Grammar-Verbs Solutioning

Grammar-Verbs Solutioning

The following sentences have errors in the usage of verbs.

Re-write them correctly. Also, consider the highlighted verbs.

1. “Michael! Get down here right now!” John John, who was a fierce drill sergeant, is always nagging me about punctuality.
2. We were on the way to college. Suddenly, the sky turns
3. She will hire you full-time when your degree is complete.
4. Picnics are forbidden here, but Jack lay down on the grass anyways.

Here Are The Answers!!!

1. “Michael! Get down here right now!” John yelled. John, who had been a fierce drill sergeant, always nagged me about punctuality.
2. We were on the way to college. Suddenly, the blue sky turned 
3. She will hire you full-time when your degree is 
4. I will hire you full-time when your degree is 

Let’s discuss the solutions related to verbs.

1. Switching Tenses in and out of Present and Past Tense.

Study the sentence given below:

“Michael! Get down here right now!” John yelled. John, who had been a fierce drill sergeant, always nagged me about punctuality.

First, is John dead or alive? Is he an active sergeant or a retired sergeant?

• If he’s alive and well and still on active duty, the word “was” would be. Instead, the word “is” would be correct.
• If he’s alive and well, but no longer a drill master, you’d need to say that he “had been” a fierce drill master.

The tense is not maintained – the word yelled (simple past) to “is always nagging” (present continuous)

“Michael! Get down here right now!” John yelled. John, who had been a fierce drill sergeant, always nagged me about punctuality.

In other words, the same tense should be maintained throughout the passage. For example, in the above sentence, notice the correct switching in and out of the present and past tense rule.

2. Using Inconsistent Verb Forms

Consistent verb usage:

Example:

I was on the way to college. Suddenly, the clouds turned dark.

The inconsistent verb forms are the most commonly found errors.

Both “was” and “turned” are past tense forms, so the verb tense is consistent.

3. Altering the Future Tense Forms

Incorrect usage – I will hire you full-time when your degree is complete.

Correct usage – I will hire you full-time when your degree is complete.

Note: If the main clause is in the future tense, the verb in the subordinate clause should shift to the present tense, as shown in incorrect usage.

4. Irregular Verbs and Conjugation Errors

Incorrect: Picnics are forbidden here, but Jack lied down on the grass anyways.

Correct: Picnics are forbidden here, but Jack lay down on the grass anyways.

Because the verb(lied)is irregular, there should have their different conjugations.

To avoid confusion, however, between the two verbs, remember that “lie” is intransitive (it doesn’t take an object), while “lay” is transitive (it always takes an object). Therefore, the correct tense is “lay,” as used in sentence B correctly.

5. State Verbs are never used in the Progressive (Continuous) Tense.

State verbs are never used in any continuous tense.

We never say the following:

1. She is understanding him. (wrong) She understands him.
2. Jane was knowing the answer. (wrong) Jane knew the answer.
3. Julie is having a job. (wrong) Julie has a job.

We cannot use the present progressive (is having), past progressive (was having), or future progressive (will be having) with state verbs.

Progressive tenses describe actions happening at a certain time, but because state verbs are not actions, we do not use progressive tenses with them.

6. Errors in the Use of Transitive or Intransitive Verbs

As a rule, a transitive verb is always followed by a direct object.

A direct object in the sentence is not required for an intransitive verb.

Identifying transitive and intransitive verbs is very important as it helps in distinguishing between the commonly confused verbs.