Incorrect verb forms

Some of the verb errors are errors in form. Most verb form problems involve main verb forms: An -ing form may be used in place of a past participle, a past participle in place of a past tense form, a simple form in place of an -ing form, etc. Some involve irregular verbs that have different forms for the past tense and the past participle—took and taken—for example. The following information may help you choose the correct form of the main verb.

The bare infinitive follows all modal verbs.

might be can remember should study

must know could go may follow

(Certain similar modal verbs and word combinations require infinitives.)

ought to attend used to play have to hurry

The past participle is used after a form of have in all perfect forms of the verb,

has done had called should have said

have run will have read could have made

The -ing form is used after a form of be in all progressive forms of the verb.

is sleeping has been writing should have been wearing

was working had been painting will be waiting

The past participle is used after a form of be in all passive forms of the verb.

is worn has been shown would have been lost

is being considered had been promised might have been canceled

were told will have been missed

Verb form problems may also involve auxiliary verbs: has may be used in place of did, is in place of does, and so on.

Problems involving subject-verb agreement. Underline the form that correctly completes each sentence. Then circle the subject with which the underlined verb agrees. The first one is done as an example.

The first bridge to be built with electric lights (was/were) the Brooklyn Bridge. .

Ethics (is/are) the study of moral duties, principles, and values

There (is/are) two types of calculus, differential and integral.

George Gershwin, together with his brother Ira, (was/were) the creator of the first musical comedy to win a Pulitzer Prize.

In a chess game, the player with the white pieces always (moves/move) first.

The Earth and Pluto (is/are) the only two planets believed to have a single moon.

A number of special conditions (is/are) necessary for the formation of a geyser.

Each of the Ice Ages (was/were) more than a million years long.

The battery, along with the alternator and starter, (makes/make) up the electrical system of a car.

Teeth (is/are) covered with a hard substance called enamel.

The more-or-less rhythmic succession of economic booms and busts (is/are) referred to as the business cycle.

The number of protons in the nucleus of an atom (varies/vary) from element to element.

All trees, except for the tree fern, (is/are) seed-bearing plants.

Fifteen hundred dollars a year (was/were) the per capita income in the United States in 1950.

Everyone who (goes/go) into the woods should recognize common poisonous plants such as poison ivy and poison oak.

Different forms of the same verb.

From the context of the sentence stem, you'll have to decide which form works best in the sentence. Used alone, an infinitive, gerund, or participle cannot be a main verb.

The verb is active, but it should be passive, or it is passive but it should be active.

If the subject of the sentence performs the action, the verb must be in the active voice. If the subject of the sentence receives the action, the verb must be in the passive.

• The architect designed the building, (active verb).

• The building was designed by the architect, (passive verb).

The verb does not agree with its subject. Singular subjects require singular verbs; plural subjects require plural verbs.

The verb is not in the right tense. According to the time words or ideas in the sentence, the appropriate tense must be used.

An unnecessary element comes before the verb. Personal pronouns {he, she, it), relative pronouns {who, which, that, and so on), or conjunctions (and, but, and so on) may be used unnecessarily before verbs in some sentences.

Example

Before the late eighteenth century, most textiles _____ at home.

1. produced

2. was produced

3. producing

4. were produced

Choice (D) is the best answer. (A) can be considered either an active verb in the past tense or a past participle; both are incorrect. An active verb is incorrect because a passive verb is needed; a past participle is incorrect because a past participle cannot serve as a main verb. (B) is incorrect because the plural subject textiles requires a plural verb, were. (C) is incorrect because, by itself, an -ing form can never be a main verb.

Unit 1-6. ENGLISH IN EUROPEAN INTEGRATION

Section 1. Guidelines for intensive reading of ESP texts

Facts and details. ESP discourse often abounds in explicit facts and details given in the passage. If you are not sure to have grasped all of them from your first reading, use scanning techniques.

The author usually resorts to facts and details to enhance, support and facilitate her/his idea, purpose or attitude. You have to locate and identify the factual information that requires you to make inferences. It means that the answers to your questions are not directly provided in the passage – you must "read between the lines." In other words, you must make conclusions based indirectly on information in the passage. Many text-readers find it difficult to identify the clues inferred by facts and details.

You should keep in mind that, in ESP texts, most reading passages have a neutral tone, but sometimes an author may take a position for or against some point by providing negative or positive details. Details and inferences are important for the analysis of the text given below because R. Phillipson is an ardent proponent of the theory of English language imperialism.

Text 1-6. ENGLISH IN EUROPEAN INTEGRATION AND GLOBALISATION