Grammar for Grade 9

Episode VVerb Tenses and Voice

Verb Tenses

• The form a verb takes tell us whether the action takes place in the past, the present, or the future.– I fell down.– I fall down.– I will fall down.

Regular Verbs

• Regular verbs are ones whose past tense and past participle are formed by adding –ed.

peek peeked peekeddeclare declared declaredbaste basted basted

Irregular Verbs

• Irregular verbs are those whose past tense and past participle are NOT formed by adding –ed.

begin began begunfall fell fallenput put putride rode riddenthink thought thought

Present Perfect Tense• The present perfect tense expresses either an

action that took place at an unspecified time in the past, or a condition that began in the past but continues to the present.– They have performed the experiment twice.– Lillian Ogg has lived in the same house since she

was born.• The present perfect is formed by using the

present tense of the helping verb “to have” and adding the past participle of the verb.

Past Perfect Tense• The past perfect tense expresses an action

that was completed before another activity or event in the past.– They had finished by the time he arrived.– I had called to cancel before she did, but she had

not received the message.• The past perfect is formed by using the past

tense of the helping verb “to have” and adding the past participle of the verb.

Common Tense Errors• Students often confuse the present perfect

and past perfect tenses. Remember that they convey different meanings!

• Frequently, students will start a sentence or paragraph in the past tense and switch to the present tense partway through for no reason. These verb tense shifts are confusing for your reader. Be sure that shifts in tense are done for a reason, or fix your writing.

Voice of Verbs• When the subject of the sentence is the

performer of the action, the verb is in the active voice.– In 1581, Sieur Juvigny invented the flageolet.

• When the subject of the sentence is the receiver of the action, the verb is in the passive voice.– The flageolet was invented by Sieur Juvigny in

1581.

Voice and TenseTense Active Passive

Present Wins Is won

Past Won Was won

Future Will win Will be won

Present perfect Has won Has been won

Past perfect Had won Had been won

Future perfect Will have won Will have been won

Every verb tense has an active and a passive form.The preferred usage is the active form. Avoid passive voice if you can.