English Verbs 201- by Michael fuller
English Verbs 201- by Michael fuller
Before
beginning this presentation of verb tenses, it is important to remind ourselves
that with all grammar explanations of verb tenses we have two focal points
necessary to mastering verbs: the use (when to use the verb in its correct
tempo/tense) and the structure (how to form the successful structure of these
verbs). To save space, I have eliminated the presentation of the structures and
can expand on this during the class. It is worth mentioning that the outline of
English verb structures follow the pattern of affirmations (positive sentences
+), negations (negative sentences -) and interrogative sentences (classic
question structures ?).
Simple Present: We use simple present to express habits,
routines, and scientific facts.
Habit: They
always take a towel with them when they go to the beach.
Routine: I brush
my teeth three times a day.
Scientific
facts: The earth revolves around the sun.
The name
‘simple present’ can confuse the learner because this verb tense runs through
the past, present, and into the future by custom. There are some structural
elements worthy of attention.
With the
exception of the extremely irregular verb “can”, all other verbs end with an
(s) in the third person singular. This includes the verb to be- is. The verb
“to be” has three forms (am/is/are) in the simple present, while all other
verbs (except ‘can’) have 2 forms (the form with the “s” and the form without-
eat/eats).
*It is
important to the Portuguese speaker to note that in English we use the simple
present in place of the present subjunctive of Portuguese. This is because
there is no existent subjunctive case in English. Exempli gratia: Eu
como para que tenha energia. I eat so that I have energy. (Neste caso, também poderíamos usar
o modal verb “may”).
Regular and
irregular verbs: In the simple present tense we can remember very easily which
verbs are irregular if we understand the reason why. The vast majority of these
irregular verbs are irregular due to pronunciation. “Brush” and all other verbs
ending in “sh”, “ch”, and “ss” have an added “es” to make the pronunciation
clearer. (brushes, catches, stresses). Verbs like “have” become “has” for
simple pronunciation reasons.
Simple Past: Simple past verbs are used to express an
action that happened in the past, independent of other actions, and is no
longer happening. This is in direct contrast with present and past perfect, as
we will see. This verb can be understood as the preterit indicative of
Portuguese: example: I took an aspirin before class. Eu tomei aspirina
antes da aula. The imperfect indicative: She always arrived late. Ela
sempre chegava atrasada. (Podemos usar “used to arrive” para claridade.)
And also the imperfect
subjunctive: If I lit a match, there would be an explosion. Se eu
acendesse um fósforo, haveria uma explosão. (Quando usamos past perfect
para expressar uma ação antes de outra ação no passado, o verbo que aconteceu
depois sempre vem no caso de simple past. Exempli gratia: They had already left by the time he got there.
Irregular
verbs in the simple past do not all have a pattern for reasoning. It is best to
memorize them through use. This can be easy since 1st, 2nd,
and 3rd person singular and plural are all the same with the notable
exception of the verb “to be”, which has 2 forms (was/were). Here it is
necessary to explain that when we use verb “to be” in the imperfect subjunctive
equivalent (second conditional phrases most often), “was” is eliminated in
formal English and I/she/he/it use the “were” form. E.g.- If I were you,
I would take an umbrella.
Infinitives: Infinitives are extremely important since
they are the dictionary form of verbs. This is the form of the verb in its base
form with the “to” attached. For beginners, this “to” appears to be the
preposition “to” (para/por/a) and can cause confusion. It is important to
simplify this and make the “to” represent the (r) at the end of Portuguese
verbs (ar/er/ir). The important part for Portuguese speakers is knowing
that infinitives are not always interchangeable between English and Portuguese.
Many times in English, we use the gerund form of the verb where Portuguese uses
the infinitive; we see this in the previous sentence of this paragraph. E.g.-
is knowing that- é saber que. We can see this most frequently after
prepositions. E.g. My sister insists on kneeling upon entering a church.
A minha irmã insiste em se ajoelhar ao entrar numa igreja.
In book 2
of Four Corners (unit 12), we see the use of prepositions to express purpose.
Here the “to” actually does function like the “para” of Portuguese. E.g. I’m taking a class to learn
English. Estou fazendo um curso para aprender ingles. I’m saving money to
buy a car. Eu estou economizando dinheiro para comprar um carro.
Present Perfect: With present perfect we express an action
that has started in the past and touches up to the present moment. (Structure
is have+past participle.) We can use a timeline to visualize this.
Past
Present
Future
|_____________________________|__________________________________|
| | |
(S. Past ) ( Present
Perfect)
We can see
that the simple past (represented by the red bar) is an action that happened in
the past and finished. The present perfect, in contrast, (represented by the
purple bar) started in the past and continues up to the present moment. Just
like with all verb tenses, we can pick up on key words to tell us if we should
use the present perfect tense. The most common of these is ever. Ever should never
be translated as “sempre”, but in the case of present perfect seems to indicate
“desde algum ponto no passado até e incluso agora”. This can be “desde
que você nasceu”, “desde que você começou na escola”, “desde que você mudou
para Espirito Santo”. [O present perfect pode ser usado na pergunta para
localizar o tempo em que ocurreu uma ação e a resposta pode ser no simple
past.] Let’s see some examples.
Have you ever eaten octupus? R. I ate it once when I went
to Rio.
*We can use
present perfect when we want to express something that we have never done
in our lives. E.g.- I haven’t ever seen a live tiger. Eu
nunca vi um tigre ao vivo.
* We can
use present perfect when we want to add various degrees of emphasis to an
action that happened in the past. E.g. We have completed book 2. Nos
já terminamos o livro 2. Notice
that in Portuguese you can add the “já” to give the same emphasis while
retaining the same verb.
Past Perfect: We use the past perfect (pluperfect
indicative) tense to give order to two actions in the past. There are two verbs
in the past and one happens before the other. The first action to occur will
always use the past perfect. (Structure is had+past particple.) E.g.- I had
already eaten when she brought the food. Eu já tinha comido
quando ela trouxe a comida. First I ate food, then she brought food. This order is not always first in
the collocation. The first action in time can be the last action mentioned; it
can come at the end of the sentence. E.g.- The ground was wet because it had
rained. O chão estava molhado porque tinha chovido.
Present Continuous: We use the present continuous to express an
action that is happening in this moment (right now) or in this time period
(these days). This uses the gerund form of the verb (-ing) with verb to be.
E.g. I am taking an English class these days. Estou fazendo um
curso de ingles hoje em dia. I am eating a sandwich on the subway right
now. Eu estou comendo
um sandwiche no metrô agora mesmo.
We can also
use present continuous to express fixed plans about the future or a future
event that will be temporary. E.g- After class, we are having a cook
out. Depois da aula estamos tendo um churrasco.
Past Continuous: Past continuous is commonly used to express
an action that was taking place when another action occurred. E.g- I was
walking to the store when I saw the crash. Eu estava caminhando
pela loja quando vi o accidente. What were you doing when they
called? O que que você estava fazendo quando eles ligaram.
Modal verbs: A list of important modal verbs is may, might, would, will, could, should,
ought to, shall, must.
“May”
expresses probability and is more formal or less used. E.g. It may rain today, but I really don’t
know. It can also be used to formally ask for permission in the 1st
person sentences. E.g.- May I get a drink of water.
“Might” is used in the same sense as “may”.
We could say that might is more often used. I might have to go to get some milk
if it runs out.
“Would”
is used as a polite way to ask someone if they want something or ask for
something. E.g.- What would you like to eat? I would like a hamburger. “Should”
and “could” are used interchangeably with “poderia” and “deveria” with the
exception of “could” when it is the past of “can”.
“Will”
is used to state plans, predictions or future events. E.g.- I’ll have a
hamburger. I think it’ll rain tomorrow. The negative contraction is
always “won’t”. This modal verb stands in direct contrast to the more often
used “to be going to” that is more often used in future expressions that are
certain and fixed.
“Ought
to” expresses obligation in the form of a suggestion. This is a sense less
urgent than “must”. It expresses a suggestion to what you think someone should
do. E.g. You ought to call your mom and let her know that you’re okay. Você
deveria ligar a sua mãe e informá-la que está bem.
“Must” is
an absolute obligation. It does not suggest but informs one as to what is their
responsibility. E.g.- Employees must wash hands before returning to
work. Os funcionarios devem lavar-se as mãos antes de retornar ao
trabalho. In this case, if you
say “ought to” it sounds like you leave it to the employees to decide if they
want to or not. “Must” can also be used for inference (dedução). E.g. She´s
late. She must be at the beauty salon.- Ela deve estar no salão
de beleza.
“Shall”
is an archaic form of “must”. It can be used for strong emphasis, formal
situations or even irony. E.g. Shall we dance?
Biblical examples can be found in the ten commandments: “Thou shalt not
kill”- “You shall not kill”.
Zero, First, Second and Third Conditionals: Conditionals use an “if/when” clause
and together with a main clause to express a hypothetical idea. (Futuro do
subjuntivo is used in Portuguese).
Zero
Conditional uses
two simple present verbs to describe things that are generally true. E.g.- If I
have a really important exam, I study a lot. Se eu tiver
uma prova importante, estudo muito. I get sick if I drink
beer. Eu passo mal se
eu beber cerveja.
First
Conditional uses
the modal verb “will” in the main clause and s. present in the if clause to express
a prediction or result. E.g.- I will be late if it rains. Eu chegarei
atrasado se chover. If it is hot out, I will need to take
the bus.
Second
conditional uses
the modal verb “would” in the main clause and the s. past in the if clause to
explain imaginary situations. E.g.- If you went to China, you would
learn Mandarin. Se você fosse a China, aprenderia Mandarim.
Third
conditional uses
past perfect in the if clause and “would have”+ the past participle in the main
clause to express a different possible past/imagining different past results.
E.g.- If I had known about the car’s engine problems, I wouldn’t have
bought it. Se eu soubesse sobre o problema do motor do carro,
não o teria comprado.
Modal verbs with present perfect or past
perfect continuous conditionals can express alternate endings or results to
situations if something different were done. E.g. I should have studied harder.
I would have gotten a better grade. Eu deveria ter estudado
mais. Teria conseguido uma nota melhor. With “will” we can express a determined future
result if something occurs. This can also combine with the gerund and becomes a
continuous. I will have been working here for 2 years in August. You would be
eating lunch if you were at home.
Present and past perfect continuous: present perfect continuous [have
been+present participle] expresses an action that started in the past and is
not yet finished. E.g.- We have been studying English for 2 years. Nos estamos
estudando ingles já dois anos. ( In Portuguese the time expression “já” can
appear to express that it is not yet finished.) Let’s compare with present
perfect. I have lived here for two years. Eu moro aqui há dois
anos. O foco é a
permanência no local onde a pessoa mora – já está lá há 2 anos e dá a entender
que a ideia é continuar ali. I have been living here for two
years. Eu estou morando aqui já dois anos. Aqui usando na
forma continua expressa ênfase e poderia estar entendidoque não é um estado
permanente.
Past perfect
continuous [had been + present participle] is used to express that something
started in the past and continued up until another point in time in the past
when another past action occurred. You had been talking for five minutes
when I asked you to keep quiet. Você tinha estado falando
por 5 minutos quando pedi que calasse. The time expression “for five minutes” is the
palavra chave (key word) in this phrase.
Future Perfect Continuous (Progressive): [will
have been+ verb-ing]Future perfect continuous is used to express an action that was occurring
for a period of time before another action in the future or the cause of
something that will happen in the future. E.g. She will have been working at
the company for ten years by the time I retire. He will be tired by the time he
arrives because he will have been traveling all day.
Perfect
Continuous Conditional The perfect continuous conditional can be used in
type 3 conditional sentences. It refers to the unfulfilled result of the action
in the if-clause, and expresses this result as an unfinished or continuous
action.
If clause
(condition)
|
Main clause
(result)
|
If + past perfect
|
perfect continuous conditional
|
If this thing had happened
|
that thing would have been happening.
|
E.g.
If I had known it about the new book, I would have been reading
it yesterday.
I would
have been studying if I had known about the test.
Imperative case- The imperative form of verbs is the easiest to
understand. We can simply remove the “to” from the infinitive and exclude the
subject. This is the only case in English that does not require a subject. To
express this we state that it is the “understood you” (o you subentendido).
When speaking in the imperative case, we are always speaking to the second
person (ouvinte). E.g. Take the trash out, please. –Leva o lixo
for a, por favor.
