In this GMAT grammar tutorial, we look at the definition of pronoun agreement and cover the various types you’ll encounter. We’ll first cover the base verbs and the auxiliary verbs and later discuss the various tenses.
To find the Base verb, just ask yourself the answer to ‘to ____ ’. Note that you don’t use ‘to ’in the base verb; it’s just a way to find the base form of the verb.
Examples of base verbs: See, go, work, jump, fall, play, eat
From the base form of the verb, we can create the other forms. For the present participle form, use ‘ing’. This answers the question ‘to be _____’.
Examples: working, playing
For the past participle form, add ‘ed’ or ‘en’ to the base verb in case of regular verbs. This answers the question ‘to have _____’.
Examples: helped, talked
There are many irregular verbs which don’t follow any fixed pattern while forming their past participle form. Eg: eat – eaten, drink – drunk
These verbs are used before a main verb to form a logical statement and for the right grammatical construction. They may also be used to provide information about the time of the action (past/present/future).
Look at the following construction:
You should take care of your valuables while travelling.
She has been waiting in the queue for half an hour.
In the above sentences, the words ‘should’ and ‘has been’ help complete the verbs without which the sentence wouldn’t sound correct. These are the auxiliary or helping verb. The verbs in the above sentences would be ‘should take’ and ‘has been waiting’.
Auxiliary verbs include the following-
‘Will, shall, would, should, might, must, may, can, could, ought to’ are the modal verbs. A modal is used as an auxiliary or helping verb.
Other helping verbs include ‘be, been, being, is, are, am, was, were, do, does, did, has, have, had’
Tenses are used to indicate the time a particular action or activity takes place. Following is a list (with examples) of the various verb tenses:
This tense describes something that happens on a regular basis in the present.
Examples
This tense is used to describe an action that was completed.
Examples
This tense uses forms of ‘will or shall’ before the base verb.
Examples
This tense describes an action that is in progress at the moment. It usually employs forms of ‘am / is / are’ along with present participle form of the verb.
Examples
This tense is used to describe an action that was in progress in the past. It usually uses ‘was/ were’ along with the present participle form.
Examples
This tense describes an action that will happen and be in progress in the future. Here, forms of ‘will be/shall be’ are used along with the present participle form of verb.
Examples
This tense describes something that began in the past and has been completed or may still be going on. It makes use of the auxiliary verb ‘has / have’ as well as a past participle form of the verb.
Examples
This tense shows an action that has happened before another action in the past. The auxiliary verb ‘had’ and a past participle is made use of.
Examples
This tense expresses an action that would be complete by a specific time in the future. It makes use of ‘will have’ and the past participle form of verb.
Examples
This tense is used for an ongoing action that had commenced in the past. It is created by using ‘has been’ and the present participle.
Examples
This tense describes some action in progress in the past or something that was going on before some other action in the past. Here, ‘had been’ is used along with the present participle.
Examples
This tense expresses an action that will continue upto a certain time in the future. Here we have forms of ‘will have been’ with the present participle.
Examples
These are the verbs which are used to link the subject to the rest of the sentence without being an ‘action word’.
Examples
Some verbs can be used as a linking verb as well as an ordinary verb. In the last example above, the words ‘tastes, appears, looks’ can also be used in the following ways to show action:
Also read How to improve Sentence Correction
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2 Comments
Present perfect progressive tense
This tense is used for an ongoing action that had commenced in the past or may still be going on
(Only difference from Present perfect tense is that, it conveys progressiveness.)
By using perfect tense, you want to convey the influence of a completed action into the present
I have been to Bangkok.
Doesn’t mean that I am in Bangkok now, but I want to convey the influence of my visit into my present (bragging talk).
@Oracle: Your example has elevated this post to a different level. For that contribution, we wish you many more trips to Bangkok.