Verb Use for ESL Writers

Dr. Linda Bergmann, Professor

of English, Purdue

Review from last session…

…English is an

S

-

V

-

O

language.

Sentences that have a

s

ubject –

v

erb -

o

bject

order are more readable

than

those that don’t.

V

erbs are central to English

Correct verb usage will go a long way
toward correcting sentence structure.
There are three basic tenses in the

English

language:

Past

Present

Future

Past Tense

Verbs in the past tense

describe things

that are done and over with.

He analyz

ed

the data.

They analyz

ed

the data.

I analyz

ed

the data.

Notice how verbs in
the past tense add
an -ed regardless of
the agent (subject).

Many verbs take on an -ed in the past tense.

However, some verbs are irregular in the past tense.

‘Take(s)’, for example, becomes ‘took’ in the past

tense. ‘Go’ becomes ‘went’. ‘Become(s)’ becomes

‘became’.

Present Tense

The compound stabilize

s

after

cooling for 48 hours.

The ternary mixture improve

s

pavement stability.

Notice that in both of these cases, the

present tense is used to describe

something that is always true. Generally,

verbs in the present tense describe things that are

stable and unchanging or that happen regularly.

Often, scientists use the present tense when they

generalize at the end of scientific reports.

Present Tense

He analyze

s

.

They analyze.

I analyze.

Notice the difference
between the way the verb
conjugates when ‘he,’
‘they,’ and ‘I’ are in the
agent slot.

Whenever the agent (subject) is a single

thing (but not ‘I’ or ‘you’) doing

something in the present tense, put an ‘s’

at the end of the verb.

Future Tense

He

will

analyze the data.

They

will

analyze the

data.

I

will

analyze the data.

Notice that the future tense
uses ‘will’, a helping verb.
This helping verb never
changes form.

Generally, the future tense is used to describe things that are expected
to happen.

Helping Verbs

The

“

will

” from the previous

example is

a helping verb. Helping verbs
modify a verb in mood or tense.

Example: Xiao takes a vacation once a

year.

(s) (v) (o)

Xiao will take a vacation.

(s) (h.v.) (v) (o)

Helping verbs include: can, could, may,
might, must, shall, will, would, ought, had
better, ought to, would rather, have to,
have got to, be supposed to, be able to,
used to

Helping Verb Rules

Xiao takes a vacation once a year.

(s) (v) (o)

Xiao will take a vacation.

(s) (h.v.) (v) (o)

Rule One: Helping verbs
always go before the
verb!

Helping Verb Rules

Xiao takes a vacation once a year.

(s) (v) (o)

Xiao will take a vacation.

(s) (h.v.) (v) (o)

Rule Two: The primary
verb will always look
like it’s in the present
tense.

Helping Verbs

Xiao takes a vacation once a year.

(s) (v) (o)

Xiao will take a vacation.

(s) (h.v.) (v) (o)

Rule Three: Helping
verbs never conjugate.
‘Will’ will stay the
same no matter what
the subject is.

Practice Examples

Convert the following present tense sentences

into the

future tense:

1) Our results indicate that the modified drying

procedure produces the best results.

2) Without the spare time to complete the models,

the work is worthless.

3) The paperwork places excessive demands on the

participants’ time.

4)

The results never come back this quickly.

Practice Answers

When would you use this tense in a technical
report?

1) Our results indicate that the modified drying

procedure

will

produce the best results.

2) Without the spare time to complete the models,

the work

will

be worthless.

3) The paperwork

will

place excessive demands on the

participants’ time.

4)

The results

will

never come back this quickly.

Practice Examples

Convert the following past tense sentences into the
present tense:

5) All but one of the ternary mixtures obtained a

durability factor (DF) higher than the

minimum 60% value used in ASTM C 666 to

terminate the freeze-thaw test.

6)

Similar to flexural strength data, the paste

and fly ash content were found to be

statistically significant variables affecting

freezing and thawing of the ternary mixtures.

Practice Answers

When would you use this tense in a

technical

report?

5) All but one of the ternary mixtures

obtain

durability factor (DF) higher than the minimum

60% value used in ASTM C 666 to terminate the

freeze-thaw test.

6)

Similar to flexural strength data, the paste

and fly ash content

are

found to be statistically

significant variables affecting freezing and

thawing of the ternary mixtures.

Practice Examples

Convert the following past tense sentences into the
future tense:

7) The magnitude of free drying shrinkage

(monitored up to 224 days) was also found to be

primarily the function of paste content.

8) However, the shrinkage of ternary mixtures was

significantly lower than that of control mixtures,

which clearly demonstrates the benefit of using
supplementary cementitious materials.

Practice Answers

When would you use this tense in a

technical

report?

7) The magnitude of free drying shrinkage

(monitored up to 224 days)

will

also

be

found to

be primarily the function of paste content.

8) However, the shrinkage of ternary mixtures

will

be significantly lower than that of control

mixtures, which clearly demonstrates the benefit

of using supplementary cementitious materials.

Adapted by Joshua Prenosil and

Linda Bergmann from The Thomson
Handbook by David Blakesley and

Jeffrey L. Hoogeveen

For More Information

• Contact the Purdue Writing

Lab:

– Location: Heavilon 226
– Call: 765-494-3723
– Email:

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://

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