOSITIONAL PHRASES
(IN MAY).
– SINGLE WORD ADVERBIALS CAN BE CONFIRMED
BY CONSULTING A DICTIONARY
(WWW.LDOCE.COM). THEY OFTEN END IN –LY.
– ADVERBIALS ANSWER QUESTIONS SUCH AS
“HOW” AND “WHEN” AND “WHERE” AND “WHY”.

17. QUESTIONS ABOUT ADVERBIALS
• The dog had technically retired.
• Stump was enthusiastically greeted by
deafening applause during each tour around
the ring.
• A Sussex spaniel had never won the top prize
before.

18. NON-FINITES
• REVIEW YOUR NOTES.
– THERE ARE THREE TYPES OF NON-FINITES:
INFINITIVES (TO DO), GERUNDS (READING),
PARTICIPLES (REVIEWING, PURCHASED).
– INFINITIVES, PARTICIPLES, AND GERUNDS CAN
ALSO BE PASSIVE (TO BE DONE, BEING READ,
BEING PURCHASED).
– INFINITIVES, PARTICIPLES AND GERUNDS CAN
SHOW PERFECT ASPECT (TO HAVE DONE, TO HAVE
READ, TO HAVE PURCHASED)

19. QUESTIONS ABOUT NON-FINITES
• On Tuesday he took the Best in Show award
home at the 133rd Annual Westminster
Kennel Club Show, becoming the oldest to
win the award.
• Hedging their bets, most seasoned
Westminster veterans with expertise in the
field had their eye on a giant schnauzer.
• The breed was among the first to be
recognized by the American Kennel Club

20. The Passive
• REVIEW YOUR NOTES
– THE PASSIVE IS A REARRANGEMENT OF THE ACTIVE.
– THE PASSIVE CHANGE CAN ONLY HAPPEN TO A TRANSITIVE VERB.
– IF A VERB PHRASE IS PASSIVE IT MUST CONTAIN AN AUXILIARY
FORM OF THE VERB BE AND THE LEXICAL VERB MUST BE IN THE
PAST PARTICIPLE FORM (EX: WAS TAUGHT, HAS BEEN TAUGHT,
HAS BEEN BEING TAUGHT).
– IN REWRITING THE ACTIVE INTO THE PASSIVE YOU MUST
PRESERVE THE ORIGINAL TENSE AND ASPECT OF THE ACTIVE.
– IN WRITING A PASSIVE, THERE IS OFTEN A BY-PHRASE THAT
CONTAINS THE AGENT OF THE CLAUSE.

21. Questions on the Passive
• Plodding, elderly Stump might have surprised
aficionados.
• But the people in the crowd clearly preferred the
jaunty spaniel.
• Stump was enthusiastically greeted by
deafening applause during each tour around the
ring.
• A Sussex spaniel had never won the top prize
before.
• The breed was among the first to be recognized
by the American Kennel Club.