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8
Basic Verb Forms
This chapter deals with the six basic verb forms that are used as the raw material to make up the
tense system of English. The six basic verb forms are the base, the present tense, the past tense,
the infi nitive, the present participle, and the past participle. The next chapter covers the forma-
tion and meaning of the tenses created from these six verb forms and from the modal auxiliary
verbs.
All verbs (with the important exceptions of be and the modal auxiliary verbs can, may, must,
shall, and will) have all six of the forms mentioned above. The six forms are illustrated below by
the regular verb walk and the irregular verb run:
VERB FORMS
Base Present Past Infi nitive Present Past
form tense tense participle participle
walk walk/walks walked to walk walking walked
run run/runs ran to run running run
We will now look at each of these six forms in detail, seeing how each is formed.
Base form
The base form is the form of the verb that is entered into the dictionary. For example, if you were
to look up ran in the dictionary, it would refer you to the base form run. Since the base form is
identical in nearly all cases to the present tense, it is diffi cult at fi rst to see how one could tell
the base form and present tense apart. Fortunately, there is one verb in which the base form and
present-tense forms are different, the verb be:
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112 Verb Phrases
BE
Person Present-tense form
I am
you (singular) are
he/she/it is
we are

X will am
X will are
X will is
Imperatives (commands)
Imperative sentences use the base form of the verb. Here are some examples:
Go away!
Oh, stop that!
Answer the question, please.
When we use the verb be, we again see that present-tense forms are ungrammatical when used in
imperatives:
Be careful what you wish for!
X Am careful what you wish for!
X Are careful what you wish for!
X Is careful what you wish for!
Verb complements
Some verbs use base forms as part of their complements. Here are some examples:
We made them walk to school.
I let them fi nish early.
John will have the offi ce send you a copy.
When we use the verb be, we again see that the present-tense forms are ungrammatical:
I made them be quiet.
X I made them am quiet.
X I made them are quiet.
X I made them is quiet.
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114 Verb Phrases
Exercise 8.1
The verbs in the following sentences contain base forms as well as non-base forms. Underline the
base forms and confi rm your answer by substituting the verb be for the base form. You will need
to change the ending of the sentence to be compatible with the meaning of be.

the third-person singular -(e)s when the subject noun phrase is a third-person singular pronoun
(he, she, it) or any grammatical structure that can be replaced by a third-person pronoun. Here
are some examples of structures that can be replaced by third-person pronouns:
Single noun
She
Anita is going to fl y to Atlanta next week.
Singular noun phrase
He/She
Any person traveling in the Southeast must eventually fl y through Atlanta.
Gerund phrase
It
Going anywhere in the Southeast requires you to go through Atlanta.
Infi nitive phrase
It
To go anywhere in the Southeast means fl ying through Atlanta.
Noun clause
It
Wherever else you want to fly makes no difference.
Exercise 8.2
Replace incorrect base-form verbs with third-person singular present-tense verbs. Confi rm your
answers by replacing the subject noun phrase with the appropriate third-person pronoun. If the
sentence does not require a third-person singular present-tense verb, write OK.
The traffi c code in this city permit
a left turn on a red light.
The traffic code in this city permits a left turn on a red light.
It permits a left turn on a red light.
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116 Verb Phrases
1. The econ class meet in room 103.


nouns.
If the base ends in a sibilant sound, the ending is pronounced as a separate syllable /Ez/ rhym-
ing with buzz. Here are examples of the most common sibilant sounds that this rule applies to:
/s/ (sometimes spelled -ce) pass-passes; discuss-discusses; race-races; rinse-rinses
/š/ wish-wishes; rush-rushes; blush-blushes; splash-splashes
/č/ (spelled -ch or -tch) watch-watches; switch-switches; branch-branches
/ǰ/ (spelled -ge or -dge) rage-rages; page-pages; dodge-dodges
/z/ buzz-buzzes; phase-phases; raise-raises; lose-loses; cruise-cruises
If the verb ends in a voiceless consonant sound other than a sibilant, the ending is pronounced
/s/. The voiceless consonants are usually spelled p, t, k, ck, f, gh (if pronounced /f/). Here are some
examples:
back backs
cough coughs
cut cuts
hop hops
walk walks
If the verb ends in a vowel or a voiced consonant sound, the ending is pronounced /z/. For
example:
call calls
come comes
read reads
run runs
row rows
see sees
snow snows
There are a few verbs with irregular third-person singular forms. The most common, of
course, is be, with is as its third-person singular form.
The verb have is also irregular in the third-person singular:
have has
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