Basic English-021

This is Lesson 21 of our Basic English Series. 

Parts of Speech 3.4 – Verbs “to be” –

---

The Six Tenses of Verbs “to be”

The verbs to be are the most irregular and the most important verbs in the English language. Almost every sentence contains a form of the verb “to be“. And just like other verbs, they also have six tenses. How we use these is very important especially if we are aiming for English proficiency such as TOEIC, and especially IELTS.

Let’s jump in.

The above seems simple to look at, but let us see some examples where these can be complicated, and familiarizing yourself with the past participle of irregular verbs will be very useful.

---

Six Tenses of Regular Verbs

First let us see the application of the above on regular verbs and we will use the verb claim.

---

Six Tenses of Irregular Verbs

Now let’s see that application of this lesson on irregular verbs. We will use one from the list in Lesson 19, the verb break.

With the above examples, you will be able to follow the procedure of substituting the verbs that you want to use. You can practice by going back to Lesson 19 and use the ones in the list of regular and irregular verbs.

Now here is the rule or principle that you need to keep in mind in line with this lesson.

---

ELGR32: Tenses must be consistent. If you start out with a verb in a particular tense, you should not change to a verb in another tense.

---

Some Common Errors

• We went in the canteen and eat our lunch. (incorrect)
• We went in the canteen and ate our lunch. (correct)

• The policeman stopped the car and inspects the contents. (incorrect)
• The policeman stopped the car and inspected the contents. (correct)

• The coach notices the illegal move and called the attention of the referee. (incorrect)
• The coach notices the illegal move and calls the attention of the referee. (correct)

• The expected that all students completed their projects so she reminds them on the deadline. (incorrect)
• The expected that all students completed their projects so she reminded them on the deadline. (correct)

---

After a few practice on the above lesson, you may feel you are ready for another complicated but interesting verb tenses as earlier mentioned. You may move on to the next lesson for the study of the six tenses of the progressive forms of verbs.

You may also jump to the lessons you want to see below, or click on the button for the lesson index.

English for speakers and writers lesson links: