$1.$ Tutorial $2$: Verbs: Tense, Mood, and Voice

Use the following list of key terms to help you answer the questions that follow.

Term

Definition

Irregular Verb A verb that does not follow conventional verb tense changes to express time. Some common irregular verbs include be$,$ begin, break, bring, choose, come, do$,$ give, and go$.$

Verb Tense

Verb tense refers to the way a verb is written in order to express time, whether it is an action or a state of being in the past, present, or future. When you arbitrarily switch back and forth between tenses or use the wrong form of an irregular verb, readers become confused.

In workplace situations, using the correct verb tense helps build your professional credibility. As you review and revise messages you$$ve written, make certain that your verbs maintain the same tense and form. Also, make sure to use the correct verb form to express time when using irregular verbs.

Example

Explanation

Sharie exited the parking garage and then turned left. Both verbs in this sentence take the same tense and form$$the past tense. Both verbs show the past tense conventionally by adding $$ed$.$

I have chosen to take the next week off. Chosen is the past participle for the irregular verb to choose. Many irregular verbs have different forms in both the past tense and the past participle.

Following is a list of common irregular verbs. Familiarize yourself with these irregular verb forms in order to avoid mistakes.

Present $($Today I $\_\_\_\_\_.)$

Past $($Yesterday I $\_\_\_\_\_.)$

Past Participle $($I have $\_\_\_\_\_.)$

am was been

begin began begun

break broke broken

bring brought brought

choose chose chosen

come came come

do did done

give gave given

go went gone

know knew known

pay paid paid

see saw seen

steal stole stolen

take took taken

write wrote written

Checkpoint

Identify the sentences with correct verb tense usage. Check all that apply.

The HR department has known about the insurance premium increase for six weeks.

She gave me the Lincoln Laser billing records before she left on vacation.

The board of directors chose the CFO to represent the company on a trip to Japan, and he accepts.

The new e$-$mail policy begun yesterday.

Verb Mood

The subjunctive mood is expressed by changing the verb to show doubts, wishes, possibility, or hypothetical situations. The most frequent misuse of the subjunctive mood involves using was instead of were in hypothetical statements.

If the statement is hypothetical, figurative, or counterfactual, use were, not was. If the statement might be true, use was, not were.

The following examples are hypothetical situations; therefore, use were instead of was:

Example $1$

If Sandy were the CEO of Microsoft, she would improve the Visio interface. $($Note: This is a hypothetical situation; therefore, use were instead of was.$)$

Example $2$

Although the announcement had been made public, Jim acted as though Jane were the only one who knew he had resigned. $($Note: This is a hypothetical situation; therefore, use were instead of was.$)$

Checkpoint

Consider the following scenarios.

A new employee unknowingly put the wrong toner cartridge in the copy machine, which caused the machine to malfunction. The office manager was furious. You are telling a coworker about the office manager$$s reaction.

What should you say?

The office manager looked as though she was about to explode.

The office manager looked as though she were about to explode.

Someone accidentally deleted the last three entries in a client's billing account. Only you and two other people have the password to open the account files. It's possible that it was you who accidentally deleted the files.

What should you say?

If I were the one who deleted the files, I apologize.

If I was the one who deleted the files, I apologize.

Verb Voice

Voice refers to the form of the verb indicating the relationship between subject and verb. In English, the two types of voice are the active voice and the passive voice. In the active voice, the subject of the sentence performs the action of the verb; in the passive voice, the action of the verb is done by someone or something other than the subject. Use the active voice in workplace writing unless you wish to say something indirectly or to highlight an action itself instead of the agent of that action.

Example

Explanation

Janice filed the report. The active voice occurs when the subject of the sentence performs the action expressed in the verb. Using the active voice for the majority of your sentences improves clarity and conciseness. This sentence is active because the subject of the sentence, Janice, is performing the action.

The report was filed by Janice. The passive voice occurs when the subject receives the action expressed by the verb. Use the passive voice when you wish to say something indirectly or to highlight an action instead of the agent of that action. Passive$-$voice sentences usually include a to be helping verb, such as is$,$ are, was,